Karen's Book

by Ann M. Martin

  Goosie and Moosie

  After awhile I got used to living at the little house and visiting the big house. But it was not so easy at the beginning. I did not like leaving Mommy. And sometimes I would forget things at one house or the other. (I was not a true two-two yet.) The first time Andrew and I went back to the big house, I forgot my toothbrush.

  “We have plenty of extras,” said Daddy.

  I chose a pink-and-blue-striped one. It was pretty, but it was grown-up size and too big for my mouth.

  Another time I forgot my pajamas. Hannie was sleeping over anyway, so she brought me a pair of hers.

  But there were two things I always needed to have with me. I needed Tickly, my special blanket, and Goosie, my stuffed cat. I could not sleep without them.

  One night Daddy was tucking me in at the big house.

  “Wait, I have to find Tickly,” I said.

  I looked on my bed. No Tickly. I looked on the floor. No Tickly. I looked all around my room. No Tickly!

  “We will find it in the morning,” said Daddy.

  “I have to have Tickly now,” I said.

  We looked everywhere but could not find Tickly.

  “We have to go back to the little house,” I said.

  “All right, Karen. Put your coat on over your pajamas and we will go,” said Daddy.

  By the time we were downstairs, I was crying and cranky. So was Andrew. Daddy was unhappy because it was way past my bedtime. But we were going to go back to the little house anyway. We just had to. I opened the car door. The light came on.

  “Tickly!” I shouted. My blanket was on the floor of the car. “I knew I did not forget you!”

  “Well, that is a good thing,” said Daddy.

  We hurried back upstairs. I undressed and went to sleep with Tickly on my right side and Goosie on my left.

  The next morning, I tore Tickly in half. I took half to the little house and left half at the big house. That way I would never be in either place without my special blanket. Unfortunately, the next week I forgot Goosie.

  “Oh, Karen, not again,” said Daddy.

  “At least it is not bedtime,” I replied. (I realized Goosie was missing as soon as we got to Daddy’s house.)

  “Maybe Goosie is in the car. Remember when you thought you lost Tickly?” said Daddy. We looked in the car. But Goosie was not there.

  “I will drive you over to Mommy’s,” said Daddy.

  At Mommy’s house, Daddy rang the bell. Mommy was not home. Daddy found his keys so we went inside. Goosie was not at the little house either!

  “I lost Goosie!” I cried. “I will never see him again!” I began to cry.

  “We will go back and look at the other house,” said Daddy. “I am sure he is there.”

  I was still crying when we pulled into the big-house driveway. Mommy was just getting out of her car. She was holding Goosie.

  “You left him in the living room when you ran back for your sweater,” said Mommy.

  “Thank you!” I said. I was very happy to have Goosie back. But I started crying all over again.

  “What is wrong?” asked Mommy.

  “I am afraid I will leave him behind again. And I cannot tear him in half like Tickly.”

  Mommy and Daddy had a grown-ups’ talk. When they finished, Daddy said, “Come, we will go downtown and see if we can find another stuffed cat like Goosie.”

  We drove to the toy store. There, behind all the other stuffed toys, was a cat that was Goosie’s twin. Mommy and Daddy bought him for me.

  “Thank you!” I said. On the way back to the big house, I named my new cat.

  “Goosie, meet Moosie,” I said when I was in my room.

  My life as a two-two had begun.

  Meeting Seth

  “We have so many books in this house,” said Mommy. “I think we need to have some bookcases built into our walls.”

  “I want to help,” I said. “I build good castles.”

  “You are a very good builder, but I think we are too busy to do this ourselves,” said Mommy. “I am going to call a carpenter.”

  Mommy looked in the phone book under C for carpenters and found an ad she liked.

  “What does it say?” I asked.

  Mommy read me the ad. (I was only four and a half, so I could not read it myself yet.) It said:

  Need something built or repaired?

  For Fast, Friendly, Fair Service

  Call Seth Engle

  Licensed Carpenter

  Mommy set up an appointment for ten o’clock Saturday morning. When the doorbell rang and Mommy opened the door, I was surprised. I do not know why, but I was expecting someone old. But the man at the door was only old like Mommy. They smiled at each other.

  Then they talked about where the bookcases should go. Once they had decided, the carpenter said he could start as soon as he had the proper materials. He came back the next Saturday.

  “Do you need me to help you?” I asked.

  “I am sure you are a very good helper,” he said. “But you have to ask your mommy. These tools can be dangerous.”

  “It is all right,” said Mommy. “I will watch you.”

  The carpenter told us to call him Seth.

  “You can call me Karen. My mommy’s name is Lisa!” I said.

  It was my job to pass Seth his tools. I had to be careful. The hammer was heavy and the nails were sharp. (It was good that Andrew was napping. He was too little to help with important building jobs.)

  While Seth and I were working, Mommy and Seth were talking. They were laughing a lot too.

  Seth worked until lunchtime. Then he said, “I have another job now. I will have to come back and finish this on Monday.”

  When he came back on Monday, we were just starting to fix dinner.

  “Are you sure you can do the job without me?” I asked.

  “It will be hard, but I will do my best,” said Seth.

  I liked Seth. I could tell Mommy did too. After he left, she looked sad. We were about to eat our dessert when the doorbell rang. It was Seth again.

  “I am sorry to bother you. I forgot my hammer,” he said.

  “It is no bother,” said Mommy. “Would you like to join us for dessert?”

  “Thank you, I would love to,” he replied.

  We were having apple cake that Mommy, Andrew, and I had baked together.

  “This is delicious!” said Seth.

  On his way out, Mommy asked Seth if he could build bookcases in my room too. I did not even know I needed them.

  “Sure. I see your stair railing needs mending too. I will do that for nothing,” said Seth.

  Seth came around a lot after that. Mommy kept thinking of things that needed building. And Seth found lots of things that needed fixing.

  Hmm. Something was going on.

  Flower Girl: Part One

  One Sunday Seth came over without his toolbox. Instead he brought presents for Mommy, Andrew, and me. Andrew and I got silly animals made out of wood. We loved them. Mommy got three wooden flowers painted in bright colors.

  “Thank you. These flowers are beautiful,” she said.

  Seth spent the day with us. We walked around downtown and stopped for ice cream. Later we bought food at the supermarket and cooked dinner together.

  Seth spent a lot of time with us after that. We really liked him and I knew he liked us. He even said he wanted to marry us! At first I was a little scared.

  “What about Daddy?” I asked Mommy one night after Seth went home.

  “You will always have your daddy, who loves you. Nothing will change that,” replied Mommy.

  She explained that if she and Seth married, Seth would be my stepfather. “Seth is another person who loves you and wants to take care of you,” said Mommy.

  That did not sound too bad to me. The next time Seth came over, I said, “Yes, we will marry you!”

  Mommy and Seth laughed and hugged. Then came the fun part — the wedding! I got to be the flower girl. Thi
s was a very important job.

  On the Sunday before the wedding we all had to go to the church and practice walking down the aisle. It was like getting ready for a school play. Only I did not get to say anything. At least I was not supposed to. But being quiet is hard for me.

  “Should I walk fast or slow?” I called from the back of the church. Mommy came back and walked down the aisle with me.

  “You need to walk slowly with the music,” she said.

  “Okay, now I will do it myself!” I said.

  I ran to the back again. When the music started, I did not walk. I decided to skip. It is hard to skip slowly. I reached the front of the church in no time.

  “Karen, we do not skip in church,” said Mommy. “Please try walking again.”

  “But a wedding is happy,” I said. “So is skipping.”

  “We need you to walk slowly so everyone can see how beautiful you look with the flowers,” said Seth.

  Seth always knows what is important. That is one of the reasons I like him. I ran to the back and called, “I am ready!”

  The music started. I took one step and waited. Then I took another step and waited some more. I was only halfway down the aisle when the music ended.

  “That was great,” said Seth. “We can always play more music.”

  I practiced at home. I practiced at the Little Friends Day School. Finally, it was the day of the wedding.

  “Do not be nervous,” said Mommy.

  “I am not nervous one bit!” I replied.

  The church was filled with people. I could hardly wait for the music to begin. When it did, Mommy nodded and I started to walk down the aisle. I was wearing a gigundoly beautiful dress. It was long and pink with ruffles. I was carrying a big bouquet of flowers.

  I did not walk too fast. I did not skip. I did not walk too slowly. I walked with the music, just like Mommy said. Everyone was smiling at me and I was smiling back.

  It was the most fun day. After Mommy and Seth were married, it was time for the party. We held it outside in the park. (We had tents in case it rained. But it did not. The weather was beautiful.)

  We ate and danced and I got too many kisses. But I did not mind. After all, you have to expect lots of kisses when you are the best flower girl in Stoneybrook.

  Kristy Thomas

  One weekend, when Seth was away and Andrew and I were at Daddy’s, Daddy got a phone call. He said hello, then got a worried look on his face.

  I got scared. Daddy does not look worried very often.

  “Daddy?” I said. I wanted to know what was wrong. Daddy motioned for me to wait. I started bouncing up and down. I could not stand still.

  Then I heard Daddy say, “I will get someone to stay with Karen and Andrew. I will be over as soon as I can.”

  Daddy hung up and turned to Andrew and me.

  “Everything will be all right,” he said. “There is no need to worry, but Mommy hurt her ankle and she is at the hospital. I need to go there and help her.”

  Andrew started to cry.

  Daddy took Andrew and me in his arms. “Mommy will be all right,” he said. “Sometimes we fall. We may get hurt, but then we get better.”

  Daddy picked up the phone again and made a call.

  “Hello, Elizabeth,” he said. “Could Kristy baby-sit for Karen and Andrew? I can pick her up and bring her here.”

  (I had not met Elizabeth or Kristy yet.)

  “Thank you,” said Daddy. He hung up the phone. “Come on, kids. Someone very nice is going to stay with you.”

  We drove to a house on the other side of town and a girl got into our car.

  “Hi, Karen. Hi, Andrew. I am Kristy. Your daddy has told me a lot of nice things about you.”

  “Hi!” I replied. I did not get to say much else. Daddy was doing all the talking. He was telling Kristy what we should have for lunch and where emergency phone numbers were.

  “I wish I could take time to show you everything,” he said. “Karen will have to fill in for me. Okay, pumpkin?”

  “Okay!” I replied.

  Daddy dropped us back at our house, then drove off to the hospital. Kristy, Andrew, and I went inside.

  “Do not worry. I am a very good helper! I will show you everything in my house,” I said.

  “Maybe we should eat some lunch first,” said Kristy.

  That sounded like a good idea. I had eaten only a little breakfast. Toast and orange juice. I was hungry. Andrew said he was hungry too.

  I went to the kitchen and started taking food out of the refrigerator. Cold cuts. Cheese. Tuna salad. Cole slaw. Apples. Carrots. Milk.

  “Whoa! Your daddy said peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” said Kristy.

  “That is for Andrew. I like everything!” I replied.

  Kristy made sandwiches and cut up apples and carrots. She put the food on our plates so it looked very pretty.

  “Yum!” I said. “You are a good babysitter.”

  “I have not done too much yet, but thank you,” said Kristy. She poured the milk and we sat down to eat.

  I took a few bites of my sandwich, then suddenly felt like crying. I looked at Kristy.

  “Will our mommy be all right?” I asked.

  “Of course,” replied Kristy. “She hurt her ankle, but that is not too terrible a thing to happen. Even if she broke it, she will be okay. I once broke my ankle too.”

  “How did you do that?” I asked.

  “While you are eating I will tell you,” said Kristy.

  I picked up my sandwich and took another bite. I was starting to feel better already.

  “Here is my story,” said Kristy. “I was riding my bike and my dog, Louie, was on his leash —”

  “You have a dog?” I said. “Can I see him sometime?”

  “Sure,” said Kristy. “Anyway, I was taking Louie for a walk when —”

  “Ooh! Can I walk him?” I asked.

  “I guess,” replied Kristy. “Are you going to let me finish the story?”

  I nodded.

  “All right, then. I was on my bike and Louie was beside me when I came to a tree. Louie went one way and I went the other. Whoosh! I flew off my bike and broke my ankle,” said Kristy.

  I started giggling.

  “That was silly!” I said.

  “It was not silly when I had to wear a cast for six weeks and could not go swimming all summer,” said Kristy. “But you are right. It sounds pretty silly now.”

  I liked Kristy. She was nice. I thought she was nice even before she gave Andrew and me ice cream for dessert.

  After lunch, we played outside. Then, while Andrew was napping, Kristy read stories to me. We were reading The Little Engine That Could when Daddy walked through the door.

  “Mommy is going to be fine. She is home and will call you soon,” said Daddy. “How did everyone here get along?”

  “Fine,” I said. “I like Kristy! Does she have to go home?”

  “Not yet. We have to wait for Andrew to wake up before I drive Kristy home,” said Daddy. “Kristy, is that all right with you?”

  “I do not mind at all,” said Kristy. “Karen and I are having a very good time.”

  Kristy looked at me and smiled. I felt a lot better than before. Mommy was going to be fine. And I had the best baby-sitter ever.

  The Witch’s Spell

  Kristy baby-sat for us lots of times after the day Mommy hurt her ankle. She got to know our house pretty well.

  At first I only told Kristy nice things about our house. I wanted to be sure she came back. But on her third visit I decided to tell her about the witch next door. It was for her own safety.

  “Um, I hope this will not scare you away,” I said. “But there is a witch living next door.”

  “Really?” asked Kristy. She looked as though she did not believe me.

  “Yes. Daddy thinks her name is Mrs. Porter. But her real name is Morbidda Destiny,” I said.

  “That does sound like a witch’s name,” said Kristy.

 
; “She dresses in black and casts spells. Once she cast a spell on Boo-Boo. That is why he is wild,” I went on.

  “Well, then, I will watch out for Boo-Boo and for your neighbor. Thank you for warning me,” said Kristy.

  A couple of weeks later, Morbidda Destiny struck! Kristy was baby-sitting for Andrew and me. We were having a snack in the kitchen. Andrew was putting globs of jelly on crackers. And Kristy was looking for a jar of peanut butter when she bumped her head on a cabinet door.

  “Ouch!” she said.

  “Kristy get boo-boo!” cried Andrew.

  Boo-Boo came into the room then. He must have thought Andrew was calling him. He rubbed against Andrew’s chair. Grape jelly from Andrew’s crackers dripped onto Boo-Boo’s tail. Mee-owww!

  Boo-Boo licked his tail furiously. Then he started chasing his tail and would not stop. He jumped up on the counter, then down to the floor. Things were falling over. Boo-Boo was making a gigundo mess.

  “Catch him!” I said.

  “I will try my best,” said Kristy.

  She grabbed two oven mitts and put them on.

  “No! I said catch him, not cook him!”

  Kristy started to laugh. “I am putting the mitts on so I do not get scratched.”

  “Oh,” I replied. Kristy was pretty smart.

  But she was not smart enough to catch Boo-Boo. He ran out of the kitchen and into the living room. Crash!

  Kristy, Andrew, and I peered around a corner to see what had broken. Oops. It was a blue vase.

  “Boo-Boo running!” said Andrew.

  “He is under a witch’s spell!” I exclaimed.

  “I think it is an angry cat spell,” said Kristy. “Cats do not like having sticky jelly on their tails.”

  Boo-Boo was flicking his tail and spraying grape jelly all around the house.

  “We will have to wait till he calms down,” said Kristy.

  Crash! Bam! Bang! Just then the telephone rang. Kristy answered it.

  “Yes, Mrs. Porter. Everything is all right. Thank you,” she said and hung up.

  “Aha!” I cried. “It was Morbidda Destiny, checking on her spell!”

  “I do not think so. Mrs. Porter called to see if we could use help. She heard all the noise,” said Kristy.