Meanwhile, all week I was reading my books on Jupiter. I went back to NASA’s Web site and found out a whole lot more about Jupiter.
Did you know that Jupiter has rings? They are not as big as Saturn’s, but they are there. I printed out a photograph from the NASA Web site to prove it. I also printed out a bunch of other photographs. Addie was going to be very pleased with the visual aids I was collecting.
On Thursday afternoon Andrew and I finished reading Mary Poppins. Mommy had returned the video that morning (we had watched it twice).
Andrew and I made a list. In order to be just like Mary Poppins, the perfect nanny would have to:
- be very nice
- sing sweetly
- play games (all sorts)
- never smell of barley water (whatever that is)
- carry an umbrella
- be friends with a chimney sweep
- be able to fly.
(We knew she would not really be able to fly, but we put it in anyway.)
If our nanny was all of those things — or even most of them — then we would have found a Mary Poppins of our very own. And I was sure we were going to.
Third Time a Charm
On Friday morning Addie and I made our presentation. It went great. We took turns talking about Jupiter. I showed the photographs I had printed out from the NASA Web site. Addie brought a papier-mâché model of Jupiter, with the Great Red Spot painted on. It was very realistic.
The kids clapped when we were done. And Ms. Colman gave me a special smile. I knew she was glad that I really was my old self again.
After we went back to our seats, Addie said, “You sure came through in the end, Karen.”
“You did too, Addie,” I said. “Of course, you came through in the beginning too.”
Addie and I laughed.
* * *
“I’m ho-ome!” I sang out, coming into the kitchen.
Mommy and Andrew said hello.
“Where is the nanny?” I asked. “I thought she was supposed to be here already.”
“Her plane was delayed by the weather,” said Mommy. (It had been raining all day.) “She should be here any — ”
Dingdong. The front doorbell rang.
“I will get it!” Andrew and I shouted at the same time. We raced to the front door and swung it open.
“Hello,” said the woman standing on the welcome mat. “My name is Merry Perkins. I have just flown in from Miami.” She hooked an umbrella over her arm and stuck out her hand. “You must be Karen and Andrew.”
Her name was Merry Perkins? That sounded almost exactly like Mary Poppins!
She said she had just flown in!
She was carrying an umbrella!
Andrew and I looked at each other in astonishment as we took turns shaking her hand.
Mommy came into the foyer and met Merry Perkins too. (They had already talked on the phone a bunch of times.) Then Mommy went upstairs, so we could have time alone with Merry.
We had a million questions for her.
“Can you sing?” “Are you nice?” “What does barley water smell like?” “Do you know any chimney sweeps?” Andrew and I asked her.
Merry Perkins laughed (she had a very nice laugh) and tried to answer our questions.
“Yes, of course I can sing,” she said. “Everyone can sing. Some people sing better than others, though.” Then she sang a little of the song about “Doe, a deer, a female deer.” Merry was one of the people who could sing well.
“My friends think I am nice,” she said. “I do not know what barley water smells like. And I do not know any chimney sweeps.”
Hmm. No chimney-sweep friends. Still, Merry Perkins seemed just about perfect anyway.
Then she suggested that we make peanut-butter cookies.
“Oh, boy!” said Andrew as we followed Merry into the kitchen.
“Let’s see,” said Merry. “I know a special recipe for the world’s best peanut-butter cookies.” She rustled around in the cupboards, taking out ingredients.
“We will need a spoonful of sugar….” she said to herself.
I looked at Andrew. He looked at me. His eyes were wide open in amazement. “A spoonful of sugar!” he mouthed at me.
“I know!” I mouthed back.
Merry Perkins was too good to be true.
“… and a cup of crunchy peanut butter,” she finished.
Crunchy? Oh, no! Not crunchy. Merry Perkins would be perfect, if only she would not insist on crunchy peanut butter. It was the one thing I refused to change!
I would hate to have to turn away the perfect nanny because she liked the wrong kind of peanut butter.
Merry rooted through the cabinets, looking for crunchy peanut butter.
At last she turned to us. “Oh, well,” she said, holding up the jar of smooth. “Smooth is just as good. We can throw in some chocolate chips for oomph.”
Hooray! Merry did not insist on crunchy.
She was the perfect nanny.
Merry Perkins It Is
“And what did you think of Merry Perkins?” Mommy asked Andrew and me over dinner.
“I loved her!” Andrew exclaimed. “She is the best!”
Mommy smiled. “I am glad to hear she met with your approval, Andrew. Karen, what did you think?”
I decided to tease Andrew a little.
“Ummm …” I said, as if I were thinking it over.
“Karen!” Andrew wailed. “I cannot believe that you do not — ”
“I thought Merry Perkins was wonderful,” I said, laughing. “Even though she does not know any chimney sweeps.”
Andrew heaved a big sigh of relief.
“I liked her a lot too,” said Mommy. “And what is more, Merry makes pottery. She sells her pottery and also gives lessons. That means she has a very flexible schedule. It is no problem for her to work one month on and one month off, as you two go back and forth between houses.”
“Then is it decided?” Seth asked.
“Yes!” Andrew shouted.
“Yes!” I shouted.
“Merry Perkins it is,” said Mommy. “She will be our very own Mary Poppins.”
* * *
After dinner I went to my room. I put the Lemon Drops in the CD player. Now that I did not have to listen to them every day, I liked them again.
I thought about how I liked the Lemon Drops, then hated them, then liked them again. It is funny how feelings can change — and even change back sometimes.
My first New Year’s resolution had been a mistake. Sometimes change is okay. Of course, you have to draw the line somewhere, and I had drawn mine in peanut butter.
My second New Year’s resolution had worked out much better. I had helped find the perfect nanny for the little house.
Having Merry Perkins as a nanny would be a change, it was true. But it would be a good change. I was sure of it.
The Lemon Drops were singing “Jump Up and Dance.” I jumped up and danced. I danced all around my room. I was feeling great.
About the Author
ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.
Copyright © 1999 by Ann M. Martin
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First edition, 1999
e-ISBN 978-1-338-06076-8
Ann M. Martin, Karen's Nanny
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