Karen's Fishing Trip

  “Coming!” I replied.

  * * *

  The day before, when we had abandoned our shelter, we had left some scraps from our lunches. We had set them by the water’s edge, as bait for the Lake Monster. Guess what. This morning the scraps were gone.

  “The Lake Monster does exist!” Nancy said.

  “I am just glad we were not here when it snuck up and ate the scraps,” said Hannie. She shivered.

  “Me too,” I said. It was a pretty scary thought.

  We got our bait and our poles and headed for our dock to go fishing. Although I was saving worms for Daddy, I just could not use them myself. It was too yucky. Today I was using Chee•tos. They did not work very well. They melted in the water. So I borrowed some raisins from Hannie. The raisins worked great.

  “I have one!” screamed Nancy. “I have a fish!”

  I jumped about a foot in the air.

  Hannie and I dropped our poles and ran to Nancy. Her bobber was completely underwater. She was pulling on her pole, trying to yank the fish out.

  Kristy and Mary Anne dropped their poles and ran to help us. Mary Anne grabbed the net, and Kristy helped Nancy pull the line out of the water. Suddenly a pale green, flopping, jumping fish burst out of the lake.

  Nancy had caught a fish!

  “Oh my gosh,” said Kristy as Mary Anne scooped the fish up in the net so it could not escape. “This is incredible. He is big enough to keep. Good job, Nancy.”

  Daddy had heard us yelling, so he ran to the dock. He took the wiggling fish off the hook and put it in a bucket. “Good for you, Nancy,” he said. “We will have this fish at our big fish cookout on Sunday.”

  Nancy beamed.

  I was so proud of her.

  Can Keegan Come?

  That night we went to the lodge for dinner.

  The hostess smiled at Daddy and Elizabeth. “You must have left some kids at home,” she said. “There are only eight of you.”

  We laughed. With Nannie, Sam, Charlie, David Michael, and Andrew, there would have been thirteen of us!

  Once we were seated at our big table, I buttered a piece of bread. Hannie and Nancy looked very glum.

  “Didn’t you talk to your daddy, honey?” Elizabeth asked Nancy. Before we had left the house, Hannie and Nancy had called their daddies at home.

  Nancy nodded sadly.

  “Did you tell him you miss him?” I asked.

  Nancy nodded. “He said he misses me too. I am having a really great time here, but I wish I could see him for Father’s Day.”

  “Me too,” said Hannie. “Although I am having a lot of fun here at Shadow Lake.”

  “I am sorry you are sad,” I said to Hannie. “Maybe tomorrow you will feel better.”

  Hannie shrugged. “Tomorrow is the day before Father’s Day. And I will still not be with my daddy.”

  “Well, maybe Karen is right,” said Elizabeth. “Maybe you will feel better in the morning.”

  “Look!” said Kristy, pointing with her fork. “That woman is wearing a pair of A-lure-ing Earrings.”

  All eight of us swiveled our heads to look. Several tables away, a woman sat with her husband. A pair of blue-and-yellow lures with tiny yellow feathers dangled from her ears.

  “There is another pair,” said Mary Anne.

  When we started looking at everyone in the restaurant, we saw at least five pairs of A-lure-ing Earrings. And Mary Anne said that a couple of people had bought more than one pair.

  I was about to point out another woman who was wearing them when I realized that she was Keegan’s mommy. Keegan was sitting next to her. We waved and smiled at each other.

  Which reminded me.

  “Oh, Daddy,” I said. “I have just remembered. Keegan is here without his daddy this time. I asked him to come with us on our boat on Father’s Day. Is that okay? I forgot to ask you first.”

  “Hmm,” said Daddy. He scratched his chin. “Actually, I am not sure we will have room for Keegan.”

  I stared at Daddy. “Oh, no! But we have to make room for him somehow. His parents are separated. He is so sad. I just cannot tell him that we cannot take him with us.”

  “Maybe we can work something out,” said Elizabeth. “I bet we can find a way to fit Keegan in. Right, Watson?”

  “Yes, I guess so,” said Daddy with a sigh. “I have no choice but to end up with a hundred children on my boat, as usual.”

  We all laughed. I was relieved. Now Keegan would have a great Father’s Day. And I knew that Hannie and Nancy would too. I was starting to feel like a fairy godmother.

  The Surprise

  On Saturday morning Hannie and Nancy both felt sad. It was a drizzly, rainy day. I almost wanted to go out to our shelter and look for the Lake Monster. Almost. But I knew that sitting in the rain would not cheer up my two best friends.

  “I love being here, Karen,” said Nancy. “I am glad the Three Musketeers are together. And Shadow Lake is great. But I have never been away from my daddy on Father’s Day. And that is tomorrow.” She sighed and looked down at her feet.

  “I know,” I said. “I am sorry you feel so bad. I will ask Elizabeth to make waffles for breakfast. Maybe that will help.”

  “Maybe so,” said Hannie. (She did not look as if she believed it.) “Come on, Nancy. We cannot spoil everyone’s vacation just because we feel sad.”

  “You are right,” said Nancy. She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

  Elizabeth made us blueberry waffles for breakfast. They were yummy.

  After breakfast Kristy and Mary Anne went into their room to make more earrings. They could hardly keep up with the demand.

  Daddy went out into the rain to practice fishing. He said fish always bite more when it is raining. We did not want to go.

  “Now, I see some long faces,” Elizabeth said to us, once the table had been cleared. “How about a fun art project?”

  “Hooray!” I said. I love art projects.

  Elizabeth gave each of us a piece of white paper. Then she put a few drops of food coloring at the bottom. She handed us each a straw. By blowing gently through the straw at the food coloring, I made it twist and run all over the paper. It looked like a red-and-orange tree, or maybe a spiderweb.

  Emily Michelle had her own piece of paper. She could not keep her fingers out of the food coloring. She ended up with rainbow fingers. “I paintin’!” she said. “I paintin’!”

  But even a special art project did not cheer up Hannie and Nancy. Elizabeth looked at me, then looked at the clock. I shrugged.

  Finally Nancy and Hannie and I all just flopped down on the living room couch. We listened to the rain and talked a little bit. If I had not known that Hannie and Nancy would feel much better soon, I would have gotten impatient.

  Then it happened. Just before lunch, I thought I heard a car’s engine. I did! Then we heard a car honking as it came up our drive.

  “Who could that be?” asked Nancy.

  I smiled at her. “I do not know,” I said innocently.

  We walked out onto the porch.

  “That is my daddy’s car!” cried Hannie. “It is my mommy and daddy! And Linny and Sari!”

  “My mommy’s car is right behind them!” said Nancy. “It is my mommy and daddy and Danny!”

  They started jumping up and down.

  Then another car came down our long driveway. I peered at it through the rain. It was the Pink Clinker!

  I started jumping up and down too. “Nannie!” I called. “It is Nannie and Sam and David Michael and Charlie!”

  For about half an hour our porch was crowded with people hugging and kissing and saying, “Surprise!”

  “When Karen told us you were upset about missing Father’s Day, we felt bad too,” Mr. Papadakis told Hannie. “Then Mr. Brewer invited us to the lake. So here we are.”

  “Oh, I am so happy,” said Hannie. She hugged him, then she hugged me. “You are the best best friend ever.”

  Nancy hugged me too. “Thank you, Karen. This
is a wonderful surprise. How did you keep it a secret?”

  “It was not easy,” I said, and my friends laughed.

  “Who is taking care of Scout?” asked Kristy.

  “My friend Dennis,” said Charlie. “He is taking care of all the pets.”

  Here is who slept in the boys’ room: Mr. Papadakis, Mr. Dawes, Sam, Charlie, David Michael, and Linny Papadakis. Here is who slept in the girls’ room: the Three Musketeers, Mrs. Papadakis, Mrs. Dawes, Nannie, Kristy, and Mary Anne. (Kristy and Mary Anne had to move out of their room, but they said they did not mind.)

  Emily Michelle, Sari Papadakis, and Danny Dawes slept in one of the tiny bedrooms. Daddy and Elizabeth slept in their room. So we were all set. All of us were together, cozy and snug.

  Together and Apart

  That afternoon the families split up to do different things. The Daweses went to the lodge. Nancy wanted to show her mommy and daddy and Danny all the fun things to do there. Mr. Dawes challenged Nancy to a game of Ping-Pong, and Mrs. Dawes wanted to look in the gift shop.

  The Papadakises went for a long walk through the woods. (It had stopped raining, and the sun had come out.) Hannie promised she would not show her parents our secret house. But she did want to show them our monster-watching shelter. Linny loved the story about the Lake Monster. He and David Michael made plans to look for it later. And Linny wanted to gather leaves for his leaf collection. I told him the woods would be a good place to find leaves.

  My family decided to stay home and visit. We sat around and told one another what we had been doing all week. Sam and Charlie laughed when Kristy and Mary Anne told them about the A-lure-ing Earrings. They did not laugh when Kristy told them how much money she and Mary Anne had made so far.

  Sam and Charlie told us about their new summer jobs. The jobs sounded very hard and not like much fun. But Sam and Charlie were happy to have extra spending money.

  Nannie said that she had been very busy with her chocolate business. “I managed to get a lot done, since I had only Sam and Charlie to look after,” she said. “But the house seemed awfully big and lonely. Even Shannon and Boo-Boo seemed to wonder where everyone had gone. And I have completely forgotten how to cook for only three people! I kept making huge batches of food. But Sam and Charlie were so good and helpful. I practically felt as if I were on vacation!”

  “I had a great time at Adventure Land,” said David Michael. “I rode on the Scrambler at least five times.”

  “Oh, yeah. Your brain really needs to be more scrambled,” said Sam.

  David Michael looked at him. “Now I remember why I did not miss you,” he said.

  Elizabeth sighed and rolled her eyes.

  Daddy laughed and put his arm around her. “It is great to be together again,” he said.

  * * *

  That night all of us ate dinner at the lodge. We took up three large tables. Hannie and Nancy and I sat together with Mr. Dawes and Mrs. Papadakis and Sari. Sari kept bending backward in her booster seat to see Emily Michelle in her booster seat.

  We had a delicious dinner. Sam and Charlie kept making funny jokes. We took turns counting how many ladies were wearing A-lure-ing Earrings. (There were a lot.) David Michael ordered cheesecake for dessert, but he did not like it, so he gave it to me. Yes!

  Hannie and Nancy and I agreed that we had had a lot of fun during our no-boys-except-for-Keegan week. But we were glad to be with the rest of our families now. And tomorrow would be great, with the fishing contest and all of our special Father’s Day plans. We would have fun all day, on our last day at Shadow Lake.

  Happy Father’s Day

  “Psst! Wake up,” said Hannie. She shook my shoulder.

  “Wha?” I asked sleepily.

  “It is Father’s Day,” Nancy whispered. “Come on, get up.”

  “Oh my gosh!” I said. I was instantly wide-awake. Hannie and Nancy were already dressed, even though it was very early on Sunday morning. I quickly got out of bed and got dressed quietly. (Nannie and Kristy and Mary Anne and Mrs. Papadakis and Mrs. Dawes were still asleep.)

  Then the Three Musketeers sneaked out into the living room. No one else was up yet. Very quietly we set the table for breakfast. We took out our special Father’s Day cards that we had made. (Daddy had not mailed Hannie’s and Nancy’s, since he knew their fathers were coming to the lake.) I put mine by Daddy’s place. Hannie and Nancy put theirs by their daddies’ places.

  Then we went outside and picked some wildflowers. We put them in jelly jars on the table. They looked beautiful.

  I had one last thing to do before we woke people up for breakfast. I went into the girls’ bathroom and opened the cupboard door beneath the sink. I could not wait to see daddy’s face when I gave him his big can of fresh worms for the fishing contest.

  I reached for the can, but did not feel it. So I peered under the sink. “Oh, no!” I cried.

  Instead of a big coffee can with a lid, I saw a tipped-over can. The lid had come off. The dirt had spilled out. I could not see a single worm.

  There was only one thing to do. It would ruin Daddy’s surprise. But that could not be helped. I ran into the living room and told Hannie and Nancy what had happened. Then I got a pan and a wooden spoon from the kitchen. I ran through the house, banging on the pan.

  “Worm alert!” I yelled. “Worm alert!”

  It did not take long for everyone to wake up. My family and the Daweses and the Papadakises all looked very sleepy as I explained the problem. Then they looked sleepy and grumpy.

  “Worms!” groaned Sam. “Oh, no!”

  “Only Karen could do something like this,” said Charlie.

  “We have to look for them,” I explained.

  “Well, worms cannot travel very fast,” said Daddy, scratching his head. (He was still in his pajamas.) “We will try to round them up.”

  I could not help giggling. The idea of a worm roundup was funny. As if we were cowboys and cowgirls, riding horses and lassoing humongous worms.

  Everyone got dressed fast. Even before they were dressed, they started finding worms.

  “Karen! There is a worm on the floor in here,” called Kristy from the girls’ bedroom. I ran in with my can and the spaghetti tongs and scooped it up.

  “Karen! Over here!” yelled David Michael. He pointed behind the living room couch. I got that one too.

  That is how I spent the next half hour, scooping up worms.

  Charlie started laughing. “Those worms must be so confused,” he said. He pretended to be a worm, looking around the room. “Where am I? Where am I?”

  He and Sam and David Michael fell over laughing.

  Finally no one could spot any more worms. Elizabeth said she would not be surprised if worms kept popping up for years to come.

  “Eww,” said Mary Anne.

  I felt very disappointed. I had wanted to have a special Father’s Day gift for Daddy. But my plan had backfired. I handed him the can full of runaway worms. “I am sorry, Daddy. These were for the fishing contest. But instead I just started your day off badly.”

  Daddy took the can and kissed me. “It was a lovely thought, Karen,” he said. “And I still have these nice rounded-up worms for the contest. Thank you.”

  “You are welcome,” I said. “Happy Father’s Day.”

  “Now I have an announcement to make,” said Daddy. “I have rented two boats. So we will have three boats altogether for the fishing contest. Mr. Dawes will captain one boat, I will captain one, and Mrs. Papadakis will captain the third. This way we will have room for everybody who wants to go on a boat.”

  Hannie and Nancy decided to go on their families’ boats. I was a little sad they would not be with me. But the good news was, we now had room for Keegan on our boat! So I was very glad after all.

  Let the Contest Begin!

  Some people at Shadow Lake take the fishing contest very seriously. But my family and friends and I just wanted to have fun. Daddy took our small boat, the Faith Pierson, out to a nice spo
t on the lake where we would not be too crowded. Mr. Dawes and Mrs. Papadakis steered their boats close to ours. So Hannie and Nancy and I could still see each other and talk to each other.

  Keegan had shown up right on time. He was wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and a sun hat. He was carrying his own pole. “It’s my father’s,” he said. He looked as if he were trying to be brave about his daddy’s not being here on Father’s Day. To cheer him up, I told him my latest joke.

  “Knock, knock,” I said.

  “Who is there?” asked Keegan with a smile.

  “Impatient cow,” I said.

  Keegan’s eyebrows sort of scrunched together as he tried to figure out the punchline. But he could not. So he started to say, “Impat —”

  “Moo!” I burst in, before he could finish.

  We both laughed hard.

  I had brought my camera with me, just in case we suddenly saw the Lake Monster. In the meantime, I took lots of pictures of Daddy, Keegan, David Michael, Kristy, and Mary Anne. (Sam and Charlie were fishing off of our dock. Nannie, Elizabeth, and Emily Michelle were keeping them company.)

  Hannie and Nancy were taking pictures too. Whenever I saw them pointing a camera in my direction, I smiled hugely.

  Daddy was using his Father’s Day worms for bait. I could not even bear to watch him put them on the hook. Keegan and I were using stale popcorn for bait.

  “Thanks for letting me come, Mr. Brewer,” said Keegan.

  “We are glad to have you, Keegan,” said Daddy.

  For just a moment, Keegan looked sad. Then his fishing pole jerked, and his eyes flew wide open. “I have one!” he said.

  He quickly turned the handle on his reel and pulled on the pole with all his might. Daddy got ready with the net. On the end of Keegan’s line was a nice-sized trout!

  “Hooray!” I cried. “The first fish of the day!”

  Keegan was very happy. Daddy helped him take the trout off the hook and put it in our ice chest. Then Keegan put another piece of popcorn on his hook and dropped the line back in the water.