The author gratefully acknowledges
Stephanie Calmenson
for her help
with this book.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
1 The Little House
2 The Reason for Two Houses
3 The Surprise
4 Show and Share
5 The Invitation
6 A New Room
7 A Happy Reunion
8 Horn of Plenty
9 A Walk With Grandad
10 School Visitors
11 A Talk With Granny
12 Helping Out
13 The New Baby-sitter
14 A Change of Plans
15 Shopping
16 Karen’s Idea
17 Thanksgiving Morning
18 The Parade
19 Thanksgiving Dinner
20 A Cozy Night
About the Author
Also Available
Copyright
The Little House
“See you tomorrow!” I called to my friend Nancy Dawes.
I raced from the school bus to the little house. Mommy was waiting at the door with open arms. Midgie, our dog, came running outside. (Rocky, our cat, just flicked his tail and watched us from inside.)
“I am home,” I said.
“I am so happy to see you!” she said.
I knew she really was, too. You see, when I said I was home, I did not mean I was home from just one day of school. I was also home from one whole month at the big house. I woke up in the morning at the big house. I would go to sleep that night at the little house. (Later I will tell you why I have two houses.)
My name is Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bunch of freckles. I wear glasses, too. I even have two pairs. I wear my blue pair for reading. I wear my pink pair the rest of the time.
“Where is Andrew?” I asked. Andrew is my little brother. He is four going on five. He usually gets home from school before I do.
“He will be home any minute,” Mommy replied. “His carpool had to make an extra stop today. Why don’t you go wash up? I will make a snack for you and your brother.”
The first thing I did when I got to my room was give my stuffed cat, Goosie, a big hug.
“How have you been, Goosie?” I asked. “Moosie told me to say hi to you.” (Moosie is my other stuffed cat. He lives at the big house.)
I checked on my dolls. Then I made sure Emily Junior’s cage was ready for her. Emily Junior is my pet rat. She lives wherever I do. Someone from the big house was supposed to drop her off later in the afternoon.
I washed up, then ran downstairs for my snack. Just as I was sitting down, Andrew walked in.
“Hi, Mommy! Hi, Karen!” he said. He gave Mommy a big hug and a kiss. “Look what I made at school today. My teacher says Thanksgiving will be here soon.”
Andrew put a paper pilgrim’s hat on his head. Thanksgiving seemed like a long time away. But it really was not. Today was the first day of November. Thanksgiving was the last Thursday of the month. That was just four weeks away. Hooray! I love Thanksgiving.
After our snack, I went upstairs to do my homework. When I finished, I helped Mommy fix dinner.
“I think Seth might be late tonight,” said Mommy. “He is already getting extra orders for the holidays. He will probably have to work late nights and every weekend right up until Christmas.”
Seth is my stepfather. He is super nice. He has his own carpentry shop downtown in Stoneybrook.
At six o’clock, Seth called. Mommy was right. Seth had to work late. He said he would not be home for at least another hour. He wanted us to go ahead and eat without him.
It was too bad he was not home to have dinner with us. Mommy and I had made very delicious hamburgers with green beans and mashed potatoes. It was also too bad he was not home when Granny and Grandad called from Nebraska.
Granny and Grandad are Seth’s mother and father. I once visited them all by myself. I flew there on an airplane. Another time my whole family visited them when Grandad was sick.
Mommy, Andrew, and I took turns talking on the phone. When we hung up, I was worried. Granny and Grandad sounded a little bit lonely. They had promised to call back in a couple of days. I was glad. Maybe they would sound happier then.
The Reason for Two Houses
Now I am going to tell you why Andrew and I have two houses.
When I was really little, we lived with Mommy and Daddy in one house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Then Mommy and Daddy started fighting a lot. They said they loved Andrew and me very much. But they could not get along with each other anymore. So Mommy and Daddy got a divorce.
After the divorce, Mommy moved with my brother and me to the little house. (It is not too far away from the big house.) Mommy met Seth and they got married. That is how Seth became my stepfather. The people who live at the little house are Mommy, Seth, Andrew, and me. The pets are Midgie, Rocky, Emily Junior, and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab). (Andrew and I switch houses every month. One month we live at the little house, the next month at the big house.)
Daddy stayed at the big house after the divorce. (It is the house he grew up in.) He met someone new, too. Her name is Elizabeth and she and Daddy got married. That is how Elizabeth became my stepmother. Elizabeth was married once before and has four children. They are my stepsister and stepbrothers. Kristy is thirteen and the best stepsister ever. David Michael is seven, like me. And Sam and Charlie are so old they are in high school.
I have one other sister. Remember I told you I have a pet rat named Emily Junior? Well, I named her after Emily Michelle. She is two and a half and I love her a lot. Daddy and Elizabeth adopted her from a faraway country called Vietnam.
I also have a very wonderful stepgrandmother. Nanny is Elizabeth’s mother. She came to live at the big house to help take care of Emily. But really she helps take care of everyone.
There are pets at the big house, too. They are Shannon, who is David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy; Boo-Boo, who is Daddy’s cranky old cat; Crystal Light the Second, who is my goldfish; and Goldfishie, who is Andrew’s you-know-what. Oh, yes. Emily Junior and Bob live at the big house whenever Andrew and I are there.
Guess what. I have special names for my brother and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. (I thought of those names after my teacher, Ms. Colman, read a book to our class. It was called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.) I call us those names because we have two of so many things. We have two mommies and two daddies, two houses and two families, two cats and two dogs. We each have two sets of toys, and clothes, and books — one set at each house. I have two bicycles. Andrew has two tricycles. You already know about my two stuffed cats, Goosie and Moosie. I have two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket. I even have two best friends. Nancy Dawes lives next door to Mommy’s house. Hannie Papadakis lives across the street and one house down from Daddy’s house. (Nancy, Hannie, and I call ourselves the Three Musketeers. That is because we like to do everything together. We are even in the same second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy.)
That is my story. Now you know why I have two houses.
The Surprise
Just before dinner on Thursday Seth called to say he would be late again. That made two nights in a row. But this time he was only going to be a little bit late.
“Can we wait for Seth?” I asked. “It is more fun when we all eat together.”
“I agree,” said Mommy. “And Seth and I have a surprise for you kids. We want to tell you together.”
“Can’t you tell us now?” I asked. “When Seth comes home, you can tell us again.”
“But it will not be a surprise the second time you hear it,” said Mommy
.
“We will act surprised. I promise. Tell us now, Mommy, please,” I said.
Mommy said we had to wait. It was not easy. Dinner was already cooked. The table was already set. Waiting was the only thing left to do.
Finally Seth came home. The minute he walked through the door, Andrew and I shouted, “Tell us our surprise!”
First Seth wanted to take off his jacket. He wanted to wash his hands. Then Mommy and Seth wanted us to sit down at the table. They wanted to serve the food before it got cold. Finally they were ready to tell us their news.
“It is a Thanksgiving surprise,” said Seth. “This year we are going to spend our holiday weekend in New York City.”
“Yippee!” Andrew and I shouted. This was great news! We once went to New York at Christmastime. It was so much fun.
“We are going to stay in a hotel along the parade route,” said Mommy. “That way we can watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade from our windows.”
“That is so cool,” I said.
“We have already made reservations to eat a special Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant,” said Seth.
“There will be time to do lots of other things,” said Mommy. “We can go shopping, visit a museum, go to the zoo.”
“Can we go to the place where there are stars?” asked Andrew.
“You mean Broadway?” asked Seth. “It may be hard to get show tickets on a holiday weekend.”
“No Not people stars,” said Andrew. “Sky stars.”
Mommy and Seth looked puzzled.
“I know the place he means,” I said. “Andrew wants to go to the planetarium.”
“That’s it. The plabetarum,” said Andrew.
“That is a very good idea,” said Mommy. “The planetarium is part of the Museum of Natural History. We can make that our museum trip.”
“Will there be time for me to see Maxie?” I asked.
Maxie Medvin is my New York City pen pal. She is very nice.
“I don’t see why not,” said Mommy. “She can join us on one of our outings.”
“Why don’t you kids make a list of the things you would like to do? We will try to fit in as many as we can,” said Seth.
I was so excited I had trouble eating dinner. As soon as we were excused, Andrew and I went upstairs to start our list. Thanksgiving was exactly four weeks away. We could hardly wait.
Show and Share
I was glad the next day was Friday. Friday is one of our Show and Share days at school. I wished it were time already. But the day had just started. There were other things to do.
“Karen, would you like to take attendance this morning?” asked Ms. Colman.
“Sure!” I replied.
Taking attendance is an important job. I like doing important jobs for Ms. Colman. Ms. Colman is a gigundoly wonderful teacher. She makes school interesting and fun. And she is always nice. When I call out in class, Ms. Colman does not get angry. She just reminds me to use my indoor voice and to raise my hand.
I stood up and started checking off names in the attendance book. I put a check next to my name first. Then I checked off Hannie and Nancy because they are my best friends. They sit together at the back of the room. I used to sit with them until I got my glasses. Then Ms. Colman moved me to the front of the room with the other glasses wearers. Ms. Colman says we can see better up front. I checked off the other glasses wearers. They are Natalie Springer and Ricky Torres. (Ricky is my pretend husband. We got married on the playground at recess one afternoon.)
I checked off Addie Sydney. (She was busy putting turkey and pumpkin stickers on her wheelchair tray.) I checked off Pamela Harding, my best enemy, and her friends, Jannie Gilbert and Leslie Morris. I checked off the twins, Terri and Tammy Barkan. I checked off Bobby Gianelli. (He used to be a bully, but he is not so much of a bully anymore.) I checked off Audrey Green and Hank Reubens.
I made a few more checks, then handed the book to Ms. Colman. It was a good day. Everyone was in school. That meant everyone would get to hear my news.
“Is it time for Show and Share now?” I asked.
“Not yet,” replied Ms. Colman. “First I would like to talk about the next big holiday coming up.”
“Thanksgiving!” I called. “That is what I want to talk about, too.”
“But Karen, you forgot to raise your hand. And you forgot to use your indoor voice,” said Ms. Colman.
Oops. I usually forget when I am excited. And I was very excited about sharing my news.
“Sorry,” I replied.
“I would like to start a list of things we have to be thankful for,” said Ms. Colman. “We can add to the list any time we think of something over the next few weeks. Who would like to begin?”
Oh, boy. I knew what I was thankful for. My trip to New York City. But I could not put that on the list yet because it would ruin my Show and Share surprise.
Lots of other kids thought of things to put on the list. They were thankful for their friends and their families. They were thankful for the autumn leaves and because they were going to have company for the holiday. I was thankful for those things, too.
When the list was finished, Ms. Colman said, “Now it is time for Show and Share.”
“I am thankful for that!” I called out.
“Why don’t you begin, Karen,” Ms. Colman said.
This was a good idea. If I had not gone first, I think I would have burst.
“I would like to share my Thanksgiving news,” I said. “I am going to New York City with my family. We are going to stay in a hotel where we can see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. We are going to the planetarium. I am going to see my pen pal, Maxie. And I am going to have the best Thanksgiving ever!”
When I finished, I sat down. I felt much better now that I had shared my Thanksgiving news.
The Invitation
Just before dinner on Friday night the phone rang. Seth had come home early and he answered it.
“Hi, Mom. How are you? How is Pop feeling?” he asked.
It was Granny and Grandad. I was glad Seth was home when they called. Maybe he could cheer them up. Seth talked to them while Mommy, Andrew, and I finished fixing dinner.
Before we sat down to eat, we each got to talk on the phone. When it was my turn, I told Granny and Grandad about our Thanksgiving trip. I knew they were happy for me. But still, it sounded as though something were wrong. I asked Seth about Granny and Grandad while we ate our dinner.
“I know Grandad is better from his heart attack. But he and Granny do not sound happy lately,” I said.
“You are right,” said Seth. “Grandad is a lot better than he was right after his heart attack. But he is still weak. That means the farmhands have to take care of the farm. And he and Granny do not leave the house much. They are probably just plain lonely.”
“Why don’t we ask them to come visit us?” I said. “They would not be lonely here.”
“That is a very good idea, Karen,” said Mommy. “We cannot seem to cheer them up on the phone. It would be better if they were with us.”
“But it is not easy to get them to leave the farm,” said Seth. “Maybe if we tell them we want them to spend the holidays with us, they would agree to make the trip. They could come next week. That way they will feel right at home by Thanksgiving. They can stay here through Christmas and even New Year’s Eve.”
“If they want to stay longer, that would be fine, too,” said Mommy. “I think this is a wonderful idea.”
Seth called Granny and Grandad after dinner. They did not seem to think the idea was as wonderful as we did. We listened to Seth try to convince them to visit us.
“Yes, I know it is hard to leave your farm,” he said. “I know you have been there for four decades. But you will only be visiting us for the holidays. Then you will go back. Please just think about it. We would really love to have you with us.”
I hoped Granny and Grandad would call back right away to tell us they were coming. But they did not.
Mommy and Seth called them a few more times on Saturday and Sunday. But still they would not say yes.
“Please just keep thinking about it,” said Mommy.
Mommy passed the phone to me.
“We miss you and really want to see you!” I said.
I passed the phone to Andrew.
“We love you, Granny and Grandad,” he said.
Still they did not say yes. Finally, on Monday night the phone rang. Seth answered it. He listened for a minute, then said, “That is terrific news! I will call the airlines and call you right back.”
“Yippee! They are coming!” I said.
“That is right,” said Seth. “And do you know what? They sound happier already. They said they are looking forward to the trip.”
Seth made the airline reservations. Granny and Grandad would fly to Connecticut on Thursday. They would stay with us until sometime in January. This was good news. But one thing was worrying me.
“What about our trip to New York?” I asked.
“Granny and Grandad can come with us,” replied Seth.
All right! Now I could look forward to Thursday and Thanksgiving, too.
A New Room
Creak. Groan. What was going on? It was Tuesday morning. I hurried downstairs to find out.
Mommy was in the den moving furniture around.
“Why are you doing that?” I asked.
“We need to turn the den into a guest room for Granny and Grandad,” Mommy replied.
“What about the guest room upstairs?” I asked. “They stayed there the last time they visited.”
“That was before Grandad got sick. He is too weak to go up and down steps now,” said Mommy. “Seth is going to see about getting a second-hand sofa bed. And he will bring home a couple of tables he made. They will be perfect nightstands.”
“We should decorate the room, too,” I said. “Could that be my job?”
“That would be a big help,” Mommy replied.
“I want to help, too,” said Andrew.
He was standing behind me in his pajamas, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.