Karen's Big Sister

  The author gratefully acknowledges

  Stephanie Calmenson

  for her help

  with this book.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 Snowy Saturday

  2 Living in Two Houses

  3 A Very Surprising Announcement

  4 The Mystery Package

  5 Hurt Feelings

  6 Karen’s Cool Idea

  7 One More Try

  8 What to Do?

  9 A Snowy Day

  10 The Search

  11 When to Tell?

  12 Party Plans

  13 The Truth

  14 Karen’s Note

  15 Friends

  16 The Gift

  17 Making Up

  18 Getting Ready

  19 Surprise!

  20 Sisters Always

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  Snowy Saturday

  Scrape, scrape, scrape.

  I knew that sound very well. It had been waking me up a lot lately. It was the sound of shovels scraping the sidewalk.

  It was a Saturday morning in January. There had been one snowstorm after another ever since Christmas. I did not mind one bit. I love snow!

  I was in my room at the big house. (I have two houses — a big house and a little house. I will tell you more about them later.) I popped out of bed and peered out the window. The snow was deep.

  I got dressed as fast as I could. I wanted to build a snowman. Or a snow fort. I had to get busy!

  Who am I? I am Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bunch of freckles. Oh, yes. I wear glasses. I have two pairs. I wear my blue pair for reading. I wear my pink pair the rest of the time. (I wish I did not have to wear glasses in the snow. When they get wet, I cannot see through them.)

  I put on my boots, ski jacket, hat, and mittens. Then I ran downstairs. (I did not stop for breakfast. I could not wait to get outside.)

  “Hi, Daddy!” I said. “Hi, Elizabeth. Hi, Sam. Hi, Charlie!”

  Everyone was outside shoveling snow. Elizabeth is my stepmother. Sam and Charlie are my big brothers. (Sam and Charlie are so old they go to high school.)

  “Hi, Karen,” said Daddy. “Do you want to help us shovel a path?”

  “Sure,” I replied.

  Shoveling snow to make a path is a grown-up thing to do. I decided my snowman could wait. I ran to the garage to get my red shovel. It is smaller than the grown-ups’ shovels, but it works very well.

  I helped shovel the path for about three seconds. Then my brothers, David Michael and Andrew, came outside. (David Michael is seven, like me. Andrew is four going on five.)

  “Do you want to build a snowman with us?” asked Andrew.

  I looked at Daddy.

  “Go have fun,” he said.

  We did have fun. First we made three small snowmen. Then my sisters, Kristy and Emily, ran outside. (Kristy is thirteen. Emily is two and a half.) We decided to make one great big snowman together. Next, we made a snowlady. We made arms and faces for our snow family out of sticks and stones. (We had to dig the stones out from under piles of snow.)

  “Karen! Andrew!” called Nannie. (Nannie is our stepgrandmother.) “There is a telephone call for you.”

  “It is probably Mommy,” I said to Andrew. “Come on!”

  We ran inside and talked to Mommy. She calls us sometimes just to say hello when we are living at the big house. When we are not at the big house, we are at the little house. Then Daddy calls from the big house to say hello.

  This may sound confusing to you. But it is not confusing to Andrew and me. We have lived in two different houses for years. It is not hard once you get the hang of it. I will tell you how it works.

  Living in Two Houses

  First I will tell why I live in two houses. It started a long time ago. When I was little, I lived in one big house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut, with Mommy, Daddy, and Andrew. Then Mommy and Daddy started to fight a lot. They told Andrew and me they loved us very much. But as hard as they tried, they could not get along with each other anymore. So Mommy and Daddy got a divorce.

  Mommy moved with my brother and me to a little house not too far away. Then she met a very nice man named Seth. Mommy and Seth got married. So Seth is my stepfather.

  This is who lives at the little house: Mommy, Seth, Andrew, me, Midgie (Seth’s dog), Rocky (Seth’s cat), Emily Junior (my pet rat, who I named after my sister, Emily), and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab).

  Daddy stayed at the big house after the divorce. (It is the house he grew up in.) Then he met Elizabeth. Daddy and Elizabeth got married and that is how Elizabeth became my stepmother. Elizabeth was married once before and has four children. You know who they are. They are Kristy, David Michael, Sam, and Charlie.

  I told you about my sister, Emily Michelle. But I did not tell you yet that she was adopted from a faraway place called Vietnam.

  And I did not tell you that Nannie 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 (David Michael’s big Bernese mountain dog puppy), Boo-Boo (Daddy’s cranky old tabby cat), Crystal Light the Second (my goldfish), and Goldfishie (Andrew’s you-know-what). Oh, yes. Emily Junior and Bob live at the big house whenever Andrew and I are there.

  When are we there? My brother and I switch houses every month. (Once in a while we stay at one house or the other for two months in a row.)

  Now I will tell you how we live in two houses. We have a special system. We have two of lots of different things. That way we do not have to carry so much back and forth. I even have a special name for Andrew and me. I call us Andrew Two-Two and Karen Two-Two. I thought up those names after my teacher read a book to our class. It was called Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang.

  We are two-twos because we have two houses and two families, two mommies and two daddies, two cats and two dogs. We each have two sets of toys, clothes, and books. I have two bicycles. Andrew has two tricycles. I have two stuffed cats. Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie lives at the big house. I have two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket. And I have two best friends. Nancy Dawes lives next door to the little house. Hannie Papadakis lives across the street and one house over from the big house. Nancy and Hannie and I are in the same second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy. We call ourselves the Three Musketeers. That is because we like to do everything together.

  So now you know all about living in two houses. It does not sound hard, does it?

  A Very Surprising Announcement

  On Monday morning, I rode the bus to school with Hannie. I was glad it was a short trip. I do not like sitting on the bus bundled up in winter clothes.

  Nancy was already at her desk when we walked into our classroom. She and Hannie sit at the back of the room. I used to sit there with them. Then I got glasses and Ms. Colman moved me to the front of the room. She said I could see better there. She was right.

  I did not get to visit with Nancy because Ms. Colman arrived. I waved to Nancy and went to my seat. Ms. Colman hung up her coat, then said, “Hannie, it is your turn to take attendance today.”

  Boo. I wished it were my turn. But if it had to be someone else’s turn, I was glad it was Hannie’s.

  Hannie took the attendance book. She looked at Nancy and me first and checked off our names. (The Three Musketeers stick together.)

  I looked around to see who else was in class. Ricky Torres and Natalie Springer were there. They are the other glasses-wearers who sit in the front row with me. (Ricky is my pretend husband. We got married on the playground at recess on
e day.) Pamela Harding, Jannie Gilbert, and Leslie Morris were there. (Pamela is my best enemy. Jannie and Leslie are her friends.) Addie Sidney was there. (She was peeling Christmas stickers off her wheelchair tray and putting snowman stickers in their place. Addie loves stickers!) Bobby Gianelli was there. (He used to be a bully sometimes. But he is not anymore.) Sara Ford was there. Hank Reubens was there. Omar Harris was there.

  A few kids were out sick. Hannie finished marking the book, then handed it to Ms. Colman.

  “Thank you, Hannie. Now I have an announcement to make,” said Ms. Colman.

  Yippee! I love Ms. Colman’s Surprising Announcements. They are usually about very good things, such as trips and special projects. I sat up tall and listened.

  “I want to share some good news of mine. The good news is that I am going to have a baby,” said Ms. Colman.

  “A baby? All right!” I called out.

  This was a very surprising announcement. I was so excited, I almost fell off my chair. Everyone started asking questions at once.

  “I appreciate your enthusiasm, class,” said Ms. Colman. “But I would still like you to use your indoor voices. And please raise your hands.”

  Natalie raised her hand and Ms. Colman called on her.

  “Are you still going to be our teacher?” she asked. Natalie is a big worrier. I did not blame her for worrying now. I would hate to lose Ms. Colman. She is the most wonderful teacher. She always thinks up interesting projects for us. And she never gets angry or yells at anyone. Not even me.

  “This is what will happen,” replied Ms. Colman. “I will be in school for several more months. After I have the baby, I will take off two months. Then I will return to school and be your full-time teacher again.”

  Omar raised his hand.

  “Who will be our teacher while you are gone?” he asked.

  “Mrs. Hoffman will take over,” replied Ms. Colman.

  This was good news. Mrs. Hoffman had been our teacher once before. At first we did not like her. She had too many rules. For a while I even called her “Hatey Hoffman.” But she turned out to be nice. Now she is our favorite substitute teacher.

  I was going to miss Ms. Colman. But she was going to be away from us for a very good reason. She was going to have a baby.

  A baby! Hooray.

  The Mystery Package

  “See you tomorrow,” I said to Hannie when we hopped off the bus after school.

  I walked up the street to the big house. Daddy was just coming out to get the mail.

  “Hi, Daddy!” I said. “Guess what we found out at school today.”

  I told Daddy Ms. Colman’s news.

  “That is terrific!” replied Daddy. “I am very happy for Ms. Colman.”

  Daddy took the mail from the mailbox and started sorting through it. There was a lot. I saw magazines and letters. I saw a small package, too.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  “I do not know,” replied Daddy. “It has my name on it. But I do not recognize the return address.”

  “Let’s hurry up and open it,” I said.

  Ooh. More surprises!

  No one else was at home. It was just Daddy and me. And the mystery package.

  Daddy opened the package carefully. Inside was a small box with a letter on top. Daddy read it.

  Then he said, “The letter is from a lawyer telling me that a distant cousin of mine has passed away. She was an elderly woman named Louisa. I met her only a couple of times. She was very nice. I am sorry she is gone. It seems she has left me a family heirloom.”

  “What is an heirloom?” I asked.

  “It is something that is handed down through a family. When one person passes away, he or she leaves it to someone else,” said Daddy. “Louisa has left me a valuable pin. It has been in my family for many years.”

  Daddy opened the box. Inside it was a beautiful pin sitting on a bed of cotton. It was gold with diamonds and pearls on it. Ooh.

  “May I hold it?” I asked.

  “Yes, you may,” replied Daddy.

  I held the pin. It was heavy. It felt important. I handed it back to Daddy.

  That night at dinner, Daddy told everyone about Cousin Louisa.

  “She left me this pin, which has been in my family for years,” said Daddy, holding up the pin. “I would like to pass it along to another member of my family. I would like to give it to Kristy, my oldest daughter.”

  Did I hear right? Did Daddy say he was giving the pin to Kristy? Not to me?

  The next thing I knew, Daddy walked to Kristy and handed her the pin. Kristy was so happy. Her face lit up. She even started to cry a little. I felt like crying, too. That was because I was mad. I was mad at Daddy for not giving the pin to me.

  “Thank you,” said Kristy. “The pin is beautiful. And it means a lot to me. It means I am really part of your family.”

  Hmmph. She was already part of the family. Daddy did not have to give her a pin to tell her that. She would never wear it anyway. It was too fussy.

  I did not look at Daddy for the rest of dinner. When we finished, I followed Kristy to her room.

  “Will you let me borrow the pin sometimes?” I asked.

  Kristy looked at the pin. Then she looked at me.

  “I am sorry, Karen,” she said. “But this pin is really valuable. It is real gold with diamonds and pearls. It has been in the family forever. I would like to let you borrow it. But it would be terrible if it got lost.”

  “I will not lose it,” I said. “I promise.”

  “I cannot take any chances,” replied Kristy. “The pin means too much to me.”

  Boo and bullfrogs! I stomped off to my room. I love Daddy. I love Kristy. But I was mad at both of them.

  Hurt Feelings

  I spent two days stewing about the pin. I talked to Daddy and Kristy only when I had to. Only to say things such as “Please pass the butter,” and “Excuse me.”

  On Tuesday night instead of watching TV with my family, I went to my room. I drew a picture of the pin. I made my picture the same size as the real one. I thought about cutting out the picture and wearing it. But a piece of paper could never look like a real gold pin with diamonds and pearls. No way.

  “How could they do what they did, Moosie?” I asked. “How could Daddy give the pin to Kristy instead of me? How could Kristy say no when all I asked was to borrow the pin?”

  I held Moosie up to my ear. I thought he might have something helpful to say. But he did not.

  By Wednesday night, I was tired of moping and stewing. I decided to ask Kristy one more time about the pin before I went to bed. I knocked on her door.

  “Come in,” she called.

  I did not waste any time. I asked her my question right away.

  “I came to ask again if I can borrow the pin,” I said. “I know you said no before. But maybe you changed your mind.”

  “I am sorry, Karen. I did not change my mind,” replied Kristy. “I think the pin is too valuable to take a chance with. And it means too much to me.”

  That made me mad all over again.

  “You will never even wear it,” I said. “It is just going to be wasted sitting in your jewelry box.”

  “Some things have more than one purpose,” replied Kristy. “I do not think Watson gave me the pin because he expected me to wear it. I think he gave me the pin because he wanted to show me in a very nice way that he considers me his daughter.”

  “That is not true,” I replied. “I am his real daughter. You are only his stepdaughter.”

  Kristy stared at me for a moment. Then her eyes filled with tears. “Karen Brewer!” she finally said. “How can you say something like that? You hurt my feelings. After all this time, how can you still think that way? I thought we were close. I thought we were family. Real family. Real sisters.”

  I had not expected that from Kristy. At first I did not know what to say. Finally I said, “Well, you hurt my feelings, too. Real sisters lend each other things. I do not see why
you will not lend me the pin.”

  “You know I lend you things all the time,” said Kristy. “I explained my reasons for not wanting to lend you this pin. It would be nice if you were more understanding about it.”

  “Well, I do not understand,” I replied. “Not at all.”

  “Neither do I,” said Kristy.

  I walked out of Kristy’s room in a huff and went to bed. It took me a long time to fall asleep.

  Karen’s Cool Idea

  I felt better when I woke up on Thursday morning. I put on my gray leggings and a purple-and-pink-striped sweater.

  “The pin would look awful with this outfit anyway,” I said to Moosie.

  I hurried downstairs to eat breakfast. Kristy did not even say good morning to me. I guess she was still upset from the night before. I was happy when it was time to leave for school. I did not feel like thinking about Kristy and the pin. I had something more important to think about — Ms. Colman’s baby!

  That was all Hannie and I talked about on the school bus. We tried to guess if the baby would be a boy or a girl. We wondered what Ms. Colman would name it. We wondered how much it would weigh.

  “Maybe she will have twins,” I said.

  “Or triplets,” said Hannie.

  “If she has triplet girls, she could name them Karen, Hannie, and Nancy!” I said.

  When we reached school, Ms. Colman was already at her desk. She asked Addie to take attendance. (I hoped it would be my turn again soon.)

  While Addie was checking off names, I started thinking. A new baby called for a celebration. A big celebration. Then I got a very cool idea. I decided my classmates and I should have a baby shower for Ms. Colman. I could hardly wait to tell everyone.

  I whispered to Ricky, “Meeting at recess. Pass it on.”

  Ricky whispered to Bobby. Bobby whispered to Audrey Green. Audrey whispered to Omar. Soon the whole class knew about the meeting.

  When recess finally came, the kids formed a big circle around me. (I wish I had a cool idea every day. I love being the center of attention.)

  “It is very exciting that our teacher is having a baby,” I said. “So I have an idea. I think we should have a baby shower for Ms. Colman.”