Karen's Big Job

  The author gratefully acknowledges

  Diane Molleson

  for her help

  with this book.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  1 The Lilac Tree

  2 My Two Houses

  3 An Important Day

  4 Party Plans

  5 Stoneybrook Academy

  6 At Work

  7 Phones, Faxes, and Photocopies

  8 Theaters, Restaurants, and Offices

  9 A Big, Fat, Hairy Lie

  10 A Picture, a Pillow, and a Play

  11 Career Work

  12 Trouble

  13 A Long Talk

  14 Heads or Tails

  15 Marvin and Sassy Sally

  16 Wacky Cracky Bubble Gum

  17 Lights, Camera, Action!

  18 A Talk with Elizabeth

  19 A Special Present for Elizabeth

  20 Party Time

  About the Author

  Also Available

  Copyright

  The Lilac Tree

  “Karen, where are you?” I heard my little brother Andrew calling. Andrew is four going on five.

  “In the backyard,” I shouted. (People are always telling me to keep my voice down. But I wanted to be sure Andrew heard me.) I was sitting on a stone bench under the lilac tree. It was the beginning of April, and the lilacs were starting to bloom. I adore lilacs and roses and daffodils. But especially lilacs.

  I am Karen Brewer. I am seven years old. I have long blonde hair, blue eyes, and some freckles. (I have more freckles in the summer.) I also wear glasses. I even have two pairs. The blue pair is for reading. The pink pair is for the rest of the time.

  “Hi, Karen,” Andrew said when he saw me. “I found her!” he called over his shoulder.

  “Who are you talking to?” I asked.

  “To Kristy,” answered Andrew. “She was looking for you, too.”

  “What for?” I asked. (Kristy is my older stepsister. She is also one of my favorite people ever.)

  “You’ll see,” said Andrew. (I hate it when he does that.)

  “Oh, there you are, Karen,” said Kristy. “Wait here. I have to go find the others.”

  The others turned out to be my stepbrothers: David Michael, Sam, and Charlie. Soon all six of us were sitting under the lilac tree.

  “I call this family meeting to order,” said Kristy.

  Kristy is used to being in charge of meetings. She is president of the Baby-sitters Club. She and her friends meet three times a week to run a baby-sitting business.

  “Why are we having this meeting?” I asked.

  Kristy gave me a funny look. “Didn’t Andrew tell you?”

  I shook my head.

  Andrew giggled.

  “Mom’s birthday is at the end of this month,” Kristy explained. “I thought we should start thinking about what we could do for her.”

  “Let’s give Elizabeth a big party,” I said. I love to plan parties.

  Elizabeth is Kristy’s mother, my stepmother. I was glad her birthday was this month, so Andrew and I could go to her party. Our parents are divorced. We spend every other month with Daddy and Elizabeth at the big house, where we are now. The rest of the time we live with Mommy and my stepfather, Seth, at the little house.

  “I was thinking of a big party too,” said Kristy. She pulled out a notebook and wrote down my idea. (Kristy is very organized.)

  “What about taking her bowling instead?” asked Sam.

  “Mom doesn’t like to bowl,” said Kristy.

  “I know. I was just kidding,” said Sam. Sam is a big tease.

  “Why don’t we take her to a play?” said David Michael. “A Broadway play in New York City.” (David Michael loves the theater. He acts in all his school plays and wants to be an actor when he grows up.)

  Kristy wrote down “Play in New York City.” I could tell the others did not think the play was such a good idea.

  “It would cost a lot for all of us to see a Broadway play,” said Charlie.

  Kristy nodded. “It’s true. We should plan something we could do together as a family. Emily Michelle is too young for a play. She would never sit still.”

  That’s for sure, I said to myself. (Emily Michelle is my youngest sister. She is only two and a half.)

  “What about a beach party?” asked Andrew. “We could have a picnic by the water and then go swimming.”

  “It is too cold to swim this time of year,” I said.

  Kristy nodded. “And it might rain on the day of Mom’s birthday. It rains a lot in April.”

  Everyone had a lot more ideas. Charlie wanted to take Elizabeth to a dog show. Sam wanted to throw her a pizza party. David Michael wanted it to be an ice-cream party. In the end we voted. (That was Kristy’s idea.) We decided to give Elizabeth a party at the big house. If it was warm and sunny, we would have the party outside in my favorite place — under the lilac tree.

  My Two Houses

  “Andrew, have you seen my pink sneakers?” I asked. My voice sounded muffled because I was under my bed looking for them.

  “No,” answered Andrew.

  Darn. I love my pink sneakers. I was getting ready to play outside, and I really wanted to wear them. Not the ratty old red ones I had on. Then I remembered something. I might have left them at the little house. Boo and bullfrogs!

  Remember I told you that Andrew and I live in a big house and a little house? Now I will tell you more about them.

  A long time ago, when I was very little, Andrew and I lived with Mommy and Daddy in one house in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. Then Mommy and Daddy started fighting — at first a little, then a lot. Finally they got a divorce. They told us they still loved Andrew and me very much, but they did not love each other anymore. So Mommy moved out of the big house. (It is the house Daddy grew up in.) She moved to a little house, not far away. Then Mommy married Seth. He is my stepfather. Daddy married again too. He married Elizabeth.

  Here is who is in my little-house family: Mommy, Seth, Andrew, me, Rocky and Midgie (Seth’s cat and dog), Emily Junior (my very own rat), and Bob (Andrew’s hermit crab).

  Here are the people in my big-house family: Daddy, Elizabeth, Andrew, me, Kristy, Charlie, Sam, David Michael, Emily Michelle, and Nannie. There are also lots of pets in the big house: Shannon, Boo-Boo, Goldfishie, Crystal Light the Second, Emily Junior, and Bob. (Emily Junior and Bob go back and forth when Andrew and I do.)

  Kristy, Charlie, Sam, and David Michael are Elizabeth’s children. (She was married once before too.) Charlie and Sam are old. They go to high school. David Michael is seven like me. But he is an older seven than I am. Kristy, as I told you, is one of my favorite people ever. She is thirteen, but she still plays with me a lot. Emily Michelle is my adopted sister. I love her very much. (That is why I named my pet rat after her.) Daddy and Elizabeth adopted Emily Michelle from the faraway country of Vietnam. Nannie is Elizabeth’s mother. (That makes her my stepgrandmother.) She helps take care of the big house and all us kids. She also helps take care of the pets. Shannon is David Michael’s puppy. Boo-Boo is Daddy’s fat old cat. And Goldfishie and Crystal Light the Second are goldfish who belong to Andrew and me.

  I made up special nicknames for my brother 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. Andrew and I are two-twos because we have two of so many things. We have two houses and two families, two mommies, two daddies, two cats, and two dogs. Plus I have two bicycles, one at each house. (Andrew has two trikes). I have two stuffed cats that look exactly alike. Goosie lives at the little house. Moosie stays at the big house. And we have two sets of clothes, books, and toys. I even
have two pieces of Tickly, my special blanket. This way, we do not need to pack much when we go back and forth. (Except once in awhile, I do forget something, such as my pink sneakers.)

  I also have a best friend near each house. Hannie Papadakis lives near Daddy’s Nancy Dawes lives next door to Mommy’s Hannie, Nancy, and I are all in Ms. Colman’s second-grade class at Stoneybrook Academy. We do everything together.

  Being a two-two is not very hard. Sometimes Andrew and I miss the family we are not staying with. But mostly we are lucky. Think how many people love us.

  “Karen,” Andrew called from downstairs. “Nannie found your pink sneakers. One was in the kitchen. Shannon took the other one to the living room.”

  “Oh, goody. Thank you, Nannie.” I ran downstairs and wrapped my arms around Nannie’s waist. I had my pink sneakers. And I had a whole month ahead of me with my big-house family.

  An Important Day

  “Do I have to eat this cabbage?” asked David Michael.

  “Yes,” answered Elizabeth. “I thought you liked corned beef and cabbage.”

  “I like corned beef,” David Michael said as he pushed the cabbage to one side of his plate.

  My big-house family was sitting at the long dining-room table eating a New England boiled dinner. That is what Nannie called it. And I can see why. Everything was boiled — the corned beef, the cabbage, the carrots, the potatoes, and the turnips. I thought it was delicious.

  “Karen, Kristy,” Daddy said as he passed the plate of rolls to Elizabeth. “Did you know that Take Our Daughters To Work Day is coming up soon?”

  I put my fork down. “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “It means Mommy and Watson can take us to work with them,” Kristy explained. (All of Elizabeth’s children call Daddy Watson.)

  “Me, too?” asked Emily Michelle. She put her plastic milk cup down with a thump.

  “No, Emily. You are still a little too young to come to work with us,” answered Elizabeth.

  Emily pouted.

  “Oh, cheer up, Emily,” said Sam. “One day you will be older like us. Then you will wish you could stay home and play.”

  “Are you going to miss school that day?” David Michael wanted to know.

  “Yup,” answered Kristy as she bit into a roll.

  “Wow,” said David Michael. His eyes became a little rounder. “This must be a pretty important day.”

  “It is,” said Elizabeth. “It will give Kristy and Karen a chance to see what grown-ups do at work. And that may encourage them to start thinking about what they would like to do when they finish school.”

  “Oh, I already know what I want to be when I grow up,” I said. “I want to be a famous movie star. Or maybe a singer in a rock band.”

  “So I guess a career in advertising or insurance isn’t for you,” Sam teased. Elizabeth works for an advertising agency in Stamford. And Daddy works for a big insurance company. He works at home most of the time.

  “Well, I guess I could think about it,” I said.

  Everyone laughed.

  “Can boys go to work that day, too?” asked David Michael.

  “No,” said Elizabeth. “This is a special day just for girls.”

  “Bummer,” said David Michael. “I could use a day off from school.”

  Daddy cleared his throat. “Now, Karen and Kristy. Elizabeth and I were thinking it would be good for you to see what both of us do. So we thought Karen could go to work with Elizabeth in the morning while Kristy stays here with me. At lunchtime I will drive Kristy to Elizabeth’s office and bring Karen home for the afternoon. How does that plan sound?”

  “Great,” Kristy and I answered at once. I could not wait. April was turning out to be a fun month.

  Party Plans

  “Let’s definitely not have cabbage or carrots at this party,” said David Michael.

  “Since when do you hate vegetables so much?” asked Kristy.

  “Since always,” answered David Michael. Kristy rolled her eyes. Kristy, Andrew, David Michael, Sam, Charlie, and I were sitting in Kristy’s room planning Elizabeth’s birthday party.

  “We need a theme for this party,” Kristy was saying.

  “You mean like a magician or something?” asked David Michael.

  “Sort of,” answered Kristy. “I was thinking of an idea that could tie the party together.” We were all quiet for a moment.

  “What about a flower party?” I asked. “We could pick big bunches of lilacs to put on every table. And I could wear my dress with the purple and yellow flowers on it.”

  “And Charlie and I could wear our flowered Hawaiian shirts,” said Sam. The others laughed.

  “You know,” said Kristy, “having a flower theme is not a bad idea. Mom loves flowers.”

  “That’s true,” said Charlie. He leaned back in Kristy’s beanbag chair. “What about also making it a surprise party?”

  “Do you think we could keep it a secret?” asked Sam.

  “If we had to, we could,” I said firmly.

  “Does that mean we cannot even tell Daddy or Nannie?” asked Andrew.

  “No, we can tell them,” said Kristy. “We will need them to help us set things up.” She was busy writing “Surprise party/flower theme” in her notebook. “But maybe we should not tell Emily Michelle. She will enjoy the surprise as much as Mom will.”

  I nodded. I knew what else Kristy was thinking — Emily Michelle would not be able to keep the party a secret.

  “What about presents?” asked David Michael.

  Oops. I had almost forgotten about presents. Luckily the others had not. David Michael wanted to write a skit for Elizabeth and perform it at the party. Kristy was going to sew her a pillow in the shape of a cat. (Her friend Mary Anne was going to help her.) Sam and Charlie decided to make her a footstool. (They were taking woodworking at school.) Andrew wanted to draw her a picture. Everyone planned to give Elizabeth something special and handmade. Everyone had a good idea, except me. But I knew I would think of something.

  Stoneybrook Academy

  “Four times eight is thirty-two, not thirty-four,” Ricky Torres whispered loudly to Addie Sidney.

  “Shh,” I whispered to Ricky, just as loudly. “You know we are supposed to do our own work.” Addie, Ricky, and I sit in the front row of Ms. Colman’s second grade classroom. We were very busy with our math workbook exercises.

  Ms. Colman looked up from her desk. She does not like people to talk in class without raising their hands. “Karen and Ricky, do you have a question?”

  “Um, no,” answered Ricky. He gave me a dirty look. I glared at him, too. (Actually, I was a little jealous that Ricky was helping Addie with her work when he was my pretend husband. We had gotten married at recess one day.)

  Nancy Dawes raised her hand. “Ms. Colman, I am finished.”

  “Me, too,” said Hannie Papadakis. Hannie and Nancy sit together in the back of the room. I sit in the front because I wear glasses.

  “I am finished also,” said Pamela Harding. (Pamela is my best enemy.)

  Ms. Colman laughed. (She is a gigundoly wonderful teacher.) “All right, class. You may put away your workbooks for today. There is something I want to talk to you about.” (Oh, goody. Ms. Colman always talks to us about interesting things.) “You know that tomorrow is Take Our Daughters To Work Day,” Ms. Colman continued. “How many of you will be going to work with your parents?”

  I raised my hand. Then I looked around the room. Nancy, Hannie, Addie, and Pamela had raised their hands. So had Leslie Morris, Jannie Gilbert, Audrey Green, and Natalie Springer. So had the twins, Tammy and Terri Barkan. “Almost all the girls in this class are going to work,” I announced. (I thought it would be all right to call out since my hand was already raised.)

  Ms. Colman did not seem to mind. She nodded and said, “That’s good. The rest of us are looking forward to hearing all about your day at work.”

  “What will they be doing at work all day?” Hank Reubens wanted to
know.

  “The girls will be learning about what their parents do,” answered Ms. Colman. “They may even help them with some of their work.”

  “Yes,” said Addie. “My mother said I could help calm the animals who come in for their shots. She is an animal doctor.” Addie moved her wheelchair closer to Hootie and Evelyn’s cages and looked at them. (Hootie and Evelyn are our class guinea pigs.)

  “Does your mother take care of guinea pigs?” asked Chris Lamar.

  Addie nodded. “She takes care of all kinds of small animals, even snakes and lizards.”

  “Cool,” said Chris.

  “My mother is a writer,” Pamela announced in a loud voice. “She is very busy. She told me I will have to help her answer the phone. It rings all the time.”

  “Big deal,” I whispered.

  “Karen, I can hear you,” said Ricky. He was laughing.

  Audrey told our class she was going to work in the kitchen of a famous French restaurant. “My father is the chef there.”

  “Will he let you bring us back some food?” asked Bobby Gianelli. “Maybe some desserts?”

  “Maybe,” said Audrey, giggling.

  I thought my classmates’ parents had gigundoly cool jobs.

  At Work

  “Karen, are you ready?” Elizabeth called from downstairs.

  “Almost,” I called back. I checked in the mirror to see how I looked. I wore a blue blouse and a gray skirt, white tights, and black patent-leather shoes. I also carried my gray and red briefcase. (It was really my book bag.) I thought I looked very grown-up.

  “Karen,” Elizabeth called again.

  “Coming!” I shouted. I checked inside my briefcase to make sure I had a notebook, my pencil case, and some crayons. I wanted to be prepared for my day at work.

  First Elizabeth and I stopped at a diner in Stamford. (Stamford is the town where Elizabeth works.) Elizabeth ordered coffee. I ordered coffee, too, but I put lots of milk in mine. I made sure I stirred in a lot of sugar, too.

  Elizabeth works in a big office building. A sign on the door said MAHLER AND GREYE, ADVERTISING. A big picture of a sun was on the sign. “The sun is our company’s logo,” said Elizabeth as she held open the door. “A logo is a symbol that helps people recognize us.