I asked.
Dad put his hands on his hips. "Wait a minute. You were dead set on bringing that stuff here. You said you . . . you came of age with the wall unit."
"I know, but that’s just because you were
trying to make decisions for me," Carol said. "It was the principle, Jack. But let's face it, this house has enough furniture, and it's so much nicer than mine was."
I imagined the lava lamp in the robber's house. I hope he enjoyed it.
Dad smiled. He sat down next to Carol. They smooched.
"Ew," I said. I couldn't look.
Everyone else said, "Awwww."
Grown-ups. Weird. What did I tell you?
***
Yes, she did say that. As she and the other guests were leaving, right before Mr. Schafer and Carol began opening their presents.
"What party?" Dawn asked.
"I — I meant at the airport!" Sunny stammered.
"But aren't we all having brunch before then?" Dawn said.
"That’s what she meant," Maggie stuttered.
"Oh."
" 'Bye!" I have never seen the members of the We V Kids Club move so fast.
Very skillful, huh?
Oh, well. Dawn didn't seem to get it. Or else she hid it really well.
This was our alibi: We were going to meet at Sunny's, then go out to a health-food restaurant for brunch. (As if I would ever agree to do that.)
The night after the wedding, Dawn, Claudia, Mary Anne, and I stayed up late chatting. Mary Anne, of course, had packed her suitcase already (don't ask me when she did it).
The rest of us had to pack in the morning. For me, that was no big deal. But Claudia — well, Claudia can make a production out of packing a lunchbag.
Have you ever seen a rabbit in the jaws of
a snake? You know, like on an educational TV show? Gross, I know, but that was what Claudia's suitcase looked like. You could not imagine it ever closing.
"How did I get all this stuff here?" she muttered.
"You didn't," I replied. "You went shopping at the mall."
"I know, but it was only a couple of T-shirts for me and some books and shorts for Janine," Claudia said. "Oh, and the California Angels windbreaker for Dad, and Mom's hat."
"And the sunglasses and a couple of Nancy Drews," Mary Anne added.
"Which you could have bought back home," I added.
Claudia gave me a puppyish look. "Kristy, do you have any room in your duffel bag?"
Guess who had to drag home a two-ton duffel bag later that day?
Anyway, we got off to a late start. That made me nervous. "Brunch" was supposed to be at ten-thirty. That meant we only had a couple of hours to party. Then we'd have to run back and get ready to go. The drive to John Wayne Airport was about half an hour (allowing for traffic), and our flight was scheduled for two-thirty P.M.
Cutting it close, I know. But I hadn't figured
in the Kishi Factor, so we were even worse off. We got to Sunny's at 11:03.
We let Dawn ring the bell.
Rumble, rumble. Shhhhhh. Giggle, giggle.
Unbelievable. It sounded like an army of mice had taken over the house. I know Dawn heard that.
Then Sunny opened the door. She had this huge, unnatural smile. "Hiiiiiiii! Come on in. We're just about ready to leave for brunch."
Dawn took one step into the house, and then —
"SURPRIIIISE!"
Flash! went a camera.
Dawn gasped. The living room was full. Jill and Maggie were there, and Mr. and Mrs. Winslow, some kids from Dawn's school, and a few of the WVKCs favorite charges.
I didn't know Dawn's school friends, but I recognized the little kids — Daffodil and Clover Austin (who are eight and five); the DeWitt boys, eight-year-old Erick and six-year-old Ryan (yes, another Ryan DeWitt, and no, not related); and Stephie Robertson, who's eight.
Draped across the room was a huge piece of paper that said BON VOYAGE, DAWN! It was signed with a personal message from everyone.
"Did you know we were here?" Daffodil called out.
"No!" Dawn replied. "Oh, I can't believe this! You guys!"
She hugged everybody, squealing and saying "I'll miss you!" each time.
Mr. Winslow kept moving around, taking pictures of Dawn's reaction.
"There's a
Dad put his hands on his hips. "Wait a minute. You were dead set on bringing that stuff here. You said you . . . you came of age with the wall unit."
"I know, but that’s just because you were
trying to make decisions for me," Carol said. "It was the principle, Jack. But let's face it, this house has enough furniture, and it's so much nicer than mine was."
I imagined the lava lamp in the robber's house. I hope he enjoyed it.
Dad smiled. He sat down next to Carol. They smooched.
"Ew," I said. I couldn't look.
Everyone else said, "Awwww."
Grown-ups. Weird. What did I tell you?
***
Yes, she did say that. As she and the other guests were leaving, right before Mr. Schafer and Carol began opening their presents.
"What party?" Dawn asked.
"I — I meant at the airport!" Sunny stammered.
"But aren't we all having brunch before then?" Dawn said.
"That’s what she meant," Maggie stuttered.
"Oh."
" 'Bye!" I have never seen the members of the We V Kids Club move so fast.
Very skillful, huh?
Oh, well. Dawn didn't seem to get it. Or else she hid it really well.
This was our alibi: We were going to meet at Sunny's, then go out to a health-food restaurant for brunch. (As if I would ever agree to do that.)
The night after the wedding, Dawn, Claudia, Mary Anne, and I stayed up late chatting. Mary Anne, of course, had packed her suitcase already (don't ask me when she did it).
The rest of us had to pack in the morning. For me, that was no big deal. But Claudia — well, Claudia can make a production out of packing a lunchbag.
Have you ever seen a rabbit in the jaws of
a snake? You know, like on an educational TV show? Gross, I know, but that was what Claudia's suitcase looked like. You could not imagine it ever closing.
"How did I get all this stuff here?" she muttered.
"You didn't," I replied. "You went shopping at the mall."
"I know, but it was only a couple of T-shirts for me and some books and shorts for Janine," Claudia said. "Oh, and the California Angels windbreaker for Dad, and Mom's hat."
"And the sunglasses and a couple of Nancy Drews," Mary Anne added.
"Which you could have bought back home," I added.
Claudia gave me a puppyish look. "Kristy, do you have any room in your duffel bag?"
Guess who had to drag home a two-ton duffel bag later that day?
Anyway, we got off to a late start. That made me nervous. "Brunch" was supposed to be at ten-thirty. That meant we only had a couple of hours to party. Then we'd have to run back and get ready to go. The drive to John Wayne Airport was about half an hour (allowing for traffic), and our flight was scheduled for two-thirty P.M.
Cutting it close, I know. But I hadn't figured
in the Kishi Factor, so we were even worse off. We got to Sunny's at 11:03.
We let Dawn ring the bell.
Rumble, rumble. Shhhhhh. Giggle, giggle.
Unbelievable. It sounded like an army of mice had taken over the house. I know Dawn heard that.
Then Sunny opened the door. She had this huge, unnatural smile. "Hiiiiiiii! Come on in. We're just about ready to leave for brunch."
Dawn took one step into the house, and then —
"SURPRIIIISE!"
Flash! went a camera.
Dawn gasped. The living room was full. Jill and Maggie were there, and Mr. and Mrs. Winslow, some kids from Dawn's school, and a few of the WVKCs favorite charges.
I didn't know Dawn's school friends, but I recognized the little kids — Daffodil and Clover Austin (who are eight and five); the DeWitt boys, eight-year-old Erick and six-year-old Ryan (yes, another Ryan DeWitt, and no, not related); and Stephie Robertson, who's eight.
Draped across the room was a huge piece of paper that said BON VOYAGE, DAWN! It was signed with a personal message from everyone.
"Did you know we were here?" Daffodil called out.
"No!" Dawn replied. "Oh, I can't believe this! You guys!"
She hugged everybody, squealing and saying "I'll miss you!" each time.
Mr. Winslow kept moving around, taking pictures of Dawn's reaction.
"There's a
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