“Not tonight,” said Andrew. “How about the Chicago song?”
I knew what song he meant. He meant the song he had made up about Chicago.
“I do not remember how it goes,” I said.
Andrew sang the song for me.
“Now you sing it,” he said. He closed his eyes tightly and snuggled deeper into my shoulder.
“Okay.” I sighed. I sang the song. “Let’s go to Chicago! Chicago! Chicago! Go, go, go, Chicago! Chicago is great!”
It did not seem to me to be a very good lullaby. But when I looked down, Andrew was already asleep. His hair was sticking up. He was wearing his fireman pajamas. They were all bunched up and wrinkly. Andrew looked very sweet. How could I stay in Stoneybrook and let him go to Chicago without me? What if he got scared at night? I would not be there to sing to him. I realized it was my job to sing to him and take care of him. I was Andrew’s big sister.
I knew then what my decision must be. I would go to Chicago. I had promised Andrew that I would go, and that is what I would do. I could not wait to tell everyone in the morning.
Karen’s Important Announcement
The next morning, I woke up before anyone else. I crawled out of bed without waking Andrew and hurried to the kitchen. It was Sunday. That meant everyone might stay asleep for a very long time. I decided to make myself some breakfast. It would be best to have some food in my stomach when I made my important announcement.
I climbed onto a chair to reach the cabinet where we keep the bowls. I had to stand on my tippy toes. Bang! The bowls fell out of the cabinet. They bounced off the counter-top and landed on the floor. Luckily they are plastic.
Then I tried to reach my cereal. Mommy had put the box up high. When I pulled it down, the box tipped over. It rained Krispy Krunchies.
“Karen,” said Mommy.
Uh-oh. Mommy was standing in the kitchen doorway. She was still in her pajamas, and she looked cross and grumpy. “What are you doing?”
“What is all that noise?” asked Seth. Oh, no. I had woken up Seth too. Andrew stood behind him, rubbing his eyes. I had woken up the whole family.
I climbed down off the chair. “I am very sorry for waking you all up,” I said. “But actually I am glad to see everyone together. I have an announcement to make. And it is important for me to make it to everyone.”
“Let me guess,” said Seth. “The announcement is that it is time to get up.”
“I think we already heard that one,” said Mommy.
“Everyone sit down at the table, please,” I said, “and I will tell you the news.”
Mommy and Seth and Andrew pulled out their chairs and sat down. I stood at the head of the table and clanged a spoon on the sugar bowl to get everyone’s attention.
“This meeting is now called to order,” I said. “The reason I have gathered you together is because I have some very good news.”
“You are going to move to Chicago!” shouted Andrew.
Andrew was ruining my announcement. I clanged my spoon on the sugar bowl once again. “I am going to move to Chicago,” I said.
“Yippee!” cried Andrew.
Seth grabbed a dish towel and tossed it high in the air.
“This calls for a special breakfast!” he said. “How about strawberry waffles?”
Mommy leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“Great news, honey,” she said. “We are very glad. I think I’ll celebrate with a cup of coffee.”
Seth got busy making waffles, and Mommy measured coffee into the coffee filter. I picked up the phone.
“Who are you calling, Karen?” asked Mommy.
“I am calling the big house,” I said. “I need to tell them my important news too.”
“Well, you cannot call them now,” said Mommy. “Everyone there is probably still asleep. You will have to wait at least an hour.”
“An hour!” I cried. That did not seem fair. “What will I do for an hour?”
“You can start by cleaning up the mess you made,” said Mommy.
“Oh,” I said. It was going to be a very long hour.
Finally it was time to call the big house. Daddy answered the phone.
“Daddy,” I said, “I have something to tell you. I have decided what I will do. I am going to move to Chicago with Mommy and Seth and Andrew.”
At first Daddy did not answer. “I am sorry to hear that,” he said at last. “You know that we will miss you very much.”
“I will miss you very much too,” I said. “That is why it was so hard for me to make my decision. But I will be back in six months.”
“Karen,” said Daddy, “I am glad you finally figured out what you want to do. But if you change your mind for any reason, do not forget what we decided. You can always come back to the big house. Your mom and I do not want you to be unhappy.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” I said.
Suddenly my eyes were teary. Sometimes knowing that so many people love me makes me cry.
The Two Musketeers
I did not tell Hannie and Nancy my decision on Sunday. I decided to wait until I saw them together at school the next day. I knew they would not be happy with my news.
“I have something to tell you,” I said to Nancy when I reached the bus stop.
“You do?” she asked. She looked worried.
“Yes,” I said, “but I want to tell you and Hannie together. So I will wait until we get to school.”
“Karen!” cried Nancy. “That is not fair! You have to tell me now.”
“I will tell you when we get to school,” I said firmly.
The bus pulled up to our stop. Nancy and I found a seat in the front. Nancy pestered me all the way to school.
“You have decided to move, haven’t you?” she asked. “You are going to Chicago. I know it.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” I said.
“Karen, you cannot go. You will hate it there. You will not be with your friends. It will be terrible.”
“It will not! I will be with Mommy and Seth and Andrew. And it will only be for six months.”
Oops. I had spilled the news. The bus pulled into the driveway of our school. Nancy ran into our classroom ahead of me. When I came in, she was already talking to Hannie.
“Guess what,” she blurted out. “Karen is moving to Chicago.”
“Karen, you cannot!” cried Hannie. “You cannot leave just two Musketeers!”
The other kids gathered around us. Everyone started talking at once, pushing closer to me to ask questions. I could not hear what anyone was saying. Ms. Colman came into the room.
“Well,” she said, “it looks as if something exciting has happened.”
“Karen is moving to Chicago after all,” said Nancy.
“My,” said Ms. Colman. “That is news. That will certainly be a big change for you, Karen.”
It was time for class to start. We took our seats. Then Ms. Colman told us that she had a surprise for us. It was part of our unit on working animals.
“We are going to read Black Beauty,” she said. “It is a very beautiful and sad book about a horse who had many hard jobs. In the book, Black Beauty tells his story in his own words. Because some of the language is a bit hard for second-graders, I will read it to you. I will read some of it each day until the start of spring vacation. And then we will finish it when we return.”
Black Beauty sounded like a gigundoly wonderful book. I could not wait for Ms. Colman to start it. But I realized I would not be able to hear the whole story. I would be in school for only one more week. Friday would be the last day of school before spring vacation. And on Saturday my family would move.
Ms. Colman picked up the book. Before she started to read, she asked us some questions.
“How do you think humans should treat animals?” she asked.
I remembered to raise my hand. Ms. Colman called on me.
“People should treat animals with kindness,” I said. “That is why Kristy took in the puppy who is going to be a gui
de dog. She wants to give her lots of love so she gets used to people.”
“That sounds like a very good idea,” said Ms. Colman.
“I was hoping that Kristy could bring Scout to class,” I continued. “Then you could meet her, and Kristy could tell us all about guide dogs. But now there will not be time. My family is moving very soon.”
“It must feel a little sad to be moving,” said Ms. Colman.
“Sad and happy,” I said. But suddenly I did not feel too happy.
“Our class will be very different without you,” said Ms. Colman. “We will all miss you, Karen.”
Then she opened the book and started to read.
“The first place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it.”
I loved the story already. I was sorry I would not be in class to hear Ms. Colman read the end of it.
Miles and Miles of Piles
I knew it would be hard to pack, but I did not realize how hard. I would have to bring along every single thing I would need.
As Mommy had suggested, I left my suitcase open and put things in as I thought of them. My suitcase filled up quickly. Then I stacked things in a pile on the floor. The pile got tall very fast. I started a new pile. Soon I had lots of piles. I stacked them up along the walls of my bed-room. There were so many things I would need!
“Karen,” said Mommy when she saw the piles. “What is all this? Your room is a mess.”
“These are the things I will need,” I explained.
“Oh, honey,” said Mommy, “you cannot take so much. We are not hiring a big moving van. We are only renting a small trailer to hitch to the back of our car.”
“But I need these things,” I said.
Mommy picked my ice skates off the top of one of the piles.
“We will be coming back in the fall,” she said. “You can leave your ice skates here and use them next winter.”
“But what if we go to an ice rink?” I asked.
“Then we will rent skates,” said Mommy. She picked up something else. “What is this?” she asked. “Your desk lamp? Why did you put that on the pile?”
“How will I see to do my homework?” I said.
“Karen, we are moving to an apartment that already has furniture in it. We do not need to bring things like lamps.”
“Oh,” I said.
“And what are these?” asked Mommy.
“Books.”
“These are picture books you read when you were younger.”
“But maybe Andrew will want to read them,” I said.
“Karen,” Mommy said firmly. “We cannot take all of these things. You have miles and miles of piles here. You must choose a few things to bring and put the rest back.”
Boo and bullfrogs.
Just then the phone rang. Mommy answered it. When she came back to my room, she looked happy.
“Well,” she said, “that is settled. We have found someone who wants to live in our house while we are gone.”
“What?” I cried. “Somebody is going to live in our house?”
“Yes,” said Mommy. “Just as we will stay in someone else’s home in Chicago, someone else will stay in our house here. It is a family who lives nearby. Their house is being fixed up and repaired. So they need another place to stay in while the work is being done.”
“A family!” I cried. “You mean they have children? You mean somebody else is going to stay in my room?”
“Yes,” said Mommy. “I think they have a girl your age.”
This was very bad news. Somebody else was going to be sleeping in my bed, sitting at my desk, going through my closets and my drawers.
“Well,” said Mommy. She started to leave. “You have quite a job to do here. You need to put most of these things away. Better get started now.”
Mommy was right. I would have to start immediately. I had to sort through the piles, but that was not all. If some other girl was going to stay in my room, I would have to hide my precious belongings.
Karen Helps Nannie
Soon we would move. Soon I would leave my big-house family for six whole months. I wanted to see them a lot before we left. Mommy said I could visit the big house one afternoon after school. I rode the bus home with Hannie and ran right in the front door.
“I’m here!” I shouted. No one answered. That is very unusual for the big house. So many people live in it. Someone is always around.
I found Nannie in the pantry off the kitchen. She was making chocolates. She had a big order to fill.
“Who is this for?” I asked.
“Some party,” she said. “I can never keep all my orders straight. But it is a good thing you came along, Karen. You can help me.”
Nannie opened the cabinet and took out a new mold. It was a big one, shaped like a flower.
“What do you think of this?” she asked.
“Cool,” I said.
Nannie tested the temperature of the chocolate that was cooling in a bowl. I sat on the tall stool to help stir.
“Nannie,” I asked, “have you ever been to Chicago?”
“Not since I was a spring chicken,” she said. “But I remember liking it. Better pack a windbreaker. They call Chicago the Windy City.”
“What if I do not like it?” I asked. “What if I miss everyone here at the big house too much?”
“Well, you know you can come back,” said Nannie. “Just like your father told you.”
The front door banged open. It was Kristy. She peered into the pantry. Scout was with her on a leash. She tugged toward me and sniffed.
“Hi, Karen,” said Kristy. “Sorry I cannot stay to talk to you. I have to baby-sit this afternoon. Got to run!”
Kristy pulled Scout out of the pantry. The front door banged open again. This time it was Sam and Charlie. They stopped in the pantry too. Sam was tossing a baseball.
“Hey!” cried Nannie. “No balls inside! This is my work space, not a baseball diamond.”
Sam grinned. “Sorry, Nannie.” He tossed the ball to Charlie. They ran upstairs. Nannie shook her head.
“Those boys are worse than the puppies,” she said. “Every time I see them, their feet get bigger. Their sneakers take up half the floor.”
David Michael ran into the pantry.
“Nannie, Nannie!” he cried. “Sam and Charlie are playing ball in the house!”
Daddy heard David Michael shouting and came out of his study. “What is going on?” he asked.
“Well,” said Daddy when David Michael had told him. “It is a good thing we have a policeman in the house. Just tell the boys to take the ball outside. Tell them I said so.”
David Michael ran upstairs. Daddy returned to his study.
Soon Emily came into the kitchen. “Candy!” she shouted. She reached for the mold. “I want candy!”
“Sorry,” said Nannie. “No candy now.”
Emily threw herself onto the floor and kicked and screamed.
“She did not have her nap,” Nannie explained.
“Do you see why I will miss the big house?” I asked her. “There is always so much going on here. I will even miss Emily Michelle’s tantrums.”
Nannie laughed. I stirred the chocolate, then helped Nannie pour it into the mold. I knew it was going to be hard to be away from my big-house family. Six months was going to seem like a very long time.
Surprise!
Before I knew it, it was Friday. That was the last day of school before vacation, and the day before my move. When I woke up, I had a funny feeling in my stomach. I did not want to say good-bye to all my friends.
When I arrived at school, I stopped to put my books on my desk. Nancy ran to join the other kids. They were huddled together in a corner of the room, and they were whispering. When I joined them, they grew very quiet. Some even started to walk away.
“Well,” I said loudly. “That is very rude.” I had not even moved, and already my friends had forgotten about me.
At
lunch and recess, everyone acted strange. On the playground, Hannie and Nancy whispered with Addie and Natalie.
“Are you telling secrets?” I asked. “You are acting like meanie-moes. Especially since I am moving tomorrow. I would think you would be nice to me.”
But after recess, I got a big surprise. When I entered our classroom, I saw Kristy standing with Ms. Colman. Scout was with her!
“Look who has come to visit our class, Karen,” said Ms. Colman. “Kristy is going to talk to us about guide dogs for the blind.”
I looked at Hannie and Nancy. They were grinning. So that is what all the whispering had been about!
Kristy gave a very good talk. She told us about the puppy program for guide dogs. She told us that it is good for the puppies to be raised in families instead of kennels. That way, they can get used to a lot of people. They also get used to different places and other animals.
“I will take her to a special obedience class on weekends,” she said. “Then, when she is twelve or fourteen months old, she will be old enough to go back to the school for guide dogs and begin her special training.”
After Kristy’s talk, Ms. Colman quieted the class.
“It is almost time to end the day,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “But first, I think we all have something to say to Karen. One, two, three …”
“Surprise!” everyone yelled.
Yikes! My class had a good-bye party for me, with cake and cookies and juice. I was glad to find out that my friends loved me after all. Ricky Torres even made a speech.
“Karen,” he said, “we will all miss you. You are a very funny person and you have lots of good ideas for our class. We hope you have fun in Chicago.”
I would really miss Ricky. He is my pretend husband. I probably would not get another pretend husband when I moved to Chicago.
Then my friends gave me cards they had made. Even Pamela had made one. It said, “2 sweet 2 B 4-got-10.”
“Thanks, Pamela,” I said.
All these surprises made it harder for me to say good-bye when the school day finally came to an end. It was hardest of all to say good-bye to Ms. Colman. I gave her a great big hug.