Ann Martin: Kristy's Big Day

"When did you say it will be?" asked Claudia.

"In just two and a half weeks.On a Saturday. A week after school is over."

Claudia sighed with joy. "I can't stand it!

Only a week and a half of school left and then . . . summer!" (As you can probably tell, Claudia does not like school.)

"A week and a half!"Stacey exclaimed. "Gosh, it crept up on me. InNew York , I went to a private school. Summer vacation began right after Memorial Day. I thought I'd never last until June nineteenth. But now it's almost here. What happens at the end of school?Anything special?"

"The Final Fling," Claudia replied.

"The Final Fling?"

"It's the last dance of the year," I told her.

"And the usual stuff," added Mary Anne."Room and teacher assignments for eighth grade."

"Report cards," said Claudia, making a face that looked as if she'd accidentally taken a swallow of sour milk.

"Let's decide what we're going to wear to the dance," suggested Stacey.

"I'm not going," Mary Anne said immediately.

"But you don't have to be asked to the Final Fling," I pointed out. "You can just go."

"I'm still not going. I don't like dances."

"Well, I'm going," said Claudia.

"With Trevor?"I asked. TrevorSandbourne was the love of Claudia's life last fall.

Claudia looked at me as if I'd asked if she was going to the dance withWinnie -the-Pooh. "Trevor? No. Trevor's probably dating his own poetry at this point. That's all he cares about."

We giggled.

"If Alan Gray asks me, I'll go," I said. "I still think he's a pest, but he can be a lot of fun."

"I'll go," said Stacey, "with or without Pete." (Pete Black was part of Stacey and Claudia's crowd. He and Stacey had gone to several dances together.) "I think he likesDorianne now. Are you going, Dawn?"

Dawn frowned. "I have to decide."

We began to discuss what we'd wear. The phone rang with several more calls. By the time our meeting was over, I was more excited about the Final Fling than the wedding.

Chapter 4.

The Final Fling came and went. I did go with Alan Gray. He was himself - fifty percentpesty and fifty percent fun. Claudia went with Austin Bentley, a new boy in school, and Stacey went with Pete after all. (Doriannemade wicked faces at them during the dance.) Dawn decided not to go. Mr.Spier had offered to take Mary Anne and theSchafers out for pizza, and Dawn and Mary Anne never turned down a chance to see their parents together.

The last day of school came and went, too, and before I knew it, I was home that afternoon, hugging a garbage bag full of junk I'd cleaned out of my locker.

It was one week and one day before the wedding. Mom had decided to take the following week off from work to get ready for the big day. To make up for it, she'd said she would have to work extra hard ahead of time.

So when I came home to find Mom sitting at our kitchen table looking hysterical, I was especially surprised.

"Mom!"I exclaimed. "Today was your last day at the office before the wedding. I thought you'd be there forever. How come you're home already?" I began checking the contents of the refrigerator.

Sam appeared in the kitchen doorway. "That' sa touchy question, Kristy. I just asked her the same thing, and you know what she said?"

"What?" I asked. I took an orange out of the fridge.

"I can't repeat it in mixed company."

I stuck my tongue out at Sam. But his comment rated a smile from my mother.

"Oh, Sam, it wasn't that bad," said Mom.

"Don't tell me," I said, suddenly inspired. "Let me take a guess. The wedding's in five days and we're moving in two weeks."

"No," said Mom with another smile.

"The wedding's tomorrow and we're moving on Wednesday?"

"No."

"The wedding's in five minutes and we're moving tonight?"

"No.But how about this? Sheila and Kendall" (they're Watson's ex-wife and her new

husband) "called Watson to say that they're going toEngland for most of next week, and leaving Karen and Andrew with Watson."

"So?" said Sam and I.

"And Aunt Colleen and Uncle Wallace decided to come down on Sunday to help me with the wedding next week."

"Goody," I said. Colleen and Wallace are myfavorite aunt and uncle.

"They're bringing Ashley, Berk, Grace, and Peter with them."

"Oh." (They're my cousins.)

"And Aunt Theo and Uncle Neal also called to let me know they're arriving on Sunday to help with the wedding. They're bringing Emma, Beth, and Luke."

"Oh."(More cousins.)

"And- " Mom went on.

"Uh-oh," said Sam and I at the same time.

"Tom Fielding, Watson's best friend - they haven't seen each other in a couple of years - is coming Saturday evening.With his wife, and Katherine, Patrick, Maura, and Tony. I think."

"More kids?" I asked.

Mom nodded.

"Where," I said cautiously, "are all these people going to stay?"

"Our relatives are staying at the Ramada Inn

inShelbyville, and Watson's friends are staying with him." Mom paused. "However," she continued, "the adults are all going to be helping at the Brewers' during the day next week. That means that thirteen children are going to be running around, too. Fourteen, if I have to bring David Michael with me."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Holy . . ." Sam started to say, and then trailed off. "Fourteen? Are you sure?"

I counted them off. "Ashley, Berk, Grace, Peter, Emma, Beth, Luke, Andrew, Karen, David Michael, and - who are Watson's friend's kids?"

"Katherine, Patrick, Maura, and Tony," said Mom.

"Yup.That's fourteen."

Sam let out a low whistle.

"Next week," said my mother, "I need adults to help me cook, arrange flowers, set up chairs, shop, and do about a hundred other things. I do not need fourteen children underfoot."

Mom buried her head in her hands. "I will never pull this wedding off.Never. We're not going to get a thing done. We'll spend all next week breaking up fights over Tinker Toys and deciding who gets the last cookie."

In a flash, a brilliant idea came to me. (My best ideas come in flashes.)

"Hey,Mom, today was the last day of school," I pointed out.

"Oh, I know, honey. I'm sorry. How was it? How was your report card?"

"I got straight A's again, but that's not what I mean. I mean that school's over. Starting right now, I have nothing to do - except baby-sit."

"Kristy, you're a good, responsible babysitter, but even you can't take care of fourteen children."

"No, but the Baby-sitters Club can.There are five of us. The kids could come over here during the day."

"Oh, brother," exclaimed Sam. It was his turn to sit down and bury his head in his hands.

"That way," I said, "the adults could work at the Brewers' without any interruptions."

"Well, Kristy," said Mom, "that might be the solution."

"I have to check with the other club members, of course, and we might have to cancel some appointments, but I think we could do it. Would you really hire the whole Baby-sitters Club for the whole week?"

"I really would. And if the girls would really sit from nine to five Monday through Friday, Watson and I would really pay the club, let's

see. . ." (Mom did some fast mental arithmetic) "... six hundred dollars."

"What!" explodedSam.

"That's three dollars an hour apiece, which comes to a hundred and twenty dollars for each of you for the week."

My jaw almost fell off. A hundred and twenty dollars in just one week!

"Mom, I'll give you a bargain," said Sam. "For just five hundred dollars, I'll take care of the kids."

"All fourteen of them?No way. Besides, I believe you already have a summer job."

"I know, I know." Sam was going to deliver groceries for the A&P. He had done it the summer before. It didn't pay too badly, but five or six hundred dollars was an awful lot of money, even divided five ways. No wonder Sam was jealous.