Ann Martin - Kristy's Big Day

reception, but she and Watson were on their own for everything else.

By late afternoon, the house was shiny and clean, Mom andNannie were through with recipes for the time being, and the relatives were arriving. The first were Aunt Theo (Mom's younger sister), and Uncle Neal, with Emma, Beth, and Luke.

They drove up, honking.

"They're here! They're here!" David Michael called, and all of us, includingNannie , dashed outside.

Uncle Neal was just getting out of the car. He is not myfavorite relative. His pants and shirt never match, he smokes cigars, and he talks too loudly. But he's really okay. At least he never says to me, "My, Kristy, how you've grown. What grade are you in now?"

That's Aunt Theo's department. She stepped lightly out of the car and began hugging everyone. The second she got to me, she said, "My, Kristy, how you've grown. What grade are you in?"

"I'll be in eighth," I replied, andthought, And I have not grown. I'm the shortest person in my grade.

She moved on to David Michael. "My, how you've grown," she told him. "What grade are you in?"

I stood behind Aunt Theo and crossed my eyes at David Michael. He tried not to laugh as he replied, "Second."

During all this, Luke and Emma had scrambled out of the car. I took a good look at them, since I hadn't seen them in almost two years.

Luke was the oldest, the oldest of all the kids we'd be sitting for, in fact. He seemed kind of skinny and little for ten (I should talk) and stood back shyly while his mother hugged everyone, his father told loud jokes, Mom andNannie laughed, and Louie jumped up and down with doggie joy. Luke had a thatch of thick, dark-blond hair that quite possibly hadn't been brushed since December, and serious brown eyes.

Emma seemed to be the opposite of Luke. Although she looked like him - a little peanut of a thing, with messy blond ponytails and sparkling brown eyes - she raced around the yard excitedly.

"Hi,Nannie !" she cried. "Guess what, I won a second-place ribbon in the gymnastics meet! Did you bring me a present?"

BeforeNannie had a chance to answer, Emma had rushed over to David Michael. "You're David Michael, right? I'm a year older than you are." She ran on to Louie, leaving my brother looking bewildered.

Uh-oh, I thought. Luke will probably be easy to baby-sit for, but Emma looks like a bundle of energy. I was glad she and Karen weren't going to be in the same group.

Suddenly I realized that little Beth was still sitting patiently in her car seat. I leaned into the car and said quietly, "Hi, there, Beth."

She regarded me solemnly. Didn't laugh, didn't cry. I figured she was sizing me up, so I decided not to push things. I sat down next to her. She was barefoot, and after a while I tickled her toes. Very slowly, a smile spread across her face until she was grinning.

"Want to get out of the car?" I asked her.

I unfastened about a million straps and buckles. Then Beth raised her arms and I picked her up. "Ooof, you're heavy!" I exclaimed.

"Mm-po-po?" she asked me.

"Whatever." Mary Anne would have to learn Beth's baby talk. I handed Beth to Aunt Theo, who looked surprised. "Goodness," she said, "I'm amazed that she let you pick her up. Ordinarily, she screams when a stranger comes too near her. We have the most awful time with baby-sitters."

At that moment, Sam caught my eye. He gave me a look that clearly said, "The Babysitters Club is really going to earn the six hundred dollars."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Beep-beep!Beep-beep!"

Another honking car was pulling into our driveway.

"Aunt Colleen! Uncle Wallace!" I shouted.

As soon as my aunt had opened her door and straightened up, I practically threw myself at her.

Colleen is my mom's youngest sister of all, the baby of the family. And I love her. She's sort of a younger version ofNannie - busy and active with a wild streak in her. She understands me so well, it's almost scary.

"Hi,punkin .How are you doing?" she asked. She held me tight for a few seconds.

"Fine," I answered. I drew away and she cupped my chin in her hand and looked at me critically.

Meanwhile, cousins were spilling out of the car. Firstcame Berk, the six-year-old. He made a beeline for David Michael. We see the Millers more often than theMeiners , and David Michael and Berk are good pals. I was glad that I remembered to assign them to the same babysitting group.

David Michael and Berk, followed by Louie, ran off toward the back of the house.

Next out of the car was Peter, who's three. He climbed out slowly, with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, Peter," I said. "What's wrong?"

Peter snuffled miserably.

"He's a little carsick," Aunt Colleen answered for him.

"Yeah," said Grace, the five-year-old, jumping to the ground, "He just puked.All over hiscoloring book!" She looked gleeful.

"Grace, that's enough," said her mother.

"How do you feel now, Peter?" I asked nervously. He looked awfully green.

"Not too good," he replied.

"I better get him in the house," said Aunt Colleen.

I watched them run inside, then turned back to the car and realized that Ashley was still sitting in it and Uncle Wallace was leaning a pair of crutches next to her door.

"Ashley!" I cried. "What happened to you?"

"I broke my leg roller-skating."

"We didn't say anything," my uncle added, "because we didn't want anyone to think we shouldn't come. Old Ash here is actually in pretty good shape. You should see her zip around on her crutches."

"I'm almost as fast as I was on my skates!" she exclaimed.

I helped Uncle Wallace get Ashley out of the car, and she swung herself up our driveway and into the house. (She was fast.)

Nanniemade a big fuss over Ashley, then gathered her grandchildren around her and handed out gifts. She even had presents for my brothers and me, although she sees us often and has plenty of opportunities to give us things. I guess she didn't want us to feel left out.

All ofNannie's presents were handmade. Mine was a beautiful sweater, bright red with little black Scottie dogs trotting across the front. I huggedNannie and thanked her eight times.

After the presents, we ate supper on picnic tables in the backyard.

Here's what happened during the meal:

Beth stored up acheekful of carrots as her father fed her,then spit them all over his shirt.

Peter and Grace got into a fight and began to cry.

Berk and David Michael got into a fight and began to cry.

Emma teased Ashley. Ashley whacked Emma with her crutch. Emma cried. Ashley was sent to the Millers' car and Emma was sent to theMeiners ' car until they were ready to apologize to each other.

Luke did not say one word from the beginning of the meal to the end.

A horrible, stuffy feeling began to build up in my stomach. It might have been due to the

bigdinner I'd eaten. Or it might have been due to seeing the trouble caused by eight children with ten adults present.

What would the next day be like - with just five baby-sitters in charge of fourteen children?

Chapter 7.

Wedding Countdown:.Monday - five days to go.

Stacey, Mary Anne, Dawn, and Claudia showed up at my house at eight-thirty sharp. Stacey brought her Kid-Kit, a box of games and toys she sometimes takes on baby-sitting jobs (we each have one); Dawn brought a big book of rhymes, songs, games, and activities for children; Mary Anne brought the club record book and notebook; and Claudia brought the nametags and some art supplies.

"Let's put on our own tags before we forget them," I said. "Then we better get organized."

"It's such a beautiful day," said Stacey as she slipped the red star over her head. "Maybe we should try to stay out in your backyard as much as possible, Kristy. The picnic tables