Here Come The Bridesmaids (15 page)

Mary Anne was sniffling, too.

"Gag me," Jeff said.

After the present opening, my stomach decided to sing a Christmas carol: "The Little Drummer Boy." After a few refrains of pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, I realized I was starving.

The smells from the kitchen weren't helping, either.

By the time Richard said, "Shall we set the table?" I was trying hard not to drool.

Mary Anne and I ran to get the silverware. When we returned to the dining room, Richard and Jeff were putting a leaf in the table.

"What’s that for?" I asked.

"Company," Richard replied.

"Oh," I said. "Great."

Company? On a special day like this? I was assuming it would be a nice, cozy, family Christmas.

I didn't complain. Mom and Richard had picked us up at the airport, bought all those nice presents, and gone through the trouble of preparing a feast. How could I be a bad sport?

Ding-dong. The doorbell rang as I was setting out the water glasses.

"Dawn, would you get it?" Mom called from the kitchen.

"Sure!"

As I pulled the door open, I heard a familiar voice say, "One, two, ready, go!"

Then many more voices sang out:

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, Dawn is home, so we are jolly, Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!"

At that last line, Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Jessi, and Mallory cracked up.

I stood there, my jaw hanging open. Mom, Richard, Jeff, and Mary Anne had gathered around me. "Is this the company?" I blurted out.

"Would I invite anyone else?" Mom said.

"Where's the food?" tactful Kristy asked.

"Save some for me!" Dad cried.

We ran into the dining room, chatting, squealing, laughing. And even though we didn't stop talking for hours, we managed to polish off every morsel of food.

I couldn't have imagined a better Christmas.

About the Author

ANN M. MARTIN did a lot of baby-sitting when she was growing up in Princeton, New Jersey. She is a former editor of books for children, and was graduated from Smith College.

Ms. Martin lives in New York City with her cats, Mouse and Rosie. She likes ice cream and I Love Lucy; and she hates to cook.

Ann Martin's Apple Paperbacks include "Yours Turly, Shirley; Ten Kids, No Pets; With You and Without You; Bummer Summer; and all the other books in the Baby-sitters Club series.