Wedding Cookies (2 page)

Flossie spent the next day locked in Grandma’s bedroom. She warned everyone to stay away. “I’m putting the finishing touches on my masterpieces,” she told them.

Fifi was curled up in front of the bedroom door. She wouldn’t let anyone get by.

“I think Flossie is so beautiful,” Tina said. “I wish I looked like her.” She stared at her reflection in a big aluminum pot.
“Maybe I should change my hairstyle,” she added.

“Maybe you should help me put away the rest of these cookies,” said Katie Lynn.

Just as they were finishing up in the kitchen, Mrs. Cooke shouted, “They’re here! They’re here!”

“Who’s here?” Tina asked.

“Some of Grandma’s distant nieces and nephews,” Katie Lynn said. “I’ve never met them before. But they wanted to come to her wedding.”

Katie Lynn and Tina heard what sounded like a large truck pulling into the driveway.

“What in the world is that?” Tina said.

“Dad told them to bring their camper,” Katie Lynn explained. “We don’t have enough bedrooms for everybody. So they’re going to sleep in the camper.”

Katie Lynn and Tina hurried to the front door. Mr. and Mrs. Cooke and Grandma were standing on the porch.

“It looks like a house on wheels,” said Tina.

The doors to the camper opened and a man, a woman, and a little boy jumped out.

Grandma waved. “It’s Josh and Jane and their son, Johnny,” she said.

While the grownups hugged each other, Johnny pushed past Katie Lynn and Tina and headed toward the kitchen. “I’m hungry!” he said.

“Wait, Johnny!” Katie Lynn shouted.

She and Tina took off after him.

When they got to the kitchen, Johnny was stuffing his mouth full of Mr. Chesterfield’s cookies.

“Oh, no!” cried Katie Lynn. She took
the cookies and put them up on a shelf out of Johnny’s reach.

“Cookies!” screamed Johnny. “Cookies!”

Katie Lynn looked at Tina.

“It’s worth it,” Tina said.

Katie Lynn gave Johnny another cookie. Just then, they heard another car pull into the driveway.

“Who’s that?” asked Tina.

“More nieces and nephews,” Katie Lynn said.

“I wonder if they’re going to eat our cookies, too,” said Tina.

“Probably,” said Katie Lynn.

Katie Lynn and Tina spent the rest of the day keeping Johnny out of trouble.

By dinner that night, there were ten relatives in Katie Lynn’s house. And that wasn’t even counting Flossie and Fifi.
There were even two cousins staying in Katie Lynn’s bedroom. And there were barely enough cookies left for Mr. Chesterfield’s order.

Suddenly, this wonderful week wasn’t looking so wonderful after all.

Tina came over early the next morning and went upstairs to Katie Lynn’s bedroom.

“Mr. Chesterfield needs his cookies right away,” she said. “I told him we’d bring them.”

Katie Lynn yawned. “When did you talk to him?” she asked.

“He called our house this morning,”
Tina replied. “He said your line was busy.”

“He’s right,” Katie Lynn said. “The relatives have been talking on the telephone a lot.”

Katie Lynn got dressed. Then she and Tina headed downstairs.

The relatives were in the living room. They were arguing about which television program to watch.

Johnny was chasing Fifi through the house. Flossie was chasing after Johnny.

Grandma met Katie Lynn and Tina at the door to the kitchen. “Come on, girls,” she said. “I want you to go with me.”

“Where?” Katie Lynn asked.

“Fricket’s Department Store. They just called. I have some more wedding presents there,” Grandma replied. “Their delivery truck’s broken, so they can’t deliver them.”

“Good!” said Katie Lynn. “We can take Mr. Chesterfield’s cookies to him on the way!”

“What kind of presents are you getting?” Tina asked.

“The person I talked to didn’t say,” Grandma replied. She sighed. “People in town have been so nice. It almost makes me cry.”

“I wouldn’t cry if I were getting presents,” said Tina.

Katie Lynn and Grandma laughed.

They delivered Mr. Chesterfield’s cookies and invited him to the wedding. Then they drove to Fricket’s Department Store.

“I’m supposed to see Millie in the wedding department,” Grandma said. “She’s the one who helped me register for my gifts.”

“You mean you just tell them what you want and you’ll get it?” said Tina.

“Well, it’s almost like that,” said Grandma.

“I wish kids could do that,” said Katie Lynn.

“Oh, there’s Millie now,” said Grandma. “You girls just look around.”

“Okay,” they both said.

Katie Lynn and Tina left the wedding department. They walked to the music department.

“I want to see if they have any CDs by the BigTown Boys,” Katie Lynn said.

One of the BigTown Boys had gone to Katie Lynn and Tina’s school when he was their age.

They started looking through the rows of CDs.

“They do!” Tina cried. “Oh, I just love them!”

“Me too,” said Katie Lynn.

Suddenly, they heard someone making kissing noises behind them. “Oooh! I just love the BigTown Boys!” said Jonathan Wilbarger in a silly voice.

Katie Lynn and Tina turned.

“What are you doing here?” asked Katie Lynn.

“I’m here with Grandpa,” Jonathan said. “He’s trying on tuxedos upstairs.” He grinned at them. “Let me show you some real music,” he said. He pulled out a CD. “Here’s something good. Tina Trees,” he said. “She’s one of my favorites.”

Katie Lynn had never heard of Tina Trees before.

“She has my name!” Tina said. “Being a
singer would be a cool job. Maybe I should be one.”

Jonathan made a gagging noise.

Tina glared at him. “What’s wrong with that, Jonathan?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” Jonathan said. “I guess I just think of singers as more glamorous or something.”

“I
am
glamorous!” Tina said. “I’m wearing a designer dress in the wedding!”

“Oooh! Can I have your autograph?” Jonathan asked.

Tina turned to Katie Lynn. “Will you tell your cousin he’s a creep?”

“He’s not my cousin yet!” Katie Lynn said.

Jonathan laughed. “There’s Grandpa,” he said. “I have to go.” He turned to Katie Lynn. “See you later, cousin!”

“He makes me so mad!” Tina said.

“Me too,” said Katie Lynn. “He is so immature.”

They went back to looking through the CDs.

“I wonder if Grandma is going to get any of these for wedding presents,” Katie Lynn said.

“I know how we can find out,” said Tina. “Let’s go check the bridal registry.”

“Good idea,” said Katie Lynn. “Maybe we’ll even get some ideas for a present.”

They hurried back to the wedding department. A saleswoman was taking dinner plates out of a box and stacking them on a shelf.

“My grandmother is registered here,” said Katie Lynn. “We want to see if she’s going to get any CDs.”

The saleswoman blinked. “
CDs?
” she said.

Katie Lynn nodded.

“Well, just put the names of the CDs you’re interested in into the computer to see if they’re listed,” said the saleswoman.

“Thank you,” Katie Lynn said.

The saleswoman went back to unpacking dinner plates.

Katie Lynn and Tina walked over to the computer.

Katie Lynn typed in the names of all the BigTown Boys CDs. “Now what?” she said.

“You probably hit Enter,” Tina said. She punched the Enter key.

The computer whirred.

“Oh, no!” Katie Lynn whispered.

“What’s wrong?” Tina asked.

“I think we just
added
those CDs to Grandma’s wedding list!” Katie Lynn exclaimed.

The next morning, Grandma came into the kitchen carrying Flossie’s breakfast tray. “All the relatives have gone sightseeing,” she said. “So it should be quiet around here for a while.”

“Until the men with the wedding tent get here,” Katie Lynn said. “They just called. They’re bringing it over now.”

Grandma sighed. “We should have eloped,” she said.

Katie Lynn and Tina laughed.

“Did you see our dresses yet?” Tina asked.

“No,” Grandma said. “Flossie barely opened the door and Fifi was growling the whole time.”

“I hope they’re ready soon,” Katie Lynn said.

“Me too,” said Grandma.

Katie Lynn and Tina finished up their last batch of cookies for the day. Then they started upstairs to Katie Lynn’s room.

Flossie was coming downstairs with Fifi. They were wearing matching red sweaters. Flossie had on her dark sunglasses, and her hair was up in a French twist. “All this sewing has exhausted me, girls,” she said. “Fifi and I are going out to get some fresh air.”

“Okay, Flossie,” said Katie Lynn. “See you later.”

When they got to Katie Lynn’s room, Katie Lynn stretched out on the floor.

Tina looked in the mirror. “You know, Katie Lynn? Jonathan’s right,” she said. “If I want to be as glamorous as Flossie, I need to do something. Maybe I should make my hair a different color.”

“Mom used to change her hair color every week,” said Katie Lynn. “She has all kinds of stuff in the bathroom just for that.”

“Really?” said Tina. “Show me!”