"Babysitters Club Special Edition Mary Anne's Book" - читать интересную книгу автора (Babysitters Club)

"I know," he said softly.
By then we'd pulled into the driveway. My dad suggested we sit in the backyard for awhile. "I'm never home at this time of day during the week," he said. "I want to enjoy it." He loosened his tie and took off his suit jacket.
I sat on my swing and he pulled the lounge chair over so he'd be near me. I knew he wanted to talk some more. "You never talk about not having a mother," he said. I could see he was sad thinking about my mother. I tried with all my might to keep from crying. I didn't want to make him any sadder. "But I know it must be difficult for you," he continued.
I dug my patent leather toe in the sand. I didn't even care that I was getting my best shoes dirty. My dad was right. It was hard not having a mother like everybody else.
"Mary Anne," my father said, "you should have told me everything about the problem you were having with the tea party. Then I could
have helped you understand that it was okay for me to be your guest. I even would have
spoken to Mrs. Frederickson about it."
"Everybody laughed when I said I was bringing my dad to a Mother's Day tea party," I told him.
"I bet most, of those kids don't even know that you don't have a mother. If they did they wouldn't have laughed."
I remember that Kristy had to explain it to
Alan Gray. "Maybe not," I agreed.
Just then Claudia came running into our yard. "Want to play?" she called out. "Mimi said it's okay. Kristy can come to my house, too."
"Since I'm home, why don't you girls play here?" my dad suggested. "Tell Mimi and Mrs. Thomas that I'll keep an eye on you." He smiled at me. "I'll even make you my famous spaghetti and meatball dinner."
"Oh, wow," said Claudia. "I'll ask Mimi."
"Can I go with Claudia?" I asked my dad. He said yes. Claudia and I held hands and ran toward her house." We have to tell Kristy,
too," she said.
"You go ask Kristy," I suggested, "and I'll ask Mimi for you." Claudia agreed and we split up.
I entered the Kishis' kitchen. Mimi wasn't there. I went into the living room. Not there
either. Was she mad at me? Was she hiding because she didn't want to talk to me?
"Well, there's our Mary Anne," I heard Mimi say. She was coming down the stairs into the living room.
"Can Claudia play at my house and stay for a spaghetti dinner?" I asked. "My dad's home
and he invited her and Kristy."
"I think that's a fine idea," Mimi answered. She sat in her rocker. "I don't think you had a very nice time at the tea party today, Mary Anne," she said.
"I'm sorry I invited two people," I replied. The tears I'd been holding back all afternoon began to flow.
Mimi motioned for me to come to her. She took a tissue from her apron pocket and patted my wet cheeks with them. "It was not the big problem for me that it was for you," she said. "So don't you worry for a minute about Mimi." She opened her arms and wrapped me in a big Mimi hug. I leaned against her and
took a deep breath of her special flower smell. Then she told me that she was still honored that I invited her to the tea party and that anytime there was a function at school that my dad couldn't attend, she would be happy to fill in for him.
I wondered if all mothers and grandmothers had a special smell. Then I wondered what
my mother's smell would have been like, which made me wonder if my dad had a special smell.
"I have to go home now," I told Mimi.
My father was in the kitchen. I was glad that Kristy and Claudia weren't there yet. He'd changed into his jeans and a T-shirt and was already organizing the ingredients for his spaghetti sauce.
"Where are your pals?" he asked.
"They're coming," I said.
He smiled at me. "How are you doing? Do you feel better now?"
I nodded and asked, "Daddy, can I have a hug?"
My father smiled and lifted me up into his arms. I put my arms around his neck and took in a deep breath through my nose. Yes, my dad did have a special smell. I'd have known it anywhere. It wasn't flowers, but it was spicy
and fresh and it was my dad's smell. "I love you, Daddy," I whispered in his ear.
"I love you, too," my dad whispered back. "More than life itself."
Chapter 5.
I wasn't looking forward to summer vacation half as much as Kristy and Claudia were.
"Just think," Kristy said. "In just two days we can play ball all day long."
"And draw whenever we want. It'll be wonderful!" Claudia shouted. She stretched out her arms and danced in big circles around her backyard, singing, "We'll be free. We'll be free."
"I'm going to practice softball every day," vowed Kristy. She threw a small rubber ball to me. I fumbled it, picked it up,and tossed it back to her. Kristy stretched to her right and managed to catch my off-the-mark throw."I just wish I didn't have to go to that dumb old class," she grumbled.
Claudia dropped her arms and ran to Kristy. "What dumb old class?" she asked.
"At the Y," answered Kristy. "It's like a day camp, but it's only in the morning and they have classes in different stuff." - -
"Classes like reading and math?" I asked. I was thinking I might enjoy a day camp like that. -
"They're called classes, but it's not school," Kristy said. "It's fun stuff like swimming and softball."
"That'd be okay," Claudia said enthusiastically.
But Kristy was still frowning. "My mom signed me up too late for the good classes," she said. "There wasn't any more room in swimming or tennis." She threw the ball against the garage and caught it on the bounce. "The only class that had room was ballet."
"Ballet!" exclaimed Claudia. "With tutus and everything?"
"I forgot about tutus," said Kristy with a grimace. "If it's ballet I guess we'll have to wear them."