“That feels good,” said Tina.
“Now we have to wait for fifteen minutes,” said Katie Lynn.
“Can we watch TV?” asked Tina.
“No!” said Katie Lynn. “Your hair might drip on the carpet.”
She and Tina sat on the edge of the bathtub and waited. “I think that’s enough,” said Katie Lynn after a while. She rinsed Tina’s hair. Then she handed her a towel.
Tina dried her hair with it. “How does it look?” she asked.
Katie Lynn gasped. She picked up the box and looked at it again. “Oh, no!” she cried. “It’s out-of-date.”
“What difference does that make?” Tina said.
“Your hair is green!” Katie Lynn replied.
Katie Lynn and Tina went back to Katie Lynn’s room to decide what to do.
“I can’t be in a wedding with green hair!” Tina sobbed.
“I know,” Katie Lynn said. “But maybe it will turn back to normal by then.” She was trying to sound concerned. But it was hard to keep from giggling.
Grandma came into the room just as the doorbell rang downstairs.
“I hope that’s not some more relatives,” Katie Lynn said.
Grandma shook her head. “No, they’re all here,” she said. She blinked. “Tina! Your hair is green!”
Katie Lynn explained what had happened.
Just then, Jonathan and Mrs. Cooke came up the stairs.
Tina quickly took the towel she was holding and wrapped it around her head. “What are you doing here, Jonathan?” she asked.
“He’s delivering a package to Grandma,” Mrs. Cooke said.
“It’s from Fricket’s Department Store,” Jonathan added. “Their delivery truck broke down in front of our house.”
“Open it, Grandma!” Katie Lynn said.
Jonathan was staring at Tina. “Why do you have a towel around your head?” he asked.
Tina felt the top of her head. “Oh, my goodness! Is there a towel around my head? How silly. I guess I forgot to take it off after I washed my hair.”
“Girls are so weird,” Jonathan muttered.
Grandma opened the box. She got a puzzled look on her face. “I don’t remember registering for these,” she said.
Katie Lynn and Tina looked at each other.
“Sometimes you get things you don’t register for,” Mrs. Cooke said.
Grandma held up the CDs for everyone to see.
Suddenly, they heard a bark. Flossie and Fifi were back from their walk. “I’m ready to unveil my masterpieces,” called Flossie.
“Bye, Jonathan!” said Tina. She and Katie Lynn raced toward Grandma’s room. Grandma and Mrs. Cooke were right behind them.
When they got there, Tina took the towel off her head.
Flossie gasped. “Tina, your hair is green!” she said. “You simply cannot wear one of my famous creations with green hair. It won’t match!”
Tina blinked hard. She looked as if she was about to cry.
“Never mind, my dear,” Flossie said. “You can wear one of my wigs. And I have just the color for you, too!”
Tina smiled. “You do?”
“Of course,” said Flossie.
She got out a blond wig and put it on Tina’s green hair. “Perfect!” she said.
Tina ran to look in the mirror. “I love it!” she cried. “This is the real me!”
Suddenly, Katie Lynn looked at the bed. “Are those our wedding dresses?” she asked.
“Yes!” Flossie said. “I finished them just in time!”
Four dresses were laid out side by side. They were made out of tan material and had dark brown spots all over them. Katie Lynn couldn’t believe it. They were horrible.
No one said anything.
“They look like cookies!” Tina finally cried.
“They’re supposed to. It’s the latest thing in wedding fashions,” said Flossie. “You wear something that has to do with your job.”
“I don’t want to walk down the aisle looking like a cookie!” Tina whispered to Katie Lynn.
“Me neither,” whispered Katie Lynn. She turned to Grandma. “I thought you would wear a white dress,” she said.
“White dresses are usually for first weddings,” said Grandma.
Katie Lynn thought she sounded sad. She probably didn’t want to look like a cookie, either.
“Well, come on, girls, let’s try them on,” said Grandma.
Slowly, the four of them put on the dresses.
Grandma made a couple of turns in her dress. “What do you think, girls?” she asked.
“It’s different,” said Katie Lynn.
Suddenly, Fifi growled.
“Hush, Fifi!” Flossie said.
But Fifi didn’t hush. In fact, her growls got louder and meaner. Then she started barking.
“I’ve never seen her act this way,” said Flossie. “She must be really upset.”
Just then, Fifi lunged at Tina’s dress.
Tina screamed.
“Fifi’s attacking me!” she cried.
“No, she’s not!” shouted Katie Lynn. “She’s attacking your dress!”
“But I’m in it!” Tina said.
“Stop it, Fifi!” cried Flossie.
But Fifi didn’t stop. She tore Tina’s dress. Then she tore Katie Lynn’s dress. Next she tore Mrs. Cooke’s dress. Finally, she tore Grandma’s dress.
Then Fifi jumped up on the bed and lay down. She wagged her tail happily.
“Why did she do that?” Katie Lynn demanded. “She ruined our wedding dresses.”
Flossie gave Fifi a big hug. “Poor baby! She’s mad at me because I ignored her while I was making the wedding dresses.”
“But what will we do?” said Katie Lynn.
Flossie looked thoughtful. She walked over to the big green trunk and pulled out four beautiful dresses. They looked like princess dresses. They were made of pale yellow satin and had overskirts of tulle. “I do have these,” she said. “I was working on them for a fashion show, but I guess I could take them in to fit the four of you.”
“Oh, Flossie!” Katie Lynn cried. “They’re beautiful!”
“They sure are,” Tina agreed. “I think Fifi is one of my best friends now,” she whispered to Katie Lynn.
“Mine, too,” Katie Lynn whispered back.
The next day was the day before the wedding. Everything was finally on track. The dresses were ready. Grandma and Mr. Wilbarger were doing some last-minute shopping. And Tina’s hair was starting to fade.
She was still wearing Flossie’s wig, though.
One of the relatives had just hung up the telephone when it rang again.
“I’ll get it!” Johnny shouted.
“No!” Katie Lynn cried. She ran between two other relatives and grabbed the receiver. “Hello,” she said.
“This is Betty at Presley’s Floral Shop,” a voice said. “I need to talk to somebody about the wedding flowers.”
“Grandma’s not here. She’s the one getting married,” Katie Lynn said. “Can I help you?”
“I guess,” Betty said. “We have a problem.”
A problem? thought Katie Lynn. “What is it?” she asked.
“Judy down here mixed up the dates, and we’ve run out of flowers,” Betty said. “We won’t have any for your wedding.”
“Oh, no!” Katie Lynn cried. “Grandma can’t get married without flowers.”
“I’m sorry,” Betty said. “We’ll give you a discount on the next wedding you have.”
“Thanks,” said Katie Lynn. She hung up the receiver.
“What happened?” Tina asked.
Katie Lynn told her. “You have to have flowers at a wedding,” she said.
Katie Lynn felt horrible. She couldn’t believe Grandma’s wedding was going to be ruined. “What are we going to do?” she asked.
Tina frowned. “I don’t know. I can bake cookies, but I can’t make flowers grow, especially in one day!”
Katie Lynn looked up.
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“Tina!” she cried. “That’s it!”
Tina looked puzzled. “What’s it?” she said.
“Cookie flowers!” Katie Lynn said. “I’ve seen pictures of cookie bouquets and cookie wreaths in magazines. They’re beautiful. It’ll be our wedding present to Grandma.”
“Hmm,” Tina said. She patted the back of her wig into place. “That might work.”
Katie Lynn flipped through the magazines on the kitchen table. “Here it is! Peanut Butter Cookie Flowers.”
The cookies looked like flowers. Each of them had different-colored centers. Katie Lynn showed Tina the recipe.
“Oh, Katie Lynn!” said Tina. “This will be a great present!”
“It sure will,” said Katie Lynn.
They started gathering the ingredients. Then they took them to Tina’s house so Grandma wouldn’t find out what they were doing.
They spent the next three hours baking the cookie flowers. They used strawberry preserves for red centers. They used apricot preserves for yellow centers. They used grape jelly for purple centers.
“Now we need to make the bouquets and wreaths,” said Katie Lynn.
“We have some wire upstairs,” said Tina. “Mom uses it for her crafts.”
Tina found the crafts wire. Then they started to make the bouquets. They poked wire into the cookies for stems. They tied the wire stems together with ribbon to make bouquets. To make the wreaths, they made circles of cookies connected with wire.
When they finished, they had four bouquets and six wreaths.
Now they just had to keep the relatives from eating them until the wedding.
The next morning, Katie Lynn woke up early. The wedding day was finally here!
Everyone was running around, trying to get ready. Flossie was helping Grandma get dressed. She had promised to help Katie Lynn and Tina, too. But as they started toward Grandma’s room, they tripped over Johnny. He was sitting on the stairs chewing on the bridegroom from the wedding cake.
“Johnny! Stop that!” Katie Lynn cried. She took the plastic figure from him. Johnny ran downstairs and out the back door. “Look at this, Tina. It’s all yucky.”
“Just wash it off,” Tina said. “Nobody will care.”
Katie Lynn washed the bridegroom in hot, soapy water. Tina put it back on top of the wedding cake. Then she and Katie Lynn went on up to Grandma’s room.
Katie Lynn couldn’t believe how pretty Grandma looked. “You’re a real bride!” she said.
“Just like in those magazines,” Tina added.
“You really are gorgeous,” Flossie added.
Grandma blushed. “Thank you!” she said.
Flossie laid out Katie Lynn’s and Tina’s dresses. They quickly put them on and walked around the room like models.
“Girls!” Flossie said. “You are absolutely breathtaking!”
“Thank you, Flossie,” Katie Lynn and Tina said.
“Tina, you remind me of myself when I was your age,” Flossie added. She patted Tina’s wig approvingly.
Katie Lynn and Tina whirled around the room a couple more times. Then they hurried out to the backyard. Several guests were already seated. Katie Lynn and Tina put the cookie wreaths on the tables.
“Those cookie flowers look great,” Mr. Chesterfield said. “I want you to bake some of them for my restaurant.”
“We can do that,” said Katie Lynn.
Just as they went back inside the house, Grandma shouted, “It’s time! Line up in the kitchen!”
Katie Lynn and Tina grabbed their bouquets. Then they handed Grandma and Mrs. Cooke theirs.
They held their breath.
“How beautiful!” Grandma said. “A cookie flower bouquet! It’s perfect.”
“It’s your wedding present from me and Tina,” said Katie Lynn.
“The florist ran out of flowers,” Tina added. “That’s what gave us the idea.”
Grandma gave them both a big hug.
Mrs. Cooke handed Jonathan the rings. “Put them in your pocket,” she said. “Don’t lose them.”
“Okay,” Jonathan said.
Katie Lynn and Tina got in front of Jonathan.
Just then, the wedding march started. DUM-DUM-DA-DUM!
Katie Lynn and Tina headed out the kitchen door into the backyard.
Jonathan was right behind them. “I’m going to eat your bouquets,” he whispered.
“Your cousin is going to ruin the wedding,” Tina whispered to Katie Lynn.
“He’s still not my cousin yet!” Katie Lynn whispered back.
Finally, they arrived in front of the preacher. Mr. Wilbarger took Grandma’s hand.
Jonathan made faces at Katie Lynn and Tina during the ceremony.
But Katie Lynn and Tina ignored him.
When it was over, Mr. Wilbarger kissed Grandma. Everybody clapped.
“I now pronounce you and Jonathan cousins,” Tina whispered.
Katie Lynn rolled her eyes.
The music started again. Grandma and Mr. Wilbarger hurried back down the aisle. Katie Lynn, Tina, and Jonathan were right behind them.
Grandma and Mr. Wilbarger cut the wedding cake. Katie Lynn, Tina, and Jonathan served it to the guests. Nobody noticed that the groom had been chewed on.
After that, everyone danced for a while. Mr. Chesterfield and Flossie did the tango. Fifi kept nipping at Mr. Chesterfield’s heels.
Finally, Grandma and Mr. Wilbarger stood together on the back steps.
“I’m going to throw my bouquet now!” Grandma cried. She tossed the bouquet high into the air.
Tina jumped up to get it. But it was Jonathan who caught it. He started eating the cookies.
“Your cousin is really weird!” Tina whispered to Katie Lynn. “But he’s still kind of cute.” She sighed. “I wonder if he likes girls with green hair.”
Finally, it was time for Grandma and Mr. Wilbarger to leave for their honeymoon. “Bye, everybody!” they called.
“Wait a minute, Grandma!” Katie Lynn said.
She and Tina handed everyone bags of colored sprinkles.
Within minutes, Grandma and Mr. Wilbarger were covered with red and green and yellow sprinkles.
“So your marriage will be sweet!” Tina said.
“Save the rest of the sprinkles for the cookie company, girls!” Grandma shouted as she and Mr. Wilbarger headed for their car. “I have a wonderful idea for a new cookie!”
PEANUT BUTTER
COOKIE FLOWERS
½ CUP (1 STICK) SOFTENED BUTTER (TO SOFTEN THE BUTTER, TAKE IT OUT OF THE REFRIGERATION AT LEAST ONE HOUR BEFORE USING.)
½ CUP ALL-NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER
⅓ CUP GRANULATED SUGAR
⅓ CUP PACKED BROWN SUGAR
3 TABLESPOONS ORANGE JUICE
1 ½ CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
1 ½ TEASPOONS BAKING, SODA
¼ TEASPOON SALT
DIFFERENT-COLORED JAMS AND JELLIES
Put the softened butter and peanut butter in a large bowl. Mix them together by hand. Then add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix the batter until it’s blended.
Pour in the orange juice. Mix well.
Mix the flour, the baking soda, and the salt in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually stir them into the peanut butter mixture.
Use your hands to shape the dough into one-inch balls. Place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet about one inch apart. Press down the center of each ball with your thumb. The edges of the ball will spread out like the petals of a flower.
Put the cookie sheet in the freezer. Freeze the dough until it’s firm. Then have an adult turn on the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fill the centers of the cookies with ¼ teaspoon of different-colored jams, jellies, preserves, or marmalades.
Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Then let them cool for about 20 minutes.
PEANUT BUTTER
COOKIE FLOWER BOUQUETS
FOR EACH BOUQUET, YOU WILL NEED SIX STIFF WIRES, EACH ABUT 12 I
NCHES LONG
Stick a wire through one edge of a cookie flower and push it through to the other edge. This makes the stem.
To make a bouquet, tie six cookie flowers together with a ribbon.
Bend the stems out just a little so it will look like a real bouquet.
PEANUT BUTTER
COOKIE FLOWER WREATHS
FOR EACH WREATH, YOU WILL NEED A LONG, THIN WIRE THAT YOU CAN BEND EASILY.
Stick the end of the wire through one edge of a cookie flower. Carefully push the wire all the way through the cookie until it comes out the other side.
Do the same thing with several cookie flowers until you have enough to make a circle.
Wrap the ends of the wire around each other to hold them together.
Hungry for a good book?
Don’t Miss These Tempting Titles!
The Katie Lynn Cookie Company #1:
The Secret Ingredient
Katie Lynn knows cookies, hut does she have what it takes to run her own business?
The Katie Lynn Cookie Company #2:
Frogs’ Legs for Dinner?
Can the Katie Lynn Cookie Company survive too many cooks in the kitchen?
The Katie Lynn Cookie Company #3:
The Battle of the Bakers
The heat is on when Katie Lynn, Tina, and Jonathan all enter the town’s baking contest.
The Katie Lynn Cookie Company #4:
Wedding Cookies
Can Katie Lynn’s cookies stop a wedding-day disaster?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
G. E. STANLEY is the author of more than fifty books for young people, many of them award winners. He and his wife, Gwen, live in Lawton, Oklahoma. They have two sons, Charles and James, a daughter-in-law, Tambye, and a family dog, a Labrador retriever named Daisy.
“I thought about my own wedding while I was writing this book,” says G. E. Stanley. “I was so nervous before the ceremony that I couldn’t eat anything, but during the ceremony, I got so hungry I thought I was going to starve to death. If there had been cookie flowers around, like the ones Katie Lynn and Tina made in Wedding Cookies, I would have probably grabbed a few and munched on them.”
Wedding Cookies Page 2