by Coco Simon
I brought the envelopes to the kitchen, and we sat at the island. I opened up the first one and read.
Dear Katie,
The other day I didn’t say everything I needed to say to you. First of all, I want you to know how happy I am for your mom and Jeff. Your mom is great and deserves a happy life.
Also, I just want you to know that I didn’t do the right thing when I left you and your mom. That was wrong. I am sorry that I missed out on seeing you growing up. I am sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me. But I promise that I will always be here for you from now on. If you ever need anything, just ask.
I love you, and I am very proud to have you as a daughter.
Dad
“Whoa,” I said, and I handed the letter to Mom. While she read it, I thought about how Marc Daniel Brown had signed the letter.
Dad.
It didn’t bother me so much, now that he’d really and truly apologized. Maybe one day he could be more of a dad and less of a Dessert Dad.
“You okay?” Mom asked.
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said. “That was good.”
Then I opened the next letter.
Dear Katie,
It really means a lot to me that you have accepted me and Emily in your life. I love you and your mom so much, and I can’t wait for the Brown-Green clan to get rolling! I am so happy and proud that we will now be family.
I promise to do my best to be a good stepdad, and I will love you and take care of you forever.
Love always,
Jeff
Jeff’s letter reminded me of something. When he and mom got engaged, he gave me a little heart necklace. He gave one to me and one to Emily.
I gave Jeff’s letter to Mom to read and said, “I have to get out the heart necklace Jeff gave me. I really want to wear it today.” I suddenly realized that my cheeks were wet with tears. I hadn’t even realized I was crying!
“All I do is cry these days,” I said, reaching for a tissue.
“Me too,” Mom said, and we both laughed.
“You know, when I was little I sometimes wished for a dad or imagined I had a big family,” I said. “I guess now my wish has come true!”
Mom hugged me. “You deserve for all your wishes to come true,” she said. “Come on. We should go shower before Joanne gets here to do our hair and makeup.”
We walked upstairs, and I was shocked to find Mia in Mom’s room. My maid of honor dress was hanging on the closet and so was a beautiful, short white wedding dress!
I looked at Mom, who was smiling. “Did you know about this?” I asked.
Mom nodded. “I had a dress from an event a few years ago, and I asked Mia’s advice about it.”
“I thought it might look nice with a little bit of lace added, and I brought the idea to my design teacher in Manhattan,” Mia said. “She did a sketch, and your mom commissioned her to finish it.”
I got a closer look at the dress. It had a slightly flared knee-length skirt, and was topped by lace on a scoop neckline that also covered the shoulders.
“I haven’t had a chance to try it on yet,” Mom said.
“That’s why I’m here,” Mia said. “On-the-spot alterations, if you need them.”
We sprang into action. I showered and washed my hair. Mom tried on the dress, and it fit perfectly, so Mia went home to get changed. Then Joanne showed up, and Mom showered while Joanne worked on me.
“Mia thought my hair would look good swept up,” I told her.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Joanne agreed. “First, let’s do your face.”
She opened up her makeup case and took out a palette of eye shadow. I panicked a little bit at the sight of all the greens, purples, and blues.
“I don’t really want a lot of makeup,” I said.
“And you don’t need it,” Joanne said. She put some light brown mascara on my eyelashes, blended some pale pink onto my cheeks, and finished with pink lip gloss. Then she tucked the lip gloss into a little white beaded bag on a chain and handed it to me.
“For touch-ups,” she said.
Then she did my hair, sweeping it up into a bun. But when she was finished I frowned.
“What’s the matter?” Joanne said.
“It does look pretty,” I told her. “But it doesn’t look like me. And also I’m going to dance a lot, and I want my hair to be free and swinging when I do.”
Joanne smiled. “Down it is,” she said. And she got rid of the bun and made my hair shiny in soft waves past my shoulders. I loved it! By that time, Mom was showered and it was her turn. Joanne used the same colors on her, and used a blow dryer to get her short hair sleek and shiny.
When she finished, Mom and I both looked into the big mirror above her dresser. For a second, I thought I was looking at two strangers. We looked great, and still like ourselves, but at the same time so different!
“What do you think?” Joanne asked.
Mom grinned. “I think that we are ready for a wedding!”
CHAPTER 12 Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Green
Joanne left, and Mom and I put on our dresses. I helped Mom zip up her dress, and she buttoned up mine. Then I slipped on the pale pink shoes with the tiny kitten heels that Mia had found for me online.
Grandma Carole and Grandpa Chuck came to take us to the park, and they started crying when they saw us. Then they drove us to the main park entrance, which is about five minutes away.
“How is this going to work?” Grandma Carole asked as we pulled into the parking lot. “The ceremony is in the middle of the park, right? But we can’t just walk in there. Jeff shouldn’t see you before the wedding. Nobody else should, either. You should make an entrance!”
I knew the park pretty well. The wedding was going to be held at the gazebo in the center of the park. There was a tree-lined path to the gazebo, and already we could see wedding guests making their way there.
“Alexis came up with a plan,” I said. “Mom and I are going to take the path over by the kids’ park to the gazebo and sort of hide out there until it’s time for the wedding.”
“You’re going to hide?” Grandma asked.
“It’ll be fine, Mom,” my mom told her.
We all got out of the car, and Grandma Carole and Grandpa Chuck walked with us to the kids’ park. I did feel a little silly when we got to the big clump of bushes and stopped. A lot of the little kids were pointing at us and staring.
“We’ll go find our seats,” Grandma Carole said, and she and Grandpa headed off.
Mom and I held hands and waited. It gave me a chance to get a good look at the setup. White folding chairs had been placed in front of the gazebo, and the aisle between them was lined with white and pink roses. Reverend Noll from Jeff’s church stood in the gazebo, smiling and wearing gray robes and a pink flower tucked behind her ear. Jeff stood next to her, looking nervous in a black suit with a pink rose pinned to his jacket pocket. He looked nervous but handsome, too.
To the left of the gazebo, I was shocked to see Dan and Sebastian playing guitar. Usually, they were playing heavy metal music on electric guitars. But today they were both strumming pleasantly on acoustic guitars.
Soon all the chairs were filled, and Alexis came over to us with Emily. Emily looked cute in a simple pale pink dress that went well with her dark hair. She stood next to me, and her eyes were shining. I noticed she was wearing her heart necklace too.
“Wow, you all look so beautiful!” Alexis said.
“So do you,” I told her, and I meant it. Alexis had tied her red curls in a pretty side ponytail, and she wore a yellow dress with white polka dots. Alexis looked at my mom. “Are you ready, Mrs. B?”
Mom took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready!”
We followed Alexis to the aisle, and everyone turned back to look at us. Then Alexis nodded to Dan and Sebastian, and they started playing the wedding march on their guitars. I thought it sounded really pretty that way.
“All right, Emily, you’re going to walk down f
irst,” Alexis instructed. “When you get to the gazebo, take a seat in the front row.”
Emily nodded and slowly walked down the aisle. Then Mom and I walked down the aisle, hand in hand, which is not what normally happens at a wedding but what Mom wanted.
My heart felt warm looking at the smiling faces staring at us. There was Emma with her mom and dad and her cute little brother, Jake. Emma looked adorable in a pale lavender dress that really made her blue eyes shine.
Alexis slid into a seat next to her mom and dad and her sister, Dylan. Then there was Mia, with her mom and Eddie. Mia had worked so hard to make my mom and me look gorgeous, and she looked beautiful in a sky-blue dress that I was pretty sure she’d made herself.
George had even come to the ceremony, and I noticed he’d dressed up in black dress pants and a white button-down shirt. He gave me a really big smile, pointed to my dress, and gave me a thumbs-up when I walked past.
I saw Jeff’s parents and his best friends, and Joanne and Nina from Mom’s work. A bunch of our teachers from our school were there too, which was weird but also amazing: It was like everyone in my life was at the wedding!
When we got to the gazebo, Mom squeezed my hand and let it go. I sat down next to Emily, and she smiled at me.
Then Mom stepped onto the gazebo and faced Jeff. I had never seen him look so happy before, not even when he proposed to Mom and she said yes. They both had tears in their eyes, and I fought back my own.
Then I glanced at Emily, who was giggling nervously, and I joined her. A feeling washed over me. In that moment, I knew that everything was going to be all right because I had the best friends and the best new family that anyone could ask for.
CHAPTER 13 Change Is Beautiful
The reception took place immediately after the ceremony. We walked in and I let out a little gasp. The room looked like something out of a fairy tale! There were candles and clear vases filled with pink and white rosebuds on every table. Emma’s favorite color in the world is pink, and she was swooning. “I want to live in this room!” she said.
“Katie, look!” Mia cried, pointing. In the far corner of the room stood our cupcake tower in all its glory.
I had left before it was completed, so this was my first real look at it. Every cupcake was iced with beautiful, delicate tiny roses. And … something else. “Are those … pearls?” I asked.
Mia nodded excitedly. “Edible pearls! I saw them online and I couldn’t resist. I wanted these cupcakes to be extra special.”
And real roses surrounded the base of the tower, adding another “extra special” touch.
A couple of the wedding guests stopped by to take photos of the wedding cupcakes.
“Oh, it looks too pretty to eat!” one guest moaned.
“Oh no! After all the hard work we did baking those cupcakes, I want you to eat and enjoy every single bit of it,” Alexis said.
“Do you mean to say you girls made these cupcakes?” the guest asked.
“We absolutely did,” Alexis said. And before the woman could say anything else, Alexis whipped out a business card and said, “Here’s our card for you. Party cupcakes are our specialty!”
I shook my head in wonder at Alexis. “You never miss a trick, do you? You’re always ready to promote our cupcake business.”
Alexis nodded seriously. “You know my family motto: Failing to plan is planning to fail! Which reminds me …” She took out a stack of our business cards and placed them in a neat pile next to the cupcake tower for people to take. I swear, Alexis could take over the world someday! She’s that organized. I so admire that about her.
The deejay put on a soft, slow, romantic song, and my mom and Jeff started dancing. Usually I’m not that into mushy stuff (ordinarily I would look at Mia and roll my eyes), but this was different. I loved seeing my mom so happy. She was positively glowing, looking up at Jeff. And Jeff was beaming down at my mom.
“This is the best wedding I’ve ever been to in my life!” Emma sighed.
I grinned at her. “The romance is off the charts,” I agreed. “You must be in your glory.”
The song ended, and everyone applauded as my mom and Jeff kissed for what seemed like the millionth time that day.
Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around, and it was George! He had a big goofy grin on his face.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” I answered back.
We were both quiet, and then we both giggled awkwardly.
“You clean up nice!” George finally said.
“So do you!” I answered.
Just at that moment, the deejay put on a lively tune.
“Are you ready to show me some moves, Silly Arms?” George asked.
I suddenly felt giddy.
“I am!” I said, and we started walking toward the dance floor.
And then I felt someone tugging at the back of my dress!
“Katie! Katie!” a familiar voice said.
I looked down, and it was Emma’s little brother, Jake.
“Will you dance with me, Katie?” Jake asked.
“Oh, Jake, I’m just about to dance with George. I promise I will dance with you next,” I said.
“Noooooooo! I. Want. To. Dance. With. You. NOWWW!” Jake yelled.
George laughed. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said. “We can dance—”
Just at that moment Mia glided over.
“You and Katie can dance right now,” Mia said calmly. Just as Jake looked like he was about to let out another wail, Mia said, “Come on, Jake! You can dance with me. I’ve been dying to dance with you all day.”
“You have?” Jake said with wide eyes.
“Oh, absolutely!” Mia replied. “And after you dance with me, I think Alexis has been waiting to dance with you too. And then after Alexis, you can dance with Katie.”
“Wow! That sounds great!” Jake said. He grabbed Mia by the hand. “Come on. Let’s dance right now!” He suddenly seemed to remember I was there. “See you later, Katie,” he said. “Come on, Mia. Let’s go!” he shouted.
Mia touched me lightly on the arm. “You owe me one,” she said.
I laughed. “Don’t I know it!” I said.
Once Jake was dancing (or rather, jumping up and down) with Mia, George and I walked out onto the dance floor. As soon as we were safely in a spot away from Mia and Jake, I twirled impulsively.
“Nice!” George said.
“It’s the dress,” I explained. “It makes me feel like twirling.”
“Well, here, let me help you,” George said. He took one of my hands, held it up high, and said, “Go ahead, twirl!” And I did.
Then George and I were both laughing and dancing to the beat. As I spun around and looked at all my family and friends in the room, I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so happy. My heart was so full, I thought it might burst. Cupcakes and wedding bells, I thought. And change. Change is good. As long as you have friends and family who love you, I realized there was nothing to fear.
I hadn’t noticed I had stopped dancing until I heard George say, “Don’t stop now, Silly Arms, keep going!” I laughed and smiled and kept dancing with my friend. I wished the night could go on forever, but I knew whatever came after this would be great too! I was already looking forward to my next adventure.
More from this Series
Katie and the Cupcake…
Book 1
Mia in the Mix
Book 2
Emma on Thin Icing
Book 3
Alexis and the Perfect…
Book 4
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A Donut for Your…
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Keep reading for a preview of
Hole in the Middle
by
Coco Simon
Donuts Are My Life
My grandmother started Donut Dreams, a little counter in my family’s restaurant that sells her now-famous homemade donuts, when my dad was about my age. Th
e name was inspired by my grandmother’s dream to save enough money from the business to send him to any college he wanted, even if it was far away from our small town.
It worked. Well, it kind of worked. I mean, my grandmother’s donuts are pretty legendary. Her counter is so successful that instead of only selling donuts in the morning, the shop is now open all day. Her donuts have even won all sorts of awards, and there are rumors that there’s a cooking show on TV that might come film a segment about how she started Donut Dreams from virtually nothing.
My grandmother, whom I call Nans—short for Nana—raised enough money to send my dad to college out of state all the way in Chicago. But then he came back. I’ve heard Nans was happy about that, but I’m not because it means I’m stuck here in this small town.
So now it’s my turn to come up with my own “donut dreams,” because I am dreaming about going to college in a big, glamorous city somewhere far, far away. Dad jokes that if I do go to Chicago, I have to come back like he did.
No way, I thought to myself. Nobody ever moves here, and nobody ever seems to move away, either. It’s just the same old, same old, every year: the Fall Fling, the Halloween Hoot Fair, Thanksgiving, Snowflake Festival, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day and the Sweetheart Ball … I mean, we know what’s coming.
Everyone makes a big deal about the first day of school, but it’s not like you’re with new kids or anything. There’s one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school.
Our grandparents used to go to a regional school, which meant they were with kids from other towns in high school. But the school was about forty-five minutes away, and getting there and back was a big pain, so they eventually decided to keep everyone at the high school here. It’s a big old building where my dad went to school, and his brother and my aunt, and just about everyone else’s parents.
Some kids do go away for college. My BFF Casey’s sister, Gabby, is one of them. She keeps telling Casey that she should go to the same college so they can live together while Gabby goes to medical school, which is her dream. It’s a cool idea, but what’s the point of moving away from everything if you just end up moving in with your sister?