I shook my head. I did not want to go skating. Not at all.
“It is time for a talk,” said Grandad.
He stopped and put his hands on my shoulders. He lifted up my chin and looked in my eyes.
“Karen, what you did was not wise. You had important information and you ignored it. You let your friend, Bobby, get himself into trouble. But then look what you did, Karen. You did everything right. And now I want you to tell me the things you did right.”
This was a switch. Lately, I had been spending all my time thinking about everything I had done wrong. I guess it was about time for me to think about the things I had done right. It was even time for me to say them out loud.
“I stayed calm in an emergency situation,” I said. “And I remembered all the things Ms. Colman taught us. Ms. Colman said I used my head.”
“That is right,” said Grandad. “What else? You are leaving out something important.”
At first I could not think what it was. Then I knew.
“I was brave,” I said. “I went out on the ice even after I knew it was not strong enough to hold Bobby. I could have fallen through just like he did.”
“That is right, Karen. You were brave,” said Grandad. “So you did one thing that was not wise and then a lot of things that were.”
I looked at Grandad and smiled. It was the first time since the accident that I truly felt like smiling.
“Merry Christmas, Karen,” said Grandad.
“Merry Christmas!” I said.
Secret Santas
“Welcome home, you two,” said Granny. “We have been waiting for you.”
“It is time for the Secret Santa presents,” said Andrew. He was so excited that he was jumping up and down.
“Hold on,” said Grandad. “I will get mine.”
“Me, too,” I said. I ran upstairs and came back with a long, gift-wrapped box.
We picked candy canes from a cup to see who got to give the first present. Mommy picked the shortest candy cane. That meant she was first.
“Karen, I am your Secret Santa,” said Mommy. “Merry Christmas.”
My present was wrapped with pretty paper that had bears playing drums on it. I opened it carefully.
Inside were matching mittens, a scarf, and a hat. Now I knew what Mommy had been working on in the den. She had knitted them herself.
“Thank you!” I said. “I cannot wait to wear them.”
“I am glad you like your present,” said Mommy.
Seth went next. He was Andrew’s Secret Santa. Seth had made Andrew a wooden treasure box.
“I am going to keep all my rocks in here,” said Andrew. “Thank you.”
Grandad had made Mommy a painted flower box to put in the window. Granny had made Grandad an album to hold his recipes. (Grandad can cook lots of good things besides pancakes.)
Andrew had picked the longest candy cane. So he was supposed to go last.
“That is okay,” I said. “You can go before me.”
Andrew’s face was glowing. I could see he was very proud of his gift to Granny. I thought I knew what his gift was. When Granny opened the box, I could see I had guessed right.
Andrew had made a book for Granny. He had written the story of Christmas in it. He had even drawn pictures.
“Oh, Andrew. You know I love to tell this story. From now on, I can read it from this beautiful book you made,” said Granny.
She gave Andrew a big hug and a kiss.
“It is my turn now,” I said. I handed the box to Seth. “Merry Christmas.”
Seth opened the box. There was a paper rolled up inside. Seth unrolled it.
“It is a map,” he said. “It is a map from our house to Nancy’s house. This is a very interesting gift from my Secret Santa.”
“Wait right here,” I said. I ran and phoned Nancy to let her know we were coming over.
“It is okay,” I said to everyone. “Let’s go!”
We ran next door to Nancy’s house. I walked in and sat down at Nancy’s piano. Then I began to play my Christmas gift to Seth. It was a carol he had taught me. He said it was his favorite. As I played, I sang.
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree.
Your leaves will gladly teach me
That hope and love and faithfulness
Are precious things I can possess.
The song came out very well. Nancy had helped me practice a lot. And I had been a good student. I did not play one wrong note.
When I looked up, I could see tears in Seth’s eyes.
“Karen, I could not imagine a more beautiful Christmas gift. It has made me very happy,” he said.
I was happy too. It had turned out to be a wonderful Christmas after all.
Happy New Year!
There were five days left to our Christmas vacation. I was ready to have fun every single day.
On Monday it snowed. I met Nancy outside and we made snow angels. Then more kids came out. We decided to build a giant snowman. Bobby was there, too.
“Um, Bobby, may I talk to you for one minute, please?” I said. “Over here, okay?”
I pulled Bobby away from the other kids.
“What’s up?” asked Bobby.
I told him the true story about his accident.
“I know I should have told you that Grandad said the ice was not strong enough. Then you would not have had your accident,” I said. “I am really, really sorry.”
“It’s okay. I know you did not do it to be mean,” said Bobby. “And you know what? I can be pretty stubborn sometimes. I might have gone on the ice even if you had told me what your grandad said.”
“Really?” I replied. I had never thought of that. “But would you ever go on ice again if you were not absolutely, positively sure it was ready? Would you?”
“No way!” said Bobby.
We both started laughing. Then we helped to build the snowman. I felt much, much better.
The next night, I had a sleepover at Nancy’s house. Hannie came, too. It was a Three Musketeers party. They are the best kind.
We made plans to go skating with Bobby on Wednesday. I put on the mittens, scarf, and hat Mommy had made for me. I carried my new skates as we walked to the pond.
When we were practically at the pond, the four of us started to run. Hannie got there first.
“Green flag! Green flag!” she called.
I put on my skates and sailed across the ice. Finally I was having a real winter vacation. I was loving every minute of it.
The green flag was up on Thursday and Friday, too. Friday afternoon, we all went home early. It was New Year’s Eve.
I went upstairs after supper to write down my New Year’s resolutions. Here is what I wrote:
I looked at my list. It looked good to me. I was ready to go downstairs. But first I wanted to say happy new year to Goosie. And to Emily Junior. And to Hyacynthia. I said happy new year to all my dolls. And to all my toys.
“Happy New Year to everyone, everywhere!” I said.
About the Author
ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.
Copyright © 1994 by Ann M. Martin
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First edition, 1994
e-ISBN 978-1-338-05722-5
Karen's Ice Skates Page 4