been completely distracted, and Lisa was cool and distant, barely making eye contact. That had hurt. Now she forced herself to focus on the problem at hand. “Alex, remember in the pizza parlor you mentioned a
This Is Your Life
kind of party?”
“Yeah, you shot it down,” he replied. “And you were right. We wouldn’t have had time to get it together.”
“Maybe I was only half right,” Stevie said thoughtfully.
“You’ve got something in mind?” Chad asked.
Stevie stopped walking. “Why are we making this so complicated? Let’s throw them a great surprise party with all their best friends from here in town.”
Her brothers looked at her. Stevie was afraid they were all about to start making fun of her, but instead, they actually began smiling.
“You know, you’re absolutely right,” Chad said. “Maybe we’ve been blowing this ‘present’ thing all out of proportion.”
“Yeah,” agreed Alex. “Maybe the best gift of all would be to have people they like, and who like them, come over and talk. Adults like to talk.”
“And eat,” added Michael.
“You know, if we’re going to do this, we’re going tohave to do it right.” Stevie looked at each of her brothers. “Are we going to do this?”
Everyone smiled. They were all in agreement!
“Okay, we’ve only got ten days; we need to get organized!” Stevie said, beginning to walk again. “First of all we’ll need a place to hold it. I can think of a couple of places right off the bat, so maybe I should be in charge of that.”
“Great, you got it,” said Chad. “By the way, I think Michael had a good point. We’re definitely going to need some eats.”
“Not just chips and dips, though. We should get fancier stuff,” Michael added.
“Hey! I know this guy in school whose brother is dating this really cool girl,” Chad said thoughtfully.
“Alert the media,” Alex teased.
Chad shot him a look. “It so happens her father works for a catering business. Maybe she could help us get a deal.”
“Excellent, Chad,” said Stevie. “You’re in charge of the food. What else will we need?”
“How about some music?” Chad asked. “We should get a live band. It’s much classier than CDs.”
“I know a guy who’s in a band,” Alex said. “I could check and see if they can play that night. I bet they wouldn’t charge us much.”
“What about me?” asked Michael. “What can I do?”
Stevie considered for a moment. “How about the decorations? I think you’d be really good at that.”
Michael beamed at the suggestion. “Oh yeah! I want to do the decorating. I can already think of lots of things to do.”
“All right then, we’ve finally got a plan!” enthused Stevie. “Now, we’ve got a lot to do.” Suddenly she felt a little pang of sadness. Normally she would have relied heavily on Lisa to help get things organized, and Carole was always wonderful at taking care of the little details. It looked like this time she was going to have to rely on herself and her brothers.
As soon as they got home, Michael headed straight to his room to make a list of things he’d need for decorating, Alex ran off to ask his friend about the band, Chad grabbed the kids’ phone to call about catering, and Stevie got on her parents’ line to the country club.
Unfortunately it only took a few minutes for her to find out that they would only rent rooms to current members. Disappointed but not discouraged, she moved on to plan B, and she quickly dialed the number of her dad’s service club. He was a member in good standing, so they couldn’t possibly turn her down. It turned out they were willing to rent her a room, butshe hadn’t called far enough in advance and they were all booked up. Out of curiosity Stevie asked how much it would have cost, then nearly fell out of her chair at the answer. She hung up the phone with a panicky feeling in her chest. Renting a hall for the party was going to cost more than a digital
This Is Your Life
kind of party?”
“Yeah, you shot it down,” he replied. “And you were right. We wouldn’t have had time to get it together.”
“Maybe I was only half right,” Stevie said thoughtfully.
“You’ve got something in mind?” Chad asked.
Stevie stopped walking. “Why are we making this so complicated? Let’s throw them a great surprise party with all their best friends from here in town.”
Her brothers looked at her. Stevie was afraid they were all about to start making fun of her, but instead, they actually began smiling.
“You know, you’re absolutely right,” Chad said. “Maybe we’ve been blowing this ‘present’ thing all out of proportion.”
“Yeah,” agreed Alex. “Maybe the best gift of all would be to have people they like, and who like them, come over and talk. Adults like to talk.”
“And eat,” added Michael.
“You know, if we’re going to do this, we’re going tohave to do it right.” Stevie looked at each of her brothers. “Are we going to do this?”
Everyone smiled. They were all in agreement!
“Okay, we’ve only got ten days; we need to get organized!” Stevie said, beginning to walk again. “First of all we’ll need a place to hold it. I can think of a couple of places right off the bat, so maybe I should be in charge of that.”
“Great, you got it,” said Chad. “By the way, I think Michael had a good point. We’re definitely going to need some eats.”
“Not just chips and dips, though. We should get fancier stuff,” Michael added.
“Hey! I know this guy in school whose brother is dating this really cool girl,” Chad said thoughtfully.
“Alert the media,” Alex teased.
Chad shot him a look. “It so happens her father works for a catering business. Maybe she could help us get a deal.”
“Excellent, Chad,” said Stevie. “You’re in charge of the food. What else will we need?”
“How about some music?” Chad asked. “We should get a live band. It’s much classier than CDs.”
“I know a guy who’s in a band,” Alex said. “I could check and see if they can play that night. I bet they wouldn’t charge us much.”
“What about me?” asked Michael. “What can I do?”
Stevie considered for a moment. “How about the decorations? I think you’d be really good at that.”
Michael beamed at the suggestion. “Oh yeah! I want to do the decorating. I can already think of lots of things to do.”
“All right then, we’ve finally got a plan!” enthused Stevie. “Now, we’ve got a lot to do.” Suddenly she felt a little pang of sadness. Normally she would have relied heavily on Lisa to help get things organized, and Carole was always wonderful at taking care of the little details. It looked like this time she was going to have to rely on herself and her brothers.
As soon as they got home, Michael headed straight to his room to make a list of things he’d need for decorating, Alex ran off to ask his friend about the band, Chad grabbed the kids’ phone to call about catering, and Stevie got on her parents’ line to the country club.
Unfortunately it only took a few minutes for her to find out that they would only rent rooms to current members. Disappointed but not discouraged, she moved on to plan B, and she quickly dialed the number of her dad’s service club. He was a member in good standing, so they couldn’t possibly turn her down. It turned out they were willing to rent her a room, butshe hadn’t called far enough in advance and they were all booked up. Out of curiosity Stevie asked how much it would have cost, then nearly fell out of her chair at the answer. She hung up the phone with a panicky feeling in her chest. Renting a hall for the party was going to cost more than a digital
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