myself. "Okay," I said. "We just have to return our balls."
I led the girls to the nineteenth hole. Mallory had explained how it worked. You hit your ball up a ramp, it disappeared over the top, and ran down a chute back to Fred.
Thwack! My golf ball disappeared.
Thwack'. Margo's ball disappeared.
Thwack! Claire's ball disappeared.
Then, ding, ding, ding! Whoop, whoop, whoop!
The second Claire's ball sailed into the chute, lights flashed, bells rang, sirens wailed. Fred came rushing out of his shop.
"Congratulations!" he exclaimed. "Somebody has just won two free games here!"
"Me! Me! Oh, it was me!" Claire cried, jumping up and down.
"You're the lucky five-hundredth person to return your golf ball this week." Fred handed Claire two tickets for free putt-putt.
"Oh, please, Stacey, can Margo and I play again right now?" asked Claire.
I looked at the lines of people and "Old King Cole" and the swinging putt-putt clubs.
I was beginning to get a headache.
"Claire," I said, "you can use your tickets on the next rainy day."
"Okay," she said. "But you know what, Stacey? You're a silly-billy-goo-goo."
"You know what, Claire? You are, too."
Claire slipped her hand in mine, and she and Margo and I went off to find the others.
Chapter 9.
Kristy Thomas had been getting an awful lot of mail from Claudia and Dawn and Mary Anne and me — at least three postcards every day. And finally Mary Anne and I got a letter from her.
Believe it or not, we were all baby-sitting. Back in her old neighborhood in California, Dawn was sitting for some of the families she used to sit for. Claudia and her family had traveled to an isolated mountain resort. Although it was quiet — the perfect place for Mimi to recover from her stroke — a lot of other families were staying there, too. Claudia had sat for a couple of them.
Of course Kristy was in baby-sitters' heaven. She was the only club member left in Stoney-brook, so she had all our clients to herself. But her most memorable baby-sitting job during the two weeks we were apart was not for another family, but for her very own stepsister and stepbrother, six-year-old Karen and four-year-old Andrew, and her little brother, David Michael.
Kristy's long letter told us about the entire incident. It began on Sunday morning when Watson Brewer announced that he and Elizabeth (Kristy's mom) were going to spend the
day at an estate auction. Kristy didn't know what that was, and didn't ask.
Then her older brothers, Sam and Charlie, announced that they were going back to the old neighborhood to visit friends for the day.
"I guess you're in charge then, Kristy," said her mother. "Can you baby-sit?"
"Sure," Kristy replied. She turned to David Michael, Karen, and Andrew. "What do you guys want to do today?"
"I'm busy," said David Michael. "Linny Papadakis is having a dog show. I'm entering Louie. Hey, do you want to come with me?"
"Yes," said Karen.
"No," said Andrew. (Andrew likes Louie all right, but he's afraid of most other dogs.)
"Karen, you can go to the dog show with David Michael," Kristy told her. "You could play with Hannie." (Hannie, Linny's younger sister, is a friend of Karen's.)
"That's okay. I'll stay with Andrew."
David Michael looked a little hurt, but didn't say anything.
Watson spoke up then. "I've got a job to be done," he said. "I need someone to wash the Ford."
"Oh, we'll do it! We'll do it!" shouted Karen.
"Can we use the hose and those big sponges? We'll do a great job, Daddy! Andrew and Kristy and I. We'll get your car cleaner than anything!"
The Ford is no big deal as cars go. In fact, if s sort of an emergency car. It's this old black thing that Watson used to drive years and years ago. He keeps it parked in a shed at the back of the property. (In his garage are a red sportscar and a fancy new car and the Thomases' green station wagon.) But Watson won't give the Ford away. He says you never know when you might need it. Kristy pointed out, though, that in all
I led the girls to the nineteenth hole. Mallory had explained how it worked. You hit your ball up a ramp, it disappeared over the top, and ran down a chute back to Fred.
Thwack! My golf ball disappeared.
Thwack'. Margo's ball disappeared.
Thwack! Claire's ball disappeared.
Then, ding, ding, ding! Whoop, whoop, whoop!
The second Claire's ball sailed into the chute, lights flashed, bells rang, sirens wailed. Fred came rushing out of his shop.
"Congratulations!" he exclaimed. "Somebody has just won two free games here!"
"Me! Me! Oh, it was me!" Claire cried, jumping up and down.
"You're the lucky five-hundredth person to return your golf ball this week." Fred handed Claire two tickets for free putt-putt.
"Oh, please, Stacey, can Margo and I play again right now?" asked Claire.
I looked at the lines of people and "Old King Cole" and the swinging putt-putt clubs.
I was beginning to get a headache.
"Claire," I said, "you can use your tickets on the next rainy day."
"Okay," she said. "But you know what, Stacey? You're a silly-billy-goo-goo."
"You know what, Claire? You are, too."
Claire slipped her hand in mine, and she and Margo and I went off to find the others.
Chapter 9.
Kristy Thomas had been getting an awful lot of mail from Claudia and Dawn and Mary Anne and me — at least three postcards every day. And finally Mary Anne and I got a letter from her.
Believe it or not, we were all baby-sitting. Back in her old neighborhood in California, Dawn was sitting for some of the families she used to sit for. Claudia and her family had traveled to an isolated mountain resort. Although it was quiet — the perfect place for Mimi to recover from her stroke — a lot of other families were staying there, too. Claudia had sat for a couple of them.
Of course Kristy was in baby-sitters' heaven. She was the only club member left in Stoney-brook, so she had all our clients to herself. But her most memorable baby-sitting job during the two weeks we were apart was not for another family, but for her very own stepsister and stepbrother, six-year-old Karen and four-year-old Andrew, and her little brother, David Michael.
Kristy's long letter told us about the entire incident. It began on Sunday morning when Watson Brewer announced that he and Elizabeth (Kristy's mom) were going to spend the
day at an estate auction. Kristy didn't know what that was, and didn't ask.
Then her older brothers, Sam and Charlie, announced that they were going back to the old neighborhood to visit friends for the day.
"I guess you're in charge then, Kristy," said her mother. "Can you baby-sit?"
"Sure," Kristy replied. She turned to David Michael, Karen, and Andrew. "What do you guys want to do today?"
"I'm busy," said David Michael. "Linny Papadakis is having a dog show. I'm entering Louie. Hey, do you want to come with me?"
"Yes," said Karen.
"No," said Andrew. (Andrew likes Louie all right, but he's afraid of most other dogs.)
"Karen, you can go to the dog show with David Michael," Kristy told her. "You could play with Hannie." (Hannie, Linny's younger sister, is a friend of Karen's.)
"That's okay. I'll stay with Andrew."
David Michael looked a little hurt, but didn't say anything.
Watson spoke up then. "I've got a job to be done," he said. "I need someone to wash the Ford."
"Oh, we'll do it! We'll do it!" shouted Karen.
"Can we use the hose and those big sponges? We'll do a great job, Daddy! Andrew and Kristy and I. We'll get your car cleaner than anything!"
The Ford is no big deal as cars go. In fact, if s sort of an emergency car. It's this old black thing that Watson used to drive years and years ago. He keeps it parked in a shed at the back of the property. (In his garage are a red sportscar and a fancy new car and the Thomases' green station wagon.) But Watson won't give the Ford away. He says you never know when you might need it. Kristy pointed out, though, that in all
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