Gramma is standing at the stove in the apron I made her with my hands all over it. Her hair is sticky-up, which is funny. Usually she looks like a princess with flippy hair.

Right away she comes and picks me up and swings me around and says, “We have a baby!”

“My sister?!”

“A sister, Cecelia Marie!”

Gramma and I dance all around the kitchen, so I know this must be exciting. I wonder where my sister is. She sets me on the counter to flip a pancake.

“Daddy called about four o'clock in the morning to say she was born. Ten fingers, ten toes and eight whole pounds! Oh my goodness, Cece. Daddy said she can't wait to meet you.”

“Where is my sister?”

“At the hospital. Daddy's coming to get you after breakfast.”

“Can she say my name?”

“Not yet, baby.”

“I hope she likes playing house!”

“She won't be able to do that for a little bit. She has to grow up a little first.”

That's weird. If she can't play house, she at least needs to know playing horses. I will have to ask her. Gramma makes me a plate of pancakes and some milk and gets out sugar sauce, which is brown. Then I have an idea. I ask Gramma if I can be a dog, which is where I have a bowl of chocolate milk and cinmon grahams on the floor and I lick it all up.

Gramma looks at my pancakes and sighs. “Oh, what the heck, why not. It's a special day.”

After breakfast I watch Arthur on the big TV and I go and stare at the deer head that Hank shot one time on the wall that's in the basement, because Gramma doesn't like it. And I put a cinmon graham in his mouth so he doesn't get hungry. Then I watch Gramma get ready in her pink bathroom. She puts powder and pink stuff and lipstick all over herself and I ask very nice if I can please have some lipstick, so then my lips are shiny red like an apple.

While we wait for Daddy I make my sister a card with lots of stickers and kiss it with my red lips and it says 'happy birday sis!' which Gramma helps me write. I sit in Gramma's lap to look at pictures of Mommy and Aunt Penny and Grampa Beesly before he was not with Gramma. Mommy had curly curly blonde like my hair. My favorite picture is this one where she is holding a big ugly fish and making a squishy face, so funny.

There's a knock on the door and then Daddy's here! He is still wearing his fancy clothes from yesterday and his hair looks what Mommy calls morning time and right away he yawns but he is also all smiles.

“Daddddy!” I tackle him and he scoops me high high up and kisses both my cheeks and swings me around.

“Hey, cutie! Guess who's here?”

“You!”

Daddy laughs. “Your sister!”

He yawns again and I snuggle into his shirt and stick my fingers in his pocket to see if there's pens or gum. There isn't. I put my head on him and he does waterfall with my hair.

“I missed you Daddy.”

“I missed you too, Cee.”

He sits us down and sighs and Gramma comes over to hug us.

“You must be exhausted!”

Daddy nods. “Little bit. But I can't really complain. We've got another one.”

I've never seen Daddy so smiley.

“How's Pam?” says Gramma.

“Doing great. She was such a trooper. Like I said earlier, it was a kinda scary for a while, what with not knowing how the baby was. Once she got turned – ”

“Daddy, look.”

I need to show him my card, because it's so cool and this is boring.

“Cece, did you make that for your sister? Get outta here. You are the coolest.” Daddy gives me high-five and I color some more hearts and flowers while Daddy says Mommy has been sleeping a lot and the baby has been crying more than he remembers I did and Gramma asks lots of questions about my sister.

So then I stick some stickers to Daddy's shoe and I find Gramma's purse and look for gum but there isn't any and then I sing some songs I made up about gum and then I go into Gramma's bathroom and do more lipstick and look in her closet when Daddy calls for me to get my stuff.

When I run to Daddy again and he picks me up, he says, “Cece, do you know anything about these hearts on my shoe?” and I say, “No I do not” and Gramma smiles.

She kisses me and says, “I guess a shoe fairy was here, huh?” and winks. I try to wink back without Daddy seeing and then I pull the surprise I have out of my shirt, Gramma's underwear!

And that's when Daddy puts me down and says I am not allowed to take other people's underwear but I can tell he is trying not to laugh. And when we get outside we laugh and laugh and laugh, because Daddy is my buddy and we can be so silly together. But still, he says. No underwear.

//

Holmen is what is called a diner. It has red seats and lots of ice cream in shiny cases and a special place where you can sit and watch people make the food but we never sit there, we always get a booth. On the back of the wall there is cows painted, which I really love. I named them all before but I always forget the names the next time we come to eat. It smells like candy inside and I like to press my face to the cases with chocolates in them and pick out all my favorites.

Daddy and I hold hands going in. I already know what I want, I want a chicken finger, which is a crispy chicken's finger and black raspberry in a cone with a marshmallow surprise on the bottom. And I know Daddy will get a burger. Daddy says we are making a quick stop before we go see Mommy and the baby and that Gramma is going to meet us there.

“Can I get a chicken's finger?”

Daddy lifts me up high and says, “Hang on, sweetie. Let's pick out a balloon first.”

On the wall next to the man with the white shirt there are a million balloons. My favorite is the rainbow or the one with the unicorn.

“This is for your sister. And you get to choose any one you want.”

“Read them.”

“ That one says 'it's a girl.' That's a good one, huh?”

“I like the mouse one.”

“Or how about the pink one with the baby?”

“The mouse one.”

“You think she'll like that one?”

“Mouse, Daddy, she will LOVE it. I have the best taste.”

Daddy puts me down so he can get out his wallet and then he gives me the balloon string and tells me to be careful and hold on tight. It has Minnie Mouse and I want to hold it and keep it for me. Then he gets me a cone with raspberry so I have both hands full.

“Daddy? I don't want to meet my sister anymore.”

We are outside and Daddy stops yawning to rub my head.

“Yeah? How come, Ceebee?”

“Cause it's good just me, you and Mommy. I want this balloon.”

Daddy wipes some ice cream off my face. “Oh, honey. I know this is going be a change. But you know what, it's really good change. You and your sister are going to have such a great time together. And you can be the best helper and take care of her. She's gonna love you so much.”

“I'll be in charge?”

“Mm-hmm. Mommy and I will really need your help. You think you can do that for us?”

“Daddy. I am the best helper!”

He laughs and kisses me. “What would I do without you! Ready to go see Mommy?”

I lick my cone and feel a little scared inside but I nod, because I have to give my sister this balloon so she knows I'm in charge. And of course, I miss Mommy. I watch the balloon floating on the ceiling of the car until my cone drips all the way down my arms and I have to yell at Daddy that the sticky monster's here and coming to get you! The only cure is napkins, and he's smart, because he has a million.