Joseph Anderson Donetti looked up from the book he was reading. Rain beat against the windows and ran down the glass panes. Joseph wiggled into a more comfortable position in the big over-stuffed chair. He looked for his place on the page again. The story was getting very exciting!
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans stood in the middle of the lawn. She put two fingers into her mouth and whistled a long, piercing whistle.
Mama smiled at Hannah through the open window. “Sh!” she said softly and pointed to the back seat. Hannah peeked in at Baby Paulo. His head drooped down to his chest. His dark hair clung to his head in damp curls. Just looking at Baby Paulo made Hannah smile. Even when she definitely did not feel like smiling.
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans felt like stamping her feet. She took a deep breath instead. “Are you sure I can’t go outside and play?” she asked.
Supper was finally over. Somehow Trevor had not enjoyed his Sloppy Joes like he usually did. The food seemed to be sitting in a solid lump in the middle of his stomach.
He was tired of being the little brother. He was tired of not getting to do stuff that Brad and Ben got to do. He was quite angry about it in fact.
As they walked beside the tall chain link fence that separated the tennis courts from the street, a large barking dog ran straight toward them across the empty courts. Hannah gave a little shriek. “That’s a scary dog!” she exclaimed.
MacKenzie Isabelle Evans heard the telephone ring. “I’ll get it!” she hollered. Mac liked answering the phone. She never knew who would be on the other end of the line, and it was always fun to find out.
Hannah smiled as she opened her car door. Even though Baby Paulo was a lot of trouble, he was worth it. She was sure he was the cutest baby brother in the world.
Joseph and Mac trudged slowly along the side of the road. Their feet scuffed up little puffs of dust. The sun beat down on their heads. Not even one cloud floated in the hazy blue sky.
