My New Family

Chapter One ~ The Wedding

Evelyn

     Hello, my name is Evelyn. For a while my older sister, Susanna, has been away at boarding school, and I usually had to look after my little brothers and sisters. There were Susie, Joey, John, Catherine, and I.  But then Dad said he was going to get married again, and now there are also Philomena, Pierre, Pauline, Anna, and Anastasia. Pauline is my age, twelve, and is only a day older, so Dad says we will be sharing a room. This is the story of my new family...

      It is Sunday, September 14, 1913. I am kneeling in the second-to-the-front pew of Amiens Cathedral, otherwise known as Notre-Dame, watching Philomena and Susanna be bridesmaids. Pierre and Joseph are pages. Catherine, Anna, and Pauline are flower girls. I'm not because someone had to mind John and Stasia, the two youngest, and I got the job as usual. I don't mind that much. I know I'd just get distracted and forget where to stand or something. Suddenly, just when they are taking the vows and I want to listen, Catherine squeals, for about the tenth time. "John, stop pulling her hair already! And if you two don't start behaving I'll tell Daddy not to give you any wedding cake," I whisper angrily. Ah, finally some peace and quiet.

      The wedding has completely finished and we're heading home for the reception in the car. Pauline, who I think I am going to call Linnie because Paul sounds like a boy's name, is whispering to Pierre. Susanna is talking to Philomena about her boarding school. Catherine and Anna are talking about the wedding. Stasia and John, best friends, are making faces and giggling at each other. Joseph and I are doing nothing. "Joey,'' I say, "I wonder if stepmothers are actually nasty or if it's only in books." He's been worrying about that for the last three weeks. "Sure, and you're gonna be Cinderella," he huffs back grumpily. "Our mother is not nasty!" Pauline cries angrily. "I'm only joking,'' I say. Can't she see that? Pauline just glares and me, unconvinced. Not a good beginning with my new sister. 

     We are at home, where Stepmama and Father have decided to have the reception. I am eating a piece of vanilla wedding cake; I was given a piece with a pink sugar flower! Now Joseph is talking with Pierre, Susanna with Philomena, Catherine with Anna, Stasia and John. Pauline is talking to a friend of hers. I'm talking to nobody. I approach Pauline and her friend. "Hi," I say. ''Hello, this is Jane," says Pauline. "Do you like school, Jane?'' I ask. "I'm on holidays,'' she says. ''I like it, especially French and especially not Mathematics," I reply. There is an uncomfortable silence. I can't think of anything to say. I keep saying things and Jane or Pauline talk for a bit to me, then more silence. Then they start talking about a game I've never heard of. This always happens to me. I can't chat with people. ''Well, bye." I weave through the chattering crowd. All the noise is giving me a headache. I go to a garden bench a short distance from everyone else and read 'A Little Princess' for ages, completely losing track of time.

     When I look up the guests are all gone. "Children, come here!" calls Dad. I go over and get a good look at Stepmama. She has pretty red hair and is younger than Dad. I am going to call her Stepmama because the word Mama is special to me. I still miss Mama sometimes; she died almost four years ago, in a carriage accident. I hear that Pauline's father died a little more than a year ago, when their house burnt down in Paris. They must miss him terribly, even though they have a new father now, Dad. I wonder what Pauline will call him!

     Dad breaks into my thoughts by shouting, ''Now, everyone, we need all hands on deck to pitch in and clean this up. When we've finished, we'll have dinner." Joseph cheers. "I was so hungry!" I think,  how could he still be hungry after all that food!?!

     Everyone runs to clean up our big garden. I have a great time, throwing rubbish into the trash bins with Joseph and my sisters, dangling serviettes for the cats, Silky and PomPom, to catch, wiping the tables (or splashing John when he gets too close) and putting the food in the fridge, as well as giving crumbs to our budgerigar, Jade. Then I make a mistake. I throw a bag of tissues that had been used to wipe up ice-cream at Pauline, who is walking along the tables collecting trash. ''Catch!" She misses it and gets ice-cream all over her beautiful cream dress and face. She shrieks.

     "Oh, Pauline, I'm so sorry!" I cry, running over to her and trying not to giggle. I try to wipe the front of her dress with a serviette, but she bats me away and starts crying. Now she has tears streaking through the ice-cream. Me, Joseph, John, Stasia, Anna, Catherine, Philomena, Susanna, and Dad start to laugh, but I think Stepmother is furious, and Pierre looks-well, I can't find a word to describe how he looks. We can't help it, she looks too funny, her face screwed up and red. She glares at me. ''Evelyn, you're ho-'' she stops, checks herself, and storms inside. ''Evelyn! Did you throw that at her on purpose?'' cries Stepmama. ''Yes, but-'' ''You can go to your room without any dinner, that was her best dress; it cost fifty dollars and you've ruined it!" ''Yes, Stepmama.'' ''Stepmama?!''  Here Dad intervenes. ''She can't call you Mama because, for her, that is a title that belongs only to my first wife.'' He turns to me, ''Go on, Evelyn.'' ''Yes, Father.'' 

      In our room I see Pauline in a nightie, crying furiously. ''Pauline, I'm so sorry, I thought you'd catch it. Look, can we be friends, and forget about this?'' I ask. She nods. ''Ok, we'll be friends- Linnie." I say. But she still doesn't look happy.