Wedding Cookies Read online

  THE KATIE LYNN

  COOKIE COMPANY

  PRESIDENT: KATIE LYNN

  VICE PRESIDENT: TINA

  HEAD BAKER: GRANDMA

  AGENDA:

  1. TO MAKE SURE GRANDMA’S WEDDING GOES OFF WITHOUT A HITCH.

  2. TO MAKE SURE THE KATIE LYNN COOKIE COMPANY SURVIVES GRANDMA’S WEDDING.

  3. TO BE THE BEST FLOWER GIRLS EVER!

  Text copyright © 2001 by G. E. Stanley.

  Illustrations copyright © 2001 by Linda Dockey Graves.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Stanley, George Edward.

  Wedding cookies / by George Edward Stanley;

  illustrated by Linda Dockey Graves.

  p. cm. — (The Katie Lynn Cookie Company; #4)

  “A Stepping Stone Book.”

  Summary: The arrival of loads of relatives for Grandma’s wedding threatens to ruin Katie Lynn’s cookie company.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-81707-5

  [1. Weddings—Fiction. 2. Grandmothers—Fiction. 3. Cookies—Fiction.]

  I. Graves, Linda, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.S78694We 2001 [Fic]—dc21 99-18953

  A STEPPING STONE BOOK and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  THE KATIE LYNN COOKIE COMPANY is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  v3.1

  To Mom—

  for teaching me how to bake cookies

  —G.E.S.

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. Flossie and Fifi

  2. The Relatives Are Coming

  3. A Great Wedding Present

  4. Tina’s New Hair

  5. Fifi Makes a Decision

  6. Wedding Cookies

  7. Here Comes the Bride

  Katie Lynn’s Cookbook

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Katie Lynn and Tina were in Katie Lynn’s kitchen. They were baking cookies for Mr. Chesterfield’s restaurant. They were also talking about Grandma’s wedding. In one week she was going to marry Jonathan Wilbarger’s grandfather.

  “Jonathan will be your cousin now, Katie Lynn,” said Tina. “So he can’t be your boyfriend.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend!” said Katie Lynn. “Besides, I think he likes you better than me anyway.”

  “Well, he has been teasing me more lately,” said Tina. “And you know what your grandmother says that means.” She dumped a cup of walnuts into the cookie dough and started mixing it together. “I still need to get your grandmother a wedding present,” she added. “But I can’t think of anything special.”

  “Me neither,” said Katie Lynn. “Oh, well. We have a few more days. Maybe we’ll think of something.”

  “I hope so,” said Tina.

  “Weddings are so exciting,” Katie Lynn said. “I can hardly wait until Flossie gets here with our dresses.”

  Flossie had been one of Grandma’s best friends in Florida. She was a famous designer and was making all of the dresses for the wedding.

  “People will think we’re models when they see us in them,” Tina said.

  Just then, they heard a car pull into the driveway. Katie Lynn looked out the window. “It’s a taxi!” she cried.

  “Let me see!” Tina said. She leaned over the sink next to Katie Lynn and looked. “Who is that lady?” she said. “She looks like a movie star with those big sunglasses.”

  Grandma ran into the kitchen. “I think that’s Flossie!” she cried. She crowded in between Katie Lynn and Tina at the window. “Yes! It is!”

  “She’s carrying a little white poodle,” said Katie Lynn.

  “Wow! Look at that dog’s collar!” Tina cried. “I bet those are real diamonds!”

  “Oh, dear!” Grandma said. “I forgot about Fifi!”

  She headed toward the front door. Katie Lynn and Tina were right behind her. When they got there, Katie Lynn’s parents already had the door open.

  Flossie was coming up the front walk. She was wearing a red hat, a red dress, and red shoes.

  “I guess she likes red,” Katie Lynn whispered to Tina.

  “I guess so,” Tina whispered back.

  The taxi driver followed Flossie with several suitcases and a big green trunk.

  “She must think your house is a hotel,” Tina said.

  Flossie breezed into the living room. She hugged Grandma. “Darling!” she said. “It’s so good to see you!”

  Fifi let out a growl.

  Flossie frowned. “Oh, I do hope Fifi likes it here,” she said. “If she doesn’t, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  Flossie paid the taxi driver.

  “Take a look around, Fifi,” she said. “Tell Mama if you want to stay here.”

  Fifi looked around. Then she curled up on a rug and went to sleep.

  “I guess that settles that,” said Mrs. Cooke.

  “Thank goodness!” Flossie said.

  “We’re really excited about the dresses you made for us,” said Katie Lynn. “That was so nice of you.”

  “It was my pleasure, darling,” said Flossie.

  “Where are they?” Tina asked. Flossie pointed to the big green trunk.

  “Oh, let’s see them!” Tina said.

  She and Katie Lynn raced to the trunk.

  “No!” Flossie cried.

  Fifi was instantly awake. She jumped on top of the trunk and started barking.

  “I’m still working on them, my dears,” Flossie said. “You can’t see them until right before the wedding.”

  “But what if they don’t fit us?” Katie Lynn said.

  “Your grandmother sent me everyone’s sizes,” said Flossie. “I’m sure they’ll fit you.”

  “But I’ve probably grown since then,” Tina said.

  “Me too,” Katie Lynn added.

  “Well, you’ll just have to ungrow,” said Flossie. She sniffed the air. “What is that wonderful smell?”

  “Cookies,” Katie Lynn said.

  “Katie Lynn is the president of the Katie Lynn Cookie Company,” Tina said. “We bake cookies for Mr. Chesterfield’s restaurant.”

  “Oh, yes! Your grandmother told me,” Flossie said.

  “Katie Lynn and Tina are going to be on The Betsy Baker Show in a few months,” said Grandma proudly.

  Katie Lynn explained how they had won the Battle of the Bakers prize.

  “Betsy Baker is another dear friend!” Flossie said. “She has a house near mine in Florida.”

  “Really?” Katie Lynn cried.

  Flossie nodded.

  When Mrs. Cooke, Grandma, and Flossie had gone upstairs, Tina whispered, “Do you think Flossie would know if we opened the trunk and took a peek at the dresses?”

  Katie Lynn looked over at the big green trunk. Fifi had fallen asleep on top of it. “Flossie might not. But Fifi would,” she said. “She’d never let us near that trunk.”

  Flossie spent the next day locked in Grandma’s bedroom. She warned everyone to stay away. “I’m putting the finishing touches on my masterpieces,” she told them.

  Fifi was curled up in front of the bedroom door. She wouldn’t let anyone get by.

  “I think Flossie is so beautiful,” Tina said. “I wish I looked like her.” She stared at her reflection in a big aluminum pot. “Maybe I should change my hairstyle,” she added.

  “May
be you should help me put away the rest of these cookies,” said Katie Lynn.

  Just as they were finishing up in the kitchen, Mrs. Cooke shouted, “They’re here! They’re here!”

  “Who’s here?” Tina asked.

  “Some of Grandma’s distant nieces and nephews,” Katie Lynn said. “I’ve never met them before. But they wanted to come to her wedding.”

  Katie Lynn and Tina heard what sounded like a large truck pulling into the driveway.

  “What in the world is that?” Tina said.

  “Dad told them to bring their camper,” Katie Lynn explained. “We don’t have enough bedrooms for everybody. So they’re going to sleep in the camper.”

  Katie Lynn and Tina hurried to the front door. Mr. and Mrs. Cooke and Grandma were standing on the porch.

  “It looks like a house on wheels,” said Tina.

  The doors to the camper opened and a man, a woman, and a little boy jumped out.

  Grandma waved. “It’s Josh and Jane and their son, Johnny,” she said.

  While the grownups hugged each other, Johnny pushed past Katie Lynn and Tina and headed toward the kitchen. “I’m hungry!” he said.

  “Wait, Johnny!” Katie Lynn shouted.

  She and Tina took off after him.

  When they got to the kitchen, Johnny was stuffing his mouth full of Mr. Chesterfield’s cookies.

  “Oh, no!” cried Katie Lynn. She took the cookies and put them up on a shelf out of Johnny’s reach.

  “Cookies!” screamed Johnny. “Cookies!”

  Katie Lynn looked at Tina.

  “It’s worth it,” Tina said.

  Katie Lynn gave Johnny another cookie. Just then, they heard another car pull into the driveway.

  “Who’s that?” asked Tina.

  “More nieces and nephews,” Katie Lynn said.

  “I wonder if they’re going to eat our cookies, too,” said Tina.

  “Probably,” said Katie Lynn.

  Katie Lynn and Tina spent the rest of the day keeping Johnny out of trouble.

  By dinner that night, there were ten relatives in Katie Lynn’s house. And that wasn’t even counting Flossie and Fifi. There were even two cousins staying in Katie Lynn’s bedroom. And there were barely enough cookies left for Mr. Chesterfield’s order.

  Suddenly, this wonderful week wasn’t looking so wonderful after all.

  Tina came over early the next morning and went upstairs to Katie Lynn’s bedroom.

  “Mr. Chesterfield needs his cookies right away,” she said. “I told him we’d bring them.”

  Katie Lynn yawned. “When did you talk to him?” she asked.

  “He called our house this morning,” Tina replied. “He said your line was busy.”

  “He’s right,” Katie Lynn said. “The relatives have been talking on the telephone a lot.”

  Katie Lynn got dressed. Then she and Tina headed downstairs.

  The relatives were in the living room. They were arguing about which television program to watch.

  Johnny was chasing Fifi through the house. Flossie was chasing after Johnny.

  Grandma met Katie Lynn and Tina at the door to the kitchen. “Come on, girls,” she said. “I want you to go with me.”

  “Where?” Katie Lynn asked.

  “Fricket’s Department Store. They just called. I have some more wedding presents there,” Grandma replied. “Their delivery truck’s broken, so they can’t deliver them.”

  “Good!” said Katie Lynn. “We can take Mr. Chesterfield’s cookies to him on the way!”

  “What kind of presents are you getting?” Tina asked.

  “The person I talked to didn’t say,” Grandma replied. She sighed. “People in town have been so nice. It almost makes me cry.”

  “I wouldn’t cry if I were getting presents,” said Tina.

  Katie Lynn and Grandma laughed.

  They delivered Mr. Chesterfield’s cookies and invited him to the wedding. Then they drove to Fricket’s Department Store.

  “I’m supposed to see Millie in the wedding department,” Grandma said. “She’s the one who helped me register for my gifts.”

  “You mean you just tell them what you want and you’ll get it?” said Tina.

  “Well, it’s almost like that,” said Grandma.

  “I wish kids could do that,” said Katie Lynn.

  “Oh, there’s Millie now,” said Grandma. “You girls just look around.”

  “Okay,” they both said.

  Katie Lynn and Tina left the wedding department. They walked to the music department.

  “I want to see if they have any CDs by the BigTown Boys,” Katie Lynn said.

  One of the BigTown Boys had gone to Katie Lynn and Tina’s school when he was their age.

  They started looking through the rows of CDs.

  “They do!” Tina cried. “Oh, I just love them!”

  “Me too,” said Katie Lynn.

  Suddenly, they heard someone making kissing noises behind them. “Oooh! I just love the BigTown Boys!” said Jonathan Wilbarger in a silly voice.

  Katie Lynn and Tina turned.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Katie Lynn.

  “I’m here with Grandpa,” Jonathan said. “He’s trying on tuxedos upstairs.” He grinned at them. “Let me show you some real music,” he said. He pulled out a CD. “Here’s something good. Tina Trees,” he said. “She’s one of my favorites.”

  Katie Lynn had never heard of Tina Trees before.

  “She has my name!” Tina said. “Being a singer would be a cool job. Maybe I should be one.”

  Jonathan made a gagging noise.

  Tina glared at him. “What’s wrong with that, Jonathan?” she demanded.

  “Nothing,” Jonathan said. “I guess I just think of singers as more glamorous or something.”

  “I am glamorous!” Tina said. “I’m wearing a designer dress in the wedding!”

  “Oooh! Can I have your autograph?” Jonathan asked.

  Tina turned to Katie Lynn. “Will you tell your cousin he’s a creep?”

  “He’s not my cousin yet!” Katie Lynn said.

  Jonathan laughed. “There’s Grandpa,” he said. “I have to go.” He turned to Katie Lynn. “See you later, cousin!”

  “He makes me so mad!” Tina said.

  “Me too,” said Katie Lynn. “He is so immature.”

  They went back to looking through the CDs.

  “I wonder if Grandma is going to get any of these for wedding presents,” Katie Lynn said.

  “I know how we can find out,” said Tina. “Let’s go check the bridal registry.”

  “Good idea,” said Katie Lynn. “Maybe we’ll even get some ideas for a present.”

  They hurried back to the wedding department. A saleswoman was taking dinner plates out of a box and stacking them on a shelf.

  “My grandmother is registered here,” said Katie Lynn. “We want to see if she’s going to get any CDs.”

  The saleswoman blinked. “CDs?” she said.

  Katie Lynn nodded.

  “Well, just put the names of the CDs you’re interested in into the computer to see if they’re listed,” said the saleswoman.

  “Thank you,” Katie Lynn said.

  The saleswoman went back to unpacking dinner plates.

  Katie Lynn and Tina walked over to the computer.

  Katie Lynn typed in the names of all the BigTown Boys CDs. “Now what?” she said.

  “You probably hit Enter,” Tina said. She punched the Enter key.

  The computer whirred.

  “Oh, no!” Katie Lynn whispered.

  “What’s wrong?” Tina asked.

  “I think we just added those CDs to Grandma’s wedding list!” Katie Lynn exclaimed.

  The next morning, Grandma came into the kitchen carrying Flossie’s breakfast tray. “All the relatives have gone sightseeing,” she said. “So it should be quiet around here for a while.”

  “Until the men with the wedding tent
get here,” Katie Lynn said. “They just called. They’re bringing it over now.”

  Grandma sighed. “We should have eloped,” she said.

  Katie Lynn and Tina laughed.

  “Did you see our dresses yet?” Tina asked.

  “No,” Grandma said. “Flossie barely opened the door and Fifi was growling the whole time.”

  “I hope they’re ready soon,” Katie Lynn said.

  “Me too,” said Grandma.

  Katie Lynn and Tina finished up their last batch of cookies for the day. Then they started upstairs to Katie Lynn’s room.

  Flossie was coming downstairs with Fifi. They were wearing matching red sweaters. Flossie had on her dark sunglasses, and her hair was up in a French twist. “All this sewing has exhausted me, girls,” she said. “Fifi and I are going out to get some fresh air.”

  “Okay, Flossie,” said Katie Lynn. “See you later.”

  When they got to Katie Lynn’s room, Katie Lynn stretched out on the floor.

  Tina looked in the mirror. “You know, Katie Lynn? Jonathan’s right,” she said. “If I want to be as glamorous as Flossie, I need to do something. Maybe I should make my hair a different color.”

  “Mom used to change her hair color every week,” said Katie Lynn. “She has all kinds of stuff in the bathroom just for that.”

  “Really?” said Tina. “Show me!”

  They left Katie Lynn’s room and went to the bathroom.

  Katie Lynn rummaged around at the back of a cabinet until she found what she was looking for. “Ash Blonde. Midnight Brunette. Strawberry Red,” she said. “Mom’s hair has been every one of these colors.”

  “Let me try Ash Blonde,” Tina said.

  “Tina!” said Katie Lynn. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes!” said Tina. “Let’s get started.”

  “Okay,” said Katie Lynn. “It’s your hair.”

  Katie Lynn read the directions on the back of the box. “This should be easy,” she said.

  She put on the pair of rubber gloves from the box. They were so big she could hardly keep them on. She filled the sink with warm water and wet Tina’s hair.

  Then Katie Lynn shook the bottle of dye until it was mixed. She poured the contents of the bottle on Tina’s hair. She shampooed it in.