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“Aren't you just dying to peek in there?” Flora whispered to Ruby one evening.

“I already have.”

“You
have
?”

“Well … I tried to. But it's locked! Min locked the door!”

“Ruby.”

“I wonder where the key is. Do you know?”

“No. And it's a good thing I don't. Besides, you wouldn't want someone peeking under your bed, would you?”

Ruby narrowed her eyes. “
Have
you been peeking?”

“Nope. I like to be surprised.”

“So where are you hiding
your
stuff?” asked Ruby.

“I'm not even going to give you a hint.”

But this year, though it was as exciting as the previous one, was different. Some of the best surprises had nothing at all to do with the holidays and instead were about Jane Marie. Jane Marie was doing well, and so was her mother, and in two days Camden Falls was going to become Janie's home.

A surprise baby shower had been planned for Allie and Janie, to be held on a Thursday afternoon, the moment Allie walked through the door after her final trip to Manhattan.

“Girls?” Min called up the stairs on Wednesday evening. “Are you coming with me to Allie's? We should leave in just a few minutes.”

“Coming!” replied Flora and Ruby instantly.

As they clattered down the stairs, Min said, “I want to do as much as possible to get ready tonight, because tomorrow afternoon is going to be busy. Can you give me a hand with the food, please?”

Flora and Ruby helped Min carry bags of party food to their car, and then they drove through the quiet dark streets of Camden Falls toward Allie's house.

“I hope it snows for Christmas,” said Ruby wistfully. “I hope we have a big old white Christmas.”

“Snow for Christmas would be lovely,” said Min, “but not for the shower. And not for Allie's drive back from New York tomorrow with the baby.”

“No! We don't want anything to spoil that,” said Flora hastily.

When they reached Allie's house, Flora couldn't help taking one more peek at Janie's nursery. Allie had been delighted with the makeshift nursery she had discovered after the Thanksgiving adventure in Manhattan. But since she hadn't been able to bring Janie home with her yet, she had had time to buy a new crib and changing table and to pick out fabric from which Min and Flora had made curtains and a matching crib set.

Flora looked around the room and let out a sigh. The nursery was a cloud of pale pink and blue and yellow. A teddy bear sat in the Morrises' white rocking chair — on a pink cushion made by Flora. Allie had painted the dresser blue with gold stars. It looked, Flora thought, like the ceiling in Grand Central Station. On the wall above the crib hung the word
JANIE
in jaunty yellow and pink gingham letters.

Still, the room looked a bit bare. The shelves of the bookcase were mostly empty, and so was the top of the dresser.

“And that's exactly why we need to give Allie a shower,” Min had said. “She may have bought a lot of baby things, but she still needs a lamp and books and toys and stuffed animals. And, of course, everyone wants to welcome Janie home.”

“Allie is going to be so surprised tomorrow,” said Flora when she returned to the kitchen to help Min with the food.

“Did you finish your present?” Min asked her.

“Yup,” replied Flora, opening a package of paper plates. “But it's all wrapped up. I don't want anyone to see it before the shower.”

“I have a good surprise, too,” said Ruby.

“And I will have a good surprise,” said Min, “if I can get in about an hour of knitting time tonight.”

“Oh, I am so excited about tomorrow!” squealed Ruby. “I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!”

“Just imagine — our first peek at Janie,” said Flora rapturously. “I wish it were time for the party right now.”

 

To Flora's relief, school flew by the next day, and before she knew it, she and Olivia and Nikki were walking to the Row Houses so Flora could pick up her gift for Janie and they could all drive to Allie's with Min and Ruby.

“What if Allie and Janie get there before we do?” said Ruby ner vously from the backseat. “Wouldn't it be awful if we couldn't surprise her?”

But the driveway was empty, and they were able to hurry inside and set out the food before Allie or any of the guests arrived.

“Now remember,” Min said later as twenty-eight people sat eagerly in Allie's living room, “this is going to be a very quiet surprise. We don't want to frighten Janie, so no shouting or jumping up and down when Allie walks through the door.”

“Okay,” said Flora. But she couldn't sit still. She walked ner vously among Ruby and Nikki, Olivia and her parents, Mr. Pennington, Robby and his parents and the other Row House neighbors, Gigi, and even Mary Woolsey, until finally Ruby let out a shout:

“They're here! They're here!”

Min opened the door. “Welcome home,” she said softly as Aunt Allie carried Janie to the front porch. “We have a surprise for you,” she added. She opened the door wide so Allie could see the friends and neighbors gathered inside.

Allie's mouth dropped open and her eyes filled, but she smiled a wavering smile and then put a finger to her lips, pointing at Janie, who was sleeping soundly.

Flora, standing just behind Min, stood on tiptoe for her first glimpse at her new cousin. She gazed at the soft brown face and the finely curled black hair.

Ruby peered at Janie, too.

“What do you think, girls?” asked Aunt Allie.

Flora suddenly found that she wasn't going to be able to speak without crying, and anyway, she didn't want to say something that sounded like a line from a movie (“I've been waiting for Janie all my life,” or “Now our family is complete”) so she simply stepped forward and kissed the baby lightly on her forehead. And Ruby, parting the blankets to find a small hand, stroked the tiny fingers and whispered, “I don't care if she
is
a girl.”

Allie stepped all the way inside then, and Min closed the door behind her. The guests returned to the living room, moving in near silence until Robby said rather loudly, “What are we waiting for? Let's get this party started!”

Now Allie could see the sign that had been strung across the mantelpiece, proclaiming
IT'S A GIRL
, and the pink and white balloons tied to the backs of chairs, and the unwieldy mound of gifts stacked where, in two days, a Christmas tree would stand. “Oh,” she said. “Thank you so much. This is a wonderful surprise.”

Everyone began to talk (quietly) all at once.

“How was your drive home? Is Janie a good traveler?”

“I can recommend an excellent pediatrician.”

“I wonder if she's sleeping through the night yet.”

“Look! The baby just woke up! She's squinting at me!”

Flora began to feel overwhelmed, and as the guests chatted with Allie, and Min held Janie for the first time, and Ruby passed around the cookies and brownies that Olivia's parents had baked, Flora stood back. She watched the party as if she were much smaller than a human girl, as if she were a spider in a corner. She saw Lacey and Alyssa counting the gifts that Allie would soon open. She saw Min pass Janie to Mr. Pennington and settle her on his lap. She saw Robby put out a gentle hand to stop a wrestling match that was about to turn into a fight between Jack Walter and Travis Morris. She saw Mary Woolsey sitting apart from the other guests but smiling, her hands folded lightly in her lap.

And Flora thought, Today is Janie's first day in her new home, but she won't remember it. She won't remember the moment she arrived here and began to make her place in Camden Falls. Janie will grow up here; this will always be her home. She won't be the newcomer, not in the way Ruby and I were once newcomers. She'll belong here from the beginning.

Then Flora thought, This baby, this one tiny baby girl, has transformed our family.

Nikki touched Flora's elbow. “Look how happy your aunt is,” she whispered. “I've never seen her like that.”

“Me, neither,” Flora whispered back.

Allie was smiling — grinning, actually — but she looked serene, too. She radiated peace and calm as Mr. Pennington laid Janie in her arms again.

“When are we going to open the presents?” cried Alyssa Morris, who was standing impatiently over the pile of gifts. “I can't wait any longer.”

“They aren't for you, you know,” said Travis.

“I don't care! Open them!”

“Flora?” said Aunt Allie. “Would you like to hold Janie while I open the gifts?”

“Hey!” cried Ruby indignantly before Flora could answer.

“You can hold her, too,” said Allie. “You and Flora can take turns.”

Flora settled herself on the couch next to Allie and held out her arms. Allie placed the baby in them, and for quite a while Flora did little other than gaze at the solemn face peeking out of the blankets. Allie opened present after present, and Flora was aware of a general chorus of “Ooh!” and “Look at that!” and “How cute!” but she couldn't take her eyes off of Janie. Eventually, one tiny fist made its way out of the blankets and waved giddily at Flora. Flora placed her finger in the hand and Janie squeezed it.

“Flora,” said Allie suddenly, “this next gift is from you.” She peeled away the paper, opened the box inside, and lifted out a blue dress with white rocking horses smocked across the front. “Honey, did you make this?” whispered Allie, and Flora nodded. “It's lovely.”

“Thank you.”

The dress was passed around, and everyone examined it and exclaimed over it and said it looked professional.

The purple sweater Min had knitted elicited a similar response.

Ruby's gift caused a few eyebrows to furrow. “It's a … disappearing quarter trick?” said Aunt Allie.

“The
Wondrous
Disappearing Quarter,” said Ruby. “It will be Janie's first magic trick. I got it at Maty's Magic Store.”

“That was very thoughtful of you,” said Allie.

Ruby was the one holding Janie when she began to fuss.

“Time for a bottle,” said Allie.

“We should probably get going,” said Robby's mother, “and let you and Janie settle in.”

The guests began to leave then, and while Ruby and Min tidied the living room, Flora followed her aunt upstairs to the nursery. Allie placed Janie in her crib, drew the curtains, and turned on a music box. Then she stood over the crib and began to hum softly.

Flora slipped out of the room, intent on helping Min and Ruby with their chores. As she passed the closet in the hallway, she turned the knob and peered inside. The shelves that had once held packages of unused baby items now held half-empty cans of paint, a flashlight, several packages of lightbulbs, a stack of dust rags, and a mop.

It was a very ordinary closet.

Plenty of tourists visit Camden Falls, Massachusetts, in the summertime, and on certain weekends throughout the year. The weekend before Christmas is an especially busy one, and also an especially festive one, since Camden Falls is wearing its holiday face. Come look at Main Street on this snowy Saturday. A crowd has gathered around the window of Sincerely Yours, where the winners of a gingerbread house contest are displayed. A blue ribbon has been placed before the entry made by the Morris family — the Row Houses with frosted roofs and eight candy wreaths on eight chocolate doors. Robby Edwards stands just inside the entrance to Sincerely Yours holding a tray of cookies and candies. “Free samples!” he calls. “Get your free samples inside.”

In the window of Zack's, the hardware store, microwave ovens and toasters and tool kits and reading lamps are displayed among tinsel and greens and tin stars and even a dancing Santa Claus.

Next door is Needle and Thread, and if you wait just a few minutes, you'll see four girls come laughing out of the store, in high spirits because they have decided to finish their Christmas shopping today.

“Mae's the only one left on my list,” says one of the girls, Nikki Sherman. “I always save her for last because she's the most fun to buy for.”

“What are you going to get her this year?” asks Olivia Walter.

“A jewelry kit,” says Nikki instantly. “Or a craft kit of some kind. I can only spend eight dollars, but looking for bargains is part of the fun.”

“Let's go to Maty's Magic Store,” says Ruby Northrop.

“What on earth are you going to get in there?” asks her sister, Flora, thinking of Janie's bizarre baby present.

Ruby looks at her as though she's crazy. “Magic tricks, what else?”

“I mean, who are you getting magic tricks for?”

Ruby purses her lips. “Let's just say it's a good place to find stocking stuffers.”

The girls are in high spirits as they make their way down Main Street. When they reach Sincerely Yours, they help themselves to the free chocolates, calling hello to Olivia's parents and Robby as they dash in and out of the store. Later, they pause to admire the lighted tree in the town square before they cross the street to Maty's.