To tell you the truth, the whole house looked great. Mrs. Bruen had been working overtime all week.

Why? Because of the wedding. Dad wants the house to look good for guests. He's having a party here afterward.

If you ask me, cleaning up was a ridiculous idea. First of all, it’s an outdoor party, complete with a tent. Second, parties always leave a mess, so why not dean up after? And third, when Carol moves in, the movers are going to drag in all her furniture and stuff, right? That'll get everything even more dusty and dirty.

Sometimes I think kids are way smarter than adults.

I sat down on the couch. I looked around.

We have a wall unit, just across from the couch. I helped Dad put it in. It was so much fun. He kept moving the TV around in it while I sat on the couch, until it was in the perfect place.

Oh, well. Now that would have to be moved, to make room for Carol's wall unit (which is HUMONGOUS). Maybe I'd always have to watch TV on a slant. Maybe the remote wouldn't work at that angle.

Maybe I'd walk around with my head permanently tilted to one side.

Too bad we can't keep the house the way it is. There's just enough stuff in it. What do we need more furniture for?

You should see Carol's furniture. It’s ugly. She has these things called lava lamps, which look like pig embryos swimming around in colored water tanks. Her couch has an old afghan on it, which covers up all the rips. And her posters are disgusting. All this dumb-looking art with museum names underneath. Most of it is like kindergarten painting.

Plus framed pictures of Mickey Mouse in the bathroom. Even I'm too old for that.

"Mrs. Bruen, where is it all going to go?" I asked.

She stopped whistling. "What?"

"Carol's furniture."

"Beats me. Why? You want it all in your room?"

"No way,”