We were greeted by Sam. “Boy, Kristy. I don’t know how you do it,” was the first thing he said.

     “Do what?”

     “Baby-sit so much without going looney tunes.”

     I grinned. Sam had been watching David Michael, Andrew, and Karen, since Mom and Watson were still at work. “Baby-sitting is easy,” I replied. “It’s a piece of cake. What happened?”

     “What do you mean ‘What happened?’ Nothing happened. They’re just kids. I’m worn out. I couldn’t give another cannonball ride if my life depended on it.”

     “That’s Charlie’s fault for inventing cannonballs,” I told Sam.

     At that moment, Andrew came barreling into the front hall, crying, “Sam! Sam! I need a cannonball ride!”

     Without pausing, Sam picked Andrew up, Andrew curled himself into a ball, and Sam charged off toward the kitchen, shouting, “Baboom-ba-boom-ba-boom-ba-boom.”

     “I thought he couldn’t give another cannonball ride,” said Charlie.

     “Andrew is hard to resist,” I told him.

     Dinner that night was noisy. It was one of

the few times when everyone was home. Andrew and Karen usually aren’t with us, and when they are, they’re almost always here on a weekend — when Charlie’s out on a date or Sam is at a game at school, or something. But that night was different. We ate in the dining room. Watson sat at one end of the table, Mom at the other. David Michael, Karen, and I sat along one side of the table; Charlie, Sam, and Andrew sat across from us.

     When everyone had been served, Mom said, “Isn’t this nice?” She had been a little emotional lately.

     “It’s terrific,” agreed Watson, who sounded too enthusiastic.

     Mom and Watson get all worked up whenever we’re together as a family, and I know why. I like my family and everything. I like us a lot. But sometimes I think we feel more like pieces of a family instead of a whole family. We’re a shirt whose seams haven’t all been stitched up. I mean, Mom and Watson got married, but I would only go to Mom if I needed to borrow money. And Andrew usually heads for Watson if he’s hurt himself or doesn’t feel well. We’re Mom’s kids and they’re Watson’s kids. Two teams on the same playing field.