They'd leftCaliforniabecause Dawn's mom had just gotten a divorce from her dad. And they'd come to Stoneybrook because that was where Mrs. Schafer had grown up. So for Dawn's mom, it was like coining home to a place where she felt comfortable. For Dawn, it wasn't so easy.Connecticutis obviously pretty different fromCalifornia. Dawn hated our cold winters, for example. But she adjusted quickly, partly because she'd joined our club and almost automatically gained a bunch of very good friends. The person who couldn't adjust was Jeff, her brother. In fact, he was so miserable here that the family decided he'd be happier going back toCaliforniato live with his father.

Anyway, I'm off the subject. What I meant to tell you about was the Great Romance. Here's the Great Romance, Part One: Dawn and I found out, while we were going through

our parents' old yearbooks, that her mother and my father had dated back when they both went toStoneybrookHigh School. And here's the Great Romance, Part Two: After we "re-introduced" them, Dawn's mom (who I now callSharon) and my dad (who Dawn now calls Richard) fell in love all over again. In fact, as you've probably guessed, they got married.

And are we now living happily ever after? Well, basically, the answer is yes. My dad and Tigger and I moved in with Dawn and her mom, and it took a while for us all to get used to each other. The house is a really, really old farmhouse (it even has a secret passage that may be — oooh! — haunted). At first Dawn and I tried to share a room, but we soon discovered that we each needed our own space.

But we do get along pretty well, considering how different we are. My dad and I are both neat freaks (at least, that's what Dawn calls us). Did you ever hear the expression "a place for everything, and everything in its place"? Well, that's how my dad and I had always lived. We were organized, and tidy, and shipshape. Then we moved in with Sharon and Dawn.