A/N: This is the last chapter. (I know it sounds redundant, but I just love saying that.)

CHAPTER 15

After Karen and Andrew put their knapsacks in their rooms, they came back down to the party. And just as I'd expected, they each got a plate of food and went to sit by Jason's feet. I'm just glad neither of them spilled anything, especially Andrew. He was a picky eater when I first met him, but these days, he's the farthest from it. I think my brothers' appetites rubbed off onto him.

"So, how was Nebraska?" I asked them as I dipped a cucumber in some cottage cheese. I know that sounds like a weird combination, but it really is that good.

"Huh?" Andrew asked.

"Didn't you move there?"

Karen gave me a puzzled look. "Uh, no," she answered. "We're leaving the day after Christmas, and staying with Granny for a few days. Why?"

"You won't believe this, but I took a nap earlier this afternoon, and I had the strangest dream," I said. Then I told them every detail of it, including everything that Miriam and I had seen.

"It kind of reminds me of George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life," Karen commented as she ate a Vienna sausage. And as luck would have it, when Charlie turned on the TV in the den, guess what movie was on, and what scene it was at?

Well, upon hearing that, Andrew jumped up, put his coat back on, and ran up and down the street, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Porter! Merry Christmas, Mrs. Korman! Merry Christmas, Mrs. Papadakis!" He actually sounded a little like Jimmy Stewart, and the rest of us were just in hysterics. It was that funny.

Had I known what was going to happen next, I would've ran out there and stopped him, because all of a sudden, Andrew slipped on a huge patch of ice. The thud of that boy's behind hitting the ice made my ears ring for a minute, and I could only imagine the size of that bruise, and how much pain he was in.

"Watson!" I called, following Charlie outside, and we helped Andrew up.

"You okay, little buddy?" Charlie asked as we helped Andrew back inside. Andrew nodded, grimacing in pain, but for some reason, he wasn't crying. Now, if that had been me, I guarantee you I would've been screaming my head off and, as Grandma Thomas would say, "letting loose with the most remarkable string of profanity."

Watson and Charlie took Andrew up to his room as Karen and I returned to the party, and Mom hung his coat back up. "I hope you got your plane tickets reserved well in advance," I said as we sat back down. The reason why I'd said that is because they had a better chance of keeping their seats and scheduled flights, whereas someone who didn't would have to be put on standby, because this is the busiest time of year for airline travel.

"We did," she answered. "Seth got them reserved soon after school started."

"Good deal. Well, I hope you have a safe flight."

"Thanks, Kristy."

Just then, Anna called us into the living room, and we all found places around the piano as she started playing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". Those of us who could actually carry a tune in a bucket started singing along. I don't remember what else we sang, but I do remember the next song she started playing being "Auld Lang Syne". (Okay, two things here: what the hell is a lang syne, and does anybody know how to talk like Jerry Seinfeld?)

That's when the doorbell rang. I went to answer it. There stood a woman with reddish-brown hair in a ponytail, and wearing a brown uniform, and a UPS truck was parked at the curb behind her. And you know what? She looked exactly like Miriam.

"Oh—my God," I whispered. I don't know how big my eyes got, but I'm sure they looked like two Ping-Pong balls.

"Are you Kristy Thomas?" she asked.

"Yes," I managed to squeak out.

"I've got a package for you," she said. "Sign here, please."

I signed the clipboard, handed it back to her, and she handed me the package.

"Merry Christmas," she said.

"You, too," I said absently as I shut the door. I was too preoccupied with whatever it was I'd gotten, or who sent it to me. I'm just glad I didn't slam the door in her face.

"What is it, honey?" Mom asked as she and my brothers joined me.

"Maybe it's a year's membership into the Jelly of the Month Club," David Michael suggested.

"Well, if it is, it's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year," Sam added.

"That it is, Samuel," I said evenly, continuing to look at what I'd just gotten. "That it is, indeed." (I know my family has seen Christmas Vacation too many times, right? But hey, it's a Thomas-Brewer Christmas tradition.)

I knew it wasn't Christmas yet, but I tore the package open anyway. Before I did, I checked to make sure it wasn't marked, "Do not open until Christmas," which it wasn't.

"No way," I said to myself when I saw what was inside: a thick hardback book called Amazing But True Sports Stories. I'd gotten a copy of it at the SES book fair when I was in fourth grade, but I lost it when we moved from Bradford Court to Watson's house. And now, here it was.

When I opened it, I saw an inscription inside the front cover, written in a sparkling gold pen:

Kristy,

Remember, no one is a failure when they have great friends. And believe me, you have the best friends that anyone could ask for, not to mention a great thing going with your baby-sitting club. Do me a favor, will you? Don't give that up. If there's one thing I know, it's that putting it together was no mistake. And I know that you know that, too. Good luck, Godspeed, and I'll be watching over you.

Your true friend,

Miriam

P.S. Thanks for the wings.

That's when I glanced over at the tree, and near the top, above the clay manger ornament I'd made in third grade, and to the left of the angel, was a really bright white Christmas light, as bright as the Star of Bethlehem. In fact, it made all the other lights look like flecks of glitter. That's how bright it was.

"Way to go, Miriam," I whispered. "I knew you'd get your wings." I took my new book upstairs to my room, and came back down as Anna was finishing "Auld Lang Syne".

"Hey, Kristy, look at that light up there!" Emily exclaimed, pointing at the tree. "Why is it so bright?"

I smiled warmly and picked up my baby sister. "Somebody out there's doing all right," I said with a wink. And I knew that Miriam was all right. For that matter, so was I, so was my family, and so was the Baby-sitters Club.

In that moment, I knew I'd done the right thing.

THE END