“Have you been really good all year?” asked Aunt India.

Charlie stared at the floor.

“What is it, buddy?” asked his dad.

“I got in trouble at school.” He’d been hoping he wouldn’t have to confess, but his dad had a way of finding stuff out.

Dad frowned. “You’ve never been a troublemaker at school.”

“I brought something for show-and-tell I wasn’t supposed to have. This kid Isaiah said they were called Ben Wa eggs. The teacher told me to put them away This Very Instant.”

Darcy and Aunt India had a fit. They tried to stay quiet, but he could tell they were dying. Charlie still wasn’t a hundred percent sure why the little boxed set of balls was such a problem. His mom had said she’d explain when he was bigger.

“Yeah, uh, it’s probably a good idea to check with an adult before you bring something to show-and-tell. When I was a kid I brought in a snake. We practically had to peel the teacher off the ceiling.” Dad was grating a chocolate bar into a pot of cream for hot chocolate, which made everyone stop talking about getting in trouble.

While they gorged themselves on breakfast, the other kids and grown-ups showed up, and the kitchen and dining room got very loud with clattering dishes and talking and making plans for the day. André’s sister, Angelica, was the last to arrive, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked really cute in her pink fuzzy slippers, clutching a patched-up stuffed dog she called Patchy Bowwow.

“I bet you’re hungry.” Dad hoisted her up onto her bar stool.

“Can I have a pancake?”

“You bet.” Her face lit up when she saw that the pancakes were shaped like stars and trees. That was Aunt India’s doing. She was a professional artist and she couldn’t help making things fancy. She had used a metal cookie cutter to pour the pancake batter in.

“We get to see Santa today. What are you going to ask Santa for?” Bernie asked her.

“Oh, that’s easy,” said Angelica. With all those missing teeth, she didn’t really say the letter S right, but she was getting better. “I’m going to tell him I need to see my mom, because I want her to be there when I sing my song at the church on Christmas. Logan’s friend Maureen is in charge of the Christmas pageant, and she gave me a song to sing.”

Charlie whipped a glance at André. But André was already carrying his dishes to the sink. “Let’s go get ready,” he said, and went down the hall and up the stairs without waiting to see if Charlie followed.