A shiny cherry red sedan was waiting for the Blythes when they left the hotel. "What a gorgeous auto!" Suzy breathed. "Which one of the uncles does this belong to?"

Dad laughed a big hearty laugh. "It's ours, Scout. I bought it so that I could drive to the Glen to see you every weekend. Jump in!"

He gallantly opened the door for Suzy, and she slid into the backseat. The black leather seats were a bit too warm from the sunshine, but she didn't notice. This cherry red vehicle was theirs! In Vancouver they had only had an old Ford that was used for Dad to drive to work.

Dad introduced her to the young man driving the car. "Suzy, this is Bruce Meredith. He helped me buy this car."

Bruce turned and winked at her. He was handsome, with winsome blue eyes and a rakish grin. Suzy felt her heart jump a beat. "This car belonged to my Aunt Ellen. I told her she was crazy for buying it last year, but she wouldn't listen. She bought it anyway, drove it once, and decided that an automobile just wasn't for her. Of course not, she's nearly seventy and set in her ways. So she told me to sell it, and when I heard your Dad was coming back, I cut him a deal." Bruce was smooth, Suzy decided. She couldn't tell if she liked that or not. She did like his eyes, though, and his strong set jaw. She felt that maybe she could like him better if he were younger. He seemed to be at least twenty-five, but Suzy was bad with determining ages. Dad would never let me date someone who was twenty-five, Suzy thought ruefully. Then she thought, Why am I thinking of dating Bruce Meredith? and blushed. She couldn't speak for the rest of the drive to the Glen, but that was all right. Bruce just assumed that she was quiet like her father, and more than made up for the silence by chatting about his job as a photographer. He had them howling with laughter when he related a story about a young mother who had dressed her baby up as Santa Claus for a Christmas portrait, and every time Bruce tried to snap the picture, the baby would have the beard in his mouth. "Finally I had to tell the woman that she had better watch out, or her baby would get a hairball."

By the time they drove close to Ingleside, Suzy was feeling more at ease. She hoped that everyone in the Glen would be as friendly as Bruce. He pulled the car close to the Ingleside garage, and Suzy looked toward the rambly yellow house. It looked like a friendly house, she decided. On the front verandah, stood a girl with wavy brown hair tied back from her face. Suzy liked the looks of her, and admired her outfit. She was wearing a white and red striped blouse with cap sleeves, a red skirt, and red and white saddle shoes. She looked like a peppermint drop. The girl ran into the house, and Suzy could hear her call out excitedly, "They're here!" before the door slammed shut.

"We're going to go in through the kitchen," explained Dad. "Your Grandmother will meet us in there, and take Phuunam upstairs before you go in to meet the clan."

Grandmother met them in the kitchen with twinkling grey eyes. They reminded Suzy of the ocean in winter. She looked like a grandmother should, with features softened by age and fond memories, and snow- white hair. "I'm so pleased to have you here, darling" Grandmother said, as she embraced Suzy. Suzy didn't normally like to be hugged by people she didn't know, but Grandmother was different. She was "of the race of Joseph" as Dad said. Suzy supposed that made a big difference.

"I see you brought a cat" Grandmother peeked into the cat carrier. "And a lovely one, too. Cats always make a home so homey. We haven't had a cat here in such a long time. I was just telling your grandfather that it was absolutely indecent how we had no cats prowling about. Would you mind if we made your little puss the honourary Ingleside cat while you're here?"

Suzy didn't want to make any attachments to Ingleside, but Phuunam purred so cunningly at Grandmother that she had to say yes. Grandmother led them upstairs, to a small room at the end of the hallway. "This was your Aunt Rilla's room when she was a girl. It hasn't been used much since, so if anything seems uncomfortable, tell me. I'd like for you to be happy here, Suzy." Suzy automatically amended her resolution. She would have good times, and wouldn't become attached to anyone except Grandmother. She really was too kind to not love.

"Are you ready to go downstairs?" Grandmother asked after Suzy opened the door of the cat carrier. Suzy nodded. They left the room, with Phuunam following. Suzy bent to scoop him up and put him back in her room, but Grandmother said, "If he wants to roam and visit with the family, he's welcome to."

Grandmother entered the parlour with Suzy and squeezed her hand encouragingly. She seemed to know intuitively how nervous Suzy was. In seconds, she was engulfed by her cousins. As the oldest, Walt Blythe made it his duty to introduce himself first. He was a broad shouldered, studious boy with big hands that nearly crushed Suzy's fingers when he shook her hand. Gilly Ford was not much younger than Walt, but he was much less serious. When Gilly shook her hand, he tickled her palm with one of his fingers, and winked. He seemed like he could be a chum.

"We've got fireworks for Dominion Day, and it's our friend's birthday. You should come to the party," Gilly told her.

Freddie and Frankie Wright elbowed their way to her next. Frankie was her age, and Freddie was twelve, but they looked like twins. As a child, Suzy had owned a book about Raggedy Ann and Andy. With their bright red hair and round earnest faces, Freddie and Frankie reminded her of that pair. Later, Suzy would find out that Freddie had tried to wear red lipstick for the occasion, and had been chastised by her mother ("She never wants me to have any fun" Freddie pouted), and that Frankie had brought a whoopee cushion to use on her to see if she could take a joke. That never happened though, because he had used it earlier that day at lunch to get back at Walt for calling him leopard face. Frankie had decided that lest the joke become stale, he had best not use it again right away.

Freddie flashed Suzy a puckish grin. "We'll have a lot of fun together, you'll see!" Aunt Di overheard her and called out, "I know what your idea of fun is, and if you expose Suzy to it, I'll have your hide!" Suzy caught Aunt Di's eye as she yelled this, and Aunt Di winked at her. Dad was right, you just had to like Aunt Di, even when she threatened punishments she was jolly.

The girl from the porch was Cecilia Meredith, and she smiled widely. Suzy grinned back. They didn't get a chance to chat, because Meredith Blythe came next, with little Johanna in tow. Meredith was sixteen, and wore her hair in becoming pincurls that frothed around her round apple-red cheeks. "You can call me Merry," she said breathlessly, and smiled, making a sweet little dimple appear in her chin. The name suited her to a T. Eight year old Dewey Ford tried to imitate the effortless handshake of the older boys, but failed because his hand was so much smaller than Suzy's, and he wasn't used to shaking hands anyway. Finally, Trudy and Olivia introduced themselves.

It was easy to see that they were twins, but they were so different. Olivia was quiet, but looked ready for a lark. She was Freddie's dearest friend when the Wrights came to visit from Avonlea. She wore her wavy taffy-coloured hair the same way Cecilia did, tied back loosely with a ribbon that matched her outfit. She was pretty, but easily outshone by Trudy. Trudy had her hair done in a permanent wave, to look perpetually finger-waved. A permanent wave! Dad wouldn't let her get one, and was at least four months older than Trudy. With her sultry eyes, she looked like a young Jean Harlow. She sized up Suzy's outfit, and Suzy knew that she found it lacking in style. Why had she worn the green dress instead of the blue? The green was more comfortable for traveling, but the blue was a much more flattering shape. Suzy felt herself wilting under Trudy's scrutiny. Fortunately, she was distracted by a howl from Phuunam. "Please don't pull on his fur," she desperately told Johanna and Dewey. "He doesn't like that. Pet him gently, please."

Trudy gave her a glare. "Don't you dare tell my brother what to do, Susan," she said in the iciest tone Suzy had ever heard. Suzy shrunk a little. It won't be too hard to keep my resolution, now, she thought. Suddenly the friendly house in her mind crumbled, and she couldn't wait to go back to Vancouver.