Chapter 20

No More Club G

Daddy and I drove in silence to the Washington Mall. I held Hannalie tightly in my arms. I would probably never see her again. The rest of my Club G things I stuffed into the Club G tote bag, which I had stowed away under my seat.

"Daddy?" I wanted to ask him if he was still mad at me.

Daddy gave me an angry look then he turned on the radio full blast but he kept ignoring me. I knew he had turned on the radio specifically so that he would not hear me. I put my face against the window and stared outside for the rest of the way to the mall.

At the mall, Daddy took the Club G items from me before we got out of the car. He slammed the car door shut and motioned to me to follow.

"But Daddy, I want to say goodbye to Hannalie and my other things from Club G." I whined as I stumbled out of the car and closed the passenger door.

Daddy ignored me and kept walking towards the mall entrance so I scurried after him. We went inside the mall and arrived at Club G too fast for my liking. Daddy practically ran there if you ask me.

Daddy marched up to the nearest Club G employee and demanded to see someone in charge. The woman escorted us up to the top floor of the store where the offices were.

"You are very lucky. Ms. Covington is working late tonight. Ordinarily she would be gone much earlier. We only have an hour before the store closes so I hope you get this taken care of quick. You do understand that if you were not Watson Brewer we could not make such an exception for you." The woman simpered at Daddy.

Daddy gave her a smile, "Well you know what they say: money talks."

I noticed that the woman was holding a one hundred dollar bill that had not been in her hand before. Daddy must have given it to her in order to swindle us an appointment with whoever was in charge.

The woman knocked on a door, "Ms. Covington?"

A voice answered from the other side of the door, "Send them in, Jenna."

Jenna shrugged and motioned to the door then she scurried off. Daddy opened it and we went inside. A woman about the same age as my mommy sat at a desk. She wore dark black striped slacks and a white blouse with a blue sweater vest over it. She had sleek black hair done in an elegant crown braid. I would have to remember this hairdo next time I played Lovely Ladies.

The woman smiled, "Hello. Jenna called to tell me she was bringing you up. You must be Mr. Brewer and Karen. What can I do for you?"

Daddy gave me a Look. I reached for the bag of Club G things that he had brought with him. I stuck the bag on the desk and began unpacking it. I did not say anything.

Ms. Covington looked confused but continued to smile, "Karen? Why are you giving me your Club G things?"

I sighed and mumbled, "They are not mine. I stole them from the store."

Ms. Covington's smile slowly faded from her face, "Karen, explain this. You stole these from Club G?"

I took a deep breath and the story began to tumble out. Ms. Covington began to look angry. Not as angry as Daddy looked but she did not look happy with me at all.

When I was done, Ms. Covington glared at Daddy and said, "You will need to pay for the items that Karen took. We cannot resell them now that Karen used the items. The bear we will check with customer service to see if anyone has reported it missing."

"So I get to keep the items since my daddy is paying? What about the bear? If nobody claims it can I have it?" It looked like everything might come up Karen after all.

Ms. Covington's jaw looked like it might drop to the floor, "You have some nerve little girl. Mr. Brewer, it is attitudes like your daughter's which lead to a life of crime and dishonesty. I feel a better step would be to donate the items to a less fortunate child."

Daddy nodded, "Definitely, I will pay for the items including a donation to buy additional Club G items for a needy child. Someone should benefit from Karen's crime and it should not be Karen."

"I also would like to impose a lifetime ban on Karen from Club G stores and merchandise catalogs. Karen's behavior does not embody the spirit of Club G."

"I agree completely, Ms. Covington." Daddy took my arm but I jerked it away.

"WHAT ABOUT ME? I AM A NEEDY CHILD. I NEED CLUB G. I WANT IT! I NEED IT." I howled, kicked, and screamed at Daddy and Ms. Covington.

Daddy ignored my tantrum and wrote a check for Ms. Covington then he hauled me kicking and screaming back to the car. I screamed the entire way home but it did not change anything. Daddy refused to give into me.

My entire big house family rushed out when we got home because they heard my shrieks. I was getting hoarse but I kept on crying. Daddy carried me up to my bedroom and slammed the door shut on me. I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning I slept very late even though it was a school day. I guess they were all scared to wake me up. When I finally did wake up, I was exhausted. I was also hungry.

I went down to the kitchen to get a snack. It must have been lunchtime since Nannie and Emily were eating. Emily waved at me.

"Feeling better Karen now that the whole mess is over? Honesty really is the best policy. Your daddy already called the school and told them you were not feeling well. I will get you some lunch." Nanny got up and got a plate of macaroni salad and grapes out of the fridge.

I ate and then wandered back to my bedroom. I was still very tired but I could not fall back asleep. No more Club G. Ever. I felt like my life was over and it was all Daddy and Ms. Covington's fault. I found a blank notebook lying in a heap of things on my desk. I had an idea. I got out a pen, labeled the cover "Karen's Diary", and opened it up to write.

Dear Diary,

I am banned forever from Club G. My daddy is a selfish greedy monster who bribes sales clerks and neglects his own daughter. Life is gigundoly unfair. Hannie and Nancy-

I stopped there because just then Hannie and Nancy walked through my door. I was gigundoly surprised to see them.

"Hi Karen." Nancy sounded a bit timid.

"Oh hello, Nancy." I wondered why they were here.

Hannie answered my question before I could ask it, "Karen, you did some pretty horrible things but your daddy said you returned e I everything to Club G and told the truth. I think if maybe you apologize to us we can be friends again."

I did not think I needed to apologize but I did it anyway, "I am sorry for what I did. Group hug?"

We hugged. Three Musketeers Forever! I could not go to Club G ever again but at least I had my friends back. Things would be ok after all.

The End.