Anna thought she heard someone calling her name from a distance, and then all of a sudden, the person was putting an arm around her, pulling her close.

"Anna!"

Startled, she looked into the warm brown eyes of her aunt.

"Aunt Sharon? How did you get here?"

"The school called me and said you'd had a little trouble. They called your house first, but no one was there, so they called me." She reached for Anna's hand. "Come along, now. I'm taking you back to my house."

Anna saw that Aunt Sharon had Simon by the other hand. He was looking around with big eyes. It was only the second time he'd been inside the school.

"Where's Mommy?' asked Anna as they walked outside into the sunshine.

"She had a doctor's appointment." Aunt Sharon reached the car and opened the back seat for Anna and Simon. She helped Simon into his booster seat and then got behind the wheel.

"Oh, no! Is Mommy sick?" asked Anna.

Aunt Sharon didn't say anything until she'd left the school parking lot and entered the main highway.

"Your mother is fine," she said at last. "Dr. Lewis isn't that kind of doctor. He's the kind of doctor you talk to when you feel sad about something, and he makes you feel better."

"I didn't know there was a doctor for that!" said Anna.

Simon began mumbling a tune from 'Captain Kangaroo' under his breath. Aunt Sharon glanced back at her niece and smiled.

"Oh, yes. There are all different kinds of doctors, Anna. Not all of them are like your father."

"And Mommy talks to Dr. Lewis when she feels sad because her first Daddy was mean to her when she was little?"

Aunt Sharon was quiet for a long time.

"How did you find out about that?" she asked at last.

"Daddy told me about it a long time ago. Was your first Daddy mean to you too, Aunt Sharon?"

"Sometimes, but not as mean as he was to your poor mother." Aunt Sharon had reached Grandpa and Bubbe's home and parked. She went to college part time and still lived with Grandpa and Bubbe. She got out of the car and let her niece and nephew out. She took their hands and walked inside with them.

"Where's Bubbe?" asked Anna as they made their way toward the sofa.

"In bed with a headache." Aunt Sharon rummaged around in the toy box until she found the cars Simon played with when he visited them.

"She sure has a lot of headaches, doesn't she?" Anna remarked as she plopped down on the sofa.

"Yeah." Aunt Sharon sighed. "Just a part of getting older, I guess."

"I hope I don't have headaches when I get old," said Anna.

"Me neither." Aunt Sharon joined her on the sofa. "So, what's this I hear about you giving someone a surprise Kool-Aid shower?"

Anna felt her stomach tie up in knots. This was it. She couldn't remember Aunt Sharon ever being angry at her before, but what if her reaction turned out to be similar to the teacher's?

"Well, it's like this," Anna began. "There's this boy named Mike, and he's always been very mean to me, and when Dasan started coming to our school, he started being even meaner to him. Him and David and Steve." Anna paused for breath.

"And?" Aunt Sharon prompted.

"Well, today we had our Valentine party. Dasan didn't get as many Valentines as everybody else, and Mike was mean to him about it. He laughed at him and almost made him cry."

Anna felt her bottom lip tremble at the memory.

"So what happened then?"

"All of a sudden I couldn't stand it anymore, so I dumped Kool-Aid on his head."

To Anna's utter shock, Aunt Sharon laughed.

"Well, I guess you showed him, didn't you?"

"I guess I did." Anna found herself giggling right along with her aunt.

"I can understand why your teacher was upset, though," Aunt Sharon continued. "When you're old enough to go to school, you're expected to act like a big girl, and big girls don't dump Kool-Aid all over people when they get mad."

"Zoom, zoom," Simon mumbled as he pushed his toy cars over the carpet.

Anna was quiet for a long time, thinking.

"Do you think Mommy and Daddy will punish me when they find out?" she asked at last.

"I think they'll be disappointed, but as for whether or not they punish you, that will be up to them."

Patty came to pick her children up a couple of hours later. Both children ran to meet her as soon as they saw her. She smiled and hugged them, thanked Aunt Sharon for watching them, and took them outside to her car.

"Well, Anna, do you want to tell me what happened at school?" she asked on the way home.

Anna repeated the story exactly as she'd told it to Aunt Sharon. When she finished, Patty frowned but didn't say anything.

"Are you gonna punish me?" Anna whimpered.

"We'll talk to your father and see what he says," was all her mother would tell her.

"Did Dr. Lewis make you feel better, Mommy?" asked Anna.

Patty smiled at last.

"I feel much better after talking to him. It's just like a weight has been taken off my shoulders."

The afternoon seemed to last forever. Anna kept staring at the clock every few minutes. Tick tock, tick tock. The minutes, then hours, seemed to just drag by.

The television was on, but Anna paid it no attention. Simon continued to play with his toys, oblivious to her anguish. Patty began to prepare dinner.

At last, Anna heard the key turn in the lock and knew her father was home. She watched as the door swung open and he stepped inside.

Patty was there to greet him with a kiss. Simon left his toys and ran to meet him.

"Hi, Daddy!"

"Hello, Simon." Anton picked his son up and kissed his cheek, then looked over at his daughter. "Hello, Anna. Is everything all right?"

She couldn't meet his eyes.

"I got in trouble in school."

Still holding Simon, he sat beside her on the sofa.

"Is that so?"

She nodded miserably. He lifted her chin with his fingers so he could look into her eyes.

"What kind of trouble?"

She sighed.

"Well, you see - we passed out our Valentines today. Me and Dasan didn't get as many as the other kids, and Mike was being really mean to us about it, so I dumped Kool-Aid all over him."

Anton got that expression he always got when he was trying very hard not to smile. Anna felt relief flood through her body.

"Sharon picked her up at the school and took her to my parents' home. I was at my doctor's appointment." Patty, having joined the conversation, sat on the other end of the sofa.

"How did that go?"

"I like him. He's very nice. It went really well."

"I am glad." Anton turned his attention back to his daughter. "So, what happened then?"

"Miss Barlow got really mad. She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the principal's office. I had to stay there until Aunt Sharon came for me."

Anna saw anger flash across her father's face and began to quake inside.

"I do not like it at all that she grabbed your arm and dragged you. I am sure you would have gone with her willingly, without having to be forced." Anna rejoiced inside. "Nevertheless, it was inappropriate for you to express your anger, however justified it might be, in that manner. You should apologize to both Mike and Miss Barlow when you go back to school Monday."

"So are you not gonna punish me, then?"

"I think you have already been punished enough, and I know you will not repeat your misbehavior."

"Thanks, Daddy!" Anna kissed her father's cheek, and then the family had dinner.