Donny and Katie

Chapter 1

A Time for Change

Donny and Katie were playing out in the freshly fallen snow when the doctor’s booming voice called to them, Children, please come in, there is an important matter that we have to discuss.

They did not want to leave their partially built snowman. He had only one eye, no nose and no hat. They feared for his health and safety but they knew that they had to go inside to hear the news. Their mother was sick. She had been sick for a while now and the Doctor had visited every day for two weeks.

They knew there would be news, and it would not be good news. They had talked about it. Katie asked Donny if their mother was going to die. Donny said he didn’t know for sure, but that she looked very sick.

Does she look as sick as Dad did before he died? asked Katie, but Donny didn’t answer. He did not want to remember how sad it was when his dad was gone forever.

We better go in and find out the news, said Donny. Both of them walked to the house, but not very quickly. They did not really want to know the news.

After taking off all of their snow gear including boots, hats, gloves, coats and snow pants, they walked into their mother’s bedroom.

She looked up at both of them and smiled weakly. I hope there will be no puddles from melted snow in the house, and that you have hung up all of your things neatly.

Donny made sure that all was neat and tidy and that there were no snowy items on the floor that would make puddles. He had been making sure of such things for a while now. Since his mother was sick he had to be more responsible by shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and washing dishes and even ironing.

The Doctor looked at Donny and Katie and bluntly said, Your mother is not able to take care of you, her sickness will not allow that.

We know that already, Donny replied. We have been helping out around here for quite some time.

But your mother is not getting any better, in fact she is getting worse. I want to take her away for a while so she can have constant care, stated the Doctor.

We can take care of her,! shouted Donny. There is nothing that we can’t do around here. Donny felt himself getting angry.

Donny’s mother began to cry. Tears started to run down her cheeks Please don’t get angry Donny, she sobbed. I don’t want to go away either, but the doctor thinks that it is best.

But we….

No you can’t! interrupted the Doctor Your mother is going to need rest for three months.

It was Donny’s turn to start crying. He knew this day was coming and it was now here. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. What are we going to do without you?

More importantly, cried Donny’s mother, what am I going to do without the both of you?

After many minutes of crying and sobbing and hugging, for Katie had joined in with rivers of tears flowing too, it all stopped and Donny said, Well you go off and get better and I will take care of Katie.

Donny’s mother was very flattered with the offer but wisely asked, Donny you are twelve, your sister is ten how can the two of you take care of this big house?

Donny quickly stated, We can. I’ll get a job and pay the bills and buy the food and shovel the snow and mow the lawns.

That is a very good offer, said Donny’s mother but I have another solution. In fact you get a choice. Since it will hopefully be only three months, you can go live with Gran and Gramps Sullivan or you can go live with Uncle Peter in Australia.

Gran and Gramps Sullivan were way old people. Their house smelled like way old people and whenever Donny and Katie visited their house they were not allowed to touch anything in case it would break. So all they did there was sit and make sure that they did not touch anything.

Donny thought about sitting in their grandparent’s house and imagined not moving for three months. Once he got in trouble in school and his teacher Mrs. Smooltz sat him in the corner and told him he was not allowed to move for 15 minutes. He almost died trying not to move. 15 minutes was extremely hard, how hard would three months be?

The other option was Uncle Peter in Australia. They had never been to Uncle Peter’s house but he visited once and brought lots of pictures of Australia. He lived in the tropics in a place called Cairns where there were beaches and crocodiles and the ocean and waterfalls and crazy looking animals and it was always summer.

Donny asked if he and Katie could talk it over since his grandparent’s house stunk and Australia was a place they knew very little about.

Chapter 2

Big Decision

Donny and Katie raced outside after they left their mother’s room. They put on all of their snow gear as quick as quick. They both needed to get outside, away from the doctor, away from their mother’s sick room and away from their future. They needed to think about the present, about today, about the snow for a little while.

Katie’s first concern was to make the snowman look good and not weird. She fixed his face up by making him look happy. After she was finished, he had two eyes, a great nose and a fine smile. Donny found an old hat he never wore anymore and put it on his head to make him look very cool.

Just as they finished making the snowman complete, it started snowing again. Big flakes fell from the heavens. Katie stood still for a minute and was covered with snow. Donny ran around trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue. He was good at it. As he looked up to the sky the snow fell into his eyes, onto his head and even into his nose.

They ran around enjoying the snow for many minutes when Katie suddenly stopped and said, Donny, enough is enough. What are we going to do? Where are we going to go? Should we talk about this?

Donny still ran around, enjoying the falling snow. He did not want to stop. He did not want to think about the future. He was happy in the moment, chasing snowflakes.

Suddenly he stopped too. He stood still and was hit by millions of snowflakes. He looked at Katie as she stood next to the snowman who too was being covered in snow. She was not happy. She was not smiling.

What do you want to do? Donny asked. What do you think about living with Gran and Gramps?

Gran makes good cookies. We would never be without cookies, and Gramps always has drinks for us, replied Katie who was still not smiling.

Gran has a hard time walking up and down steps, Donny told her. I don’t know if she could look after us without feeling a lot of pain. Whenever I see her going up steps she is not smiling.

You are only saying that because you hate the smell of their house. You are only saying that because Gran always yells at you when you touch anything in their house, Katie shouted at Donny.

I won’t argue with you about that, said Donny. I don’t feel comfortable there. I don’t feel that I have a chance to relax and breath and stretch my legs when we are there.

Who needs to relax, who needs to breath, who needs to stretch their legs? Katie started to say before she stopped and thought about breathing and relaxing.

So I’m getting the idea that you prefer to stay with Gran and Gramps rather than to go to stay with Uncle Peter, Donny suggested.

Think about it for a minute, Katie said. Gran and Gramps live here in this city. We know this place, we know people, we have friends; we have a life. Uncle Peter lives a long way away where we know nothing and everything would be new and different and scary.

Donny looked at Katie and she was covered with snow. She was completely white from head to toe. New and different is not so bad. You look new and different now, but you are still the same under all of that snow, Donny told her.

I don’t want to leave my friends. I like my friends. I want to stay around here, Katie yelled.

Donny tried one more time. You will make some new friends, you will meet lots of new people….

Donny stopped talking. He looked at Katie. She was about to cry. Don’t start crying on me, Donny said. If you start to cry I’ll start to cry. I know what this is all about. It’s not about leaving friends. It’s about leaving mother.

Katie shook her head. I don’t want to leave her, cried Katie. I don’t want to be so far away from her. I’m afraid…

Don’t say it! shouted Donny. He paused as he looked straight at Katie. Look, we have to be brave for mother. We have to show her we can be strong, that way she won’t worry about us. She needs to only worry about herself and worry about getting better.

But….

No buts. We have to go away for a while, out of this city, far away. We have to do it for her, Donny said very strongly.

Katie looked at Donny and looked at the snowman. Why can’t we be like the snowman, smiling and enjoying the snow coming down?

The snowman doesn’t always smile, Donny replied. When it gets warm he melts and his smile and everything else disappears.

Chapter 3

A Night Remembered

Katie stood at her window and looked at the snow falling outside. Big snowflakes drifted down from the sky and made everything white. Katie liked watching the snow falling. It was very pretty to watch.

She was not totally thinking about the pretty snow now. She was thinking about what would happen next for her and Donny.

She liked to be around Gran and Gramps. Gran always made sure that she had enough to eat. She made the best cookies with huge amounts of chocolate chips. Whenever she visited she brought hundreds of cookies with her, and they did not last long. She, Donny and even her mother could not resist eating them.

Gramps brought the drinks that everyone liked. He