Two Parents Too Many

Lore Hoar is an information consultant living in Calgary.

This is a witty story about two teenage girls who are confronted with the prospect of acquiring four parents as each of their divorced parents remarries. Their father has married a “perfect” new wife recently who complements his extremely fine taste but whom the girls find slightly intimidating. Kate, twelve, and Jenny, fourteen, feel overwhelmed by too many parents and determine to stop their mother’s wedding plans.

The girls start hatching plots that would discourage the most eager parent-to-be. Their future stepfather, Adam, is allergic to the girls’ old cat. When they scatter cat hair over the tweed fabric of the sofa, their mother insists that the cat must be placed in a new home immediately. Feeling thoroughly alienated, the girls take advantage of Adam’s fondness for bird-watching and devise one last devastating plot guaranteed to lower their mother’s esteem for Adam. Events happen not quite as planned and the girls decide to start counting their blessings instead.