James did not like to be kissed. But people loved to kiss James!

Both of his grandmothers and all of his aunts would tweak his cheek or forehead and say “You are just the cutest thing.” Then they would kiss him on his cheek or forehead. James could not get away fast enough.

James’s best friend, Ben, lived next door. Ben would always tease James. “Kissy Face! Kissy Face!” he’d say.

James didn’t know what to do. He tried hiding when family came to visit. But his father always called him in to say hello.

He tried wearing an old Halloween mask, but his mother made him take it off so his grandmothers and aunts could see his “cute little face.”

James even tried eating a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich when he knew they were coming. He thought that if his face and hands were sticky, no one would want to kiss him.

But the grandmothers and aunts just found napkins and wiped off the stickiness. They kissed his forehead and tweaked his cheek even harder.

One day, James’s mother told him she had a wonderful surprise. There was going to be a new baby in the family. James was going to be a big brother. James listened but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure if a baby was a wonderful surprise or not.

James told Ben about the new baby.

“Will it be fun?” asked Ben, who was not a big brother.

“I don’t know,” said James. He thought he would wait and see the baby before deciding whether it was fun.

On the day James’s parents brought the new baby home, there were balloons and streamers everywhere. But the party wasn’t for James. There were lots of wrapped presents. But they were all for the new baby, not for James.

His mother put the baby in a rocking basket. James looked in. The baby was asleep. Its face was red and wrinkly. James thought it smelled funny. So far, the baby did not seem to be a wonderful surprise.

Soon the whole family arrived. James cringed.

Now, on top of everything else, he was going to get kissed and tweaked.

But the grandmothers and aunts barely looked at James. They all went straight to the new baby and said, “Oh, you are just the cutest thing!” They leaned over the baby’s basket and kissed its little face.

Then one of the aunts came over to James. “Looks like you’re a big brother now,” she said. Instead of kissing his cheek, she just patted his shoulder and smiled.

James smiled, too. Maybe his days of being Kissy Face were over. It turned out that having a new baby in the family was a wonderful surprise after all.