Disclaimer: All rights for the Baby-Sitters club belong to Scholastic, Inc. and Ann M. Martin (and I guess her ghostwriters?).


"And then Cokie Mason gave him a stunned look," Stacey McGill continued.

"Wow! What else did she expect him to do?!" exclaimed Claudia Kishi over the phone.

"Well whatever she expected, she sure didn't get it. Mr. Adams was so mad at her!" Stacey continued.

"Do you blame him? I can't believe she thought she'll get away with it."

"Stacey! Dinner's ready!" a voice called from downstairs.

"Oh, gotta go Claud. Time to eat.

"Okay, later Stace. See ya tomorrow."

Stacey headed downstairs where she saw her mother setting out plates on the kitchen table.

"Here, let me help you with that."

"Thanks. So how was school today?"

"The usual except Cokie Mason was caught cheating and was actually surprised that Mr. Adams is punishing her."

"That girl has absolutely no scruples does she?"

Before Stacey could answer, the phone rang. Maureen gave Stacey a wary look. The two stared at one another as the phone rang twice before the answering machine came on.

"Hi, Maureen! It's John. Umm… another theater group is performing another play that I wrote, and I was wondering if you would like to go. Just as friends. Well call me when you get this message! Bye!" Beep.

"He's not giving up, is he?" Stacey asked.

Maureen sighed. "It's been a week already! For such a 'smart' man, he sure is dense!"

Stacey gave her mother a sympathetic look. The caller was John Brooke, a famous detective writer who had just moved to Stoneybrook, Connecticut after his divorce. Stacey baby-sat for his two kids, Joni and Ewan, regularly for a while and introduced John to her mom. They hit it off immediately much to Joni's chagrin. Joni was quite a troublemaker at first but Stacey couldn't blame her since Stacey knew from experience how difficult dealing with divorce was. However John wasn't what Maureen was looking for and she broke things off. Unfortunately John didn't seem to get the message that Maureen wanted nothing to do with him.

RING!

Exasperated, Maureen picked up the phone. "Look, what part of 'we're over' do you not understand?!"

"I understand perfectly Maureen. In fact, I have the divorce papers to prove it."

Maureen's face turned a bright shade of red as she exclaimed, "Ed?!"

"Why yes, hello to you too! And while I would hate to end this charming conversation we are having, is Stacey available to talk?"

"Of course," Maureen sputtered. She handed the phone to Stacey who was having a hard time concealing her laughter. Maureen glared at her daughter before sitting down at the table and putting her hands over her face.

"Hi Dad!" Stacey said excitedly. Stacey was always thrilled to hear from her Dad since she didn't get to see him as often as she would like.

"Hey sweetie. What's wrong with your mother?"

"Umm… long story." John was the first person that Maureen had dated since the divorce. Although Ed already had a steady girlfriend, Samantha, Stacey didn't feel comfortable telling her dad that her mom was dating again.

"Okay. I was just reminding you about Friday. I booked a reservation at The Ivy for eight o'clock so call me when you're leaving for the train."

"Sure thing! I can't wait to see you!"

"I can't wait to see you too sweetie. Look I have to get back to work. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Dad was just reminding me about our plans this weekend," Stacey told her mother.

Stacey's parents have been divorced for about a year now. Stacey lived with her mother in Stoneybrook but went to visit her Dad in New York City several times a month.

Maureen nodded. "I can't believe I thought he was John."

Stacey laughed. "Yeah, he sounded a little confused. But he's working right now so he probably isn't giving it a second thought."

"You're right. His work is much more interesting," Maureen said sadly. One of the reasons for their divorce was due to Ed's demanding work schedule. Maureen hardly ever saw him and resented his work. "So how is Ethan?" she asked, changing the subject to Stacey's boyfriend who lives in New York.

Stacey picked up on her Mom's sadness but decided to ignore it and went on to tell her mom about Ethan's new art project.


"This place is really nice," Stacey commented to Ed as they were seated near the window, which provided a fantastic view of the New York skyline.

After ordering drinks, Ed turned his attention back to his daughter. "Just wait until you have some of the food. It's fantastic."

"Where's Samantha tonight?" Stacey asked. Stacey was surprised when she saw the reservations were just for 2 since she enjoyed Samantha's company. Especially when her dad had to leave the table for work related calls.

"Um that's what I wanted to talk to you about sweetie. Samantha and I are not seeing each other anymore."

"What? What happened?"

"You know how things go. We just wanted different things," Ed said quickly, scanning the room for the waiter to come get their order.

"That's true," Stacey said. "Don't worry, Dad, there's plenty of fish in the sea. Although you work way too much to notice that."

"Oh, speaking of work. You reminded me. This work thing came up so I'm going to be out of town for a while. I'm not sure how long. You know how these corporate execs are."

"Dad! It's almost December! Shouldn't you take a little break?"

"I'm sorry honey. Look, we'll still have Christmas to hang out. Don't worry."

Stacey sighed. She understood that her father was a workaholic, and Stacey was like that sometimes. However she missed her dad a lot, and it always seemed as if he was working. Stacey knew her dad loves her but sometimes she couldn't help but feel as if his work was more important to him than she was.

The waiter approached to take their orders and then disappeared quickly.

"So… why did your mother snap at me when I called the other day?" Ed asked hoping to change the subject.

"Oh…uh…," Stacey debated internally whether to tell him the truth or not. Then she realized she was being ridiculous. It's been a year since the divorce. It's not like her mom dating was some big secret. "Mom just broke up with this guy but he doesn't seem to be getting the message. He's been calling her endlessly and when you called, she thought you were him."

"Oh, I didn't know your mom was dating anyone," Ed frowned. "I don't like that this guy isn't getting the message. Maybe I should tell your mom to get a restraining order."

"Dad! Don't be so dramatic," Stacey laughed. "I baby-sat for John's kids and he is a nice man. In fact, he is also a famous author! He's just having a hard time getting over Mom, that's all. He really likes her."

"I see," Ed said, although Stacey could sense that he was still troubled. Stacey quickly changed the subject to upcoming plays and museum exhibitions she wanted to see the next time she was in the city.

A few hours later, Stacey and her dad returned to his apartment. Stacey remembered that she was supposed to call Ethan when she got there so she grabbed the cordless and went into her room.

Ring!

"Hello?"

"Ethan! Hi!"

"Stace! Hey! How are you?"

"I'm good. So what are our plans?"

Ethan told her to meet him at the coffee shop tomorrow at ten o'clock since he knew that Stacey was not a morning person.


Stacey walked into the coffee shop, glanced at her wristwatch to check if she was on time, and saw a handsome guy sitting in the corner. He had deep blue eyes, long, almost-black hair, high cheekbones, and a straight nose. Her heart always gave a tiny flutter whenever she saw Ethan. She still couldn't believe that this gorgeous guy could also be so sweet, and he was her boyfriend! She walked over to the table.

"Hey stranger!"

"Stacey, hey you're looking great."

Ethan stood up to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek but Stacey could sense that something was wrong. His blue eyes conveyed some nervousness.

"What's wrong?"

"That obvious, huh?"

"A little."

Ethan took a big breath and then started to talk, "My dad is being transferred to a company in Seattle starting in January."

Stacey took in a huge breath. "Oh no!"

"Yeah, it stinks doesn't it?"

"Totally!" Then Stacey felt a sickening feeling in her stomach, knowing what was coming next.

"Well…you know long distance relationships are hard to maintain… and we hardly see each other as it is now," Ethan began. "I hope we can still remain friends."

Stacey was heart broken. However she didn't want to burst into tears in the coffee shop, so she tried to remain cool. "Of course," she smiled weakly. Yet she was thinking, can this holiday season get any worse?!