The next day, Mary Anne was still upset and tired, so she stayed home from school. After school, back at home, Mary Anne was asleep on the couch. I knew she would be since she had a rough night. Mr. Spier came behind me and I didn't know that when I nearly closed the door and I turned.
"Oh, hi. I didn't notice you were right behind me," I said.
He just chuckled and then said, "How's Mary Anne's been doing?"
"She had a tough night, so she ended up staying home from school today. She's been asleep since I left this morning. I knew she would be," I told him.
"I told Sharon if she ever throw my daughter out without a reason, she's taking the road. I told her that's a warning and Mary Anne's been trying to make her feel better," said Mr. Spier.
"I agree. How would Sharon feel if Mary Anne refuses to let her stepmother to make her feel better one of these days?" I asked.
"You got a very good point," agreed Mr. Spier.
"I know. Plus, that would cause them to have problems with their relationships. Since when Sharon's like that anyway?" I asked. "I also heard Dawn was no help by taking her own mother's side."
"That's correct. At least Mary Anne had the courage to tell Dawn to stay out of it so she can handle it on her own," said Mr. Spier.
"That's true. She told me about it. Anyway, would you like to stay for dinner tonight before you lose your temper on Sharon even more?" I asked.
"That'd be a good idea. Thank you. I'm planning to join Mary Anne when she goes away to Iowa for the weekend," said Mr. Spier.
"I don't blame you for doing that," I said. "I have to baby-sit after an early dinner. Mary Anne's coming with me if she has the energy."
"That'd be a good thing for her," said Mr. Spier.
"I know. Mom's getting out of work in an hour," I said.
"Alright. Any ideas for dinner?" asked Mr. Spier.
"She's thinking of ordering pizza. I can only have spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. She gets pizza for herself. I can call her to let her know I invited you here for supper," I said.
That's what I did and she didn't mind at all. It was all set after that. An hour later, Mom called to let me know she already ordered pizza and would be getting it shortly. So, I set the table for all four of us since I got a feeling that Mary Anne might want to eat, too. Twelve minutes later, Mom came home with pizza, salad, and garlic bread. She told me she got spaghetti. I can have tomato sauce, not butter. Mary Anne-who had just got up-joined us. She seemed to be better. She's relieved that she saw her dad there for dinner.
"What time are you leaving?" asked Mary Anne.
"After dinner," I replied.
"Oh, would I have time to take a quick shower after I eat?" asked Mary Anne.
"You should have time," I replied.
"Just want to make sure because I don't want to make you wait," said Mary Anne.
"Take your time," I said.
After she ate, she said, "May I leave the table to take a quick shower before I leave with Stacey?"
"Go ahead, honey," said her father.
Mary Anne got up as she headed off to take a quick shower.
"I'll be baby-sitting for Charlotte shortly. Becca's going to be there," I said. "Mary Anne and I are going to be back later on tonight after nine."
Mary Anne came down just five minutes before we left. At Charlotte's, Becca didn't arrive yet, but she did ten minutes later. Becca had a few books of hers. The girls' plans were to play school for the afternoon. Charlotte and Becca are having a night out since they attend the same school because A) Jessi was told she was having dancing lessons until eight-thirty tonight, B) her parents are going out for the night, and C) her aunt is on vacation. Jessi was unavaible to baby-sit for Squirt, so Claudia agreed to take the job.
The girls even had permission to stay up until Charlotte's parents return for nine. They did play school and had a great time. They didn't have dinner so Charlotte's mom wanted me to feed them. They want to have a picnic.
"I like picnics. That's what I do with Jenny whenever I baby-sit her," said Mary Anne.
They had a picnic at seven. We made them peanut butter and jelly. I'm glad this been keeping Mary Anne busy so far. Later, at nine on the dot, Charlotte and Becca had just went to bed before Charlotte's folks came home.
"The girls were tired, so they just went to bed. They had a fun time," I said.
They thanked and paid me & Mary Anne since she helped out. Then we left for home.