They walked through the house, feeling as though they'd stepped into an episode of Donna Reed. In the kitchen, a beautiful blonde woman was busy cooking.
When she saw them watching her, she looked up and smiled.
"Don! You're home early."
Don smiled and kissed the woman.
"Betty, I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. This is Max, Alex, Justin and Harper."
"Pleased to meet you." Betty said, extending her hand.
"So what are you doing home so early?"
"I wanted Alex to meet Sally. Where is she?"
"In her room, playing. But tell her that dinner is almost ready. You know how long she takes to get down here."
"Thanks. I'll tell her."
Don led them up the stairs and to a room that most certainly belonged to a little girl; decorated in shades of pink.
"Wow, this is a cool room!" Alex exclaimed.
Justin smirked. "Sure, if you're six!"
"Kids, I'd like you to meet my daughter Sally."
They glanced at the little girl who sat in the middle of the floor.
Alex walked into the room and sat cross-legged on the floor facing Sally.
"Hey, how's it going?"
"What's that mean?" Sally asked, barely glancing up from her dollhouse.
"Well, it just means-."
"This is a really nice room." Justin said, giving Don an awkward glance. "But why are we here?"
"Well, since Alex obviously needs a toy for her school project, I thought you might like to have one of Sally's."
The kids looked at each other in amazement.
"Wow, that's really nice of you!" Harper said, grinning a little too brightly.
"I don't want to take something that she loves." Alex said. "She might get upset!"
"Since when do you care what people think?" Justin asked; his arms crossed.
"Since now!" Alex retorted.
"All right." Don crossed the room and surveyed the huge array of toys that filled the shelves. "How about this one?"
Alex's eyes widened at the sight of the toy that Don held in his hand.
"Oh my God, a Howdy Doody doll, still in the original box!" Justin said.
"You have one already?" Don quipped.
"No, but Mr. Laritate loves Howdy Dewey!" Alex said with excitement.
"DOODY!" Justin and Don corrected.
"Hey!" Max said, holding up his hand.
"Hey, what?"
"Justin, not in front of the kid! She's too young for that kind of talk!" Max warned.
Justin sighed. "Mr. Draper can we have the doll? It would really help us out."
"Well, sure."
"But what about Sally?"
"Actually someone at the office gave me that doll. Apparently they think that Sally is a boy. It's been sitting in that box for the longest time. She took one look at it and threw a tantrum until I agreed to take her shopping for something else."
Justin stared longingly at the box. "But it's so valuable..."
"I guess." Don shrugged. "I don't see how, though. They make hundreds of them."
"So, can we?"
"All right, it's yours."
The kids screamed with excitement and hugged each other.
"Okay, now we can get out of here!" Justin said.
"Dinner's ready!" Betty called from the kitchen.
"You kids want to stay for dinner? It's meatloaf night." Don said.
"Actually we should probably get home."
"Well, how about if I give you a lift?"
"No thank you, Mr. Draper. We can get home on our own." Harper grinned.
"At least let me escort you out."
They followed him downstairs to the doorway.
"I guess this is goodbye then."
Betty appeared next to her husband. "Goodbye? Don, didn't you even ask them to stay for dinner?"
"Of course, but it seems they're in a hurry to get home."
"I can't wait to post about this on Facebook!" Max said, wincing when Justin lightly punched him in the arm.
Betty looked them in surprise. "Face-what?"
"Never mind. Come on let's get out of here. Thanks again Mr. Draper!"
"No problem!" Don waved from the door. "You're welcome to visit anytime!"
Alex scoffed. "I don't see that happening anytime soon!"
