KRISTY:
We were back in the old town for spring break again! Only now it's the old city. Mary Anne, Dawn and Mona were on the way from New York City and Claudia, Stacey, Abby, Anna, Mallory, Jessi and I had met at the airport. Dawn had flown in and was staying with Mary Anne. For old times' sake, we walked around Washington Mall, one of the biggest hangout places back in high school. It still was for a lot of the current Stoneybrook High kids as well as kids from at least a dozen other high schools.
"Aster and Dusker's is still there after all these years!" Abby crowed.
"What a neat place!" Raisa, Anna's daughter, added.
"Yep, we hung out a lot here in the old days when Stoneybrook was still a big town," Anna nodded. We wandered inside and ordered a few drinks from the bar area and sat.
"Being back here brings memories," Stacey said softly.
"It sure does," Abby agreed. It had grown a lot since way back then, but we remembered how when we first came here in the fall of our ninth grade year, way back in the fall of 1997, we'd been impressed by the size. Washington Mall itself was nearly twice as big as before. Right across from Aster and Dusker's was a Borders' Books which had gone up back when we were college seniors.
"I'll never forget the day we moved out of this city," Claudia added.
"For several days, all of us were crying even though we couldn't wait to be out on our own," I put in.
"I had the hardest time of all of us leaving," Stacey remembered. "I guess it was I was still insecure." *Vreeeet!* my cell screeched just then. It was Mary Anne.
"Hello, Mary Anne!" I greeted.
"Hello, Kristy!" Mary Anne's voice came on. "I'm here at Mom's place with Dawn and Mona's with her mom. Where are you?"
"We're at Aster and Dusker's," I told her. "The rest of the gang's here. Want to come meet us here? We're reminiscing old times back in high school."
"Oh...boy!" Mary Anne sniffled a little. "Sure, I'll be there. Let me call Mona and we'll be over soon." With that, we clicked our cells closed.
"Tomorrow's the big day," Stacey sipped her drink. "Leah called day before yesterday and said she will definitely be there tomorrow."
"The City Hall, right?" Anna asked.
"Yep."
Mary Anne, Mona, and Dawn were there in about twenty minutes and they joined us.
"Oh, God, this place does bring back memories," Mary Anne peered around. "Remember Mona, you kind of met us here?"
"Yeah," Mona nodded.
"One of the bad times, yet good," Abby remembered. It had been in tenth grade when the In clique was threatening to take over Stoneybrook High and Mona had been at Burkeview High where there was a BIG clique at her old school. Some of the BIG clique had come and harassed the BSC here and Mona had seen them and told them off. We'd been miserable and it had been a relief when Mona came along. She'd joined us a few minutes and we talked a little, then she'd had to get home. It was in the fall of eleventh grade that Mona's family moved to Stoneybrook and she'd become a SHS student. By November, she'd become a good friend of ours and joined the BSC.
"Let's not forget Operation Today's Good Youth," I put in. It was here that we'd gathered kids from several different schools to send letters to editors of various northeastern newspapers to change the falsely negative image the media had of youth in the late 1990's. By then it was the fall of 1999, almost the turn of the century. The letters were all published, much to our surprise and also raised controversy as well.
"And I'll never forget how Ms. Silverbein stood behind us despite the flak she got from some narrow-minded parents and teachers," Dawn put in.
"Right on..." We all clicked glasses. We ate a little, drank and went over old high school memories, including the turn of the century, which happened in our junior year and our senior year and graduation. Mary Anne's eyes filled with tears several times.
"Here's to us..." Mary Anne's voice sounded a little choked as she held up her cup again. "Our friendship...it's endured all these years and long distances..."
"To us and our friendship..." the rest of us chimed in. Wow, it is amazing that we've stayed close all these years despite being scattered all over the country and only seeing each other a couple of times a year. It's remarkable, especially since sometimes some of us can go a couple of months without hearing from each other, but once we do ee or call, we just pick up right where we left off. What a tribute to our bond.
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Almost the whole city was here at the town hall-turned city hall, it seemed. All branches of the current BSC were there as well as former BSC members, not to mention us original BSC. So far we didn't see too many people we knew yet.
"HEEEY!" Just then a familiar voice boomed across the huge field. "Remember me?"
"Caitlin!" I bellowed and sure enough, it was one of our former classmates, Caitlin Giotti, who'd been our senior class president.
"Wow, it's sooo good to see you!" she babbled on as we all hugged.
"It's great to see you too," Mary Anne added.
"How've you been?" Claudia asked. We did a lot of catching up. Caitlin was living in Boulder, Colorado where she'd gone to college and was an architect. She married briefly in her mid-twenties, but that didn't work out. Later in her early thirties, she'd had a daughter.
"I think Shirley's around her unless she's gone off with her friends," Caitlin looked around. Most of our kids were with us, so we introduced them or more they introduced themselves. Finally, Shirley and two other girls came up. They looked about Alma and Zara's age and Caitlin introduced them.
"Heeey, look, there's Ms. Silverbein!" Caitlin peered over. Sure enough, there she was. She was talking to a group of people, so we edged slowly up to her. She still looked almost the same, except now she was much heavier and her hair was silver. She had on a rather loose toga-like dress and looked great. Once a break in the conversation came, we greeted her.
"Oh, hello!" She gave us each a hug. "You look great!"
"So do you," Mona told her and we did more catching up, telling her what we were doing, introducing our kids.
"Mom..." a woman called, coming up. Leah introduced us to Karen and her daughter. We'd met briefly once before, but never really got to know each other since Leah's three kids had gone to Stamford High, not SHS. Once we moved on, we spotted a few other familiar faces and talked some. I'd gone to grab a drink when someone tentatively said, "Kristy?" I turned and saw a woman with curly, dirty-blond hair standing near me. She looked familiar.
"Oh, hi, Shannon!" I recognized Shannon Kilbourne and we hugged briefly. Shannon used to be an associate member of the original BSC from eighth grade until tenth grade, then after tenth grade, her family moved to Massachussetts and we'd lost touch. "It's good to see you again," I told her. She was now an accountant and divorced with one son, David Swanway.
"Know who's here also?" Shannon asked.
"A lot of people we used to know," I chuckled. "Actually, who?"
"Logan Bruno."
"No kidding."
"Yep." Shannon nodded, then peered over and sure enough, there was a tall blond guy talking with a group of people. With him was a rather sullen-looking teenage boy with auburn hair and I wondered if that was his son. Logan had also been part of our original BSC until tenth grade. He'd been an associate member like Shannon, but had also been Mary Anne's boyfriend in eighth and ninth grades. In April of ninth grade, Logan and Mary Anne had gone through a really painful breakup and that had ended their relationship. Logan had then drifted apart from the rest of us and in eleventh grade, his family had moved to Bridgeport and I'd heard that he'd gone to Burkeview High.
"Did you talk to him yet?" I asked.
"A little," Shannon and I started to walk back to my friends. "He's divorced with two kids. He's a classified ad manager. I get the feeling his divorce was rather bitter."
"So, that's his son?" I jutted my chin in his direction, but the teenage boy had wandered off and it was just Logan there was three others.
"Yeah," Shannon confirmed. "Name's Sam and he's fifteen. He also has a daughter, Belinda, who's almost nineteen." Just as we reached my friends, Logan looked up and apparently saw us because he peered at us a minute, then waved. I looked over at Mary Anne. Mary Anne nodded, indicating that she wouldn't mind if he came over to talk. So I waved him over. He slowly came over and we tentatively hugged, except Mary Anne and Logan, who rather awkwardly shook hands. I just hoped seeing Logan again wouldn't bring back painful memories for Mary Anne.
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MARY ANNE:
Somehow, our group branched out and Logan and I would up walking around a bit. "It is good to see you again," I started. "You look good. How's life been treating you?" He hesitated a minute, then told me about how he'd gone to Connecticut U. He'd dated a Melanie Edwards since eleventh grade and they'd gone steady for all of their college years. I got the feeling that things didn't go completely smoothly for him there, but I didn't press for any details. He'd married Melanie after college and they'd moved down to Virginia where he'd gotten a job at a sports magazine doing typesetting. Melanie had worked as a veterinarian's assistant, but had taken time off after she'd had Belinda, then Sam. Then once Belinda became a teenager, their marriage started to fall apart and they'd divorced in the summer of 2023.
"So...what are you up to? Are you divorced too? You mentioned your daughters..." Logan asked. I told him about Tamara and Alma and that I'd gone to Staten U. in New York City and still lived there today. And about my teaching career and that I was being considered for principalship and about the book I was writing. And a little about Owen Geiser. "So, what happened?"
"I'm widowed," I told him. "I...w-we were in a plane crash and I survived, but Owen died. It was in February of 2023 and it happened in the Blue Ridge Mountains somewhere in Virginia, the same year you split from your wife. Owen and I were on our way back from a teachers' conference."
"Oh, God, I remember seeing the news about that crash!" Logan gasped. "Oh, God, Mary Anne, I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
"Thanks," I nodded. "It was traumatic, but Mona and my other friends helped pull me through. My girls were wonderful, even though they were hurting and we've become closer ever since."
"I wish I could say the same about my kids," Logan sighed wistfully.
"Why...what's...?" I sensed there was more behind the divorce that he'd told me.
"Melanie and I weren't speaking by the night I saw the news of the plane crash," Logan said softly. "We'd had a big fight and Melanie had shut herself up in the room. I sat in the living room and watched the news. Sam and Belinda were bickering and I was concerned that Belinda was becoming too boy-obsessed. Sam was developing a mean steak. That summer..." he hesitated a minute. "...was when Hurricane Elmo hit and our house was destroyed. So was the last shards of our marriage and the kids blamed us. We lost everything we owned and had to board with relatives for a year. Melanie and I blamed each other and that year we divorced. It was devastating for me."
"Oh, God, Logan, I'm so sorry," Tears welled in my eyes. Logan managed a weak smile as I pulled out tissues and tried to wipe them away. How awful!
"The kids..." Logan shook his head. "Belinda's in her first year of college, but she's on the verge of flunking out, since I suspect all she's done is party all year. Sam's been obnoxious and started smoking last year. I wonder where they'll wind up..."
"Oh, dear," I said under my breath. "Have you tried counseling for them?" I knew when kids were troubled, they often acted out. It made me realize how very glad I was that I'd gotten counseling for Tam and Alma to help them deal with the plane crash and was VERY glad that they didn't deal with their grief by acting out negatively the way Logan's kids seemed to be doing.
"Tried that for Belinda, but Melanie refused to cooperate and Belinda had no respect for the counselor. Ditto with Sam." Logan shrugged helplessly as we started back to where I saw Kristy, Stacey and Tam and Alma standing. Mona and Zara joined them. I really didn't know what else to say to Logan. I just hoped for all their sakes' Melanie would reconsider counseling and both she and Logan could cooperate enough to insist that Belinda and Sam get counseling and learn to deal with their troubles; I feared those kids were headed for serious trouble.
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MONA:
"...the city of Stoneybrook!" Mayor Helene Radstein announced and the council representative cut the ribbon and all of us whooped, cheered, clapped and a lot lit of the little kids jumped up and down. Only Logan's daughter, Belinda rolled her eyes and his son, Sam snorted. By then, a lot of our kids had met, including Logan and Shannon's kids meeting ours. I got the feeling Logan's kids really didn't want to be there and seemed to have attitude problems. Once the ribbon-cutting celebration quieted down, Belinda disappeared. Some of the kids wandered off. I saw Sam give Tam a shove as he headed off. At one point, he put out his middle finger at Mary Anne, then continued off. Tam's brows puckered into a frown and she leaned on Mary Anne, who put an arm around her. I was tempted to yell a few choice words after Sam, but didn't want to start an argument right there. I guess Logan didn't see that.
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ZARA:
I could tell that Mary Anne's kids and Logan and Melanie's kids had NOT hit it off. I found Belinda and Sam hard to take myself. They were both rather obnoxious. Belinda was tall, blond and blue-eyed like her dad and all she had on her mind was boys and sex. Sam was fifteen and had auburn hair, also had blue eyes and he ridiculed others and had a cynical attitude about everything. I'd seen him sneer at Mary Anne and give her the finger behind her back. I wondered how Logan put up with those kids, but I guess since he's their dad, he doesn't have much choice. Mom, Stacey, Kristy, and Mary Anne walked down the field again while several of us kids stood by the food, which was great.
"Hey, is it true that your mom dated Belinda and Sam's dad in middle school?" I asked Tamara.
"I think Mom mentioned something about dating a Logan in eighth and ninth grade," Tam finished off some chips. "Hard to believe that those are Logan's kids."
"Logan seems nice," I mused. "I wonder why he and your mom broke up."
"Too different, I guess," Tam shrugged. "My mom's very quiet and shy and Logan seems outgoing." I smiled, thinking of Logan's strange southern twang. Come to think of it, it was nearly impossible to imagine that Tam's mom had once gone out with this Logan. Like New York City and the rural South, I thought.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Alma told us.
"Sure, let's let Mom know so she won't worry." Tam took her hand. We told our parents where we were going, then headed inside city hall to the bathroom. On the way back out, we passed a broom closet and heard giggling and a sort of *wooogh.* I was curious, so I started to open the door, maybe figuring someone was making out in there. I was just going to take a fast look and close the door again before they saw us, but it didn't quite work out that way. The couple was Belinda and a much older guy. They weren't really making out, but they were smoking hippies, which is an offspring to crack, a drug that was popular in the late twentieth century. At school, teachers always tell us that hippies were very dangerous and addictive and can destroy your teeth, liver and digestive tract.
"Wwwwellll, hull-o there," Belinda slurred, then started to laugh. The guy, who also seemed high, laughed along with her.
"D-do your 'rent know that you smoke that junk?" Tamara asked.
"Hi...bye," I started to shut the door, wanting to get away from them.
"Maybe..." Belinda told us. "Just one thing..." she leaned forward, and held the door. "Don't dare tell your mommies...not that Mary Anne or your Mona...or we'll kill you...got it? We'll just kill you." We nodded. Alma was shaking and we quickly shut the door and practically ran back. We could hear them laughing deliriously inside the closet.
"Don't worry, Alma," I told Alma when I saw her frightened brows slant. "She won't do anything to us. Her mind was a little...crazed from the drugs."
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TAMARA:
Mom, Aunt Mona, Zara, and my sister had all come together, so we came back home together. Aunt Dawn and her twins had flown back to Arizona from Stoneybrook this morning. We did a little more sightseeing through the new city of Stoneybrook first, then entered the Connecticut turnpike.
"Did Stoneybrook used to be a small town back when you were young, Mom?" Alma asked.
"Not really," Mom told her. "It was a large town, but it's been growing for so many years. Your great-grandmother lives in a small town. Just one main roads and a few tiny roads and a few shopping centers. Everybody knows everybody there. Grandma used to joke that if you blinked passing by, you'd miss that town." We all laughed then.
"And think, we now have computers, internet, and electricity too," I quipped and we cracked up again.
"Mary Anne..." Mona asked. "Was it strange seeing Logan again?" You hadn't seen him since high school and I know you didn't part of the best of terms back then."
"A little," Mom said softly. "It was all so long ago...we broke up in ninth grade; it was April. We just had different values and couldn't meet each others' needs." We girls listened. I love hearing stories about Mom when she was my age. Things were so different and yet the same. There were a lot more narrow-minded people back then with a lot of rigid, fixed ideas about how other people should live their personal lives. People back then were more superstitious and there was no control for AIDS and diabetics had to inject themselves to get their insulin. Now there is a control for AIDS that allows AIDS patients to live a normal lifespan and all diabetics need is an insulin patch ten minutes a day. "It wasn't a bitter breakup," Mom continued. "But it was very painful for both of us and we both cried so much."
"Logan cried too?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah...he did. It was really sad for both of us. We'd been growing apart most of our ninth grade year and it wouldn't have been fair to either one of us to hang onto each other.
"Mom..." Alma looked a little pale and her brows slanted again in worry.
"Yes, honey."
"Belinda said she was going to kill us."
"Wh-what?" Mom gasped. "Logan and Melanie's daughter? When?"
"At the re-union bash."
"We caught Belinda smoking hippies," I put in. "I guess she didn't want anyone else to know and she was high, so I guess she talked off the top of her drugged-out head...you know." I tried to calm Mom, whose eyebrows had also slanted in worry.
Mom swallowed hard. "What are hippies?" she asked in a low, shaky voice.
"The latest drug," I told her. Don't tell me Mom's never heard of it.
"Kind of like crack in our day," Mom supplied.
"Do her parents know?" Mom asked.
"She said they did, but I don't believe it."
"Oh, shit..." Mom swore a couple of times under her breath, then added, still looking worried. "I just hope she doesn't get herself in real trouble. Not only for her own sake, but that of her parents."
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BELINDA:
Dad's furious and embarrassed at both my brother and me. So the plane ride back to Virginia where we lived was strained to say the least. I mean some dumb teacher caught Brad and me doing a little hippie smoking the broom closet of city hall. Just my luck that teacher's one of those straight, proper types...like Dad. It seemed as if Dad also caught Sam drinking beer with some friends. We'd come with Dad to this dedication, but it had been sooo boring! Only one cute guy. So Dad had lived in Stoneybrook for a few years way back when he was in eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. Big fat deal. Mom and Dad got joint custody of us after they split up when I was thirteen. I'd hated them both and wished they'd both go to hell...and told them off! When I yelled at Dad, he snapped back, "Great...then go live with your mother!" I yelled at Mom and she sniped back, "Just go live with your father the jockster and tell him that!"
"I'd rather not live with either of you putzes!" I'd told both of them.
Sam had then butted in with his unwanted opinion," "All three of you are putzes and I'm embarrassed to be related to any of you idiots!"
"Sam, be quiet!" Mom had snapped. Now I could see their reasons for splitting up. Mom was always complaining about how much she sacrificed trying to please Dad and Dad complained that Mom was too self-centered. Today, they still occasionally complain about each other. Now I wondered if Dad would tell Mom about this episode. They were very bitter toward each other at first, but now they're civil, but cool towards each other. I got the feeling that Tamara, and her sister and her friend, Zyra or whatever her name was probably went squealing to their moms anyway.
"Hey, Belinda..." Sam poked me.
"What?"
"Is it true that Dad and that Mary Anne were lovers in eighth grade?"
"Sort of," I told him.
"I mean..." He leaned closer, so Dad wouldn't hear him. "Did they do IT?"
"No, I don't think they had sex, if that's what you're asking," I told him in a low voice. "All's I know is that they broke up in ninth grade and that she's now widowed. It was probably just an infatuation thing. I mean...did you get a look at Mary Anne? She's not even pretty and she's a bit on the fat side." We both snickered. "I kind of pity her nerdy little daughters, especially Alma, who got stuck looking like her mother."
"All three of those Spisers are just squacks," Sam sniggered. Maybe we shouldn't be making fun of my dad's first girlfriend and her kids...but they're losers anyway. I could see that they hadn't been too crazy about us either. Thank the stars they live somewhere in New York City, so we'd never have to see them again and they'd never see us again.
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Ee's back and forth:
Numbers@compuserve to all:
It's me, Stace. Got home all right, Syrie and me. What a wonderful ceremony that was! And it was soo good seeing some of our old classmates and especially seeing Ms. Silverbein again, not to mention you all again! I'm so fortunate to have all of you as my friends!
Boox@yahoo to all:
Yes, it was. I saw Leah and I briefly flashed back to when we were teens and she was in her fifties and her hair was still mostly black. Her eyes are still the same, that same dark brown. And her wonderful wit and personality hasn't changed any either. It's good to see her still active in her eighties. Tam, Alma, and I are home all right as you can tell and I'm about to get in bed with a good book, so good night, all of you. I'm lucky to have all of you as my friends.
Bizprez@aol to all:
Wonder if any of our descendants will wind up back in the old city again. Seems all so long ago that I founded the BSC. I'm so glad Stoneybrook is now a city! Good seeing all of you and hope to do it again really soon! Take care for now!
Planet@yahoo to all:
Environmentally sound, converting Stoneybrook into a city. Now there's more room to spread out and it has more control over any pollution. I loved seeing all of you again!
Artsbiz@aol to all:
Got home all right! God, it was soo good seeing you all! It's amazing and wonderful how no matter what direction our lives take us and how far we scatter, we're always drawn back to each other like an astral cord. Well, it's several new ads to start on next week. Way to go, city of Stoneybrook!!!!
Animalover@ to all:
Hi, it's Mona to say Mary Anne and I are back home in the Big Apple. Maybe Stoneybrook might become NYC's little apple, lol. Well, congratulations to Stoneybrook and its people! Thanks you all, for being my great friends!
Mscnote@aol to all:
Abby and I are back home. My group is working on another CD which should be out next year. Wonderful seeing you all again!
Sports@aol to all:
Back home again to my own small city here in New Jersey! Great ceremony and it was so good seeing all of you again! Oh, it was great stopping at Aster and Dusker's again for old times' sake! Anna and I just got off the phone with each other and I'm about to turn in, so g'night!
More soon! You'll find out if Mary Anne is promoted to principal and how Stacey's discovery will change the world!
We were back in the old town for spring break again! Only now it's the old city. Mary Anne, Dawn and Mona were on the way from New York City and Claudia, Stacey, Abby, Anna, Mallory, Jessi and I had met at the airport. Dawn had flown in and was staying with Mary Anne. For old times' sake, we walked around Washington Mall, one of the biggest hangout places back in high school. It still was for a lot of the current Stoneybrook High kids as well as kids from at least a dozen other high schools.
"Aster and Dusker's is still there after all these years!" Abby crowed.
"What a neat place!" Raisa, Anna's daughter, added.
"Yep, we hung out a lot here in the old days when Stoneybrook was still a big town," Anna nodded. We wandered inside and ordered a few drinks from the bar area and sat.
"Being back here brings memories," Stacey said softly.
"It sure does," Abby agreed. It had grown a lot since way back then, but we remembered how when we first came here in the fall of our ninth grade year, way back in the fall of 1997, we'd been impressed by the size. Washington Mall itself was nearly twice as big as before. Right across from Aster and Dusker's was a Borders' Books which had gone up back when we were college seniors.
"I'll never forget the day we moved out of this city," Claudia added.
"For several days, all of us were crying even though we couldn't wait to be out on our own," I put in.
"I had the hardest time of all of us leaving," Stacey remembered. "I guess it was I was still insecure." *Vreeeet!* my cell screeched just then. It was Mary Anne.
"Hello, Mary Anne!" I greeted.
"Hello, Kristy!" Mary Anne's voice came on. "I'm here at Mom's place with Dawn and Mona's with her mom. Where are you?"
"We're at Aster and Dusker's," I told her. "The rest of the gang's here. Want to come meet us here? We're reminiscing old times back in high school."
"Oh...boy!" Mary Anne sniffled a little. "Sure, I'll be there. Let me call Mona and we'll be over soon." With that, we clicked our cells closed.
"Tomorrow's the big day," Stacey sipped her drink. "Leah called day before yesterday and said she will definitely be there tomorrow."
"The City Hall, right?" Anna asked.
"Yep."
Mary Anne, Mona, and Dawn were there in about twenty minutes and they joined us.
"Oh, God, this place does bring back memories," Mary Anne peered around. "Remember Mona, you kind of met us here?"
"Yeah," Mona nodded.
"One of the bad times, yet good," Abby remembered. It had been in tenth grade when the In clique was threatening to take over Stoneybrook High and Mona had been at Burkeview High where there was a BIG clique at her old school. Some of the BIG clique had come and harassed the BSC here and Mona had seen them and told them off. We'd been miserable and it had been a relief when Mona came along. She'd joined us a few minutes and we talked a little, then she'd had to get home. It was in the fall of eleventh grade that Mona's family moved to Stoneybrook and she'd become a SHS student. By November, she'd become a good friend of ours and joined the BSC.
"Let's not forget Operation Today's Good Youth," I put in. It was here that we'd gathered kids from several different schools to send letters to editors of various northeastern newspapers to change the falsely negative image the media had of youth in the late 1990's. By then it was the fall of 1999, almost the turn of the century. The letters were all published, much to our surprise and also raised controversy as well.
"And I'll never forget how Ms. Silverbein stood behind us despite the flak she got from some narrow-minded parents and teachers," Dawn put in.
"Right on..." We all clicked glasses. We ate a little, drank and went over old high school memories, including the turn of the century, which happened in our junior year and our senior year and graduation. Mary Anne's eyes filled with tears several times.
"Here's to us..." Mary Anne's voice sounded a little choked as she held up her cup again. "Our friendship...it's endured all these years and long distances..."
"To us and our friendship..." the rest of us chimed in. Wow, it is amazing that we've stayed close all these years despite being scattered all over the country and only seeing each other a couple of times a year. It's remarkable, especially since sometimes some of us can go a couple of months without hearing from each other, but once we do ee or call, we just pick up right where we left off. What a tribute to our bond.
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Almost the whole city was here at the town hall-turned city hall, it seemed. All branches of the current BSC were there as well as former BSC members, not to mention us original BSC. So far we didn't see too many people we knew yet.
"HEEEY!" Just then a familiar voice boomed across the huge field. "Remember me?"
"Caitlin!" I bellowed and sure enough, it was one of our former classmates, Caitlin Giotti, who'd been our senior class president.
"Wow, it's sooo good to see you!" she babbled on as we all hugged.
"It's great to see you too," Mary Anne added.
"How've you been?" Claudia asked. We did a lot of catching up. Caitlin was living in Boulder, Colorado where she'd gone to college and was an architect. She married briefly in her mid-twenties, but that didn't work out. Later in her early thirties, she'd had a daughter.
"I think Shirley's around her unless she's gone off with her friends," Caitlin looked around. Most of our kids were with us, so we introduced them or more they introduced themselves. Finally, Shirley and two other girls came up. They looked about Alma and Zara's age and Caitlin introduced them.
"Heeey, look, there's Ms. Silverbein!" Caitlin peered over. Sure enough, there she was. She was talking to a group of people, so we edged slowly up to her. She still looked almost the same, except now she was much heavier and her hair was silver. She had on a rather loose toga-like dress and looked great. Once a break in the conversation came, we greeted her.
"Oh, hello!" She gave us each a hug. "You look great!"
"So do you," Mona told her and we did more catching up, telling her what we were doing, introducing our kids.
"Mom..." a woman called, coming up. Leah introduced us to Karen and her daughter. We'd met briefly once before, but never really got to know each other since Leah's three kids had gone to Stamford High, not SHS. Once we moved on, we spotted a few other familiar faces and talked some. I'd gone to grab a drink when someone tentatively said, "Kristy?" I turned and saw a woman with curly, dirty-blond hair standing near me. She looked familiar.
"Oh, hi, Shannon!" I recognized Shannon Kilbourne and we hugged briefly. Shannon used to be an associate member of the original BSC from eighth grade until tenth grade, then after tenth grade, her family moved to Massachussetts and we'd lost touch. "It's good to see you again," I told her. She was now an accountant and divorced with one son, David Swanway.
"Know who's here also?" Shannon asked.
"A lot of people we used to know," I chuckled. "Actually, who?"
"Logan Bruno."
"No kidding."
"Yep." Shannon nodded, then peered over and sure enough, there was a tall blond guy talking with a group of people. With him was a rather sullen-looking teenage boy with auburn hair and I wondered if that was his son. Logan had also been part of our original BSC until tenth grade. He'd been an associate member like Shannon, but had also been Mary Anne's boyfriend in eighth and ninth grades. In April of ninth grade, Logan and Mary Anne had gone through a really painful breakup and that had ended their relationship. Logan had then drifted apart from the rest of us and in eleventh grade, his family had moved to Bridgeport and I'd heard that he'd gone to Burkeview High.
"Did you talk to him yet?" I asked.
"A little," Shannon and I started to walk back to my friends. "He's divorced with two kids. He's a classified ad manager. I get the feeling his divorce was rather bitter."
"So, that's his son?" I jutted my chin in his direction, but the teenage boy had wandered off and it was just Logan there was three others.
"Yeah," Shannon confirmed. "Name's Sam and he's fifteen. He also has a daughter, Belinda, who's almost nineteen." Just as we reached my friends, Logan looked up and apparently saw us because he peered at us a minute, then waved. I looked over at Mary Anne. Mary Anne nodded, indicating that she wouldn't mind if he came over to talk. So I waved him over. He slowly came over and we tentatively hugged, except Mary Anne and Logan, who rather awkwardly shook hands. I just hoped seeing Logan again wouldn't bring back painful memories for Mary Anne.
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MARY ANNE:
Somehow, our group branched out and Logan and I would up walking around a bit. "It is good to see you again," I started. "You look good. How's life been treating you?" He hesitated a minute, then told me about how he'd gone to Connecticut U. He'd dated a Melanie Edwards since eleventh grade and they'd gone steady for all of their college years. I got the feeling that things didn't go completely smoothly for him there, but I didn't press for any details. He'd married Melanie after college and they'd moved down to Virginia where he'd gotten a job at a sports magazine doing typesetting. Melanie had worked as a veterinarian's assistant, but had taken time off after she'd had Belinda, then Sam. Then once Belinda became a teenager, their marriage started to fall apart and they'd divorced in the summer of 2023.
"So...what are you up to? Are you divorced too? You mentioned your daughters..." Logan asked. I told him about Tamara and Alma and that I'd gone to Staten U. in New York City and still lived there today. And about my teaching career and that I was being considered for principalship and about the book I was writing. And a little about Owen Geiser. "So, what happened?"
"I'm widowed," I told him. "I...w-we were in a plane crash and I survived, but Owen died. It was in February of 2023 and it happened in the Blue Ridge Mountains somewhere in Virginia, the same year you split from your wife. Owen and I were on our way back from a teachers' conference."
"Oh, God, I remember seeing the news about that crash!" Logan gasped. "Oh, God, Mary Anne, I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
"Thanks," I nodded. "It was traumatic, but Mona and my other friends helped pull me through. My girls were wonderful, even though they were hurting and we've become closer ever since."
"I wish I could say the same about my kids," Logan sighed wistfully.
"Why...what's...?" I sensed there was more behind the divorce that he'd told me.
"Melanie and I weren't speaking by the night I saw the news of the plane crash," Logan said softly. "We'd had a big fight and Melanie had shut herself up in the room. I sat in the living room and watched the news. Sam and Belinda were bickering and I was concerned that Belinda was becoming too boy-obsessed. Sam was developing a mean steak. That summer..." he hesitated a minute. "...was when Hurricane Elmo hit and our house was destroyed. So was the last shards of our marriage and the kids blamed us. We lost everything we owned and had to board with relatives for a year. Melanie and I blamed each other and that year we divorced. It was devastating for me."
"Oh, God, Logan, I'm so sorry," Tears welled in my eyes. Logan managed a weak smile as I pulled out tissues and tried to wipe them away. How awful!
"The kids..." Logan shook his head. "Belinda's in her first year of college, but she's on the verge of flunking out, since I suspect all she's done is party all year. Sam's been obnoxious and started smoking last year. I wonder where they'll wind up..."
"Oh, dear," I said under my breath. "Have you tried counseling for them?" I knew when kids were troubled, they often acted out. It made me realize how very glad I was that I'd gotten counseling for Tam and Alma to help them deal with the plane crash and was VERY glad that they didn't deal with their grief by acting out negatively the way Logan's kids seemed to be doing.
"Tried that for Belinda, but Melanie refused to cooperate and Belinda had no respect for the counselor. Ditto with Sam." Logan shrugged helplessly as we started back to where I saw Kristy, Stacey and Tam and Alma standing. Mona and Zara joined them. I really didn't know what else to say to Logan. I just hoped for all their sakes' Melanie would reconsider counseling and both she and Logan could cooperate enough to insist that Belinda and Sam get counseling and learn to deal with their troubles; I feared those kids were headed for serious trouble.
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MONA:
"...the city of Stoneybrook!" Mayor Helene Radstein announced and the council representative cut the ribbon and all of us whooped, cheered, clapped and a lot lit of the little kids jumped up and down. Only Logan's daughter, Belinda rolled her eyes and his son, Sam snorted. By then, a lot of our kids had met, including Logan and Shannon's kids meeting ours. I got the feeling Logan's kids really didn't want to be there and seemed to have attitude problems. Once the ribbon-cutting celebration quieted down, Belinda disappeared. Some of the kids wandered off. I saw Sam give Tam a shove as he headed off. At one point, he put out his middle finger at Mary Anne, then continued off. Tam's brows puckered into a frown and she leaned on Mary Anne, who put an arm around her. I was tempted to yell a few choice words after Sam, but didn't want to start an argument right there. I guess Logan didn't see that.
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ZARA:
I could tell that Mary Anne's kids and Logan and Melanie's kids had NOT hit it off. I found Belinda and Sam hard to take myself. They were both rather obnoxious. Belinda was tall, blond and blue-eyed like her dad and all she had on her mind was boys and sex. Sam was fifteen and had auburn hair, also had blue eyes and he ridiculed others and had a cynical attitude about everything. I'd seen him sneer at Mary Anne and give her the finger behind her back. I wondered how Logan put up with those kids, but I guess since he's their dad, he doesn't have much choice. Mom, Stacey, Kristy, and Mary Anne walked down the field again while several of us kids stood by the food, which was great.
"Hey, is it true that your mom dated Belinda and Sam's dad in middle school?" I asked Tamara.
"I think Mom mentioned something about dating a Logan in eighth and ninth grade," Tam finished off some chips. "Hard to believe that those are Logan's kids."
"Logan seems nice," I mused. "I wonder why he and your mom broke up."
"Too different, I guess," Tam shrugged. "My mom's very quiet and shy and Logan seems outgoing." I smiled, thinking of Logan's strange southern twang. Come to think of it, it was nearly impossible to imagine that Tam's mom had once gone out with this Logan. Like New York City and the rural South, I thought.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Alma told us.
"Sure, let's let Mom know so she won't worry." Tam took her hand. We told our parents where we were going, then headed inside city hall to the bathroom. On the way back out, we passed a broom closet and heard giggling and a sort of *wooogh.* I was curious, so I started to open the door, maybe figuring someone was making out in there. I was just going to take a fast look and close the door again before they saw us, but it didn't quite work out that way. The couple was Belinda and a much older guy. They weren't really making out, but they were smoking hippies, which is an offspring to crack, a drug that was popular in the late twentieth century. At school, teachers always tell us that hippies were very dangerous and addictive and can destroy your teeth, liver and digestive tract.
"Wwwwellll, hull-o there," Belinda slurred, then started to laugh. The guy, who also seemed high, laughed along with her.
"D-do your 'rent know that you smoke that junk?" Tamara asked.
"Hi...bye," I started to shut the door, wanting to get away from them.
"Maybe..." Belinda told us. "Just one thing..." she leaned forward, and held the door. "Don't dare tell your mommies...not that Mary Anne or your Mona...or we'll kill you...got it? We'll just kill you." We nodded. Alma was shaking and we quickly shut the door and practically ran back. We could hear them laughing deliriously inside the closet.
"Don't worry, Alma," I told Alma when I saw her frightened brows slant. "She won't do anything to us. Her mind was a little...crazed from the drugs."
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TAMARA:
Mom, Aunt Mona, Zara, and my sister had all come together, so we came back home together. Aunt Dawn and her twins had flown back to Arizona from Stoneybrook this morning. We did a little more sightseeing through the new city of Stoneybrook first, then entered the Connecticut turnpike.
"Did Stoneybrook used to be a small town back when you were young, Mom?" Alma asked.
"Not really," Mom told her. "It was a large town, but it's been growing for so many years. Your great-grandmother lives in a small town. Just one main roads and a few tiny roads and a few shopping centers. Everybody knows everybody there. Grandma used to joke that if you blinked passing by, you'd miss that town." We all laughed then.
"And think, we now have computers, internet, and electricity too," I quipped and we cracked up again.
"Mary Anne..." Mona asked. "Was it strange seeing Logan again?" You hadn't seen him since high school and I know you didn't part of the best of terms back then."
"A little," Mom said softly. "It was all so long ago...we broke up in ninth grade; it was April. We just had different values and couldn't meet each others' needs." We girls listened. I love hearing stories about Mom when she was my age. Things were so different and yet the same. There were a lot more narrow-minded people back then with a lot of rigid, fixed ideas about how other people should live their personal lives. People back then were more superstitious and there was no control for AIDS and diabetics had to inject themselves to get their insulin. Now there is a control for AIDS that allows AIDS patients to live a normal lifespan and all diabetics need is an insulin patch ten minutes a day. "It wasn't a bitter breakup," Mom continued. "But it was very painful for both of us and we both cried so much."
"Logan cried too?" I asked in surprise.
"Yeah...he did. It was really sad for both of us. We'd been growing apart most of our ninth grade year and it wouldn't have been fair to either one of us to hang onto each other.
"Mom..." Alma looked a little pale and her brows slanted again in worry.
"Yes, honey."
"Belinda said she was going to kill us."
"Wh-what?" Mom gasped. "Logan and Melanie's daughter? When?"
"At the re-union bash."
"We caught Belinda smoking hippies," I put in. "I guess she didn't want anyone else to know and she was high, so I guess she talked off the top of her drugged-out head...you know." I tried to calm Mom, whose eyebrows had also slanted in worry.
Mom swallowed hard. "What are hippies?" she asked in a low, shaky voice.
"The latest drug," I told her. Don't tell me Mom's never heard of it.
"Kind of like crack in our day," Mom supplied.
"Do her parents know?" Mom asked.
"She said they did, but I don't believe it."
"Oh, shit..." Mom swore a couple of times under her breath, then added, still looking worried. "I just hope she doesn't get herself in real trouble. Not only for her own sake, but that of her parents."
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BELINDA:
Dad's furious and embarrassed at both my brother and me. So the plane ride back to Virginia where we lived was strained to say the least. I mean some dumb teacher caught Brad and me doing a little hippie smoking the broom closet of city hall. Just my luck that teacher's one of those straight, proper types...like Dad. It seemed as if Dad also caught Sam drinking beer with some friends. We'd come with Dad to this dedication, but it had been sooo boring! Only one cute guy. So Dad had lived in Stoneybrook for a few years way back when he was in eighth, ninth, and tenth grades. Big fat deal. Mom and Dad got joint custody of us after they split up when I was thirteen. I'd hated them both and wished they'd both go to hell...and told them off! When I yelled at Dad, he snapped back, "Great...then go live with your mother!" I yelled at Mom and she sniped back, "Just go live with your father the jockster and tell him that!"
"I'd rather not live with either of you putzes!" I'd told both of them.
Sam had then butted in with his unwanted opinion," "All three of you are putzes and I'm embarrassed to be related to any of you idiots!"
"Sam, be quiet!" Mom had snapped. Now I could see their reasons for splitting up. Mom was always complaining about how much she sacrificed trying to please Dad and Dad complained that Mom was too self-centered. Today, they still occasionally complain about each other. Now I wondered if Dad would tell Mom about this episode. They were very bitter toward each other at first, but now they're civil, but cool towards each other. I got the feeling that Tamara, and her sister and her friend, Zyra or whatever her name was probably went squealing to their moms anyway.
"Hey, Belinda..." Sam poked me.
"What?"
"Is it true that Dad and that Mary Anne were lovers in eighth grade?"
"Sort of," I told him.
"I mean..." He leaned closer, so Dad wouldn't hear him. "Did they do IT?"
"No, I don't think they had sex, if that's what you're asking," I told him in a low voice. "All's I know is that they broke up in ninth grade and that she's now widowed. It was probably just an infatuation thing. I mean...did you get a look at Mary Anne? She's not even pretty and she's a bit on the fat side." We both snickered. "I kind of pity her nerdy little daughters, especially Alma, who got stuck looking like her mother."
"All three of those Spisers are just squacks," Sam sniggered. Maybe we shouldn't be making fun of my dad's first girlfriend and her kids...but they're losers anyway. I could see that they hadn't been too crazy about us either. Thank the stars they live somewhere in New York City, so we'd never have to see them again and they'd never see us again.
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Ee's back and forth:
Numbers@compuserve to all:
It's me, Stace. Got home all right, Syrie and me. What a wonderful ceremony that was! And it was soo good seeing some of our old classmates and especially seeing Ms. Silverbein again, not to mention you all again! I'm so fortunate to have all of you as my friends!
Boox@yahoo to all:
Yes, it was. I saw Leah and I briefly flashed back to when we were teens and she was in her fifties and her hair was still mostly black. Her eyes are still the same, that same dark brown. And her wonderful wit and personality hasn't changed any either. It's good to see her still active in her eighties. Tam, Alma, and I are home all right as you can tell and I'm about to get in bed with a good book, so good night, all of you. I'm lucky to have all of you as my friends.
Bizprez@aol to all:
Wonder if any of our descendants will wind up back in the old city again. Seems all so long ago that I founded the BSC. I'm so glad Stoneybrook is now a city! Good seeing all of you and hope to do it again really soon! Take care for now!
Planet@yahoo to all:
Environmentally sound, converting Stoneybrook into a city. Now there's more room to spread out and it has more control over any pollution. I loved seeing all of you again!
Artsbiz@aol to all:
Got home all right! God, it was soo good seeing you all! It's amazing and wonderful how no matter what direction our lives take us and how far we scatter, we're always drawn back to each other like an astral cord. Well, it's several new ads to start on next week. Way to go, city of Stoneybrook!!!!
Animalover@ to all:
Hi, it's Mona to say Mary Anne and I are back home in the Big Apple. Maybe Stoneybrook might become NYC's little apple, lol. Well, congratulations to Stoneybrook and its people! Thanks you all, for being my great friends!
Mscnote@aol to all:
Abby and I are back home. My group is working on another CD which should be out next year. Wonderful seeing you all again!
Sports@aol to all:
Back home again to my own small city here in New Jersey! Great ceremony and it was so good seeing all of you again! Oh, it was great stopping at Aster and Dusker's again for old times' sake! Anna and I just got off the phone with each other and I'm about to turn in, so g'night!
More soon! You'll find out if Mary Anne is promoted to principal and how Stacey's discovery will change the world!
