It was Sunday morning. Everyone was getting ready to go to church. Ruthie was helping the boys put on their suit jackets, etc., as she was already dressed and ready to go. Kevin and Lucy were coming over to the house before church this morning, and they were all going to go together in Annie's van.

"Come on, everyone, I need to go soon so I can be ready for the service in time," Eric yelled loudly so everyone in the house could hear him.

Soon after that all the seven members of the Camden household who were going to church were assembled in the kitchen. They got their coats, put them on, and were on their way out the door to the garage. Upon entering the garage, all seven climbed into the van and were on their way to the church.

"Why isn't Peter coming today?" Annie asked, looking over her shoulder at Ruthie.

"He had something to do with his mother today, so he isn't coming over at all today," Ruthie said.

With that, Eric drove the van into the church parking lot, parked, and the family all climbed out and filed into the church building. Eric went into his office to get his robes, but the rest of the family went into the church.

After the service:

All of the Camdens went into the hall to visit with the churchgoers and get some refreshments. They were there for around thirty minutes, then Eric went into his study to put his robes away, and all of the family went outside and got into the van. When everyone was in and situated, Eric started the engine and drove home.

When they got home, the Camdens went inside and hung their coats up. Then everybody went to get changed into casual clothes. When Annie was changed she climbed the back stairs and put soup on the stove to heat up for lunch. Ruthie set the kitchen table and got the bread, cheese, and veggies out. Then everyone had a seat, and Eric said grace. Then Annie, Lucy, and Ruthie got up and brought bowls of soup over for everyone.

About 20 minutes later, still during lunch:

(Phone rings)

(Answering machine picks up, as it is lunchtime)

"Hey, it's Mary, just trying to call you to let you know…………"

Ruthie got up and picked up the phone receiver.

"Hey, Mary"

"Ruthie?"

"Yep"

"Hey Ruth, I was just calling to say that Carlos and I are coming to Glen Oak today to visit for a week."

"A week! That's a long time for a visit."

"Yep, see you later today."

"Okay, Bye Mary."

"Bye, Ruthie."

(Phone is hung up)

"What was the call about, Ruthie?" Lucy said.

"Carlos and Mary are coming to Glen Oak today for a week-long visit, and then they are returning to New York." Ruthie explained.

With that, Ruthie sat back down at the table and resumed her lunch. When everyone was done, the women picked up all the dishes and brought them over to the sink area to be put in the dishwasher. Annie got up and walked over to the dishwasher to put everything in. Then she washed the pot that the soup was heated in, and put it in its proper place. Lucy brought the placemats over to be put away, and then she and the rest of the family walked into the living room to have some after Sunday lunch tea. When everyone had drank every last drop of tea, Ruthie brought the cups and kettle into the kitchen, Kevin and Lucy went back to their apartment, and everyone else went their separate ways in the house to do what they wished or needed to do.

4 PM that afternoon:

"We're here!" Mary yelled. She and Carlos meandered in the side door and set their things down on the table. Annie and Eric came down the side stairs, each holding a hand of one of the boys. Next came Ruthie. She ran over to the apartment to tell Lucy and Kevin to come to the house. Soon after, Lucy, Kevin, and Ruthie came rushing into the house.

Annie asked "Why are you here, Mary?" Annie asked.

"We're here for a week because we have something to tell you guys, and we want to have just the right time to do so. A day just wouldn't cut it for having just the right time, so we decided to take off work and come home for a week."

With that, Carlos picked up the suitcases and Mary led the way up to Ruthie's old room, which was currently vacant. To make the room more romantic, Carlos pushed the two twin beds together to make a king size, and closed the blinds so that the room was cozy and inviting. Then Mary walked out of the room and over to the linen closet to get a blanket that was meant for her parent's bed, and two sets of towels. Then she walked back down the hall and into the bedroom. Mary handed Carlos the stack of linens to set down, and they both got to work transforming Ruthie's old personal room into an oasis for a pregnant wife and her husband. When they had finished the task, Mary and Carlos climbed back down the front stairs and went about their business.

At 6 PM that evening:

Annie came rushing into the kitchen, as she was already behind in making dinner. "I'll have to enlist some help," she thought. She called down Ruthie and Mary, and called in Lucy. When all the women were assembled, Annie put them to work setting the table, mixing up the dessert, and numerous other tasks she could think of. It took about an hour to get everything ready for the meal, but finally it was time to eat. Everyone took their place. There were 9 attendees at dinner: Annie, Eric, Lucy, Kevin, Mary, Carlos, Ruthie, Sam, and David. Everyone was very relaxed. They ate their meal in silence, until the very end when Annie spoke up.

"Why did you guys decide to take off a week of work and come to Glen Oak to visit?" Annie asked.

Mary explained, "As I said earlier, Carlos and I have something very important to tell you that will influence all of our lives until death, and who knows when the right time will be to tell you. So, we decided to spend a week here to be sure to find the perfect time, and also to have some quality time before there is something different in the family. When the time is right, I will use these key words – Would everyone por favor come here for a sec?"

As soon as Mary was done saying that, she and Carlos walked up the back stairs as they were tired. When Mary and Carlos got upstairs, they walked into their room and sat down on the bed. They had a talk about when they would know the right time was to tell everyone that Mary was pregnant, and due in October, same as Lucy. It was late by the time they were done talking, so Mary and Carlos went to bed.

Three days later:

In the protection of their room, Mary said, "I think it's time to tell everyone. That way, there will be time to celebrate before we leave and go back to Buffalo. Why don't we ask Mom to ask everyone to dinner?"

Carlos did not agree. "Remember how you said, when the time is right, I will use these key words – Would everyone por favor come here for a sec?" Why don't you just call everyone together this afternoon before dinner and tell them then?"

"Good Point," Mary agreed, "I had forgotten about that. Let's use the words at exactly 5:37, my watch."

"Why that specific time? "Carlos asked. "Is there anything special about it?"

Mary said, "Why yes, actually. That was the time I was born. My mom had this watch, and she gave it to me so I would know the exact time."

(A. N. – I just made that time up)

Carlos and Mary walked out of their room and climbed down the stairs to the kitchen to wait until 5:35, when they would call the family together to give them two minutes to get over here. They would let Lucy and Kevin know a little bit earlier, because they have to trudge all the way from their apartment.

Mary walked up to the garage apartment. "Hey, anybody home?"

"At the table" Kevin yelled. Mary walked the rest of the way up the stairs to the garage apartment. She then walked across the room and sat down at the table with Mary and Lucy. "Lucy, what Carlos and I are going to tell you guys is something you are going through right now, and is often misused as a couple word, instead of the woman word. I want you and Kev to come to the house so that Carlos and I can tell everyone in one fowl swoop. I need everyone in the living room at 5:37, so I needed to come over here earlier than that. Please follow me out of here and make your way to the living room before 5:37. Carlos is telling everyone else to get down here."

Lucy, Kevin, and Mary made their way to the living room, and everyone else came in soon afterwards. When it got to be 5:37, Mary said, "Everyone, I am pregnant. I am due around October 7th."

"Wow, you must have rehearsed that!", Ruthie said.

Annie then replied, "Ruthie, you apologize to your sister. What you said was not nice. Yes, she probably did, but who cares. On these types of things your sister was always shy."

"Yes, I was. I always used to hate giving oral reports," Mary said. Once the family had talked for a while, she and the ladies went into the kitchen and started to get dinner ready. But, as Annie insisted, Mary sat down at the bar stool counter and started to mix up the ingredients for the side dish Annie had planned, and Lucy sat down at the table to arrange the dessert platter. All the guys stayed in the living room and turned on the TV to ESPN to catch the basketball game.

All the while Lucy was thinking, "Hey, my due date is early October, so Mary's and my children may have the same birthday, or be a couple of days apart!"

At around 6:30 Lucy went into the living room and said, "La dinnere is served".

"Ooh la la! Quite an accent.", Kevin said.

Everyone got up from the couches and chairs and followed Lucy into the dining room. Soon all the ladies came into the dining room, and Eric said grace. Dinner consisted of broiled steak, chicken flavored rice, mashed potatoes, and plenty of fresh, homemade bread. Everyone ate in silence, and then when they were done, started chatting with each other. Ruthie, not interested in the grown – up talk, cleared the table. Annie then went out and brought in the dessert, which was marble cake with chocolate icing. She then went back out and brought in coffee for all the adults. Everyone ate their cake and drank their coffee (hot cocoa for the kids), and then kept on chattering for a while.

But all too soon, Lucy and Kevin left for their apartment, and everyone else went up to his/her room except for Annie and Eric. They stayed behind cleaning up from the eventful evening, and then went up to bed themselves.

Mary and Carlos left to go back to Buffalo after three days. During that time the family did several family things, such as go to the mini golf place for a round, and go to the zoo to see any new animals.