"Mac?" Eric asked, opening the back door, surprised to see Martin's friend.
"Hey, Reverend Camden. Is Ruthie ready for school?" Mac asked easily.
Eric raised a curious eyebrow, but stepped aside to let the young man in. Why was Mac here? And why was he picking up Ruthie?
Mac, sensing Eric's piqued interest, explained. "Martin had to go gas up the car. He had offered to give me a ride this morning, so I said I'd come over here and put a rush on Ruthie while he went to the gas station."
Eric breathed a sigh of relief and offered Mac a glass of juice. Mac, constantly hungry, accepted and sat down at the empty island. Eric smiled when he offered Mac a bagel and the boy eagerly accepted. The Camden house had fed him enough times as it was, what was one more?
"So, graduation soon?" Eric asked, watching the young man inhale the bagel. "You must be excited."
Mac nodded, mouth still full of food. When he swallowed he answered with, "Yeah, it'll be nice to leave that place behind. I can't wait for college."
Eric laughed. He wondered how Martin and Ruthie were feeling about their imminent separation. He guessed they weren't going to be as happy as the single, free-loving Mac was.
"I'm taking Meredith to the prom," Mac announced. "That should be cool."
Eric shook his head. Kids these days! They switched partners more times than they changed socks! "Meredith? And Martin's okay with that?"
"It was his idea," Mac replied, finishing off his bagel and slamming back his orange juice. "He's not into Meredith anymore anyway, sir. It's all about Ruthie now."
"All about Ruthie?" Eric asked.
Mac laughed. "Martin is crazy about your daughter, Reverend Camden. He wouldn't even be able to look at another girl. And the guy's so excited about his big surprise for Ruthie on prom night…"
Ruthie came down the stairs then, interrupting the conversation that Eric wanted so desperately to finish. But Mac saw Ruthie and clamped his jaw shut, winking secretively at Eric, before grabbing his backpack and following Ruthie out the door. Eric leaned on the counter, pondering what the 'big surprise' Martin had planned for Ruthie was.
"You look perplexed," Matt noted entering the kitchen. "Mom up yet?"
"Uh, she took Sam and David to school."
Matt looked at his father, recognizing the familiar worried look he carried. Something was up…in the Camden household, something was always up.
"You okay?" Matt asked, grabbing a bowl and box of cereal from the cupboard.
Simon entered the kitchen, hair tousled, sleepy look still in his eye. "Why aren't you okay?"
Eric turned to his sons and looked mysteriously around the kitchen. He waved them closer to where he was seated. Simon and Matt gave each a look before moving toward their father.
"Mac was here this morning," Eric started. "He said that Martin is planning some kind of surprise for Ruthie on prom night. What do you think that means?"
Matt and Simon exchanged looks before blurting out in unison, "Sex!"
Eric clutched his chest. If the big one hasn't taken me yet, it's sure going to take me now, he thought to himself.
"Think about it, Dad," Simon pointed out. "Kids have sex on prom night. It's like some kind of rite of passage or something. Martin is going to try to seduce Ruthie on prom night."
Matt shook his head. "We should warn her or something." Matt began to think of a good plan to save his little sister's virginity. "I know! Just don't let her go!"
Kevin walked into the back door, Savannah tucked safely into the crook of his muscular arm. He took one look at the three Camden men in their huddle and knew he had just walked into trouble. He stared at them. They stared at him. Kevin cleared his throat. They cleared their throats. Kevin shook his head, reached for the doorknob and left the house, sure that he didn't want to be involved in whatever plot the three were hatching.
"I'll talk to Martin later," Eric said with a heavy sigh. "And whatever you do, let's just keep this between us and no one else, okay?"
Matt and Simon looked at each other and nodded. They could keep a secret…
"Martin is going to try to de-virginize Ruthie!" Matt exploded as soon as he entered the room he and Sarah were staying in.
Sarah, who'd flown in late last night and was still jet-lagged, looked at her husband like he was crazy. She sighed and fell back onto her pillow.
"Did you hear what I said?" Matt asked, hopping onto the bed and poking his wife.
Sarah gave him a dirty look. "You've been with your father and Simon, haven't you?"
Matt raised a finger in protest, but Sarah shook her head, warning Matt that this was not the time to be lying to her. "Okay, yes, but Mac told my father that Martin is planning some big surprise for Ruthie on prom night. You know what that means!"
Sarah raised herself up, propping her pillow against the headboard and leaning against it. "It could mean that Martin is hiring a limo. It could mean he's gotten her a dozen roses or a really nice corsage. It could mean he's requested a special song for them to dance to. It could mean he's going to give her a present, like a bracelet or a necklace. It does not mean that he is planning to bring her to some sleazy motel and have his way with her."
Matt tried to process all of the suggestions his wife had just made, but none sounded as juicy as the conclusion Eric, Simon and he had reached. And when you're a Camden, it's all about the juice!
"Stop being so snoopy and leave your little sister alone!" Sarah ordered. "If you and your crazy father and brother ruin Ruthie and Martin's night, I will never forgive you!"
Simon opened the door to Sandy's bedroom gently. He was expecting to find her still sleeping, but instead, she was sitting on the already made bed, fully dressed, writing in her daily journal. She looked up when Simon entered and noticed a worried look on his pale face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Simon closed the door behind him and joined her on the bed. "I have some news that I'm supposed to keep to myself, but I don't think that I can. I've been holding onto it for ten minutes now and it's killing me. If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone?"
"Of course," Sandy agreed, abandoning her journal. "What is it?"
Simon took a deep breath. "I think that Martin and Ruthie are planning on having sex on prom night."
Sandy didn't want to be privy to this information. "I don't want to know this, Simon. I've been making a lot of progress and keeping secrets or telling lies wouldn't help me."
"Yeah, but this came from Mac, Martin's best friend."
"Martin's best friend told you that Martin is planning to have sex with Ruthie this weekend?" Sandy asked.
"Not exactly. You see, Mac told my father that Martin has some big surprise for Ruthie on prom night."
"And?" Sandy asked.
Simon sighed. "It has to mean sex."
Sandy almost laughed, but kept her humor to herself. "If that's the only piece of information you have to go on, you've really jumped to the wrong conclusion. Martin is not going to seduce Ruthie on prom night, Simon. You should be a little ashamed thinking that."
Simon was proud of the efforts Sandy was making to turn her life around. She was attending church regularly, kept a daily journal to remind herself of her goals in life, and she was a more grounded person on the whole. But all Simon wanted her to be right now was a crusader for his cause; to save Ruthie's virginity!
"It's a possibility," Simon finally managed.
Sandy nodded her head. "Yes, but so is an earthquake or a tornado and I'm pretty sure that we're safe from those things for the present moment. Besides, if Ruthie and Martin are planning to have sex, it's not our business."
"But she's only sixteen!" Simon protested. "I don't want that for her. I want her to be married when she has sex for the first time."
"Isn't that a little hypocritical?" Sandy asked. "It's nice to want something better for Ruthie, but it's not okay to stand in her way of doing what she wants to. It's time for you and your father and whoever else was involved in this little guessing game of yours to just let go. Ruthie is a smart girl and she will make decisions that are right for her. Martin cares about her a lot. He'll do everything he can to keep her safe."
"And the rest is up to God," Simon said sarcastically.
"So, do you think I'm right?" Eric asked Annie.
Annie's brow creased in frustration. "You and your two sons should be ashamed of yourselves! When Martin began dating Ruthie, he made a promise to us and so far, we have no reason to suspect that he hasn't kept that promise! But we also made a promise to him; that we'd stop misjudging him and give him back the trust we used to have in him. Eric Camden, you have been watching that poor boy like a hawk since the day you gave him and Ruthie permission to date. And has Martin given you any reason to think that he would do something like this?"
Eric knew that he had ignited a flame of anger in his wife, one that would probably burn for a while. But he still couldn't shake the feeling like Ruthie was in some sort of spiritual danger.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Annie pushed.
Eric shrugged, not wanting to give in so easily. "It could be right."
"But it probably isn't. It seems like every time you get together with Matt or Simon, you come up with some blown up version of the real story!" Annie shouted, hands raised up to heaven. "Forgive my husband, God, and my two sons. Their own lives aren't exciting enough, they have to become engulfed in other peoples'."