A/N: This is the last chapter.

CHAPTER 10: June—Dawn

It was the next-to-last day of school, and a bunch of us were at my house, sitting around a campfire: Kristy, Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, Jason, Bebe, Mal, Vanessa, Haley, Jessi, Becca, Charlotte, Logan, Shannon, and me. Just last week, we'd made Charlotte a BSC member. We'd also been looking forward to summer vacation, even though I'd heard that Kristy, Mary Anne, and Abby were going to be counselors at Camp Mohawk, and Jessi and Mal were going to be CITs. Jason was going to be a ferry operator at Fire Island in Davis Park, New York. Their jobs wouldn't start until next week. We were also reminiscing about everything that had happened since the BSC began.

"Hey, Mary Anne, remember when you were stuck at my house for those two days during that blizzard?" Mal asked.

"Oh, yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget that one," Mary Anne agreed as she took a drink of her root beer. "Let's see, there was dealing with that God-awful Bizzer Sign, Nick telling Claire about his 'special power', and hearing about the Abominable Snowman. On the upside, nobody could stock up on ice cream, cake frosting, or whatever else there was to eat, like you guys, Mal."

"Hey," Logan cut in, "if it hadn't been for me bringing you guys some, you would've starved to death by the time Mal's parents got home."

"That's true," Mary Anne agreed. "By the way, Logan, I've been meaning to ask you to teach me how to ski, but I never got the chance."

"Well, Mary Anne, you should consider yourself lucky," Stacey said after she'd finished laughing and took a sip of her Diet Coke. "At least you weren't stranded in a car with your mom on some back road out in the middle of nowhere. And just thinking about all that junk food could put me into insulin shock."

"Or at the airport," I agreed. "Remind me to never fly in December again."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I spent half my baby-sitting job at the Perkins' looking for Chewy," Claudia reminded us. "It was so dark, it's a miracle I didn't break my other leg."

"Hey, at least you guys were in or near Stoneybrook," Jessi said. "I was stuck at dance school in Stamford with Quint and a bunch of tired, cranky kids. Thankfully, there was plenty of soup and crackers to go around. And the best part is, as soon as the roads were cleared the next morning, the restaurant across the street was open, and the manager gave everyone a free breakfast."

"That was nice of them," Kristy said. "And I'm afraid I can beat all of you by a mile. None of you were stuck at home and being embarrassed by your younger siblings in front of your then-boyfriend."

That was all it took for Abby, Mal, and Jessi to start singing, "Bart, Bart, bo Bart, banana fanna fo..."

"Shut—up," Kristy said sharply, and forcing herself not to laugh, I might add. Not just because she never wants to think about that experience again, but also because those three are such lousy singers.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go make sure the oven still works," Jason said in his Simon Cowell voice. "Oh, God, no, it's electric!" The rest of us laughed hysterically.

After we'd calmed down, Mal said, "Hey, guess what?"

"Don't say 'that's what'," Jessi grinned. In case you're wondering, that used to be Claire's favorite joke, along with calling her parents "Moozie" and "Daggles", and everyone else "silly-billy-goo-goo". I've recently heard that she's just starting to outgrow that phase.

"What?" Claudia asked.

"Well, remember that boarding school in Massachusetts that I've been going to?" she asked, making the words "boarding" and "school" sound like they were some kind of gum disease. "Get this: I never have to go back there. When I was home for Christmas, I talked to my parents, and they just told me I didn't have to, and I could go to high school in Stoneybrook."

"The rumors are true!" Claud exclaimed, putting her hand to her heart and acting like she was going to fall off the log she was sitting on, which led to another round of laughs.

"Wow, how many Klondike bars did you have to bribe them with?" Logan managed to gasp.

"After we'd calmed down again, Mary Anne said, "So, you're going to high school in Stoneybrook, huh?"

"Yup," Mal nodded, crossing her legs and folding her hands over her knee. "No more boarding school, no more Alexis, and no more going away from home."

"Going away from home". Those words got my attention in one second flat, and I felt tears coming to my eyes.

"Are you all right, Dawn?" Charlotte asked.

I quickly pulled myself together. "I'm okay, Char," I said. "In fact, I have an announcement to make, too."

I put down my glass of iced tea (unsweetened, with lemon), and stood up. "First of all, I got an e-mail from Sunny this afternoon," I began. "Mrs. Winslow passed away at 6:04 this morning, Pacific Time."

"Oh, Dawn, that's awful," Claud said sympathetically.

"Also," I continued, "Sunny and her father have invited me to California for her memorial service. Of course, I asked if the rest of you could come, too, and Sunny said that would be okay, because she'd really like to see you again."

I paused briefly, preparing them for my big news. "Finally, I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past few months, and I don't know how else to say this, but I want to move back to California. To stay."

If you'd seen the looks on my friends' faces, you'd have thought that I'd just told them I was dying. That's how shocked they were, especially Mary Anne. On the other hand, I think they all saw this coming.

"Are you sure about this?" Kristy finally managed to ask.

I nodded. "I'm really going to miss you guys, but Sunny needs me. Also, I think that for the first time in my life, I'm beginning to understand how Jeff must have felt when he lived here."

"I know what you mean, Dawn," Stacey said. "I still feel the same way every time I go between here and New York. It's very hard, being away from my dad and stepmother, all the kids I grew up with, and the big city."

"Thanks, Stace," I said softly. I was already crying by now, as was Mary Anne. To my surprise, Jessi, Becca, and the guys were getting a little misty-eyed as well.

"Oh, before I forget," Abby said, as if trying to get us to cheer up a little, "look what Charlotte and a bunch of other kids made for Sunny's family."

She reached behind her, pulled out a yellow construction-paper card, and handed it to me. The card had a picture of the beach at sunset on the front, along with the words "THINKING OF YOU" in Abby's handwriting on the top. When she handed it to me, I saw that all of our baby-sitting charges had signed it. I was so touched, I started bawling my eyes out all over again.

"That's so beautiful," I said between sobs.

Even though I was looking forward to seeing California again, it was such a bittersweet moment, because I knew I'd be leaving so much behind here.

A couple of days later, the seven of us were on a plane bound for L.A.: Kristy, Claud, Mary Anne, Stacey, Mal, Jessi, and I. The others were only staying until Sunday night, because Kristy, Mary Anne, and Abby had to report to Camp Mohawk first thing Monday morning. (A representative from the camp would pick Kristy and Mary Anne up at the airport in Hartford, then they'd go home and pack for camp, where a camp bus would pick them up and take them on up at sunrise the next morning.)

Mary Anne and I spent most of the flight crying on each other's shoulders (and as luck would have it, the in-flight movie happened to be the 1979 version of The Champ), Kristy looked out the window in an attempt to hide how angry and hurt she was feeling, Claud and Jessi slept for most of the flight, and Stacey and Mal were lost in their own worlds. I think I was the only one who was fully aware of the plane landing.

When we got off the plane, we saw Dad, Sunny, and Mr. Winslow. The four of us went into a group hug. "Hi, Sunshine," Dad said softly. Upon hearing that, Sunny burst into tears and buried her face into her father's shoulder. Not only is it her given name at birth, but I'm also told that Mrs. Wimslow picked it out.

"Hi," I said as I gave Sunny a Kleenex. And yes, I had an extra pack in my purse. If there's one thing I've learned from all my years of baby-sitting, it's to always be prepared for anything. "Where are Carol and Jeff?"

"At the house," Dad answered. "They're helping Mrs. Bruen make that organic vegetable soup you kids always liked, and Carol told me to pass along word that Sunny and her father are welcome to join us."

"Thank you, Jack," Mr. Winslow said, shaking Dad's hand.

"Yeah, thanks, Mr. Schafer," Sunny whispered, and the four of us—Dad, Sunny, Mr. Winslow, and I—shared another hug.

Despite the tragic circumstances, I was glad to be home.

The next afternoon, we were all on the beach. It was a beautiful day with a few wispy clouds here and there, and having the BSC members, as well as my friends in the We Love Kids Club, and the kids we baby-sit for, helped lighten the burden.

"'I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountain, from whence cometh my help'," the minister read as Sunny and her father scattered Mrs. Winslow's ashes over the ocean. I remembered the many times our parents had brought us to the beach when we were growing up, and how calm Sunny had been when Maggie Blume's little cousin stepped on a jellyfish. She'd handled the situation the same way Kristy or Mal would have, which is something she inherited from her mom.

While the minister was reading, I looked to the left, and saw Jill Henderson put her arm around Whitney Cater as she sobbed into her shoulder. Poor Whitney was inconsolable all through the service and the funeral home, and each of us took turns staying with her, especially since she'd never been to a stranger's funeral before. I'm just glad her parents let us know ahead of time, and between us We Love Kids Club members and her parents, we explained what this was all about, and that it was okay to cry, that sort of thing.

The next thing I remember happening was Mr. Cater picking up his acoustic guitar—which he'd won at a Chinese dinner and silent auction at Whitney's day center—and singing "Sunshine On My Shoulders" by John Denver. I thought that was very appropriate, because at that moment, the sun started setting.

Mrs. Winslow would've loved that.

THE END