Monday morning at 6:00am Mary Anne woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. Hitting the snooze button, she lay awake in bed, working to get enough energy to start the day. Eventually she got out of bed, and went about her morning routine. After showering and getting dressed, she walked downstairs for some breakfast. On her way to the kitchen she passed the living room, where Richard and Sharon sat talking about the Dawn situation over coffee. Not letting them see her, she listened to what they were saying.
"I have no problem with Dawn coming to stay with us, I think it would be great for Mary Anne," Richard said. "But do you think that it is wise that we let her go back and forth between houses, and coasts for that matter, whenever is suits her? She needs to learn to live with her decisions."
"I knew that she would never last out there. Jack doesn't know a thing about parenting, he gives her too much freedom. I think that the best thing that we can do for Dawn is to get her back here. Mary Anne should be a good influence on her."
"I agree. However, if she comes out, I think that we need to lay down some serious ground rules. We can't have her running wild all over the place the way that she does with those friends of hers in California."
"It will be so nice to have the girls back together again. I'm sure that this is just the thing that Dawn needs right now- a stable, loving family environment, with parents who are home to know what she is doing. Mary Anne is flourishing- we're obviously doing something right," Sharon said.
Mary Anne could hardly believe what she was hearing. She knew that Sharon was not that bright, but did she honestly think that their household in any way resembled a loving family environment? Their parenting style was to leave Mary Anne to her own devices as to not have her interfere with their relationship. They were not good parents so much as lucky.
As she had many times before, Mary Ann wondered how it was possible that her dad and Sharon have no idea what was going on in her life. Sure she received good grades, and didn't make any trouble for anyone, but did that really put her at flourishing status? She felt more like she was floundering, the only thing consistent in her life her insecurity.
"You're right," Richard said. "There will be a lot to work out in terms of custody arrangements, but I see no reason why Dawn can't be out here in more than a few days. We don't want her to miss any more school than she already has."
"I'll call Jack today and see what we can work out."
Mary Anne took this as her cue to join the conversation.
"Good morning. Are you guys talking about Dawn? Is she going to come back here?" Mary Anne asked.
"That's what it is looking like. Sharon is going to call Jack today and make the arrangements. This will certainly be a surprise for the girls in the Babysitter's Club, won't it?" Richard asked.
"Sure dad, I'll make sure to tell Kristy about it today," Mary Anne said, once again wondering how her dad never managed to pick up on the fact that the BSC disbanded ages ago.
"Good, maybe you can invite all of your friends over for some sort of welcome home party next weekend," Richard proposed.
"Something like that could be fun," Mary Anne said carefully. And it could be. If she had any one besides Kristy to invite. Dawn was going to think that she was such a loser. Oh geez, she hadn't thought about that.
"Well I suppose that the three of us better get ready for the day- we will all be busy. Make sure you eat a good breakfast, Mary Anne."
"It's raining honey, would you like a ride to school? I can drop you off on my way to work," asked Sharon.
"Sure, that would be great," Mary Anne responded.
"Okay, I'm leaving in about fifteen minutes," Sharon said.
With that, Mary Anne headed to the kitchen, and fixed her self a bowl of cereal while thinking about everything that was going on. She had certainly never anticipated any of life's recent events. While things looked like they were gong to work out with Kristy, that situation was still somewhat uneasy. And she had no idea what Dawn coming back would bring.
She went back upstairs to her room to grab her book bag, and say good bye to Tigger. She then went out to the car to wait for Sharon.
Sharon's car was in every way representative of her absent-minded personality. Also, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned out in years. The back seat was filled with empty bottles of water, shoes, and ancient to do lists. Across the dashboard was a half folded map of North Dakota, for whatever reason.
Sharon then came from the house, holding her briefcase and a blender. She set both in the backseat and climbed in the car.
"So are you excited to have Dawn coming back? I know that you miss her just as much as I do," said Sharon, backing out of the driveway. "When was she here last again? Was it when she came with Jeff last March over spring break?
"Yeah I think so. I really wish that they had come out over the summer like they had planned," Mary Anne said. She hoped that without her father present she could get Sharon to fill her in on what was going on with Dawn. Though she suspected that Sharon didn't know the half of it.
Shannon cleared her throat. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that." She pulled into a lot and parked the car.
"Dawn's friends in California aren't anything like the girls that you hang out with here. They're fast. I don't know how much she's told you, but the reason that she didn't come out over the summer was because a week before she was supposed to come, she was caught at a party on the beach. She wasn't drinking, though most of the kids there were. But she was caught with the possession of marijuana."
Mary Anne gasped audibly. She knew that Sunny had been involved in things like that, but Dawn had always said that it wasn't her thing.
"Your father doesn't know about this," Sharon continued. All he knows is that Dawn runs with a fast crowd, but he doesn't know the particulars. I would appreciate it if you didn't tell him."
"I guess…"
"After this happened last summer, I wanted Dawn to come back here right away. But she refused, and I was so mad that I could hardly stand to talk to her. She wouldn't let me help her, so I pushed the whole situation out of my mind." Now I don't know what exactly is going on between her and Carol, but it hardly matters if she is willing to come back. This could be what saves her."
Mary Anne tried to let all of this information sink in. How was it possible that all of this was going on without her knowledge? She knew that her relationship with Dawn wasn't nearly as close as it used to be, but she thought that she still new basically what was going on. Apparently, she was wrong.
Also, she wasn't sure how much she was to believe of what Sharon was saying. Obviously, Sharon cared about her daughter, but this conversation was the first Mary Anne had heard of her apparent anguish about Dawn. Either way, it was still evident that Sharon didn't know the real reason that Dawn was coming back. Mary Anne wondered if she would ever know, or if Dawn would keep this too from her.
"I need you to watch out for Dawn. I really think that coming back to Stoneybrook and a simpler lifestyle will be what she needs. If she spends time with you and all of your friends, I have no doubt that she will turn around. You've been a great daughter Mary Anne. Now you need to be a great sister."
"I'll do whatever I can," Mary Anne said weakly. "You know I care about Dawn just as much as you do."
"That's my girl," Sharon said, beaming, and pulling out of the parking lot. "Now remember, your father doesn't need to know the details about this situation. It's just better that way."
A few moments later, Stoneybrook High School came into view. Sharon pulled to the curb and Mary Anne climbed out of the car.
"Have a great day sweetie. I'm glad that we talked."
"Bye Sharon. Thanks for the ride."
Mary Anne ascended the steps of the high school. Yesterday, for a brief moment, it had felt like things in her life were coming together again. Now she wasn't so sure. As much as she wanted Dawn to come back, she now had no idea what to expect.
Mary Anne walked to her locker and retrieved the books that she would need for her morning classes. It was going to be a long day.