Mary Anne woke up around ten the next morning. She went downstairs to the kitchen to find something to eat. A note was on the counter from her dad and Sharon; apparently they were going to New York, and would be back late Sunday night. As Mary Anne finished reading the note, Dawn came downstairs, and she wordlessly handed it to her.

Dawn read the note. "Why do you think they are going to New York?" she asked.

"I don't know. Why do they go anywhere? It's been about four months since they spent a weekend at home," Mary Anne replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Things haven't exactly been so great around here."

"That's kind of what I figured," Dawn responded. "But I would still rather be here right now instead of California."

Mary Anne didn't responded, hoping that Dawn would elaborate on that statement. She didn't, and the girls proceeded to eat in silence until the phone rang. Dawn was closer, but made no move to pick it up, so Mary Anne got up and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mary Anne? It's Kristy."

"Hi Kristy," Mary Anne responded. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you would like to hang out today. I don't really have anything planned, but I thought it might be fun. It would be like when we were little. Anyways, Nannie is taking the kids bowling and to a movie, so it's just me and Sam here."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. I didn't really have any plans for today. Would it be alright if Dawn came along? She just flew in last night," Mary Anne explained.

"Oh wow, I had forgotten about that. Yeah, no problem. I haven't seem Dawn in a long time."

"Hold on, let me ask her."

"Okay," Kristy replied.

"Do you want to hang out with Kristy today. She's got the house to herself, besides Sam, and she want us to keep her company. It would be just like old times."

"Sure, I guess," Dawn replied. She didn't look too thrilled.

"Kristy?" Mary Anne asked. "We'll be over in about an hour."

"Okay, see you then."

Mary Anne hung up the phone. "Are you sure you don't mind going to Kristy's?" she asked. "You don't exactly seem too excited."

"No, I am," Dawn replied. "It's just hard to jump right into my old life here. It's been so long since I've seen everyone, and I've sort have lost touch. Everything is familiar, but different enough that I feel uneasy. Do you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean," Mary Anne replied honestly." And she did, despite that fact that she had never moved away. She wondered if maybe Dawn had an advantage in that respect. After all, people expected that she should feel out of place.

"I'm sure it will be fine though. It will be a nice way to segue into my Stoneybrook social life."

"I'm going to go upstairs and get ready. Let's meet back here in thirty minutes, and then we'll get the bikes ready."

Mary Anne then walked up to her room. Like Dawn, she felt a little uneasy about the day. Her friendships with both Dawn and Kristy seemed rather precarious at this point, and it was hard to predict what could happen as the result of an afternoon together.

When did she start to think this way? There really was no reason that she should be. True, neither Dawn or Kristy were her best friends any more, but that didn't mean that they couldn't spend a fun afternoon together. It would be a nice change from doing her homework and playing with Tigger anyway.

She met downstairs and the two of them biked to Kristy's house. Along the way, she gave Dawn a brief summary of what had been going on at the Thomas-Brewer's. As much as she knew anyway. Kristy hadn't really talked about it lately. She told Mary Anne the basics of what was going on, but rarely her feelings. Kristy was a lot more guarded than she used to be. This bothered Mary Anne. She hoped that Kristy would eventually learn to be more open again.

Riding up into the driveway she noticed that no one had repaired where Watson had crashed into the garage. She wondered why. It served to her as a reminder that the Thomas-Brewers, like most families, were not as together as they appeared to be. She imagined that it must hurt the kids to see it, they didn't need a reminder of everything their family was not.

Just as they were about to ring the bell, Sam drove up in the Junk Bucket, with Stacey in the passenger seat.

"Dawn?" Stacey asked "Is that you?"

"Yeah. I just moved back to Stoneybrook. How are you doing Stacey?"

"Great. I'm sure Mary Anne told you about Sam and I," Stacey said, slipping her hand inside the waistband of Sam's jeans.

"Yeah… She did mention it."

"It's been the best four and a half months of my life. And don't worry; like I tell my mother, we're having fun and being careful, right Sam?"

"Sure thing Stace," Same replied, squeezing her ass.

Sam and Stacey walked into the house, while Mary Anne and Dawn tried to process the conversation.

"So Stacey has turned into an uber-slut," Dawn remarked. "I guess that I saw that coming."

"Dawn!"

"What, I'm just being honest," she said, smiling. "Come on, let's go find Kristy."

Sam and Stacey had left the door open, so they walked right into the mansion. Looking around, Mary Anne noticed that things looked much more put together than they had a few weeks ago. She attributed that to Nannie.

They found Kristy in the kitchen, listlessly flipping through a fashion magazine.

"Umm Kristy?" Mary Anne asked. "Do you have any idea what you are reading?"

Looking down, Kristy did a double take. "I guess not. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. I was just thinking I guess."

Suddenly she seemed to notice that Mary Anne wasn't alone. "Dawn!" she exclaimed, getting up to give her a hug. "It's so great to see you!"

"You too Kristy," Dawn said, seemingly taken aback. After all, it had been over a year and a half since she had seen or talked to her. Still, it was nice to be missed.

"I don't want to be rude," Kristy said. "But Mary Anne hasn't exactly filled me in. Why did you come back to Stoneybrook? The last I heard, you loved everything about California."

Dawn shot Mary Anne a glance. She could tell that Dawn didn't really want to talk about this. She didn't say anything though. Maybe it would have considerate of her, but not honest. She really wanted to hear Dawn's answer.

"I did," Dawn said. "I still do, actually. But right before school was about to start I went to this party with a bunch of friends. Some things happened that I wasn't really comfortable with, and I eventually realized that it would just be easier to live out here for awhile."

"It doesn't seem like you to take the easy way out," Kristy remarked. "I always admired the fact that you stood up for what you believed in, instead of backing away from it."

"I used to like that about me too," Dawn said softly.

"I guess we've both changed then," Kristy said. "Because there were a lot of things that I used to like about myself as well."

Mary Anne stood back and listened to the conversation between Kristy and Dawn. It seemed as if they had forgotten she was there for a moment. She wondered what they were being so honest with each other. Maybe because they hadn't seem each other in so long. Often times people found comfort in mutural disclosure.

"Did Mary Anne fill you in on everything that is going on here?" Kristy asked

"Yes," Dawn said simply.

"Sorry, Kristy. I didn't think that you would mind," Mary Anne said.

"Don't worry about it. It's easier that way, actually. When I talk about it, everything seems more real some how."

The three girls stood in the kitchen for a few minutes letting the words hang in the air, each reflecting quietly on what was going on in their lives. Eventually they moved into the living room and put on a movie. They filled the rest of the afternoon with gossip and superficial conversation. There seemed to be a mutual agreement to ignore the problems currently present in their lives and attempt to have fun for an afternoon.

Mary Anne smiled. Nothing life altering had happened that afternoon, but the three of them had enjoyed several hours together. Maybe having Dawn home wasn't going to be as dramatic as she had feared. Maybe things were changing for the better.