Mary Anne pulled her long brown hair, still damp from her shower into a pony tail. It was about 11:30am and she needed to head out to pick up Dawn at her dad and Sharon's house and then they were meeting Kristy, Claudia and Stacey for lunch in Stamford at The Elm Street Diner before heading over to the nearby Sol Beauty Salon for an afternoon of pampering, followed by all of them getting their hair and makeup professionally done, which was all Kristy's treat and while Mary Anne knew it would cost her a pretty penny, Kristy still insisted. The plan was then to go back to Kristy's apartment to hang out, get dressed and then take two cars to the S Hotel.
She walked downstairs to her finished kitchen to find her husband Jackson sitting at the table reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee. Their new kitchen looked amazing and she was so happy with the results. White cabinets with black hardware, dark gray quartz countertops and a bay window over the sink. An all new chrome stove, fridge and dishwasher made the kitchen look polished and sleek with various light and dark green accents, like hand towels and counter appliances and with the walls painted a very light green as well. Green certainly wasn't her or Jackson's favorite color but she had taken Dawn's decorating advice that having a green kitchen subconsiously made guests hungry, which she thought was silly but since they both like to cook and to have people over for dinner, far be it for them to question the professional so they did it. While they planned on doing their staircase next, wanting to strip up the carpet and replace it with dark wooden steps and to put in a matching dark curved banister, that was going to be put on hold for a while because the kitchen cost a lot more than anticipated. Instead, they were going to focus on the downstairs guest bathroom next and attempt to do as much work as they could themselves and were currently doing careful research about how to re-tile a shower.
"Hey honey. Party a little too hard with your girls last night?" asked Jackson.
"Me? Oh, yeah, you know how much of a party animal I am" said Mary Anne sarcastically, adding "me and my one glass of wine I couldn't even finish."
She looked at her husband, who was pretty nondescript but still had a very studious look to him. Glasses, with a close cropped haircut and while he was not heavy, he was definitely not in shape either as he really wasn't big on exercise and he dressed very professionally and conservatively, as did Mary Anne, who that day was wearing tan pencil slacks with a white tailored button up blouse with plain white sneakers and no jewelry, aside from her wedding and engagemnt ring, which was a simple and tiny single princess cut diamond with a gold band and plain gold matching wedding ring. From a physical standpoint, he was a perfect match for Mary Anne but as Kristy got to know him while they were co-workers, she realized he was her perfect match emotionally too. They liked the same type of movies and loved books, had similar interests and were both sensitive, smart and kind and it was only about a month between Kristy telling him, "you should meet my best friend" and Mary Anne confiding in her "I met the man I'm going to marry" although they didn't even kiss until 9 months into the relationship and both losing their virginity to each other on their wedding night. Kristy added introducing him and Mary Anne to her long list of great ideas.
"Did you at least have have fun?" he asked.
"Oh my gosh, Jack. It felt like a dream" she said as she sat down at the table with him. She rambled on and on, telling him about all the details from the previous night, filled with hugs, what seemed like an endless amount of tears and hours of reminiscing with each other about a lifetime of memories and friendship.
"How's Dawn doing" he asked, as she was the only other member of the BSC that he had met.
"She's doing great. She's finally showing and she looks amazing. Truly glowing" answered Mary Anne.
"I can't wait to see her tonight." he said, adding "I'm really looking forward to meeting Claudia and Stacey too."
"Oh yeah, and Stacey's pregnant too!" Mary Anne said excitedly.
"Really?" That's great. Is she..married?" asked her traditional husband.
"Well no, not yet but she's getting married soon. Later this year, before she has her baby."
"Oookaay" he said, changing the subject and asking "how's Claudia?"
Mary Anne said "she seems like she's doing well."
He asked "Did everything go ok with her and Kristy?"
"It did, thank goodness. They sat next to each other at dinner and got along great." She laughed as she added "and they have the exact same haircut too!"
"Oh, how funny." he said. Mary Anne then looked at her phone and said, "Oh shoot. I gotta go get Dawn."
He replied "Oh yeah. Get outta here."
Mary Anne hurriedly grabbed her keys, purse, and reunion dress while continuing her conversation with her husband and saying "Ok, so you are going to pick up Ben and park at the hotel?
"Yes. I have the parking pass. I'll call you when we get there."
"Sounds good" said Mary Anne, walking towards him and leaning in for a kiss. "I love you. Bye ."
"Love you too, sweetie" as she walked out and closed the door. She drove her white Nissan Sentra the less than 10 minute drive to the Spier's condo, which Richard and Sharon had downsized to once Mary Anne moved out for college. Once she arrived, she let herself in and saw Dawn and Ben, both on the couch in the sunken living room watching TV. Mary Anne joked and said, "aww..you guys look like a brochure at the obgyn" making Dawn and Ben laugh before she asked "is my Dad home?"
"Sorry. He went shopping with my mom." replied Dawn.
Maty Anne said "Alright. Well come on, Dawn. We're running late. Beauty calls Ben, I'll see you at the party."
Ben replied "Yep. See ya."
As they walked outside to the car, Mary Anne said to Dawn "you really are glowing, sis. Your bump looks so adorable."
"It really came out of nowhere but I love it! I've been thin my whole life and now that I'm fat, I've never been happier!" exclaimed Dawn.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Kristy, Claudia and Stacey were already at a table drinking coffee. More warm hugs greeted them, much like the night before. After a while of more reminiscing, laughing and yummy food, Kristy paid the bill and asked, "Alright, are you ladies ready for a beauty day?"
"Always!" chimed in Stacey.
"Awesome" she said, and they made the few minute trek to Sol Beauty Salon. Kristy walked up to the reception desk and said "The Thomas party is here."
"Perfect!" said the blonde and perky receptionist and she began escorting each girl to a station, ending with Stacey and Mary Anne, who were on the other side of the salon and away from the other girls. While bummed they weren't all sitting together, Stacey linked arms with Mary Anne and said, "Oh well. Let's go get pretty."
Both deciding to start with facials, Mary Anne and Stacey continued their conversation and Mary Anne decided to bite the bullet, nervously asking Stacey "sooo did you talk to Charlotte?"
"Oh, of course!" Stacey exclaimed. "I've never lost contact with Charlotte."
"Oh, ok. I didn't know" said Mary Anne. "She's a very private person."
"Oh yes, I know" said Stacey, adding "I'm having lunch with her and Mr. Johannsen tomorrow, actually."
"That's wonderful!" said Mary Anne.
After what seemed like hours of facials, mani pedis and massages, it was time for hair and makeup, which took about another hour.
"Are you ready?" asked the hairstylist.
"Yes" replied Mary Anne as the lady turned her around to look in the mirror and Mary Anne was shocked at her appearance. Her hair was curled and she had a face covered with foundation, blush and a bold and dark smokey eye, which the esthetician said would compliment her dark blue dress. Everyone else looked equally amazing, with Dawn sporting a more natural makeup and hair and everyone else in stunning bold makeup and hairstyles.
After concluding their spa day, they all drove back to Kristy's house to relax and eat and drink before getting dressed. Once there, they all parked themselves on Kristy's huge couch, chatting, laughing, snacking on a fruit and cheese plate Kristy brought out and all sipped on glasses of Rosé while Stacey and Dawn enjoyed some sparkling apple cider. Once 7:00pm rolled around, Kristy announced, "All right, ladies. It's time to get dressed!" adding "and since I'm the president of the BSC, I'm going first!" and disappeared inside her bedroom before anyone can dispute it, emerging only a few minutes later wearing a black suit with the sparkly tank top she bought last weekend. She was wearing simple diamond stud earrings and a necklace with a teardrop diamond pendant, which Mary Anne knew were real because Watson had bought those for Kristy when she graduated college. She completed the look with some black heels that looked like a suede material. Her angled bob teased in the back, giving her short hair volume. Always thinking of her bestie as a tomboy, Mary Anne was stunned by how pretty she looked and said, "You look amazing, Kris" and all of the other girls agreed. Kristy then said "Ok. Dawn, why don't you go next?"
"Ok" she said. "See you in a bit."
It took Dawn about 10 minutes to get herself together before she emerged from the room wearing a sleveless light blue flowy empire waist dress, with silver embellishments around the waist and sleeves and paired that with some silver gladiator sandals, although they weren't really visible under the long dress and no jewelry, which it really didn't even need. Claudia put both hands on the sides of her face and shrieked, "Oh my God, Dawn! You look like a Greek Goddess!"
"You really do" added Stacey.
"Thanks, girls. I LOVE this dress!" said Dawn, adding "and I found it at the maternity store in the mall. Can you believe that?"
Kristy said, "Alright, pregnant ladies first, I guess. Stace, get in there."
Stacey answered "Yes maam" and when she walked out of the bedroom a few minutes later, she came out looking like a supermodel in her tight and sparkly dress, dark purple smokey eyes, bold burgundy lips and loose wavy hair and was greeted with a "wooooo.." from all the girls simultaneously. Kristy laughed and said "You are so shiny! Seriously though, you look stunning and that little nugget isn't showing at all."
Stacey said "thanks, Kris. This is probably my last chance to dress up like this for a while so I might as well go all out."
'"Well, you did good" proclaimed Kristy, who then turned to Claudia and said "your turn."
Somehow, Claudia managed to get dressed and all decked out in just a few minutes and she came out wearing an amazing strapless silk wrap dress, with draped black fabric at the waist and a unique striped pattern in various shades of dark blue, white and gray that almost looked like paint splatters. She was wearing a bunch of black and blue beaded bracelets and several long shiny beaded necklaces in various sizes and lengths that all complimented her dress and she wore the same dark blue flats she had worn the day she spoke to Kristy. The stylist had also somehow managed to pin Claudia's hair into an updo. Mary Anne couldn't help herself and shouted "Oh my lord, Claud! Where did you get that dress?!"
Claudia replied "Actually, I had it made. Ricardo's wife is a fashion designer, you know. I painted this pattern, she had it printed on this silk and she made it for me in 2 days. How cool is that?" as she opened her arms and twirled around.
"It's pretty dang cool, Claudia." said Dawn.
"Pretty..fresh" joked Stacey.
Claudia laughed and asked "but the real question is, is it DIBBLE?"
All of the girls burst out laughing, with Kristy saying, "oh, its dibbly fresh, Claud!"
Mary Anne realized she was the last one left and said "Alright. Here goes nothing" as she walked in and closed the door. Laying on the bed were 3 empty and unzipped garment bags, two open and empty shoe boxes and one closed one. She slowly got dressed, putting on sheer panty hose a few shades darker than her own skin and then slipped on her dress. Zipping up the back and then sliding the belt around her waist, she turned around to look in the mirror and knew that dress was the right choice. She reached into the closed shoebox and pulled out the sparkly blue shoes, which made her 3 inches taller and indeed matched the belt exactly. She looked like a different person but she was very happy with how everything turned out. She walked out to a hushed crowd.
"I knew it!" shouted Kristy.
"Knew what?" asked Mary Anne.
"I knew that was your perfect dress."
Dawn added "sis, you look so pretty. Jackson is going to DIE when he sees you."
Look at those shoes" said Stacey. "Hey, can you show me the bottom?"
Mary Anne answered "Um, sure.." as she turned and lifted up her foot, showing a bright red sole. "Louboutins!" shrieked Stacey. "Where in the world did you get Louboutins?!" before taking a small sip of cider.
"Cokie Mason let me borrow these" she said, making Stacey then cough and spit out her cider and immediately say "Oh my God, I'm so sorry Kristy!" Kristy just laughed and waved her hand at Stacey, saying "It's ok."
A still coughing Stacey turned to Mary Anne and asked "come again?"
"Yeah. She works in Kristy's office building. And she's nice now."
"Shut up! exclaimed Claudia.
"I swear it. Ask Kristy" said Mary Anne.
"Hard to believe, but true. I had lunch with her a few days ago." said Kristy. "This reunion is creating all sorts of miracles, huh?"
"I'll say" said Claudia as she looked at Kristy and smiled.
Kristy smiled back before saying, "Alright. Enough of this. It's time!"
Everyone put their drinks down and Mary Anne said to Kristy, "Ok, idea queen. how do you want to work this?"
Kristy asked, "Is everyone planning on drinking tonight?"
"I'll have a little something" said Mary Anne.
"Me too" said Claudia.
"Ok, Stacey and Dawn, you take my car. It's too small for all of us and I don't want anyone drunk in my car. The three of us will take Uber. We can ride home with the boys. Jackson has an SUV.
"Still full of great ideas, I see" said Stacey.
It didn't take long for them to get there, with Kristy only living a few minutes away from the S Hotel and once they were out of the cars, met up with each other in the lobby. Once they walked in, they immediately saw a sign that said "SHS REUNION" with an arrow pointing to the left. The girls walked down the hallway and immediately saw a long banquet table next to a set of double doors and with someone sitting behind it. Once they got close enough, Mary Anne saw that it was Grace Blume, with Mary Anne and Kristy looking at each other at the same time and Kristy rolling her eyes and mouthing "oh, great."
"Hey" was all Kristy managed to say to her when they reached the table.
Without even looking up she asked "Name?"
She replied "Kristy Thomas" prompting Gracie to look up and say, "Well I'll be damned. Look at you!"
"Um..yeah" said Kristy, with Grace adding "You look like a girl now!"
Kristy brushed off the rude comment and realized that while Cokie has changed, it didn't seem like Grace had.
Grace then looked over at Mary Anne before her eyes scanned all of them up and down and she said, "Wow! The Baby-Sitters Club, back together again?!" and burst out laughing.
Still being the bigger person, Kristy said "Yeah. Back and better than ever!"
"Well.." she sighed. "You guys look great" as she started scanning through all the placecards and guest passes and doling them out to each girl. "Ok ladies. Have fun."
They all walked away, not saying goodbye and Stacey adding "rude much? Jeez."
"Forget her" said Kristy as they approached the closed double doors, then asked "Everybody ready?"
"Yes" replied Dawn.
"More than ready!" exclaimed Claudia.
"I can't wait!" shouted Stacey.
Kristy then looked at Mary Anne with raised eyebrows and said "ahem?"
After all that had happened over the last few months, everything had finally come to fruition. They were all together again like old times and the moment all of them had been waiting for was finally here and excitement began building up inside Mary Anne, with her excitedly blurting out, "This it it!"
Kristy then kicked the door open with her heeled shoe and said "All right, BSC. LET'S DO THIS!"