Monday afternoon had finally arrived. Dawn and Stacey would be flying home later that evening and Claudia was leaving first thing Tuesday morning, but not before one last get together. Claudia and Kristy were sitting and chatting at the kitchen table in the house on Bradford Court, where John and Rioko Kishi still lived. Mrs. Kishi walked into the kitchen to bring a nice cold glass of water for the both of them.
"Thanks, Mom" said Claudia as her mother handed her a glass.
"Yes. Thanks, Mrs. Kishi" said Kristy after she received hers.
"You're welcome, Kristy" she said as she gave Kristy a little side hug right where she was sitting, then walked past Claudia and gave her a kiss on the top of her head before she left the room.
"Aww, that's so sweet" said Kristy. "She must be so happy you're home."
"Oh, definitely" replied Claudia. "She doesn't want me to leave."
"Too bad Janine is out of town" Kristy said.
Claudia shrugged and said "she really wouldn't be doing me any favors. She didn't even visit me once when I was sick. She barely called either. I am pretty indifferent towards my sister nowadays."
"Sorry, Claud." Kristy said sadly.
"It's alright" replied Claudia. "I got over THAT a long time ago." Claudia then changed the subject and said "so anyways..I'd rather talk about that epic party. How fun was that?"
"Me too" said Kristy. "I got a bit too drunk but at least I didn't do anything stupid."
"Like what?" Claudia asked sarcastically. "Break your friend's foot?" and smirked.
Kristy laughed but didn't respond to that, instead saying "hey, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you and Stacey about Pete. It's just that we weren't really talking and-"
"Don't even worry about that, Kris" interrupted Claudia. "It's my fault for not keeping in touch."
"So what was your favorite part of the evening? Krisky asked.
"Well, the both of us getting hit on by gross Alan Gray was definitely up there," said Claudia.
Kristy laughed and said, "Right?"
Claudia continued, "I gotta say though, Cokie calling us up on stage was pretty damn awesome. I wonder why she did that?" she asked.
Kristy replied "I think she's just trying to redeem herself for torturing us all those years. Probably trying to redeem herself in every way, it seems. Her husband went to jail, you know."
"Really? For what?" asked Claudia.
"Tax evasion. He was a doctor and I think he was doing some kind of insurance fraud too." said Kristy.
"Wow. That sucks." said Claudia.
"I'll say" replied Kristy. "She really had this perfect Park Avenue life and was suddenly left a penniless single mom. I never really thought about it until Mary Anne mentioned that a situation like that would humble anyone and obviously she's right. Honestly, I'm sure I'll be seeing more of her."
"How about Stacey and Robert's awkward reunion?" asked Claudia.
"Oh lordy. I swear, it kinda seemed like he was still in love with her, huh?" asked Kristy.
"Shoot..probably." said Claudia. "Too bad he screwed that one up. Stacey would never forgive him in a million years and thank goodness for that. Now she gets to marry the man of her dreams."
"Very true" said Kristy. "So what's the plan for you this evening?"
"Well, I'm going to see Peaches, Russ and Lynne for dinner before I leave but that's pretty much it" answered Claudia, who then said excitedly, "Oh yeah! I have a gift for you!"
"A gift?" asked Kristy. "You dont need to get me anything" but Claudia was already gone before Kristy could finish. Claudia returned from her living room in about 15 seconds holding a plain paper shopping bag and said "I really didn't feel the need to wrap it, so here you go" she said as she handed the bag to Kristy. She opened the bag, peered at the contents inside and squealed, "Claudia! Oh my gosh! This is awesome! Where did you find this stuff?" she asked.
"At the party supply store" said Claudia.
"This is too cool. Thank you SO much!" said Kristy.
"Of course. You deserve it" said Claudia. "I'm just so glad I came here and I'm so glad I got to see you."
"Me too, Claud. You know, for the past few years, I've had an inkling that you had a problem with me but I never understood. After you said you didn't want me to visit you when you were sick and then the way you ignored me at Dawn's wedding, I knew something was up but I just pushed it to the back of my mind so I can get on with my life. I wouldn't have guessed in a million years why though." said Kristy.
Claudia replied " I am so sorry, Kristy. I'm sorry I used you as my scapegoat. I just didn't know how else to cope. My therapist helped me realized that I was actually mad at myself because my own body betrayed me."
"That makes perfect sense. I'm just glad we got past it, you're here, you're healthy and we're..friends" Kristy said with a smile.
"Me too." said Claudia. "Hey, the girls will be here soon. Come upstairs with me!"
Kristy and Claudia grabbed the bag of snacks. Aling with a veggie and fruit tray for Stacey and Dawn and walked upstairs to Claudia's old bedroom. It didn't look the same at all, as all of Claudia's artwork was gone and the room now had two twin beds, each against one wall, with a small nightstand in between them. A dresser was now where Claudia's old desk used to be and the walls were now painted a bland white color.
"Wow" said Kristy. "This bedroom looks like it died."
"Ugh, tell me about it" said Claudia. "My mom has no decorating sense at all. Don't worry, though. My apartment is just as colorful as this room used to be." Claudia then added "and I have one more surprise for you."
"Come on. You've already done too much" said Kristy.
"You'll love this one. Trust me" said Claudia as she walked to the closet, opened the door and pulled out something Kristy hadn't seen in years. "Ahhh!" shrieked Kristy as she put her hands to her mouth. "You got me a . directors chair too?!"
"Oh no" said Claudia. This is the orginal, baby!"
"Seriously?" asked Kristy.
"Mmm hmm" replied Claudia. "My parents saved it. It was up in the rafters in garage wrapped in plastic."
"This is awesome, Claud!" said Kristy. Just then, the doorbell rang.
"They're here!" said Claudia. "I'll go get it. Go ahead and set the room up. I'm sure my parents will want to talk to the girls for a bit."
Kristy got to work, folding out the directors chair, putting out the snacks and few more things. It had been about 20 minutes when Stacey, Mary Anne and Dawn entered the room and all had the same look of shock on their faces when seeing the plain looking room, Dawn saying, "Oh my gosh..what happened in HERE?!"
Stacey joked "Did..Janine move back in here or something?
"Haha, no." . "My mom just can't decorate for crap" said Claudia, shaking her head.
"I dunno" said Mary Anne. "I kind of like it."
Claudia immediately gave her the stink eye, prompting Mary Anne to put her hands up and say, "Oh, I'm kidding! I actually hate it."
"GOOD" said Claudia.
Mary Anne added " Not all librarians are boring, OKAY?"
"Yes, you should see Mary Anne's house" chimed in Dawn. "It has a lot of color!"
Claudia then said "Alright, ladies. Have a seat. There are two beds to choose from now."
Stacey parked herself on one bed and Dawn and Mary Anne sat together on the other. ClaudIa then grabed the bags of snacks that were on the dresser and announced "I have cheese balls, ring dings and gummy bears" then looking at Dawn and Stacey and saying "and for you gals, some fruit, veggies and dip and crackers." Dawn made a sour face and said "Um, I'm pregnant. Give me a ring ding, dangit!" Claudia laughed and tossed Dawn the plastic wrapped chocolate treat.
Stacey said, "what are we, in middle school?! My mom isn't here making sure I don't eat sweets. Gimme one!" Claudia laughed again and said, "you got it!" and handed a treat to Stacey too.
After everyone grabbed their snacks and got more settled, Kristy grabbed the bag that Claudia gave her downstairs and sat in her beloved director's chair before pulling out the contents, which was a brand new green visor and a novelty gavel.
"Kristy!" said Mary Anne excitedly. "That's so awesome!"
"Absolutely!" said Dawn, adding "maybe not as..um, dibble as our reunion dresses, but close to" as she laughed.
Stacey gave Claudia a small nudge on the shoulder and whispered "Good job."
Kristy then cleared her throat and paused, looking around the room at her oldest friends, one by one. Mary Anne Spier, her best friend through thick and thin. Nothing could ever break their bond and Kristy was so happy that Mary Anne never moved away and took her advice, ending up with a wonderful husband. She couldn't have been more proud that she is her best friend.
Then she looked at Dawn. While not as close as she is with Mary Anne, as long as Dawn was Mary Anne's sister, she would have a place in Kristy's heart too and she was so happy that Dawn has done so well for herself and is now starting a family of her own.
Her eyes drifted to the other side of the room to Claudia and Stacey feeling so greatful that the both of them are still here, happy, healthy and alive since both of them have been through so much over the years, both physically and emotionally. Stacey is moving on to a wonderful new chapter in her life and Claudia is well on her road to recovery, this time on an emotional level and Kristy hoped they would be able to spend more time together in the future.
As all of them turned their attention to her, she couldn't believe her eyes that this group was all grown up. While Kristy was sad it was all coming to an end and all of her friends would be gone in the next few hours, she was very hopeful. Who knows what the future would hold for all of them and how long it would be before they were all together again. Maybe this would be the last time, or perhaps the first time of many but no matter what, that very moment with all the Baby-Sitters Club together in their old meeting place was one that Kristy knew she'd never forget.
She then said "Ok. I hereby.." but couldn't even get any more words out before tears sprang into her eyes and began falling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. Give me me a sec," trying to calm herself down but creating a chain reaction of tears from everyone in the room.
A choked up Mary Anne said "It's ok, Kris."
"Take your time, Kristy" said Dawn.
"It's ok. I'm ok" said Kristy, who then took a deep breath, let it out and tried again saying "I hereby call this..FINAL meeting of The Babysitter's Club to order!" and her gavel went..."THWAK!"