"Me?" Kristy asked "He wants to see me?"
"Well, you and Sam, of course. Charlie too, if he's not busy at school," Elizabeth explained.
"What about David Michael?" Kristy asked.
Elizabeth pressed her lips together. "He's still so little. Your father and I both think that it is best that he doesn't go along this time."
Even though that was hardly the explanation that Kristy was looking for, she dismissed it, quickly putting it to the back of her mind. She hadn't seen her dad since she had flown out to his wedding to with Charlie and Sam. It had been a pretty good time, and for the most part, she liked her step-mom Zoey. But even so, the contact that the two families had was rather sporadic. She had received a card for her birthday, but in typical Patrick fashion, it had arrived two weeks late. Just the thought of going out to dinner with him was unsettling.
"Do you think I should go?" Kristy asked her mother, unsure. She was always curious about her father, and she did want to get to know him, but at the same time, the situation was so weird.
Elizabeth sighed. "It's your decision sweetheart, but I think that you should. You should know your father. You had a good time with him in California, didn't you?"
"Yeah…" Kristy said, hesitantly.
"You have all week to think about it honey. You should talk about it with your brothers in the morning," Elizabeth said. Even though she was smiling, her eyes looked incredibly tired.
Kristy nodded. "I will. I'm going to go upstairs now, and get ready for bed. I'm really tired."
"Good night honey."
Kristy walked upstairs to her room, closing the door behind her. She pulled the old Babysitter's Club record book out of the drawer in her desk and found the Pike's number: KL5-8974. She wanted to check up on Mallory; she felt partially responsible for what had happened at Bart's. She dialed the number, and listened to the phone ring a few times. Finally, Mrs. Pike answered the phone.
"Hello, this is-" Mrs. Pike answered, just as someone started shrieking in the background. "Nicky, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop giving Claire the bizzer sign!" She paused. "I'm sorry. This is Dee."
"Hi Mrs. Pike, it's Kristy Thomas. Is Mallory there?"
"Oh hi Kristy. I'm sure Mallory's around here somewhere. It's so nice of you to call. Here she is."
"Thanks Mrs. Pike."
Mrs. Pike said goodbye, and then the phone was passed off, but no one said anything on the other end.
"Mallory? It's Kristy. Are you there?"
"Yeah," Mallory responded, her voice small.
"Mallory I'm really sorry about what happened tonight. What Stacey said was horrible, and not true at all. I have no idea why she was talking like that anyway. Besides the drinking, I mean. Though I think that my brother had something to do with it."
Mallory sniffled. "It's okay, I guess. She wasn't exactly nice to you either. I just don't understand why she was so mean to everybody. Stacey was always so great before."
Kristy sighed. "I don't know either. I think it was because she was drinking though. Alcohol makes people mean sometimes." She was finding that out for herself, anyway.
"Maybe she was right," Mallory said softly. "I am a loser. I should just go to Riverbend and not come back."
"Oh Mal, don't listen to her. You should go back to Riverbend, but only because it makes you happy. And you shouldn't be afraid to come back to Stoneybrook, because you do have friends here."
"Thanks Kristy, but you don't need to pretend. Stacey is the most sophisticated person I know, so if she thinks that I'm a loser then she is right. But I can change."
"You don't need to do that Mal. We like you the way you are," Kristy pleaded.
"I'm going to change," Mal vowed, her voice suddenly strong. "And the next time I talk to Stacey, she won't even recognize me."
"Mallory…"
"Don't bother Kristy," Mallory said. Her voice softened. "But thanks for everything. You're a good friend."
"You too Mal. Let me know when you are back in town."
"We'll see. Bye Kristy,"
"Bye."
Kristy held the receiver in her hand for a few moments before she hung up the phone. She felt bad for everything that had happened tonight. Even though it wasn't her fault, she felt like she should have been looking out for Mallory a little bit more. She shouldn't have been so quick to take her to the party anyway.
Kristy knew that she should call Abby as well, and figure out what happened to Sam, Stacy, and Claudia. She wanted to, but suddenly she was exhausted. Without even changing into her pajamas, she pulled back the covers and fell fast asleep.
----------------------------
Kristy woke up the next morning to sun streaming in through her window. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up in bed. She looked at the clock on her nightstand: It was nine thirty. Stepping out of bed and into the hallway, she smelt breakfast cooking and followed the aroma into the kitchen. To her surprise, Watson was standing at the stove making pancakes, while David Michael and Emily Michelle were seated at the kitchen table wearing big smiles and eating happily. Nannie was supervising silently from the laundry room across the hall where she was folding clothes.
"Good Morning kiddo," Watson said, smiling as he noticed Kristy come into the room. "How many pancakes can I get you this morning? Your wish is my command."
Kristy blinked, momentarily silenced by the magnitude of the situation at hand. "Three would be good, thanks."
Sitting down at the table, Kristy turned the situation over in her head. It was almost as if the last week had never happened. Or maybe it really had happened, and it was all over now. Unfortunately, Kristy wasn't naive enough to really believe either of those scenarios, even though she wanted to with all of her heart.
Emily Michelle looked at Kristy and giggled "Daddy's home!" she said.
Kristy smiled. "I know! And he made you a yummy breakfast, didn't he?"
"I like pancakes," Emily Michelle agreed, nodding.
"Here you go, fresh of the stove," Watson said, putting a plate down in front of Kristy.
"Thanks," she said, still slightly bewildered. She reached for butter and syrup to put on her food. "My compliments to the chef."
"Thank you ma'am," Watson said, bowing, which made David Michael and Emily Michelle laugh.
Kristy ate her breakfast thoughtfully. It was so strange to see Watson making breakfast and laughing with the kids like nothing happened, but at the same time it was so familiar. Up until a week ago, this had been a common household event. One that would be so easy to fall back into, if she could forget everything that had happened.
She didn't really know what to think.
Just Kristy was finishing up her breakfast, Elizabeth came downstairs and into the kitchen, bypassing all the children and heading straight to Watson, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks for making breakfast" she murmured softly.
"It's no problem," Watson responded, putting his arm around her.
Rolling her eyes, Kristy gathered her dishes and set them on the counter. She was still wary of the tenuous peace that had overtaken the household, even if her mother wasn't. She walked up to her room noticing that Sam's door was closed. He must have gotten Stacey home alright last night. She hoped so at least. If he got her into that mess, it was the least that he could do to get her out of it.
Kristy spent the next hour in her room getting ready for the day. From her window, she saw Nannie take off in the Pink Clinker with David Michael and Emily Michelle. The car heaved and sputtered as it left the driveway.
Kristy continued to stare out the window as the car drove out of view, ignoring everything else. She didn't move to when the phone rang, or when Sam knocked on her door with a mumbled apology for the previous night. It felt so good to simply do and think about nothing for a change. A part of her wanted to stay like this forever, but she knew that she couldn't. She had homework to do, for one thing. But she had something else to do as well.
Sighing, Kristy walked away from her window and put on a light jacket. She needed to talk to Abby about everything that was going on, and to finally tell her the truth. Knowing that this was something that she wouldn't be able to do over the phone, she opened her bedroom door, joining the world again.
Kristy stopped briefly at the bottom of the stairs, stalling for time. Even though Abby was her best friend, she still wasn't looking forward to this conversation. Maybe because talking about everything and actually saying it out loud made it that much more real.
Just before she was about to head out the door, Kristy heard hushed voices coming from Watson's office. Worried that this was the start of another fight, and everything that came with it, she walked to the door and held her breath, trying to hear everything that was going on behind it.
"I guess I never realized things were that bad," Elizabeth says.
Watson cleared his throat. "I'm sure that Lisa is exaggerating somewhat. She always had a tendencey to do that."
"Well do you think we should take them?" Elizabeth asked.
Kristy leaned closer to the door. Lisa was Karen and Andrews's mom, but she wondered why they were talking about her. Normally the kids called every Monday night to talk to their dad. Watson and Lisa didn't really talk unless the kids were coming out for a visit, and that wouldn't happen until Thanksgiving, which was over a month away.
"Of course we should take them," Watson said impatiently. "They're my kids. They belong here. I knew Lisa would realize that eventually." He paused. "Do you have a problem with them coming here?" He asked accusingly.
"Of course not, I love Karen and Andrew like my own children, you know that," Elizabeth said defensively. She then sighed. "I just worry what it will be like around here with two extra kids."
Kristy held her breath. Were Karen and Andrew coming back to Stoneybrook permanently? That's what it sounded like, but she couldn't imagine why.
"It will be fine," Watson said dismissivly. "If it gets to be too hectic, you can quit your job and manage the house, like I have been telling you to do for years. It's not like I don't make enough money to support us and then some."
Elizabeth sighed "For the last time, I'm not quitting my job. And I know that we can take care of the kids, that's not what I'm worried about. I don't want any of the kids to see anything like what happened last week again. You need to cut down on your drinking. I won't have this family falling apart."
"Oh come off it Edie," Watson said in disgust.
"Don't call me that! I hate that name," Elizabeth shot back.
Kristy stepped away from the door as things escalated between Watson and her mom. It reminded her of the fights that her mom had had with Patrick when she was younger. And even though she was fourteen, hearing this fight made her feel four again.
"Karen and Andrew are coming back here, and that's final," Watson said. "I'll speak to Lisa and work out the final details tomorrow."
Kristy held her breath as no one said anything for a moment.
"I have work to do Elizabeth," Watson said, the words hanging in the air.
Hearing this, Kristy ran softly from the hallway and in to the kitchen, where she quickly opened the refrigerator door, pretending to look for something to eat. A moment later, the office door opened and Elizabeth came out.
"Hey mom," Kristy said, trying to act natural while she poured herself a glass of apple juice. "What's up?"
Elizabeth sighed. "Lisa Engle just called. She and Seth are having some problems, and its starting to affect the kids. It looks like your brother and sister will staying with us for awhile."