BSC in NYC!
Dear Mom,
How is Stoneybrook? I'm having a great time in NYC with my friends. We've been doing lots of site seeing and shopping. Dad is great too. Love you! See you soon.
Stacey
I didn't write much on the postcard to my mom because I didn't want to hurt her feelings by telling her about Dad's new girlfriend and how DIBBLY FRESH she is.
When I woke up the next morning, I quietly rummaged through my closet, trying to look for a super trendy outfit without waking Claudia. It's not that I don't love my best friend, because I do, and I think she has a great sense of style, but somehow I didn't think Claudia could help me with picking out an outfit for meeting the ONE AND ONLY Carrie Bradshaw. I needed something that was trendy and sophisticated, not wild and artsy. I decided on a white pleated skirt that hit just above my knees with a black knit scoop-neck shirt and black leather knee-boots. I admired myself in the mirror as I applied my make-up and combed my perfect blonde hair. I looked very sophisticated. I could at least past for sixteen.
Claud was just waking up as I came back into the room to put on my earrings: plastic hoops, one was black and the other was white.
"Stacey!" she exclaimed. "You look fantastic. I'm sorry I wasn't up to help you get dressed, though."
"Oh, that's all right," I replied. "I sort of had this outfit already in my mind."
My Porky Pig phone that I keep in my room at Dad's apartment rang (or rather oinked) and I picked it up. It was Kristy wanting to talk to Claudia. I handed it to her and after she made plans to meet Kristy and Mary Anne at Central Park, Dad came by and knocked on the door.
"Honey, I made reservations at the Green for 11:30," he told me. "Be ready to leave in an hour."
"Okay, thanks, Dad," I said.
"I am so jealous," Claudia said. "I wish I could meet Carrie too." She gasped. "What if your dad married her and she became your step-mother? Do you know how dibbly fresh that would be?"
"Well, I don't think Dad's been dating her that long," I replied. "But it would be super chilly." I imagined myself going on shopping sprees with Carrie along Fifth Avenue, people stopping to take our pictures and asking for my autograph.
On the way to Central Park in the taxi, I asked Dad how long he had been dating Carrie.
"Not too long," he replied. "We met at a bar about two weeks ago and really hit it off. I have to say I didn't know who she was at first since I never read her columns, but she's a very fun, vibrant, energetic woman who's very passionate about her work."
We arrived at Tavern on the Green and I immediately spotted Carrie waiting for us in front of the restaurant. She was wearing a black and white checkered dress with a red bow around her waist and her curly blonde hair looked fantastic. She could have easily passed for my older sister!
"Carrie, hi!" Dad called out to her as we approached her.
"Oh! Hi!" Carrie smiled at us as she threw the cigarette she had been smoking on the ground and stomped it out with her super fresh red Manolo Blahnic heels.
"Carrie, this is my daughter, Stacey," Dad introduced us. "Honey, this is Carrie Bradshaw."
"Oh my God, it is such an honor to meet you!" I said as I shook her hand. "I am such a huge fan! I read your columns all the time!"
"Oh, well, thank you!" Carrie replied with a laugh. "You seem a little young to be reading my columns, though."
"I'm thirteen, but very mature for my age," I replied.
"Well, when I was your age, I was reading very mature material as well like Seventeen magazine. Believe me, that could be pretty risqué back in the day."
"Shall we see if our reservation is open?" Dad suggested.
We went inside and a well-dressed man led us to a table outside in the courtyard. After we ordered drinks and an appetizer, Carrie said to me, "Your father tells me you belong to a baby-sitting club?"
I nodded proudly. "Yep, the Baby-Sitters Club. I joined when I was twelve. There are seven of us, well, nine if you count the associate members. We meet three times a week and parents can call us to ask for baby-sitters for their children."
"That's a neat idea," said Carrie taking a sip of her iced tea. "I bet you make some good money doing that."
I nodded. "It's very rewarding."
The waiter came by to take our order and as we ate lunch, we chatted some more. Carrie asked me about my friends and school. When I was telling her about Mary Anne, she said, "She sounds just like a friend I have. Her name is Charlotte and-"
"Charlotte is the name of my favorite baby-sitting charge!" I said. "Wow, what a small world!"
When we were finished with our meals, the waiter came back with the dessert tray. "Can I interest you in any dessert this afternoon?" he asked us. "Perhaps some strawberries and cream?"
"Oh, that looks delicious," said Carrie. "But I better pass."
"No dessert for me," I said glumly.
"Sir?" the waiter asked my father.
"Just another coffee for me, thanks."
"Are you watching your weight too?" Carrie asked me when the waiter had left. "You have such a slim figure already, I'm sure you don't need to worry about the calories like I do."
"Oh, no," I replied. "I can't eat sugar because I have diabetes. It's a disease where-"
"Oh, yes, I know what it is," Carrie said. "You must be brave for putting up with that."
"My little Bootsie is very brave," Dad said ruffling my hair.
"Dad," I said, embarrassed.
Carrie laughed. "You two have a very sweet relationship. How often do you see each other?"
"Stace usually visits me for two weeks in the summer like she is now and comes up every other weekend if she can make it," Dad told her. Just then his beeper went off. "Oh, shoot. They need me at the office."
"Now?" I said.
"Yes, I'm afraid so, honey. Carrie, can you drop Stacey off at home?"
"Oh, sure no problem."
"Bootsie, here's my credit card in case you need it for an emergency."
After Dad kissed both Carrie and me on the cheek and left, Carrie looked at me and said, "I don't know about you, but after I eat a meal, I need to unwind at Bloomingdales."
"Bloomingdales is my favorite store in the world!" I replied.
After Carrie paid for the meal with the money Dad had left, we hailed a taxi to one of New York's finest department stores. I immediately headed over to shoes.
"Shoes! Oh, I love shoes!" cried Carrie.
"Look at these white leather lace up boots!" I gasped. "They are super dibble!"
"Dibble?" Carrie repeated with a confused look on her face.
"Oh!" I laughed. "It means really cool. My friends and I make up words all the time."
"Why don't you try them on?" she suggested. "I'm going to try these on," she added holding up a pair of black Jimmy Choo heels.
As we sat next to each other and tried on the shoes an employee had gotten for us from the backroom, Carrie asked me if I had a boyfriend.
"Not right now," I replied. "I was seeing this guy Sam, for awhile though. But he's fifteen and the brother of one of my friends in the Baby-Sitters Club."
"Ah, an older man," Carrie said nodding her head all knowingly.
"But our relationship wasn't really working out for those reasons," I replied. "Plus he can be super immature at times." I rolled my eyes. "He likes to prank call us during BSC meetings. Once he called us and asked if our refrigerator was running and that we better go catch it. That is such a stale joke."
"Well, trust me, I've been with many immature men in my life and believe me, you'll meet many more of them. But once they turn forty, they tend to loose some of that immaturity." She smiled at me. I must have looked horrified because she patted me on the knee and said, "Oh, I'm just joking. It's more like thirty."
"You're really cool," I said. "I mean, my mom is okay, she's better than some of the other moms in Stoneybrook, but she's always on my case for being careful because I have diabetes. She thinks I can't take care of myself, when obviously I can. I grew up in Manhattan! I'm very mature and sophisticated for my age! I'm the most sophisticated person in all of my school, I'm even more sophisticated than any of my teachers." I straightened my shoulders proudly.
"Excuse me," Carrie said to the salesman. "I'll take these shoes."
"And I'll take these," I added pointing to the leather boots.
"Are you sure you can afford those?" asked Carrie.
"I have Dad's Visa Card."
"But isn't that only for emergencies."
"But this is an emergency! A fashion emergency! I buy stuff with Dad's card all the time, he doesn't mind."
Carrie just shrugged. "All I know is that I'm happy I found a great pair of shoes that will go great for the opening of a new club on Friday."
I gasped. "A new club? Can I come with you?"
"Well…" she hesitated. "I think you're a little too young."
"Believe me, I can dress so I look like I'm 21. A lot of people actually think I'm in my twenties."
Carrie still looked unsure, so I continued to plead. "Please…Dad will think it's great that we're getting along so great!"
"Well, okay," Carrie agreed. "But if you get caught, it wasn't my idea!"
"Oh, thank you!" I cried.
Carrie Bradshaw was the coolest woman in the world!