First mate's log:
April 3, 1974
I have something in common with Peter that I also have in common with Ginger and Mr. Howell. He has an unrelated lookalike! Arthur Owens very recently moved to our island, and he's in Peter's grade. They look as much alike as I do like that Russian spy, Ginger like Eva Grant after the beauty makeover, and Mr. Howell like his imposter.
Not that Arthur seems like a bad guy. Well, he is dishonest in that he's helping Peter trick people, but that makes Peter dishonest, too, and Peter is mostly a good kid. He's just mischievous I guess.
I fell for the trick myself, but I can be kind of naive and trusting, even now. I thought it was Peter showing up for his after-school shift today, but "Peter" didn't seem to remember anything that Mary Ann and I have trained him in. Still, I just thought he was having an off day.
Then the real Peter came in through the back door. He laughed and "Peter" grinned. They explained their trick. Arthur actually wears glasses, so that made him even more confused to have to look around the restaurant without them. (Obviously he'd never come in as a customer, because I certainly would've noticed him then!)
Arthur hung out in the kitchen during Peter's shift. Mary Ann was at home, and I'm not sure if I'm going to tell her about this. And I overheard Arthur and Peter planning to fool the Bradys after work. I feel guilty that I didn't call and warn the family, but I was pretty busy. Hopefully this will just be one day of harmless pranks. I mean, there aren't that many kids at the middle school, so they can't get away with it too long.
Carol Brady's diary:
April 4, 1974
Tomorrow night, Mike and I are going to a banquet at the Howells' mansion. This of course isn't the first time for us, but the occasion is new. He's being honored by an international business association, but he's getting over the flu, so he didn't want to travel. The association officials are willing to travel to our island instead.
Mike got invited because of all the work he's done for Mr. Howell. He has to give a speech, but like a speech at a comedy roast. So he'll be gently mocking Mr. Howell. He practiced his speech on me, Alice, and Greg today, and we all heckled him. But I'm sure Mr. Howell will, too, in his way.
Meanwhile, Mr. Howell's fifteen-year-old second cousin, Pamela Phillips, is visiting the island. The Howells are doing their best to entertain her, but a teenage girl would only be bored at a business banquet. Mr. Howell called up and asked if Peter would be willing to "squire her" for the evening. They're too young to go to the dive-in, unless Greg or Marcia takes them, but they could go to the Pizza Parlor and other local spots for younger teens. I know, Peter works at the Pizza Parlor, but he still loves pizza as much as ever.
At first Peter said he didn't have any plans that night, and then he remembered he had another date. Mike had already told Mr. Howell yes about the blind date, so he told Peter to reschedule his date with his classmate Michelle. After all, Michelle lives locally and they can go out any time.
April 5, 1974
Mary Ann and I had our first movie night in awhile, and probably our last for an even longer while. Joyce agreed to look after the Pizza Parlor, even though this is a Friday. We saw the Skipper on the ferry, not surprisingly, and also half the Brady kids plus Oliver. They were going to the movies, too. (We saw Blazing Saddles, and they went to Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World, which also sounded tempting.)
Apparently, Peter wanted everyone out of the house while he's on a date with one of the Howells' relatives. Pamela is his age, but I was still surprised about this. For one thing, I figured he wouldn't want any more blind dates after that mess where he was Phil Packer. For another, the last I heard from Peter, he's been after a cute blonde named Michelle. And last, even if Peter was interested in this stranger, I don't see why he'd want to be alone with her that much.
Greg and Marcia both had dates, but Peter bribed Jan to take the younger kids to the movies. At first he was just going to pay for the tickets for the ferry and the movie, but the younger kids talked him into giving money for refreshments, too.
It did cross my mind that this had something to do with Arthur. But I couldn't figure out how or why Arthur would fit into it. I didn't want to mention Arthur to Jan or the others, because it might've made things worse. And they definitely didn't bring up Arthur themselves.
Anyway, our movies got out at different times, but I hope they enjoyed theirs as much as I enjoyed Blazing Saddles. (Mary Ann isn't really into crude humor, but she liked the friendship between Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder.)
April 6, 1974
Oh my goodness, Peter tricked the whole family and two innocent girls! OK, it wasn't as bad as that sounds, but it was pretty bad.
There's a brand-new student at the middle school, and he's a dead ringer for Peter! Peter convinced the boy, Arthur, to pass himself off as Peter. Arthur was the one who agreed to the date with Pamela. Peter himself had already made a date with Michelle. He decided that Arthur should be the one to keep the blind date, and Arthur agreed.
Unfortunately for Peter, Arthur got delayed, so Peter was juggling the two dates for half an hour, with Michelle in the living room and Pamela in the family room. Mike and I might not have known anything about it, but Mike forgot the notes for his speech, so we had to go back to the house. We found "Peter" dancing with Pamela, but another girl was sitting watching TV in the living room. Then Peter came downstairs, dressed as Dracula.
Both boys explained, and surprisingly the girls didn't mind the deception. It was all the same to Pamela whether she had a date with Arthur or Peter, since they were both complete strangers, and it's not like one boy is cuter than the other. As for Michelle, she was flattered that Peter went to that much trouble to keep their date. Mike and I decided not to punish Peter, but hopefully he's learned his lesson.
And, yes, Mike's speech went well, as did the rest of the banquet.