I received a letter in the mail today. It was from a friend I haven't heard from in a long time. Her name is Dawn Schaffer.

I am DJ Tanner and was expecting a friend sometime soon, and Dawn and I had been friends for a very long time, and we get along just fine.

"DJ, there's a letter for you in the mail," Michelle said, giving me the envelope.

"From who?" I asked.

"I don't know," she answered.

"Thank you, Michelle," I told my sister.

"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked me.

"Of course," I answered.

So Michelle hung around for a while longer since she was curious to see who sent me the letter.

"It's from Mary Anne," I said, reading the return address.

"Who's Mary Anne?" Michelle asked me.

"A friend of mine," I replied.

"Does she live here?" Michelle asked.

"Not in this area," I answered, opening the envelope.

I didn't bother reading Mary Anne's letter that Michelle handed me, even though she was interested in hearing what Mary Anne had to say.

"Aren't you going to read it out loud, DJ?" Michelle asked.

"Why do you want to hear what this letter says, Michelle?" I asked.

"Just curious. I don't know Mary Anne," Michelle answered.

"Of course you don't. She has some other friends that I have met and made friends with," I replied.

"That's cool," Michelle said.

"Yes, it is," I agreed.

"Where are her friends from?" Michelle asked.

"Why do you want to know this stuff from my friends? Kimmy is here close to me, so I see her half the time. Mary Anne isn't your friend, Michelle. You might even get the chance to meet her," I told Michelle as I unfolded the paper.

"What does the letter say?" Michelle asked a second time.

"Are you sure that you want to hear this?" I asked her.

"Yes, DJ," she told me.

"All right. Just as long as you don't interrupt," I replied.

Then we saw my other sister, Stephanie join us.

"There you are, Michelle. Uncle Jesse wants to see you," Stephanie told me as I was about to start reading Mary Anne's letter.

"Am I interrupting anything, DJ?" Stephanie asked.

"She was going to read me a letter that one of her friends sent today," Michelle answered.

"Nobody asked you, Michelle," I told her.

"What does Uncle Jesse want from me?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know. All he told me what that he wanted to see you," Stephanie answered.

"Okay. That means I won't get to hear the letter, DJ," Michelle said, disappointed.

"That's all right," I told Michelle.

"Where is Uncle Jesse?" Michelle asked once they both left.

"In the kitchen," Stephanie answered.

"That's a good place for him to be," Michelle told her.

"Yes, it is," Stephanie agreed.

Now they both were gone, I was able to read Mary Anne's letter. Here's what it said:

Dear DJ,

I wanted to see how you were doing. I am thinking about coming out sometime soon. Hope you're keeping busy.

How is your family?

Mine's the same, so you don't need to hear anything new. Would love to see you sometime.

One of the things that kept me busy is baby–sitting. I think I told you about my friends, right?

I remember you meeting a few of them, including my stepsister, Dawn. I want her to be surprised for her birthday gift. We'll be coming from Maine. We moved there from Stoneybrook due to my dad's job. The other girls would be meeting us when they fly out from Stoneybrook. My next-door neighbors will be coming with us, too.

I'll have to check with my family and see when the best time is to see you and your family.

Is Jesse staying out of trouble and Joey still a clown?

Would love to hear about those two as well.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Your friend,

Mary Anne

I reread the letter a few times and saw that I liked the idea that Mary Anne had written. I'll have to save this so Daddy could see the letter for himself and see what he thinks about Mary Anne and her friends coming out.

Good thing Michelle and Stephanie didn't have to hang around to hear what Mary Anne's letter said.

They don't need to know everything my friends do, but they don't seem to mind Kimmy, who is my friend.

I'll put Mary Anne's letter on Daddy's desk in the office where he could see it.

What would he say about Mary Anne and her friends to come and visit for a while? She wants to surprise Dawn to get tickets for her birthday for us to

This should be exciting.