Chapter 19 - Mary Anne VII

In health, Mary Anne came back excitedly. After school, she was still thrilled.

"Um, Mary Anne, you look so excited about something?" asked Dawn.

"First of all, the entire Annie cast-including me-is going to be interviewed tomorrow morning," replied Mary Anne.

"No way! We are?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Mary Anne.

"Sweet," said Claudia.

"And are you ready for this: I get to perform on Tony Awards," said Mary Anne.

"Way to go, Mary Anne!" I exclaimed. "I can't believe we'll be doing to attend Tony Awards."

"I bet you would be performing Tomorrow with Rocky and Mr. Lins involved," said Claudia.

"Yes just like Brittany Kissinger did," said Mary Anne.

"Lucky you," mumbled Dawn.

Dawn can be so jealous at times.

At the Spier-Schafers' home, Mary Anne was watching the play version of Annie to get ready for tomorrow's rehearsal.

"Do you use both scripts and watch the DVD to practice?" asked Dawn.

"One of them. Since I used the script the other day, I figured I'd watch the video," said Mary Anne.

"Is that how you would memorize everything including songs without using scripts?" asked Dawn.

"Yes. But I still look over before every rehearsal to help me that way," replied her sister.

That night, Mary Anne had her sweatshirt on. I was over for dinner.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Is it me or is it cold in here?" asked Mary Anne.

"I'll go check the heater," replied Dawn.

She did and it read 65 degrees Fahrenheit as she turned it up to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

"That's better. Thank you, Dawn," smiled Mary Anne.

Both Sharon and Mr. Spier were working late, so the girls were on their own and had permission to invite me over for supper.

"Any ideas what we're doing for dinner?" asked Mary Anne.

"Mom said we can order Chinese. I got forty dollars from my recent sitting jobs," replied her sister.

"Sounds good," agreed Mary Anne.

"Fine by me, too," I said.

We ordered it ten to twenty minutes later and came in thirty minutes.

"We can watch a movie of Pollyanna while having dinner," said Dawn.

"Okay," Mary Anne and I said.

That's what we did. After we all ate, we paused the movie. Dawn cleared the trays while Mary Anne washed the trays, and I get to put them away. After all that, we continued to watch the movie.

"That was good tonight," said Mary Anne as Dawn and I agreed.

Charlie picked me up after the movie was over. And at that time, Sharon came home from work.

"Hi, girls," said Sharon.

"Hi," said Mary Anne and Dawn.

"Kristy had just left before you got home," said Dawn.

"We did decide to have Chinese," added Mary Anne.

"How was it tonight?" asked Sharon.

"Good," replied Mary Anne. "I have news to give you and Dad when he gets home."

"Okay," said Sharon.

It was almost nine-thirty when Mr. Spier came home. Mary Anne told him and her stepmom about everything between the interview and being on Tony Awards to perform. They were happy for her.

"Do understudies get interviewed as well?" asked Dawn.

"I'm not sure," said Mary Anne. "I'll ask Kathi about it tomorrow."

The next day, Mary Anne spotted Kathi at her locker and went to her.

"Congratulations on being selected to perform on Tony Awards," said Kathi who heard from that.

"Thanks. I have a question. The entire Annie cast, including myself, are going to be interviewed today. Do understudies count? Mr. Jackson didn't mention that part," said Mary Anne.

"Good question," said Kathi shrugging her shoulder.

"There's one way to find out, huh?" asked Mary Anne as Kathi agreed.

We started walking to health class together. Dawn says if she doesn't get interviewed, she'd quit from the play.

"But if you did, you'd lose your chance to take over for an older orphan," Mary Anne pointed out.

"I'm going have to agree," said Kathi who's the understudy of Annie.

After the teacher took attendance, the announcement came out saying to dismiss the whole Annie cast-including understudies-to report to the auditorium right now to be interviewed.

"I guess understudies do you interviewed after all," said Kathi.

We got up and headed to the auditorium. Mary Anne was too excited to get nervous. We went to sit in the row. When everyone was about to start.

"Good morning. This is Mrs. Rosemary James from Stoneybrook Times," said Mr. Jackson.

"Hello, everyone, you're all welcome to call me Rose," said Mrs. James.

"She loved Annie growing up and was honored to interview all of you and figured to do the same to understudies to be fair enough," said Mr. Jackson.

"I'll interview the regular cast, and then the understudies," said Mrs. James.

"Once she's done interviewing you, you may leave. I'll give you the exciting news at the rehearsal," said Mr. Jackson. "Rose, you may begin now."

"Thank you, dear. I'll start with the orphans: Kristy Thomas, Cokie Mason, Marci Jones, Mallory Pike, Claudia Kishi, and Jessica Ramsey," announced Mrs. James.

We went on stage as we went backstage.

"This is going to be exciting," said Mary Anne.

"I'm surprised you're excited to get interviewed," said Dawn.

"Are you kidding! It's the most exciting moment I would never forget, not ever," said Mary Anne.

"Anyone can be too excited to get nervous," added Kathi.

"Plus, we're all in it together, aren't we?" asked Mary Anne.

"That's right," agreed Stacey.

We-orphans-left to get back to class.

"Mary Anne Spier, you're next my superstar," said Mrs. James.

She giggled at that and got on the stage.

"How are you today?" asked Mrs. James.

"I'm excited about this," replied Mary Anne as they headed backstage to sit on the chair.

"First of all, what made you think to audition for Annie?" asked Mrs. James.

"My best friend, Kristy Thomas, told me about it I'd be perfect for Annie because she's like me. We never met our folks. Well, her parents left her at the orphanage as an infant while my mom died when I was very young, so my dad raised me on his own for years. Anyway, Annie's been wanting to meet her folks and she's been looking for them with a help from Mr. Warbucks and found out she was an orphan after all when President Franklin Roosevelt told her about her parents' death," explained Mary Anne.

"What did you had to do to audition for Annie?" asked Mrs. James.

"You would have to sing the end verse of Tomorrow," answered Mary Anne.

"How did you feel when you learned you were playing Annie?" asked Mrs. James.

"My friend, Claudia Kishi, told me she had a surprise for me when she said the cast list was up. I didn't know what was going on. When she did show me, I was thrilled. I couldn't believe it," said Mary Anne.

"Mr. Jackson was telling me you would memorize everything without using your scripts. How did you manage to do so?" asked Mrs. James.

"I would practice my lines by using the scripts at home or watch the play version of Annie that a friend sent me from Maine. Sometimes I would still bring my scripts with me in case I want to look them over again before each rehearsal. Mr. Jackson tells me I'm talented at singing ever since the beginning when we did singing lessons each we started Act 1," replied Mary Anne.

"Were any of the songs like NYC and A New Deal For Christmas hard for you?" asked Mrs. James.

"Not at all. It's fun to practice tough songs," replied Mary Anne.

"What is your favorite scene or scenes so far and why?" asked Mrs. James.

"Um, that's a tough question. To be honest with you, I like all of them. If I did have any favorites, I would say the scene where Annie made a new friend, Sandy the dog. The police officer asked her if the dog was a stray and she said it belongs to her. She had to prove it by calling him Sandy and had to call him to see he would answer to his name," said Mary Anne.

"What song do you like best?" asked the interviewer.

"I have two favorite songs actually. One is Maybe; it tells you a story and like I mentioned before, she wants to meet her folks and would hope they would come back for her one day. I also like Tomorrow; it's a message of hope that everything would be better if you're upset about something," explained my sister.

"How did you feel when Mr. Jackson told you that you were selected to perform on stage for Tony Awards?" asked Mrs. James.

"I was thrilled. I thought he was joking at first, but he wasn't," said Mary Anne laughing.

"And here's the final question. When Billy Gilman told you that the entire Annie cast were going to record for the soundtrack, what was your reaction?" asked Mrs. James.

"I couldn't believe that; I was so excited. In fact, we were all thrilled," said Mary Anne.

"We're done. It was nice meeting you," said Mrs. James.

"Same here, Rose," smiled Mary Anne.

Everyone was done by noontime. At lunch, we were talking about how fun it was.

"Today is the best day ever so far," said Mary Anne.

"I agree," I said.

Later, at the rehearsal, Mr. Jackson was about about to make an announcement.

"We'll be going on a National Tour at every school in every state starting all of the Stoneybrook and Stamford schools. Then we'll be going on a real National Tour all over at the theatre including New York City," announced Mr. Jackson. "Speaking of that, we'll be doing there for the Tony Awards. As you all know, Mary Anne has been chosen to perform on stage."

We all cheered for Mary Anne.

"Also, we'll be doing the movie of Annie there," said Mr. Jackson.

"Wow. Awesome," said Mary Anne.

We were all glad, too. After the announcement, Mr. Jackson said, "Get ready: Mr. Linders, Mr. Lins, Mary Anne, Mr. Lee, Ms. Rosenburg, Mrs. Bleechers, and the servants for scene four."

They all went to the stage. It started when Judge Brandeis was about to start to sign adoption papers when Mr. Linders came by.

"Excuse me, sir, before you start. May I present the Mudges," said Mr. Linders.

Ms. Rosenburg as Lily St. Regis and Mr. Lee as Rooster came in as the Mudges.

"There is our Annie," said Mr. Lee.

"Who are you?" asked Mary Anne.

"Honey, we're your parents," replied Ms. Rosenburg.

"We're Ralph and Shirley Mudge," said Mr. Lee.

"Annie Mudge?" asked Mr. Lins.

"We loved you very much, but we had to leave you behind. We were offered a job on a farm in Canada," explained Ms. Rosenburg.

"We interview about 800 couples and...," Mrs. Bleechers started.

"I'm assuming you want to see our IDs. Here's our driver's licenses and uh, Annie's birth certificate," said Mr. Lee pretending to give them to Mrs. Bleechers going to Mr. Lins.

"Ann Elizabeth Mudge born in New York City on October 28, 1922," read Mr. Lins.

"Hey, that's my birthday," said Mary Anne.

"And there is one more thing," said Mrs. Bleechers.

"Look, Ralph, she's wearing the locket!" exclaimed Ms. Rosenburg.

"See, when we left Annie at the orphanage, we left her with the half-sliver locket and kept the other half. When we went to the orphanage, a kind lady told us Annie was here," said Mr. Lee as he took out a piece of a locket and it fits just right. "See? Perfect fit."

"I'm glad we found our little girl," said Ms. Rosenburg.

"Mr. Mudge, what about the money?" asked Mr. Lins.

"What money?" asked Mr. Lee.

"Mr. Warbucks was offering $50,000 to the couples who can prove that they're Annie's folks," said Mrs. Bleechers.

"I didn't hear that. Plus, we don't need money," said Mr. Lee.

"On the other hand, we can afford to bring Annie up right with the reward money," said Ms. Rosenburg.

"Mind if Annie stays here until tomorrow so she can spend Christmas with us? So, you can pick her up along with the check," said Mr. Lins.

"Well, alright, it's fine by us, sir," said Mr. Lee.

"Bye, Annie, dear," said Ms. Rosenburg.

"Until tomorrow morning, and then you would be living with us for good," said Mr. Lee as they left when he bumped into Mrs. Bleechers. "Sorry, ma'am."

Mary Anne looked up at Mr. Lins and said, "This is wonderful news. Let's go share with it with the guests."

She went to the center of the stage with her head down and looks up looking pale.

"Drake, champagne," said Mr. Lins.

"Of course, sir," said Mr. Linders.

"We should celebrate. We just got good news tonight. Annie has found her parents. I propose a toast," said Mr. Lins raising Mary Anne looks up. "Here's to Annie Mudge."

"To Annie Mudge," said the rest.

Mary Anne looks again and took off backstage while Mrs. Bleechers follows Mary Anne halfway.

"Annie," said Mrs. Bleechers to Mr. Lins. "Sir, I'm sure I've seen that Mr. Mudge before, but I'm not sure where and he's not who he says."

"We'll not give her until we are certain they're not her real mom and dad," said Mr. Lins. "I'll go straight to the top to the President of the United States."

"Good job, everyone," said Mr. Jackson. "We'll take a break and we'll start the last scene."

Mary Anne came to join us.

"You're still so good at memorizing everything," said Stacey who was with Mary Anne.

"It's so hard to believe that we have one more scene before doing the entire Act 2 on Friday," I said.

"I know," agreed Jessi.

It was time for the last scene with most of us went to backstage. It started on Christmas morning when Mary Anne came with a pretend suitcase and sat on the floor as the song started.

"Silly to cry. Nothing to fear. Betcha where they lived is nice as right here. Betcha my life is gonna be swell. Just looking at them, it's easy to tell. And maybe I'll forget how nice he was to me and how I was almost his baby. Maybe," sang Mary Anne as the song ended.

Mr. Lins and Mrs. Bleechers came noticing Mary Anne.

"Merry Christmas, Annie," said Mr. Lins and Mrs. Bleechers.

"Merry Christmas," said Mary Anne.

"You're up early," said Mr. Lins as he and Mrs. Bleechers sat beside her.

"My parents are coming from New Jersey," said Mary Anne. "You're up early, too."

"We've been up all night with the president," said Mr. Lins.

"You mean he's here?" asked Mary Anne.

"Yes," said Mr. Lins.

Then Mr. Lee and Ms. Rosenburg came.

"Hello, Annie, Merry Christmas," said Mr. Lee.

"Here's for the check of $50,000," said Mrs. Bleechers.

When they got that, it read, "The jig is up."

Mary Anne got puzzled. Then Mr. Gomes came out.

"Well, it's the Mudges. We learned that those were the pen names of Daniel Hannigan known as Rooster & Danny the Dip and Lily St. Regis," said Mr. Gomes.

That was when Mrs. Boyd came with us orphans.

"Merry Christmas," said Mrs. Boyd.

"Merry Christmas," said Mary Anne coming to us.

"Well, it's Agatha Hannigan known as Aggie," said Mr. Gomes.

"She helped us out," said Mr. Lee.

"What?" asked Mary Anne.

"So, you're just pretending to be Annie's parents for the reward money?" asked Mrs. Bleechers.

"Uh, Annie, save me," said Mrs. Boyd going to Mary Anne. "Tell these people I've been good to you."

"I wish I could, Miss Hannigan, but except for one thing, you always taught me never tell a lie," said Mary Anne.

"Your days are numbered," Mallory mocking Mrs. Boyd.

The FBI took Mr. Lee, Mrs. Boyd, and Ms. Rosenburg away. Mary Anne went to us.

"Miss Hannigan is gone for good," said Mary Anne.

"And Annie, I have some news for you. The FBI was able to trace the handwriting from your note," said Mr. Gomes as Mary Anne turned to him. "And your parents are David and Maragret Bennett."

"The Bennetts are my real mom and dad?" asked Mary Anne as he nodded. "Where are they?"

"Annie," said Mr. Lins as she turns to him. "They passed away a long time ago."

"You mean they're in heaven?" asked Mary Anne.

"Yes, dear, I'm afraid so," replied Mr. Gomes.

"So, I'm an orphan after all," said Mary Anne as she had her head down walking towards to the center.

"Annie, are you alright?" asked Mrs. Bleechers walking halfway while Mary Anne stopped.

"Yeah. I think so," said Mary Anne as she turned slowly. "See, I always my folks loved me and they'd come back for me if they were alive."

"Would you still like to be Annie Bennett Warbucks?" asked Mr. Lins.

"I still like that very much," smiled Mary Anne.

"I love you," said Mr. Lins.

"And I love you more, Daddy Warbucks," said Mary Anne as they hugged.

Mary Anne introduces us to Mr. Lins and everyone else. Then they sang A New Deal For Christmas. Mary Anne was right that song wasn't tough to sing at all.

"Nice work. We'll take another break and then we'll start again from the top," announced Mr. Jackson.

After our meeting, at home, I was in my room doing my report. I had permission to eat in my room so I can work on my report. I was having peanut butter and jelly. Doing it on pregnancy was very simple. First of all, pregnancy women should not take drugs without letting their doctors know or alcohol due to birth defects or miscarriage. Second, they shouldn't drink too much caffeine and should drink about one cup a day. They also shouldn't go on rides that may be too fast. One of the signs of pregnancy is a morning sickness like nausea.

I learn that some babies are born early, on time, or late. If the blood occurs, it's a sign of a miscarriage. That can be pretty scary. Oh, one more thing: I even read that teen mothers should finish education before starting a family. They can do an abortion, an adoption, or keep their babies. Do you know they even get kicked out of their houses by their parents? It's true. Let's say Mr. Spier was still strict. Imagine if Mary Anne got pregnancy? He certainly wouldn't allow that and would probably throw her out. Since he's loosen up now, he'd respect her wishes. Another thing, some teen mothers get forced to raise their babies. Parents or stepparents should let their daughters or stepdaughters decide if they want to do an adoption.

I had just finished my sandwich when I heard a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"It's only me," replied Mom as she entered. "Are you all set with the empty plate?"

"Yes. I just finished them. Thanks, Mom," I said.

"You're welcome, dear. How's the report coming along?" asked Mom taking the plate.

"Almost done," I said. "Doing the report on pregnancy isn't that hard at all."

"That's good," said Mom.

"I know," I agreed.

She left with the empty plate. I was done twenty minutes later and put it away in my folder & my backpack. I got comfy and went downstairs.

"Finish the report already?" asked Mom.

"Yes, just now," I replied.

"How was the rehearsal?" asked Mom.

"Fun. You should see how excellent Mary Anne was. She still can sing and say her lines without looking at the script," I answered.

"Still?" asked Mom.

"Oh, yes," I replied. "Mr. Jackson even comments on that. She states she would either use her script or watch the play version of Annie to help her to be prepared the day before each rehearsal. And if necessary, she would still look it over if she wants to."

"Isn't she worried she might not memorize a thing when the play dates, including the opening night, get here?" asked Nannie.

"No way. Cokie thinks she'd be too 'chicken' to do that, but Mary Anne is going to prove Cokie she'd be still good at it. She's not letting Cokie ruin the big excitement," I told her. "If she ever laughs at my best friend, I'm going to let her have it. See it yourselves."

"Wow. You're a good friend to stop Cokie," said Mom.

"I know. We even had more news. First of all, we're going to Tony Awards and we'll be doing the movie. Plus, we'll be on National Tour at every single school starting here and Stamford soon, and then at all theatre after school lets out. You should see how excited Mary Anne was. As matter of a fact, she was even told she's been selected to perform on Tony Awards. She almost didn't believe the director she thought he was joking," I explained.

"Good for her," said Mom.

"And for you, too, of course," added my stepfather.

"I find Mary Anne feels more comfortable being on stage with all of us Baby-Sitters Club members. The only time she was nervous about was before the locket scene, but actually did it because of the best tricks to do is to think of something sad otherwise she'd be fine," I said.

"That's good," said Mom.

"I'm glad I talked to her into doing it. I told her she'd be fine if we're all in it together and she agreed to do so," I continued.

"That's true," agreed Mom.

"You forced her?" asked Nannie.

"Why did you say that? All I said was she'd be perfect for Annie. I never seen her so excited since she found out she'd be Dawn's new stepsister," I replied.

"I'm afraid that Kristy is correct. What is she doing is helping out her best friend to overcome her shyness and stage freight. I'm proud of her. If it wasn't for Kristy, Mary Anne would be nervous for anything," said Mom.

"Plus, my friends and I promised Mary Anne that she would feel comfortable. You'd keep your promise if you had a friend like that, too. That's what friends are for," I added.

The next day, at school, I passed my report in and asked if I could return the book at the library and the teacher said yes. He wrote a pass and I left for the library. In the library, Cokie the terror, came by while I was returning the book.

"What do you want now?" I wanted to say, but instead I said, "What a nice surprise."

"I found out you forced Mary Anne to do the play," said Cokie.

"Where?" I asked.

"Grace overheard your grandmother," said Cokie. "Mary Anne's still going to be too chicken about everything."

"You're hearing things. I would never force my own best friend to do anything. And for your info, all I said she'd be perfect to do Annie, so just keep your mouth shut and mind your business for once. Say that to Mary Anne, she's not going to believe you. She'd tell you the same thing. Plus, haven't you realized she'd comfortable being on stage with her friends? Why did you think she's excited about stuff for? Mom's proud of me for keeping promises," I said.

"All set," said the librarian.

"Thank you," I said after she signed the pass and headed back to class.

When I got back, I threw the pass out. I noticed Mary Anne seemed pretty upset about something. I betcha she heard Cokie or Grace. I went to the teacher.

"I'll take Mary Anne. She seems to be upset about something," I whispered and went to her. "Are you okay, Mary Anne?"

She didn't answer. I didn't notice the other girls were staring at me like I did something wrong.

"Why don't we take a walk or something?" I suggested.

"Go ahead," said Mr. Holmes.

"Come on," I said as I got her and we left. "We can talk in the girls' bathroom."

We went there.

"I was worried about you. I noticed you were upset," I said. "Is everything okay?"

"I overheard Grace said to Cokie and says I'd still be too chicken," said Mary Anne.

"As in about they think I forced you?" I asked her as she nodded.

"How did you know?" asked Mary Anne.

"Cokie told me. I told her to drop it. I would never force you to do anything. You've been comfortable being on stage with us members like we promised," I replied.

"I know. I always count you girls trust you," said Mary Anne. "It's nobody's fault."

"Tell me about it. And you were glad when I told you to go for it and you were very brave about it," I added.

"I agree. I'm not upset about that. It's what Cokie said about being too chicken to memorize any of the songs or my lines," said Mary Anne.

"Were the girls staring at me for no reason or something?" I asked.

"If they were, I'd tell them you didn't upset me," said Mary Anne.

"Don't give up to prove Cokie that she's wrong. In fact, Grace overheard Nannie," I said.

"You mean she started that?" asked Mary Anne in a shocked voice.

"You got it," I replied.

When we went back to class, Mary Anne went to the others.

"Why were you girls staring at Kristy?" asked Mary Anne.

"For what she did," said Stacey.

"It's not her, it's Cokie and Grace. Don't make Kristy feel quilty about it. She didn't do anything wrong. The other girls were ones I overheard saying I'd be still too chicken," said Mary Anne. "Grace heard it from Nannie."

"No way," said Claudia.

"Yeah," I said.

At lunch, I went over to Cokie and said, "You and Grace upset my best friend who overheard you both. She agreed with me that I would never force her to do anything. She counts on me and other gals. Don't you dare hurt Mary Anne ever again. Do that at the rehearsal, you wouldn't find it funny if you'd get kicked out."

I went back to join the rest.

"Cokie is so immature," I said as the others agreed.

Thank goodness Marci is starting to be nice to Mary Anne. She knows my friend would do just fine. I even added what Nannie said: too worried about memorizing.

"What makes Nannie thinks I'd be too worried to memorize the lines and the lyrics?" asked Mary Anne.

"I told her you haven't made an error," I answered.

"Oh, good," smiled Mary Anne.

"I mentioned if Cokie ever laughs at you, she'll have a rude of awakening," I continued.

"You're a lifesavior," said Claudia.

"I know," I agreed.

After school, at home, I went to Nannie and said, "I hope you're happy."

"For what?" asked Nannie.

"You knew what you said: thinking I forced Mary Anne to be in the play. Thanks to you, Grace overheard you and Mary Anne heard her & Cokie and got upset. Mary Anne could not believe you started all that. She even agreed I wouldn't force her to do stuff. I told Cokie to drop it," I told her. "Mary Anne hates being teased."

"Don't accuse...," Nannie started.

"Well, you did started all that. Mom did disagree with you and she told you everything," I said as I took off to my room.

How about accusing isn't the word? Blamming that on her would be better. I told Mom that afterwards and was surprised and told Nannie not to start that again. Mr. Spier would not go for that since he's very protective of his little girl. Later, Mary Anne came over for dinner. She nearly spoke a word to Nannie until she apologized.

"Kristy was telling us you would be good at memorizing everything without one look at your script," said Mom.

"It's true," said Mary Anne. "Everyone was shocked when I first did that. I realized that afterwards."

"I bet," agreed Mom.

"Would you continue to be in any more plays?" asked Watson.

"Maybe if I have most of my friends on stage with me," replied Mary Anne.

"True," said Mom.

"I can't wait for everything now," said Mary Anne.

"We're very proud of you," said my stepdad.

"Thanks," smiled Mary Anne. "My dad and Sharon are proud of me, too."

"We'll be having a dress rehearsal next week," I added.

"That's true according to our schedule," said Mary Anne.

"And we'll be in New York City next weekend for both Tony Awards and the movie," I continued.

"It's so hard to believe that's coming up already. I wonder when we'll be recording the Annie soundtrack," said Mary Anne.

"Me, too," I nodded. "I wonder that would be in New York City."

"Except for one thing, didn't Billy Gilman say in Hollywood?" asked my best friend.

"Oh, yeah," I said as we laughed.

After dinner, Mary Anne and I were playing crazy eights when the doorbell rang.

"That's probably my father," said Mary Anne.

When I got up to open the door, she was right.

"Hi, Dad," said Mary Anne as she got her coat.

"All set to go, sweetie?" asked Dad.

"Yes. See you tomorrow, Kristy. Thanks for supper," said Mary Anne.

"Not a problem," said Watson as she and her father left for home.

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