The next morning, it was close to 10:30.
Alice woke us all up for breakfast and down we went. First, I brushed by teeth
and washed my face and brushed my hair. Then I got dressed and then I went downstairs for breakfast.
In the kitchen, Mom was sitting with Aunt
Shirley and Laurie, eating.
“Morning, Mom. Morning, Aunt Shirley.
Morning, Laurie, Morning, Alice,” I said, sitting down. Tracy, Jan, and Cindy
were right behind me.
“Good morning, Marcia. Did you sleep
well?” Mom asked.
I yawned. “Not really. I need more
sleep.”
“I don’t see why. I slept like a baby,”
Laurie bragged.
I frowned.
“I slept well, too,” Jan said. “And so
did Tracy and Cindy. Right?”
Cindy nodded.
“Yup!” Tracy agreed.
Laurie took a bite of waffle. “Aunt
Carol, where are these men you’ve been talking about?”
I frowned again. I knew Laurie really wanted to meet Greg.
“They should be down here in a few. But
now that we’re all down here, I want
us to get to know each other better. Starting with you, Laurie. How’s school?”
“School’s great, Aunt Carol. Mom just
enrolled me in a prep school.”
Mom looked interested. “Really?”
Laurie nodded. “I’m learning all kinds of
things. Like, proper etiquette and manners. Plus, I’m learning how to speak
Spanish and French!”
Mom smiled. “Good for you, Laurie! I wish
I could afford to send Marcia and Jan to a prep school, but it’s too
expensive.”
“That’s okay, Mom. I don’t want to go to
a prep school, anyway. I don’t like them, anyway. They’re full of snobs,” I
replied.
Laurie glared at me, but she didn’t say
anything. She drank her orange juice.
“Can I have some more waffles?” Tracy
asked, holding up her plate.
“Of course you can!” Alice replied. She
picked up Tracy’s plate and put more waffles on it.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
At that moment, all the men walked in,
still groggy and sleepy.
“Man, talk about exhausted. I barely
slept a_” Greg replied, stopping midsentence when he saw Laurie.
Laurie saw him at the same time. “Hey,
you must be Greg. Marcia’s told me all about you,” she replied.
Greg nodded. “Yeah. And you are?”
“I’m Laurie Partridge, Marcia’s cousin.
You’re Greg Brady, right?”
Greg nodded again.
Peter and Bobby jumped in. “And I’m
Peter!” he said, shaking Laurie’s hand roughly.
“And I’m Bobby!” Bobby replied.
“Uh, nice to meet you,” Laurie said
distractly.
Greg pushed his brothers away. “Don’t
mind them. They’re full of energy today,” he said.
“I see,” Laurie replied.
“Do you mind if I sit next to you?” Greg
asked.
Laurie shook her head. “No, I don’t mind
at all,” she replied.
Greg took his seat next to Laurie while I
rolled my eyes.
“So, Shirley, tell me. What brings you
here?” Dad asked.
Aunt Shirley put down her coffee mug.
“Well, Mike, my boys are out on a week long tour. The girls and me had nothing
else better to do, so I thought ‘Why not we go and visit my sister and my
nieces?’ I’ve always wondered what Carol was doing, all these years, anyway.”
Mom smiled. “Well, I’m glad she’s here.
After breakfast, I’m going to a quilting bee with several of my friends. Would
you like to come, Shirley?”
Aunt Shirley smiled. “I’d love to come!
We can go now!”
Mom took her and Aunt Shirley’s dirty
dishes to the sink. “Alright, let’s go,” she replied. She kissed Dad’s cheek.
“I’ll see you soon, Mike,” she replied.
“Bye, Mom!” Greg, Peter, Cindy, Jan,
Bobby, and I said.
“See you, Mom!” Tracy and Laurie said.
“Bye, you all! Be good!”
Mom and Aunt Shirley walked out of the
kitchen through the back door of the family room.
I wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Hey,
Laurie? You want to go to the_”
I stopped when I saw Greg and Laurie were
still having a deep conversation about music. Laurie was staring at Greg
dreamily.
“Never mind,” I muttered.
“Hey, Tracy? Where’s that new bike you
said I could ride?” Cindy asked.
Tracy got up. “It’s back here,” she said.
“A new bike! Neato! Can I see it, too?”
Bobby asked.
“Sure!”
Bobby, Tracy, and Cindy put their dirty
dishes in the sink.
“I guess I’d better go watch them,” Jan
said. She put her dish away. Peter followed after her.
“We had a band for awhile. We called
ourselves the Brady 6,” Greg told Laurie.
“That sounds super cool. How many records
did you sell?”
“Only about 3,000 copies. And we had a
top ten hit, too.”
“Really? What was it?”
“Have you ever heard of the song ‘Time To
Change’”?
Laurie’s mouth dropped open. “You mean
the song that goes ‘autumn turns to winter and then winter turns to spring’?
That song?”
“Yeah,”
Laurie squealed. “My brother, Keith,
tries to imitate that song. I had no idea you wrote it!”
I was singing it, too, I thought.
Greg nodded. “Well, I had no idea my song
was such a trendsetter,” he replied.
He and Laurie continued talking. I
sighed, got up, and went back upstairs to use the phone. I dialed my best
friend, Katie Lou Simmons.
“Hello?” Katie Lou asked.
“Hey, KL. It’s me, Marcia,” I replied.
“Marcia? Are you okay?” Katie Lou asked,
sensing something was wrong.
“Oh, something’s wrong alright. My mom’s
sister came last night with some of my cousins and right now, one of them is
being a pain.”
“Oh, I’m sorry about that, Marcia. Is
there anything I can do?”
“Yeah. Can you come pick me up? We can go
to the rec center together.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.”
“Thanks a lot, Katie Lou,” I replied.
We hung up.
After we hung up, I began fishing around
for my bathing suit and towel and an extra outfit.
“Going somewhere?” Laurie asked me when
she walked in.
“Yeah. I’m going to the rec center with
my best friend. You have any plans?”
“Yup! Greg’s taking me to the park
today.”
I frowned. “I thought you said you wanted
to go to the rec center with me,” I replied.
“Well, I guess I changed my mind. Marcia,
your stepbrother is absolutely adorable!
He’s so cute!”
I frowned. “Uh, sure. I’m happy for you,
Laurie,” I replied.
Laurie grinned. Then she left the room.
After she left, I couldn’t help but think
that something was wrong.
“Are you ready to go?” Katie Lou asked
later.
I picked up my bag and nodded. “I have to
tell Alice I’m leaving first,” I told her.
I walked into the kitchen. “Alice, I’m
leaving,” I told her.
“Okay, you have a good time, Marcia. Be
safe! And don’t eat and then swim. It will leave you with cramps for hours!”
I laughed. “Thanks for the advice,
Alice,” I said.
I kissed her cheek and left.
“Okay, let’s go!” I replied.
As we walked to the rec center, Katie Lou
stopped suddenly. “Oh, Marcia! Look!” she exclaimed.
“Huh? What?” I asked.
Katie Lou pointed. “Look! Isn’t that Greg
over there?”
I followed Katie Lou’s pointing finger.
“Yeah, that’s him alright,” I replied.
“Who’s the girl he’s with? I’ve never
seen her around here before.”
“That’s my cousin, Laurie Partridge,” I
said dryly.
“Wow! I had no idea you were related to
the Partridges…Hey, are you Keith’s cousin, too?”
“Um, yeah.”
Katie Lou’s eyes widened. “Why, Marcia
Marie Brady! We’re best friends! We’re supposed to tell each other everything!”
“It isn’t that big of a deal. And
furthermore_”
Katie Lou beamed. “I’d love to meet
Laurie. She’s so pretty!”
I waved my hand. “She’d be too busy
paying attention to Greg to notice you. She’s been ignoring everyone else,
including me,” I replied.
It sounded a little bitter, but it was
true. Laurie hadn’t said a nice thing to me all day.
“I don’t care. I want to talk to her,
anyway! Hold my bag for me, will you?”
And with that, Katie Lou ran across the
street to join Laurie and Greg.
I sighed and followed her. I made it just
in time to hear her say to Laurie, “Hey, I’m Katie Lou Simmons, your cousin’s
friend!”
Laurie and Greg were having some kind of
conversation. Laurie looked irritated and annoyed.
“What?” she asked.
Greg stopped talking. “Marcia! Katie Lou!
What do you two want?” he demanded.
“Me? I don’t want to talk to either of
you. It’s Katie Lou who wants to talk,” I snapped.
“I had no idea you were cousins with
Marcia, Laurie. She’s so lucky!” Katie Lou rambled.
“Oh, well…Thank you,” Laurie said.
“You know, I just bought the new
Partridge Family album and I love it! Your
brother’s adorable!”
Laurie smiled feebly. “Well, that’s what
they say,” she replied. She shrugged helplessly at Greg.
“I really love your voice. It’s
incredible,” Katie Lou gushed.
Laurie grinned a little. “Well, thank
you. I took voice lessons in Italy, you know.”
I gritted my teeth. I’d had it with
Laurie’s constant bragging.
“Well, I had voice lessons in Switzerland,” I lied. “My voice teacher said I was the best.”
Greg and Katie Lou stared at me like I’d
grown two heads.
“But, Marcia, you_” Greg began, but I cut
him off. “In fact, all of us had the same voice teacher. He was a friend of
Mom’s and was nice enough to let us in his class. Right, Katie Lou?” I asked,
nudging her a bit.
“Um, yeah. You told me that.”
Laurie looked interested. “Is that true,
Greg?” she asked.
Greg looked at the sidewalk. “Yeah. One
of the best. Hey, Laurie? Can I talk to Marcia for a second?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks,” he replied.
He grabbed my shoulder and walked ahead
of Laurie and Katie Lou. “Marcia, why did you say that for?” he asked.
“Come on, Greg. Laurie has only been here
for eight hours and already, I’m getting sick of her. Her and her constant
bragging. Didn’t you hear her at breakfast?”
Greg sighed. “Marcia, Mom was only asking
her a little about herself. I wouldn’t call that bragging.”
“Well, what would you call it?”
“I think you’re jealous of Laurie.”
What? What did he say?
“What?”
“Marcia, just because she’s rich and
famous, doesn’t mean you have to hate her. You guys are cousins, after all.”
“I don’t believe this. I can’t believe
you said that! I am not jealous of Laurie!”
Greg rolled his eyes. “Well, I really
like Laurie. I’m not going to let you ruin my chances of getting to know her
better. Whatever problem you have with her, you’d better fix, Marcia.”
And with that, he turned around and
grabbed Laurie’s hand. “C’mon, let’s go to the park,” he replied.
Without saying good-bye, Greg and Laurie
turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
Katie Lou beamed. “Isn’t she
amazing?” She asked.
I grimaced. “Absolutely,” I said dryly.
After leaving the rec center, I went back
home.
“I’m home!” I shouted as I came through
the door.
Alice greeted me. “Hey, Marcia! Your mom
wants to talk to you about something important.”
“Really? What about?” I asked.
Alice shrugged. “You got me. She’s in the
den,” she replied.
I nodded and went into the den. Sure
enough, Mom was there, sitting in Dad’s desk.
“Oh, Marcia! Thank goodness you’re here!”
she exclaimed.
“How was the quilting bee?” I asked.
“Oh, we had a lot of fun. We made three
quilts today.”
“That’s great, Mom. Where’s everyone
else?”
“Well, Aunt Shirley wanted to stay longer
at the quilting bee, Jan and Peter took Bobby, Cindy, and Tracy to the zoo,
your father’s at work, and …I don’t know where Greg and Laurie are.”
“They went to the park,” I replied.
“Oh. Why didn’t you go with them?”
I shrugged. “Didn’t want to. I went to
the rec center with Katie Lou instead.”
“Oh. Well, anyway, I have an idea. I told
Alice about this already. I was planning we have a party to welcome Shirley and
the girls here! Shirley said she was thinking of moving in this area.”
My face grew pale. I would be living near
Laurie the Snob?
I had to grab a chair to prevent from
being knocked down.
“Isn’t that great?” Mom said.
“Oh, it’s…very super cool,” I lied,
flashing a false smile.
“Our party doesn’t have to be big, you
know. I was thinking that only we should be here at the party. It would the
perfect way to welcome Shirley, Laurie, and Tracy,” Mom bubbled.
“It should be great,” I said with false
cheerfulness. Mom looked so happy. I couldn’t talk to her about Laurie. Mom
seemed proud of her.
“I’m going to go upstairs and take a nap,
Mom,” I said.
“Oh, I was hoping you would help me. I
need to go to the store.”
“Um, maybe Alice can go with you?” I
said.
Mom smiled. “Okay, I’ll ask her. You go
get some rest,”
I smiled and went upstairs. In the
bedroom, I went in my closet and dug out some pictures. The pictures were old,
a lot of them. There was a picture of me when I was a girl, holding Jan a week
or two after she was born. Another was of Cindy taking her first steps. I
smiled at those and turned the page.
Then I saw a picture of Laurie and me in
one of our dance recital outfits. We both had the same matching pink tutus and
slippers. The both of us were striking ballerina poses. I was the more
serious-looking one and Laurie was smiling from ear to ear. In almost all the
pictures, we were dressed the same. In one Easter picture, we were wearing the
same PJs with those silly ears on them. In a Christmas one, we were dressed in
white dresses with red and green polka dots with white flats and tights.
I laughed. Our moms always thought we
were cute when we they dressed her the same.
Those were the good old days, I
thought. I put the album away and went on my bed and began moping.