It’s Stacey! (It’s Stacey!)
She’s back and she’s boy crazy!
So, it’s the beginning of August and Stacey is stressing
about what to wear because she’s going to Kristy’s new mansion for a BSC party.
What to wear….what to wear….She goes with a pink shirt covered with big,
bright green and yellow birds. Nothing
screams sophisticated like a shirt covered with birds. This is the best image I could come up with.
Her mother gives her a foil wrapped packet of apple slices,
just in case Stacey is temped to eat something she shouldn’t, ‘cause she’s
diabetic you know (Stacey comments who wants to be sick?). Since Stacey’s been friends with these people
for a year now, and has gone to parties before, where they’ve always had food
for her, why should she start worrying now?Stacey exits, and we find out Ed’s
favorite hobby is gardening…an excellent hobby for a work-a-holic.
Stacey’s riding with Claud and MA to the mansion and they arrive to find Kristy
is normal. Hurrah. Woulnd’t you know, they have a good time, but
end the evening bawling because Dawn’s going to Cali,
Claudia’s going on vacation, and MA and Stacey are going to Sea City
as mother’s helpers for the Pikes. They are going to be away from each other
for two whole weeks. I don’t remember being this emotionally
overwrought when we all went away for vacation over the summer. Kristy has the brilliant idea of MA and
Stacey writing post cards every day for the club notebook, you know, since
they’re technically sitting. That’s how
I want to spend my working vacation.
The next day MA and Stacey go to the Pike’s house and they
get a stampede at the door. There are eight Pike kids, after all. You might fill out a bikini Stacey, but you're no Bo Derek.
Mrs. Pike gives them the low down on Sea City,
what they’ll be doing and what they’ll need.
This blows my mind, though: “As you know, Mr. Pike and I don’t believe
in making rules for the children or forcing them to do things they don’t want
to do.” Really? No rules?
So…there aren’t any rules about hitting each other? What if they don’t want to brush their
teeth? You’re not going to make
them? Sorry, I’ve got guidelines for my
child. Anyway, they also cover Stacey’s
diabetes and medical information. Yes,
good to know! Stacey heads home to
finish packing and her mother hovers nervously.
I might hover; I’m not sure.
MA and Stacey arrive at the Pike’s the next morning as they
get ready to go. In the days before GPS,
cell phones and aps, there were maps and directions to places and places to
meet in case you got lost. This is also
the era before seatbelt and child seat laws.
Claire and Margo are sprawled in the very back of the station wagon. Let’s go on vacation!
Mallory climbs over the seats while they’re driving so that
motion sick Margo can climb to the front seat.
Nicky and the triplets have a sign war.
Then….they’re finally there!!
They have a rental house by the shore; after unpacking the kids take
them on a tour of the main drag and the beach.
They’re hanging out on the beach when Stacey sees a blonde, tan
lifeguard. She’s in LUV!
Claire and Margo wake MA and Stacey at the butt crack of
dawn, but they snuggle and go back to sleep for awhile. After breakfast, MA and Stacey head upstairs
to grab their things and unveil their bikinis.
Stacey brags that her top is filled out quite nicely; MA takes one look
at her and refuses to take off her clothes.
It’s like the rack under the coat.
Stacey talks her into it (or out of it) and they head out to the beach. As they get spread out, they notice some male
mother’s helpers nearby. Then they
notice Byron isn’t going in the water.
Stacey is distracted from Byron by the arrival of the god of blonde
gorgeousness.
He’s much older than she is and is surrounded by girls who
are much older and fill out their bikini tops much better than she does, but
she’s in LUV.
Byron starts getting picked on by his brothers and MA and
Stacey try to intervene. MA seems to
have things in control so Stacey goes over Mr. Handsome and turns on the
charm. As she’s turning away, Mallory
runs up with Claire, who has cut her foot on a shell. Mr. Handsome comes to the rescue with
bandages and introduces himself as Scott Foley (he’s related to a motivational
speaker).
Stacey hangs around him for the rest of the day and finds
out all about him, leaving MA to mind the children.
The next day the Pikes spend the day at the beach with their
kids and then go out for the evening, giving Stacey and MA money to take the
kids out. They eat at the Burger Garden
and have a little fun on the drag. By
the end of the evening, MA isn’t feeling so well and they realize she has a
really bad sunburn. She looks like “a
tomato with hair.”
The next day they hit the beach and Stacey starts to flirt
with Scott again. Some girls come by and
he calls them kids, much to Stacey’s delight, although I don’t think Snookie
and the gang would appreciate that very much.
Stacey spends the rest of the day running errands for Scott
and getting dirty looks from MA, who is pretty much on Pike duty. At the end of the day, Scott calls Stacey his
lifesaver and gives her his whistle.
Aw…..
There is a rainy day in their lovely week so MA and Stacey
take the kids miniature golfing, which, with 8 kids 11 and under, was a lot of
fun (sarcasm, sarcasm).
We finally hear from Kristy, and (of course) it’s a sitting
job. Apparently EVERYONE is babysitting,
even if they’re on vacation. Eesh,
girls, learn how to relax!!
Anyway, Kristy’s sitting for Karen and Andrew and the kids
wash Watson’s car with steel wool.
The next two days are amazing for Stacey, who is spending
her time around the lifeguard stand, falling in LUV with Scott even more. She and MA get Saturday evening off, so they
go out for dinner and stroll the boardwalk.
Stacey drops $10 on a huge box of chocolates for Scott(adjust for
inflation, $40 today) which she thinks will show him how she truly feels. Yep, nothing screams love like sugar and partially hydrogenates soybean oil encased in a red cardboard box. She then turns around and sees him playing
tonsil hockey with a gorgeous, curvy redhead.
Stacey’s heart is broken.
Stacey is embarrassed and humiliated and wants to hide in
her room the next morning, but MA gets angry and calls her out on it. Still, Stacey stays behind and Byron stays
with her. They go for a walk to a little
bay, where Byron actually goes in the water.
He confesses to Stacey he doesn’t like the waves of the ocean and not
being able to see the bottom. That
afternoon they face their fears together and go the beach. Byron spends time in the water and Stacey
spends time with the kids, whom she has REALLY MISSED while she was flirting
with Scott.
The next day they split up the kids and Stacey heads back to
the beach with Claire, Vanessa, Adam and Jordan. Claire teases another kid, which leads Stacey
to meet the male mother’s helpers. She’s
in LUV again!
This time his name is Toby and he’s 14. He’s also stellarly impressed by the fact
that she’s originally from NYC. He’s
perfect for her.
Friday is their last day in Sea City. MA and Stacey get the evening off and they
decide to ask Toby and his compatriot Alex out.
The meet at a hotdog stand for dinner before the girls decide they
should pair off to go down the boardwalk.
Stacey and Toby head for the arcade, then a gift shop, where Toby buys
Stacey a little pink shell “to remember me by.”
Really? Do 14-year-old boys do
stuff like this? I can’t see my husband
doing something smarmy, much less a teenager.
They close the evening with a ride through the tunnel of luv and
Stacey’s first kiss.
They finally arrive home, exhausted but happy. The rest of the book is spent recounting
their adventures to their friends. There
are only two weeks left of summer, but anything can happen in two weeks!
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