A Pleasant Story

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Shifting Foundations


Mary-Sue and Kaylynn wandered around the house making sure everything was packed or stored in inventory. Mary-Sue was very lucky that she could carry 87 items with her as she didn’t want to leave behind all the furniture she’d bought during Operation New Mary-Sue. Not to mention her beloved photos with Cassandra and Cyd.

The living room seemed empty and forlorn, but surprisingly Mary-Sue felt uplifted and light. She was leaving behind the home where Daniel’s presence had caused so much pain over the years and heading off to a new household with three adults and seven—soon to be eight!—children.

She’d even gotten good news from the bank. The house had brought a good price, so even after Daniel’s debt had been paid off, Mary-Sue had earned a tidy profit and would have money to help cover expenses at the new home.



She turned to Kaylynn to try to express how she felt so full of happiness, but they were startled by Mitch’s cry coming from outside.

Mitch had seen the strange man—the one he’d seen out the window and then again at the mall. He ran outside and called for him, but the man just stood on the sidewalk and stared at him silently. Mitch began walking toward him and noticed that there was something small on the sidewalk near the man.

As he approached, the man turned and walked away. Mitch went to investigate what he’d left behind.





When Mary-Sue and Kaylynn came outside, they found Mitch in raptures over a tiny puppy he was cuddling and talking to happily.



“Mom! Mary-Sue! That man I saw before came and brought me a puppy! Can I keep him? Please? Please?”





Mary-Sue and Kaylynn gulped simultaneously and stepped aside while Mitch and the puppy were behind them, bonding joyfully.

“Mary-Sue,” Kaylynn said softly, “how can we possibly ask Cyd to . . .” she let her words trail off.

“I know, he’s doing so much already,” Mary-Sue said worriedly. “But look at Mitch. I don’t think I have it in me to tell him ‘no.’”



Mitch came up to them and held the puppy up to Kaylynn while pleading with his eyes.

Mary-Sue sighed and said, “Let me go inside and call Cyd.”




Cyd seemed thrilled with the idea, but when had he ever been less than thrilled? As she took one last look at the bedroom, Mary-Sue thanked her lucky stars for the day she’d met Cyd, and the next day she’d seen him, and the next, and the next.

“How did I ever manage to deserve this?” she wondered.





Mitch and Kaylynn came back into the house and Mary-Sue assured them that Cyd was fine with the new addition to the family.

“I knew he would be,” Mitch chirped, “Cyd is cool! I put the puppy in the cab out front, so we better go!”

The little family grabbed their suitcases and headed out the door.



Mitch twirled into his winter clothes and happily went to greet his puppy. As he walked, he pondered names for his new friend.

“Jim? Too plain. Snowball? Too cat. Something silly or something serious? Well, I’ll think of something.”




They arrived at the new home and stood for a moment to gaze at the handsome façade.

Mary-Sue smiled and said, “I think this is going to work!” Silently, she thought, “I HOPE it’s going to work, but it looks pretty small.”



Cyd came out and gave Mary-Sue a welcoming hug, then Gallagher and Gabriella came out to greet them and immediately began talking excitedly.

“Cyd told me you’re a good cook,” he told Kaylynn. “Can you make us eggs for breakfast?” Kaylynn assured him she’d be happy to do so.

Gabriella chattered at Mitch, “I love mechanical stuff, so someday I want to have a model train set and we can play with it together if you like.”

Mitch agreed that sounded like fun.




Kylynn had to go to work almost immediately, so she said goodbye to the family and headed off to her job while thinking how nice Cyd was to be so welcoming.





Cyd took Mitch and his puppy inside and showed him that he’d gotten a dog bed and food bowl set up for him.

“I used to train dogs and I have a dog named Porthos who lives with the Goodies right now. I can help you train this puppy, if you want.”

Mitch said he’d like to do that, but he still needed to think of a name for the puppy first.

“How did you come up with the name Porthos for your dog?” he asked Cyd.

“Porthos is a character from ‘The Three Musketeers.’ He has a lot of gusto for life, so I thought that would be a good name for my dog.”

Mitch leaned down to his puppy and asked, “What are you like?”

The puppy nipped at Mitch’s fingers playfully.



When the puppy curled up in his dog bed to sleep, Mitch praised him, then joined Gallagher and Gabriella at their activity table. Georgia was playing energetically at her piano.



Mitch played with them for a while, then joined Garrett at his chessboard. He thought he might have a chance at being really happy in his new home.




Cyd was giving Mary-Sue a tour of the house and she found herself a bit startled that it was a lot smaller than she’d imagined. The upstairs was essentially one large room where all the kids slept, with two tiny baby rooms. She wasn’t sure how it would work to have all of them squeezing into the space.

Ginger interrupted the tour to welcome Mary-Sue, then began gushing about her love of gaming. Mary-Sue told her that could be a great career path, and that the gaming field definitely needed more women in leadership roles.



Gavin told Mary-Sue that he was really glad to have her there as he’d been having trouble doing as well in school as he wanted.

“Some mornings I would be so tired that I would miss the school bus, so it will be great to have you all here to help. Cyd has been a lot of help to us. He’s already helped me a lot with my homework.”

Mary-Sue replied, “Well, that doesn’t surprise me. He’s a great guy.”



The kids went downstairs, and Cyd showed Mary-Sue one of the tiny baby rooms.

“I know this is small,” he said, “but it’s mainly just so the noises of the house won’t disturb a sleeping baby. This was Georgia’s room, but it will be our baby’s next!”



Mary-Sue took Cyd’s hands.

“Honey, I love it here, but I can’t see how it’s going to work. The kids all sleep in this one room, and there’s only two bathrooms for what will soon be eleven people. The baby rooms are so small they can’t even fit a changing table. I love you for wanting to take care of us, but this just seems too difficult.”





“We’ll make it work,” Cyd said, “We can sleep in shifts or something, and Ginger and Gavin will be going to college soon.”

“Cyd,” Mary-Sue said, “I love that you are endlessly optimistic, but we need to be practical. It turns out that I ended up with quite a lot of money from the sale of the house, and I think it might be better if Kaylynn and Mitch and I got our own place.”

Cyd’s face fell, and Mary-Sue hastened to reassure him.

“Just for a little bit! Just until the older kids go to college.”

Cyd pondered for a bit, then brightened up.

“Could we make this work for just a few days? I have an idea. I don’t want to say what it is yet until I do some investigating, but I think I know how to make this work. I was really looking forward to all of us living together. I was an only child and I always wanted a big family.”

“Okay honey,” Mary-Sue said, “we can make it work for a few days.”



“All right,” Cyd said, “You go down for dinner while I make a few calls.”

Mary-Sue sat with the younger kids while Ginger and Gavin made spaghetti for dinner. A few awkward questions from Gallagher sent Mary-Sue into an entirely inappropriate conversation which she was quick to derail with the promise that she’d be happy to discuss anything with the kids once they were older. Like maybe after they graduated from college.



After dinner, Mary-sue escaped the chaos of all the kids running around and wandered onto the patio. She noticed a telescope and put her eye to the lens. She was delighted to view constellations and wished she knew more about astronomy so she could identify them.



As she gazed, she noticed an unusual formation in the sky and wasn’t sure what it was. It looked sort of like a star but was an odd color and seemed to have projections coming from it. And was it coming closer?




Suddenly, a beam of light struck her.



Mary-Sue was startled and stepped back from the telescope, but the light persisted.



She squinted into the glare and saw that it was coming closer. She laughed as she realized it was Carla walking the neighborhood with her police flashlight, and called her over.



Carla jogged over and looked at the telescope in shock.

“Mary-Sue, are you okay? Why were you using the telescope?”

Mary-Sue was confused by the question. “I don’t know, I was just looking through it. It’s interesting.”



“Please don’t ever use it,” Carla implored her. “You know about the alien abductions in town who haven’t been returned? They’ve all been pregnant women.”

Mary-Sue was startled. “I didn’t know that. Of course I won’t use it then.”

Carla continued, “In fact, it would probably be better if you just got rid of the big telescope and just got one of the little ones. Those don’t lead to abductions.”



Mary-Sue nodded, glad she’d been spared from being stolen by whatever was happening in the neighborhood.

“How’s the investigation going?” she asked Carla.

“I’ve still got some leads to follow, but it’s frustrating. I can’t get it all put together yet. But I can’t really talk -- I’m on my rounds right now. Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow? Bring everyone!”

“That sounds great,” Mary-Sue said. “We’ll catch up then.”



Mary-Sue went back inside to find Cyd looking excited.

“I think I’ve got it sorted. I need to do a few errands tomorrow to follow up, but I’ll give you all the details then. Trust me, if it works, it will be a great solution.”

“I trust you, darling,” Mary-Sue said.



The next morning, Mary-Sue helped Cyd and Kaylynn get all the children fed and off to school, then headed to the mall to do some shopping.

When she saw the food prices, she was doubly glad she had ended up with the money from the sale of the house. Eleven people to feed could be a real challenge!



Mary-Sue was browsing the flower shop to find something nice to brighten up the somewhat spartan living room at the Newson house when she felt an odd sensation. While looking at the rabbit figurines, she had the oddest feeling that they were looking back at her.



Shuddering a little, she went to the central courtyard to rest for a bit.

While taking the weight off her feet, she was approached by a woman who greeted her brightly.

“Hello there! I noticed you’re expecting. That’s really exciting, isn’t it?”

Mary-Sue smiled at her awkwardly and agreed that it was exciting.



Much to her surprise, the woman sat down at the table with her and asked, “So when are you due?”

Mary-Sue stuttered a bit and said, “I’m not sure exactly. Not too long, I hope.”

The woman regarded her and smiled. A smile that made Mary-Sue uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

The woman laughed. “No, I don’t think so. But I work in the . . . obstetrics field. Yes, that’s it. So I am always interested in pregnancies.”

“Oh,” said Mary-Sue, “I guess that’s understandable.”



They sat silently for a moment until the woman stated, “Tell me your name.”

Mary-Sue stammered a bit as she said, “Mary-Sue Pleasant. And yo . . . ?”

The woman jumped up and said, “Well, I should go. Good luck!”

Mary-Sue felt relieved as the woman walked away and shook her head.

The woman walked toward the photo booth and made a call.

“I have a target, Mary-Sue Pleasant,” she said. “We’ll need to monitor this one carefully. Get on it.”



The next morning, Cyd, Kaylynn and Mary-Sue worked together to get the children fed and off to school. Cyd gave Mary-Sue a quick kiss and ran out the door, promising to call her soon.

His first stop was the bank. There he made some inquiries about getting a loan and was almost immediately approved based on his salary and strong work performance.



As he turned to leave after signing the paperwork, he stopped suddenly and looked at the office at the end of the building. Did he see a shadowy robed figure behind the glass? In front of the painting?



Cyd sprinted toward the office to get a better look. When he got there, nothing unusual was visible, if there HAD been anything there in the first place.



Cyd then walked to a big beautiful house down the street from the Newson house and gazed up at it.

“This should work,” he said to himself, then pulled out his phone to invite Mary-Sue to come over.



When she arrived, Cyd explained his plan.

“I went to the bank and I qualify for a loan. If we sell the Newson place, we can afford this one. It will be a little close, but if you are willing to share the money you got from your house for living expenses, we can swing it. Luckily, college makes sense in this universe so we won’t need to take on massive amounts of debt for the kids to get an education.”

He looked at her expectantly.

“What do you think?” he asked, and smiled.

Mary-Sue took a minute to find her words.

“I’m stunned, I guess. But we just moved! Is this the best plan?”



Cyd smiled and said, “Let me show you my favorite part and tell you all about it.”

Cyd led her to the generous gazebo behind the house and began.

“It’s got three stories. Five bedrooms on the second floor, and two bathrooms. Six smaller bedrooms on the third floor, and another two bathrooms. All KINDS of space! There’s even a music room on the first floor!”



Cyd looked at her like a happy Golden Retriever and Mary-Sue couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm.

“Okay, okay,” she chuckled, “I give up. This does seem to be a good solution.”

Cyd gave her a big hug and she reflected that it was nice to be with a dependable man for once.



“One thing though,” Mary-Sue told him, “We need to get rid of the big telescope. Carla told me she suspects aliens are using them to abduct pregnant women.”

Cyd looked concerned but agreed immediately.



“And speaking of Carla,” she said, “We’re all invited to dinner with them tonight.”

Cyd said, “That’s so nice of her! But can I beg off? And the kids, too? I need to bring them here after school just to make sure they are okay with the plan. They own the Newson house so I need their approval to sell it. If they don’t agree we’ll need to make a different plan. But I think I can sell them on it, if only for the privacy. As they all become teenagers they are going to want their own rooms.”

Mary-Sue gave Cyd a hug, and agreed that she’d be ready to move if the Newson children were up for it.




Across town, in the command center of a dark scary house, Yukionna was reviewing the cow recordings and found Mary-Sue saying “need to get rid of the big telescope. Carla told me she suspects aliens are using them to abduct pregnant women.”



She cursed under her breath, then dialed her phone.

“The Mary-Sue Pleasant target won’t be using the telescope. You’ll need to find another way.”

“I don’t care. Snatch her off the street if you have to. Get it done.”



When the children finished school, Cyd brought them over to the new house and explained the plan.

Gavin exclaimed over the huge yard, perfect for gardening, Ginger was exited to set up her chess board, Gallagher and Gabrielle commented that there would be plenty of room for the activity table, Georgia comments that a music room would be perfect for her piano and Garrett saw a patio that would be perfect for his telescope.




Cyd explained that he could certainly have a telescope on the patio, but that “we’ll need to get one of the smaller ones. Apparently there are some problems with the big ones.”

They all stood and gazed at the house in amazement, then ran inside to look around.



Cyd’s phone rang and he was delighted to find Mary-Sue on the line.

“The kids love it!” he exclaimed. “They’re running around inside as we speak. When can you come over?”

Mary-Sue replied, “Um, could you meet me in the park? I actually have some concerns I’d like to talk about before we buy the house.”

Cyd agreed and walked to Woodland Park to meet her.

“I’m going to dinner at Carla’s shortly. I just wanted to check one more time that you are okay getting a loan and spending all your house money on this place. It’s a lot, Cyd, and it’s all happening so fast. I took in Kaylynn and Mitch and you’re taking care of the Newson children, but mixing it all together . . . are you sure?”



Cyd sat on the bench and gestured for her to sit beside him.

“Listen to me carefully,” he said. “I love you, and I want to marry you, and I can’t wait for this baby to arrive, and we are going to have an absolutely great life. But I don’t think I could enjoy that life if I didn’t do everything I could to help the Newson kids, and Kaylynn and Mitch. We both love kids or we wouldn’t be in the education career, so I feel like you share my dream of helping them.”

Mary-Sue looked at him lovingly. “I do share it. I just worry that you might resent giving up your freedom to so many children. Many many children.”

Cyd laughed. “Are you kidding? We’ve already got a whole baseball team ready to go!”



Mary-Sue laughed and snuggled against him, then jumped up.

“Whoops! I need to get to Carla’s for dinner. I’ll see you at the new house later!”

Mary-Sue kissed him and walked toward the edge of the park.

Cyd stood to watch her go and felt an odd sense of foreboding. Then he laughed at himself and headed to the new home to get the kids settled in.