BSC 28: Welcome Back, Stacey!

By Ann M. Martin. Published October 1989.

Stacey gets home from sitting one day, but before she can open the door, she hears her parents fighting. They’ve been doing that a lot lately. Her mother thinks her father is a workaholic, and her father thinks her mother spends too much money. She says she does it because she’s bored, and he’s never home. He tells her to get a job.

Stacey decides not to go in, and runs to Laine’s instead. She’s pretty upset, and Laine tries to comfort her. She even suggests giving Claudia a call. It just happens to be during a BSC meeting, so Stacey gets to talk to everyone. She feels a little better afterward, and heads home.

When she gets there, everything is quiet, and her parents are sitting at the table together. They ask Stacey to sit down, and break the news that they’re getting a divorce. They’ve tried to work things out, and have even been to a counselor. The counselor suggested they get a divorce. That’s pretty bad. Stacey is understandably upset.

Stacey doesn't talk to her parents the next morning, even though they're trying to make up with her. In fact, she avoids talking to everyone, even Laine, that day. She just does a lot of thinking and wondering, like if her dad’s going to move out, or what.

When she gets home that evening, her parents force her to sit down and talk. They tell her they’ll both be moving, her father to another apartment in the city, and her mother is considering moving back to Stoneybrook. She’s not sure yet. They tell Stacey it’s entirely up to her as to who she lives with. She says she can’t make a decision until she knows for sure where they’ll each be living.

She calls Laine and Claudia to tell them the news. Of course, they each want her with them. Then she calls Dawn, who will be more understanding about the divorce. She gives Stacey some practical advice.

Stacey sits for the Walkers, and once she gets them in bed, she does some more thinking. She wonders how she’ll be able to choose one parent over the other. Then she decides what she needs to do simply get her parents back together again. Obviously.

Well, she tries a few different things, but they don’t turn into anything. Her parents are much more interested in looking through the real estate section of the paper. In fact, her mom wants to go looking at houses in Stoneybrook right away. Of course Stacey goes with her, and she shows up on Claudia’s doorstep asking if she wants to come along for the ride. They look at a few crappy sounding houses, and then are shown a house from the eighteen eighties, right behind Mallory’s house. It sounds out of their price range to me, but they say it’s not.

Stacey’s mom lets her stay on Stoneybrook for the night, so they have a spur-of-the-moment BSC slumber party. Stacey has a really good time, and she appreciates how awesome her friends. But she’s happy she’s going back to New York the next day, because that feels like home.

Later that week, Stacey’s dad finds an apartment. Stacey is shocked that it’s really happening, she thought they might just be going through a phase.

Stacey makes a NYC vs. Stoneybrook list. It helps her realize that her relationships in Stoneybrook are better, and she decides that’s more important. She tells her mom to call the real estate agent to see if the house is still available.

So the packing begins, and Stacey’s parents find more things to fight about, this time about who gets to keep what.

Moving day arrives, and Laine brings over breakfast for the McGills. She stays the whole time, even through Stacey’s parents fighting a few more times. When everything is finally packed up, Stacey first has to say goodbye to her dad, and then to Laine. But she’ll see them both in two weeks.

When Stacey and her mom arrive at their new house, the BSC and half the town’s population under the age of ten greet them. If I were Stacey’s mom, I would not be too happy about this. Moving is stressful enough. But everyone except Claudia clears out eventually. Stacey tries to explain to Claudia how she’s still not feeling 100% sure about her decision, and Claud says she understands. But she’s really happy Stacey’s back.

Stacey has her first week back, both at school and at BSC meetings. And she gets to sit for Charlotte again for the first time. And she realizes that though she’ll never quit missing her dad, or wishing her parents were still together, she’s actually happy she’s back in the ‘Brook.

o   Stacey’s mother spent $1568 at Tiffany’s. Damn, Maureen, I’d be pissed at you, too.

o   I wish this book had a different title. It certainly takes away any suspense.

o   If you read this without getting “Stacey’s Mom” stuck in your head, you win. I couldn’t do it.