A Pleasant Story

Chapter Fourteen

Mitch & More


In the Pleasant household, Kaylynn awoke from her nap and looked around sleepily, blinking as she tried to recall where she was. She'd been dreaming of being homeless and feeling scared and confused. But she seemed warm and safe . . . where was she?

Then she remembered--Mary-Sue's house! Where was the baby?



Kaylynn heard some cooing noises and followed them behind the stairs to find Lilith holding the baby and making comforting sounds to him.

"I fed him when I got home from school," Lilith said, "You were sound asleep! I guess it's tiring to have a baby, huh?"

Kaylynn was a little startled. Lilith was holding the baby near a crib--where did that come from?



Lilith continued, "Here, you can have him now. It's so exciting to have a baby brother! What did you name him?"



Kaylynn told her, "I named him Mitch. When I was a little girl, my Mom used to play this record that I really loved. It was about the only happy memory I have from my childhood. So I thought that would be a nice name."

Kaylynn showed Lilith the record album from her suitcase.





Lilith said, "Yeah! That's cool! I wish we could listen to it, but we don't have a turntable. Hi Little Mitch!" She wiggled her fingers and made faces at the baby, who made sweet sounds in return.

They were interrupted by Angela, who had come up behind them.



"Mitch? That's a weird name."

Kaylynn was only a couple of years older than these two girls, but she felt decades beyond. Her past life and becoming a mother had made her grow up quickly.

"Well," she said to Angela, "You can just call him 'brother' I guess."

Angela snorted. "I'm going to college soon. I won't need to call him anything."

She was about to stomp away when Mary-Sue walked up and said, "Good, I'm glad we're all together. I want to talk about the living arrangements."



She turned to Kaylynn. "I want you and the baby to stay here with us. For a while, or as long as you want."

Kaylynn was speechless. She couldn't find words to express her gratitude.


Mary-Sue went on, "Now, we only have three bedrooms, but I thought the girls could share until they go to college and you and the baby could have the other room."

Kaylynn said, "Oh, no! I don't want to inconvenience anyone! I can just get a cot and sleep down here by the crib. Where did that come from, by the way?"

Mary-Sue told her she'd found it in the attic with the girls' baby things.

Angela gesticulated angrily, "I don't have enough space to share! I need space for studying! And I don't want to be woken up by a baby!"

Lilith turned on her, "Will you ever think of someone besides yourself? This is our brother and his Mom and we need to help them!"




Lilith turned to Kaylynn and said, "You and Mitch can stay in MY room. It won't be for long and I don't mind sharing. I can study in the dining room!"

Angela stalked off with a "harumph" under her breath, and Kaylynn thanked Lilith.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked her.

"No way!" Lilith laughed. "We'll have fun! I'm hardly in my room anyway. I got a job today in the athletic career, and I am going to be working on building my body skill so I can get a scholarship."

"Well that's settled," said Mary-Sue, "Thank you, Lilith. Now, let's put Mitch down for a nap and Kaylynn, come sit with me so we can talk over some things."

Kaylynn and Mary-Sue went into the living room and sat on the couch, and Mary-Sue asked her, "Do you have any clothes besides your maid uniform?"

Kaylynn replied in the negative, "Just a track suit."

"Okay," replied Mary-Sue, "then first thing is to go to the mall and get you some new things."




She went on, "But let's talk a bit more long term. What are your future plans? What job would you like? I assume you don't want to be a maid forever?"

Kaylynn said, "No, that was just the only job I could get. I don't really care what job I have. But if I could live my dream, I wish I could run my own restaurant. I've always loved cooking, and being a chef would be wonderful. I make great chili!"



Mary-Sue suppressed her ambivalent feelings about chili, and instead told her that was a great dream, so maybe she should look for a job in the culinary career so she could learn all about how to run a restaurant.

"But right now, I'm going to ask Lilith if she'll watch Mitch for us while we go shopping."

Lilith agreed, and Mary-Sue and Kaylynn went to the mall.



When they got to the clothing store, Mary-Sue told Kaylynn that she wanted her to get a whole new wardrobe, including a nice formal gown.

"I've got friends who are getting married soon, and I'm sure they'll be happy to have you come to the wedding. You can start meeting some nice people in town and build up a future clientele for your restaurant!"

Kaylynn objected, "But Mary-Sue, I don't know how I can repay you for all this--I don't even have a job yet!"

Mary-Sue put a hand on her arm, "Kaylynn, I really don't want you to worry about it. You can pay me back by doing the cooking at home. It's nice to have a baby around the house again, and I really don't mind. The girls will be leaving soon, and I wasn't looking forward to an empty nest. So please don't worry about it."



Mary-Sue gave Kaylynn a little shove toward the clothing racks. "Now go try something on!"

Kaylynn obliged, and came out of the dressing cubicle in a very staid and dark outfit.

"What do you think?" she asked Mary-Sue.

Mary-Sue said, "I think it makes you look very respectable. And boring. And old. You're young! Why don't you try something fun?"




Mary-Sue browsed through the clothing rack and handed Kaylynn a different choice.

"Here, try this. I think this is much more you."

Kaylynn tried it on and came out of the cubicle hesitantly.

"Are you sure? Do you think this is okay?"

Mary-Sue told her, "I think it's adorable, and makes you look more like your age. But do YOU like it?"

Kaylynn nodded. "It's the prettiest dress I've ever had."

"Well then," said Mary-Sue, "That's settled."



“But you might want to take a look in the mirror and update your look. I don't think that maid's cap really works with the dress!”

Kaylynn glanced in the mirror and laughed. She'd forgotten she was still wearing the headpiece of her uniform!



"Fix that,” said Mary-Sue, “then you go through the racks and choose the rest of your things. You'll need a fancy dress, and some underwear, and night clothes, and a good coat. And don't worry about the cost. My new job is going great!"

Kaylynn thanked her and complied. She chose a simple formal dress for the wedding, then asked who was getting married.

"My friend Carla," Mary-Sue explained. "You met her--the police officer. Her fiance is named Kaylie. We'll hire a nanny for Mitch so we can all go together."


Kaylynn changed into the formal dress and asked Mary-Sue if she thought it would be all right for the wedding. Mary-Sue nodded her approval.

“Looks great! And you hair looks good that way, too!”



Next they went to the Holiday Shop, as Mary-Sue wanted to pick up some decorations for the upcoming winter, then headed home.







Back at the house, Angela went out to the mailbox to see if the college admission letters had arrived. She was hoping to get into Academie Le Tour, the most elite and selective college available. Sim State would be her second choice--they weren't as fancy, but still a decent school. La Fiesta Tech would be a bummer--known as a party school, they weren't exactly the most rigorous academically.

Lilith would be lucky to get into even La Fiesta Tech with HER grades, and they took almost anybody!

Angela saw that there were three letters for her in the mailbox--from all three universities.



She tore open the envelopes. As she'd hoped, she'd gotten into all the schools where she'd applied.

"Oh boy!" She thought, "I can get out of this hick town and go to the Academie Le Tour where people know how to behave!"

There was also a letter in the stack for Lilith. Angela briefly considered ripping that one up, then shrugged and left it on the dining table.

When Kaylynn and Mary-Sue got back from shopping, Kaylynn went into the kitchen to make a nice salad for their dinner and Mary-Sue called Lilith over.

"Lilith! There's a letter here for you!"

Lilith stood and stared at the letter.



"Lilith?" Mary-Sue said, "Is that your college letter?"

Lilith nodded as she stared at the envelope. It was from La Fiesta Tech. If she didn't get in there, she wouldn't have a chance to go to any college. She reached out and picked it up and stared at it some more.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Kaylynn asked, bringing the salads out from the kitchen.

Lilith nodded, but said, "I'm scared. What if I didn't get in?"

Mary-Sue quickly said, "It wouldn't be the end of the world. You could stay a teenager for a bit longer and try again after you got your grades up higher."




Lilith gulped and tore open the envelope.

"I GOT IN! I CAN GO TO COLLEGE!"

After everyone had jumped up and down and celebrated for a bit, Lilith sat down at the table.

"I can't believe it! This is going to be so great!"

Mary-Sue told her, "Oh, I think you'll love it! You'll get to study and make friends, and even though Tech isn't the most serious school, you can still get a good education there.”




Lilith jumped up and said, "I'm going to go train some more! If I can get my body skill up to eight, I can get an athletic scholarship!" She ran happily outside to jump rope.

Kaylynn heard Mitch wake up and went to feed him a bottle, then brought him over to listen to Mary-Sue on the piano. He wiggled happily in her arms, as though in time to the music.

"Maybe you'll be a music baby!" she told him.

Mary-Sue laughed and said, "And I can help him learn to play after he's a toddler! I found a xylophone with the girls' things--we'll try him on that as soon as he has his birthday!"



Angela came in then, and told her Mom she'd gotten into all three colleges.

"Oh that's great!" exclaimed Mary-Sue, "So I guess you'll be going to Academie Le Tour?"



Angela replied, "Yeah. I don't want to go to Tech with a bunch of hicks."

"Angela!" Her mother scolded. "We'll have none of that kind of talk. Your sister is going to Tech and it's a fine school."

Angela shrugged. "Yeah, whatever.” She was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. Mary-Sue sighed and headed for the living room.

It was her boyfriend, Dustin.



Angela told him about her college news, but dismissed his congratualations.

Angela scolded him, "This is serious, Dustin. I just got news that I'm admitted to Academie Le Tour, the most elite and classy university, and people in criminal career tracks don't fit in. I won't be seen with some street thug.”



"Well I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you!" he shouted.

"It's not you," she said, "Just your job. I just want you to stop being a criminal. It's not good for you. Why don't you get a nice job in the law career? It's better than law enforcement, even. You get to wear better clothes."

Dustin answered bleakly. "Do you even care about what I want at all? You're always telling me what I should do and never asking what I want. If my life is so low-class, maybe we should just go our separate ways."

Angela quickly assured him that wasn't what she wanted. "Oh no, Dustin, I want to be with you! I just wish you'd be more careful! I don't want you to get hurt!"

Dustin nodded. "Yeah, okay. I need to go though. I've got a job tonight. Talk to you later."

Angela switched off and went up to bed. It irritated her when Dustin wouldn't do what she wanted.


Kaylynn and Lilith and Mitch were enjoying a quiet evening in the living room. Kaylynn watched Lilith happily playing with Mitch and felt more safe and secure than she had in years.



In the wee hours of the night, Angela suddenly woke and jumped out of bed. She'd had an idea. She went over to the college envelopes and considered them.

"Lilith's going to Tech," she said to herself, "And I could go ANYWHERE."

She chuckled softly. "And wouldn't it be fun to go to Tech and make her life miserable?"