She's home for good!

The Baby-sitters Club #28: Welcome Back, Stacey!

Stacey's back! Stacey's back! Stacey's back! And the peasants rejoice! Or at least, I do.

I know it's a little weird, because this is actually a really sad, depressing book, but I remember loving it as a kid. I think there are a couple reasons for this. One, I was obsessed with New York, and I loved any book that was set there. I loved reading about Stacey (and Laine's) doorman apartment buildings, all the things that Stacey would miss if she moved, things like Bloomingdale's and Central Park and the Hard Rock Cafe, things that I had barely even ever heard of, much less seen, and I was sad that Stacey left because we wouldn't get to hear about them as much. Also, and let me just preface this by saying that I know I'm going to hell, but I was deeply intrigued by the divorce. Divorce really wasn't common in my hometown, at least not amongst my friends' parents or my parents' friends, the people I knew. I was fascinated by it. I spent a really long time agonizing over which parent I would live with if my own split up, despite the fact that I can barely even remember them ever fighting when I was young. (Conclusion: probably my dad. Sorry, Mom, but I figured the others would probably stick with you, and I couldn't leave Dad alone. I've always been a daddy's girl.)

So Stacey's baby-sitting for Henry and Grace, and when she gets home she can hear her parents fighting from outside the door. Stacey, at least, unlike her parents, has the good grace to be ashamed of what the neighbors might think. Good lord, I won't even watch my TV at a high volume for fear of my neighbors hearing it, I can't imagine having a screaming match. Of course, this might be primarily due to embarrassment over my entertainment choices. I'd really hate to have my neighbors figure out exactly how many "Full House" reruns I watch.

So Stacey stands outside the door listening to the fighting, which is pretty damn juvenile anyway. Basically, Ed works all the time, and Mo spends all his money. He thinks she should get a job. Or at least a hobby that isn't shopping. Or, hell, spend time with Stacey. Mo says (screams) that Stacey doesn't need her anymore and that maybe she wouldn't shop so much if Ed were around more and paid more attention to them. She's surprised Stacey even remembers what he looks like. Mmmm. Low blow, Mo. Stace stands outside the door until she can't take it anymore, then flees in a panic to Laine's. Laine doesn't know what to say: her parents never fight. Maybe I do have something in common with Laine. Cool.

When Stacey finally leaves Laine's and makes her way home, her parents sit her down and make their announcement. They are getting divorced. Stacey suggests they try counseling, and they tell her that they have been seeing a marriage counselor for 3 months and that she suggested the divorce. Ed yells at Stace for her sarcastic response "Oh, so you saw a divorce counselor." but I have to agree with Stacey here. What sort of marriage counselor suggests her patients just give up after only 3 months? Didn't I read somewhere that you should give counseling like a year to work or something? Let's just put it out there, Stacey's parents suck in this book. They act like junior high-schoolers in the midst of a break-up, not 2 people who've been married with a child for 15 years. A little maturity would help them both a lot. Stacey goes stomping off to her room and locks the door (I was so jealous... my father refused to allow me to have a lock on my door.) The next morning, they tell her she doesn't have to go to school if she doesn't want to (again, I was so jealous.) Stace is like "Peace OUT. As if I'm going to stay in the apartment with YOU." and I can't say I blame her. She does, however, dawdle into school, where she receives special treatment (again, really jealous. I remember as a kid thinking that divorce didn't actually sound so bad.)

Stace refuses to talk to her parents until that night, when they refuse to allow her to continue her sulking. Forced to talk to Ed and Mo, Stace learns that her parents will share custody but she get's to choose who she wants to live with. I know they think this will make it better for her, but it kind of seems worse. Putting her in the position to have to choose between the 2 people she loves the most in the world? That was the crappy marriage counselor's suggestion as well. Ed plans to stay in the city, but Mo wants to leave. Here's where things get really crappy: they are both so trying to manipulate her. Mo knows that if she wants to leave the city, the only place Stace will follow her is back to Stoneybrook. Why would she leave her dad and her home just to start over again in some crappy Long Island town? So Mo plays on her heartstrings and tells Stace that she's planning to go to Stoneybrook, while Ed is all "Oh, Stace, remember how sad you were to leave the city last year? You don't want to do that again." He even goes ahead and rents a new apartment near Bloomingdale's in a transparent attempt to bribe her. I'd be disgusted, but honestly, I'm even more disgusted with Mo, who is all "Why don't you come with me to Stoneybrook to look at houses. Oh, and also, why don't you invite Claudia to look at houses with us?" because of course Claudia will support Mo in trying to get Stace to move back to Stoneybrook. I honestly hate them all. Except for poor Stacey.

After much soul searching, Stace does decide to return to Stoneybrook with her mom. The BSC is thrilled, but they are sad for Stace. Dawn and Kristy are especially sympathetic, because they've been through divorce as well, and they make sure that the other baby-sitters, including Claudia, understand that they cannot pressure Stace about coming back until she's had a chance to make her own decision. To their credit, they all are excellent friends throughout this ordeal. To Laine's credit, she is a great friend as well, even though she's never experienced divorce firsthand, but ultimately, Stacey decides she needs the larger support system of the BSC. Laine is apparently her only "real" friend in NYC, which I totally don't believe, because Stace is fabulous!

Stacey and her parents pack up their old apartment, and there is a hilarious scene in which Stacey has to "run to Gristede's" for more packing boxes, where she is blatantly ignored by Miss Antonio, the manager, who is busy trying on a new hat, and oh my god, it was cracking me up. The first year I lived here in NYC, I lived next door to a Gristede's on the Upper West Side. I choose to believe that it was this very same store to which Stacey came in search of packing cartons. It was the most disgusting store I've ever been in, everything was WILDLY overpriced (more so than anywhere else I've been in the city), it was DIRTY, and the staff, much like Miss Antonio, were far too involved in their baby-mama drama and cell phone conversations to do things like CHECK OUT THE CUSTOMERS. God, I do not miss that place.

The McGills finally get everythings straightened out and wake up early for a tearful goodbye with Henry and Grace and their parents, as well as Laine. I got to say, seems like it would be pretty awkward to be hanging around helping divorced people move. Like, "Wow, so this is the last day of your marriage. But first, let's make uncomfortable chit-chat with the neighbors." It seems really weird to me for the McGills to be all moving on the same day, anyway. Why wouldn't one of them move out first? Even if just a day in advance, it seems like it would make the whole thing go so much more smoothly. I hope I never have to figure out the best way to get a divorce. Stacey and her dad have a sad, sad goodbye, and I'm not going to lie, I got a little choked up. I just can't imagine leaving my dad. But then I realized that I live 700 miles from both of my parents, and that doesn't cause me to choke up. In fact, it helps me breathe easier. But, still, poor Stace! And poor Ed. I'm not taking sides in this divorce (mainly because I think they both suck) but Mo really doesn't fight fair, and that makes me feel sorry for Ed.

The BSC is there to welcome Stacey and Mo back to Stoneybrook, and there's lots of jumping and hugging. The peasants rejoice, and so do I. Sad as the divorce is and sorry as I feel for Stacey, I am so, so happy to have her back. The BSC is just not the same without her.