NICE WAY TO START A DAY.......by Coralynn

William gets up earlier than usual, and is surprised to see his newspapers already lying on the driveway. Going out, he gathers them up and hauls them inside, tossing them on the kitchen table while he gets his first cup of coffee. He wonders when the 'newcomer' Marilyn told him about is going to come over, but, since it's so early, figures it won't be for awhile. Something about beign yanked several centuries into the future tends to tire one, not that it ever made him tired, being an old hand at such things.
He takes his first big swallow of coffee as he looks at the most local of the papers, and to his dismay sees the headline, "Today has been Proclaimed Memorial Day for the late Eleanor Aquitaine."
He groans aloud and proceeds to read:

Mayor Wanda Sue Skaggs (sometimes Montgomery) has declared today a local holiday. All municipal offices will be closed, as will the post office, the garbage pickup, mail delivery, and road construction. A parade for the fallen celebrity will begin at 6am and wind through the town. Major Skaggs (sometimes Montgomery) has decreed this a day of mourning. Flags have been lowered to half staff on the town hall and it is requested that anyone flying a flag do the same to show respect for the slain sportscaster, who has been a very colorful addition to the town, and will be sorely missed."

"Damn and double damn!" William yells out, which brings Celeste out of her rooms, cross and scolding, "Why are you making all this noise, you big oaf? Don't you know people are still asleep at this ungodly hour?"
"Read this and tell me to be quiet!" he challenges, showing her the newspaper headline.
She sits and reads it, then sighs, "I told Eleanor she should correct the news that she's dead, but she wasn't sure she wanted to...yet."
"She may find it amusing to attend her own memorial service!" William grabs the next newspaper and, because it's the New York Times, has no article about the town of Chappaqua shutting down in honor of Eleanor's demise. The next one, however, does. "Listen to this," he instructs Celeste, "The new mayor has gotten off to a good start. She has built a homeless shelter in the town, and now her public spirit is extending to setting aside a day of mourning for one of the town's most illustrious citizens......." William pauses, then adds his own commentary, "Balderdash!"
"Wanda Sue obviously didn't check this out with Alan Carson," Celeste comments calmly, "but WandaSue isn't the type to do that. She just does whatever takes her fancy. I'd better get Eleanor up and dressed. She has to stop this before it gets out of hand."
"I think I hear a bagpipe band warming up, too....hear that?" William concentrates on the sound in the distance, "I'd say 'out of hand' is a fait accompli!"


INTRODUCING CECILY.....by Terri

Rosamond woke up and stretched out.
"John? John? Are you awake?"
He shut his eyes tightly and said, "No, I'm not. I'm still asleep."
"You are not! John, I have to ask you. Do you think Cecily likes me? I mean REALLY?"
"Yes, really." He rolled over and took 2/3 of the blanket with him. She gave a good yank and took 4/5.
He yanked again and took the whole thing. She gave one good tug and took it back. But she also fell out of bed.
He looked over the side and said, " 'Rose? Rose? Are you awake'?"
She stuck her tongue out and said, "NOW I am!"
She gathered herself up and reached for her robe. "I may as well get up now. No sense in going back to sleep."
John yawned and reached for his clothes. "What does my lamb have planned for the day?"
"I thought I would take Cecily over to the Big House to meet everyone and then we would go shopping for new clothes for her. John? Do you think she will want to stay in this century?"
John shrugged. "I don't know. What does she have to go back to?"
Rose said, "You know, you could have gone back in time even farther and picked up Byron Fitzhugh and taken him forward in time."
John shrugged. "I didn't really think of that. From what I understand, it wasn't the happiest of unions. Oh well. What's done is done."
As Rose shut the bathroom door, she said, "You know, I could fix her up with Slim."
The bathroom door flew open and Johns stood there with narrowed eyes. Rose looked at him with a mouthful of toothpaste.
John said, "WHAT did you say?"
She continued to brush and then rinsed her mouth out. She smiled sweetly and said, "I said, ' You know, I could mix up some Slim-Fast.' You know. For energy. I feel kind of dragged out."
John looked at her dubiously and said, "Uh huh. That's what I thought you said." She nodded and pushed him out the door. The shower turned on and she could hear no more of his conversation.

Bess knocked at the back door with Will. "I'm returning Will in time to get ready for school."
Rose said, "Thanks for bringing him back home. Did you have a good sleepover at Grandma Celeste's?"
Will nodded. "Yeah. Poppy William showed me some stuff on the computer. He's planning his garden already."
"No field trip today?"
Will shook his head. "Nope. Just regular day."
Besss said "I've got to get going. How is she adapting?"
Rose said, "I don't know yet. She's stilll asleep. She seems pretty exhausted by the time travel. But then William said that is normal. Kind of like jet-lag. I guess I didn't notice too much because I had my fights with Eleanor to keep me distracted! I had to keep my wits about me at all times."
Bess said, "Well, I look forward to meeting her. I've got to run but I'll see you in a bit?"
Rose nodded and Bess waved and went out the door.
"Daddy said he would drop you off at school on his way to the fitness center."
"Mommy, are you and Daddy ever going to be back on TV?"
Rose said, "Yes. Probably in the spring when Jenna is a few months older. Daddy may go back in a month or so."
Rose sat down with her tea and lemon and said to Will, "You were gone all night. But Daddy and Uncle Daniel have a surprise for you."
"Is it a new puppy?"
"Heaven forbid, Will!" Just then Prince came wandering in. Will exclaimed, "You DID get me a new puppy! Oh, Mummy! He's so little! And cute!"
Prince licked Will's face. Will laughed and got down on the floor with the dog. A young woman Will had never seen before came into the room. She said, "Well, I see you have met Prince!"
Will stood up and said, "Prince. He's YOUR dog? But I thought..."
Rose tried not to laugh. "I TOLD you we didn't get you a new dog, Will."
Then she said, "Will, I would like to introduce you to a very special young lady. May I present Mistress Cecily Fitzhugh? Cecily? This is my son Will."
Will extended his hand to Cecily and said, "How do you do, Mrs. Fitzhugh?"
She took Will's hand and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Will."
Will turned to his mother and asked in a stage whisper, "Mommy, is she one of US?"
The women both laughed and Rose said, "Yes, Will. She is a time traveler. Your father and Uncle Daniel went back and time and fetched her."
He still whispered, "But...who IS she?"
Rose said, "This is your Aunt Cecily. Uncle Daniel and Daddy's sister."
Will broke out in a smile and then he hugged her. "Oh boy! Another aunt!"

John came down to breakfast dressed to go to work. He had Julie in his arms. She still had on her little Winnie the Pooh sleepers. Cecily was sitting at the table with Will and Rose had gone upstairs to get the baby.
John said, "I see you have met Will. Have you had breakfast yet?"
Cecily nodded and pointed to her tea. "Rose made me a cup and this young man so generously made me what is called a bagel. Very good breakfast!"
John grinned. "Will is very hospitable, aren't you, Sport?"
Will smiled back. "I try to be."
John put Julie in her high chair and gave her a piece of toast. He put a bagel in the toaster and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Did you sleep well?"
Cecily broke out in a smile. "Oh, it was wonderful! That bed is so soft! And I wasn't cold one bit!"
"I think Rose is planning on taking you over to the Big House to meet William and Celeste. Marilyn is there and if she knows you are coming ahead of time, she will probably invite Moose. The two of them are the wonderful people who did the detective work and found out what happened to you. Marilyn was so involved in your story that she took it personally. We had to hold her down to keep her from going back herself and getting you! Look at the time! Will? You ready to go?"
Will nodded. "But can't I stay home with my new Aunt Cecily?"
"No, you may not. You have perfect attendance except for that little fiasco back in August when you decided to do a little time traveling on your own. I am sure you don't want to get into that."
Will said, "No, sir. I don't."
"OK, grab your backpack." He called, "Rosamond, honey, we're leaving."
She came into the room with Jenna over her shoulder. "OK, I'll see you two later. I'll pick you up from school, Will. I'll be in the drive-circle."
They each kissed Rose goodbye. Will ran over to Cecily and gave her a hug. He whispered, "I'm glad you are here, Aunt Cecily!"
She whispered back, "So am I!"

"What a wonderful young man, Rose! You and John did a wonderful job! Imagine--John with a son of his own!"
Rose sat there quietly. "Cecily...about Will...he's not John's."
"NO? Oh...I'm sorry! Please forgive me..I didn't mean to be nosy..."
"Well, you should know the truth. He's from a former...well, let's just say that I ran into a bit of trouble when I was a young girl."
"Oh. Well, that happens. So Jenna is the only one who is John's..."
Rose looked at Cecily and said quizzically, "What? Julie and Jenna are both John's."
Cecily looked confused. "But...oh. Never mind. I just.."
Cecily blushed and turned red.
Rose said, "Daniel. He's been telling you a few things. Cecily, let me tell you the REAL story..."

After an hour, Rose said, "...and I don't know why he is clinging to that fantasy story."
Cecily said, "Because for all of Daniel's wenching, I think you are the one who stole his heart."
"Well, he can have it back. Because I don't want it!"
There was a silence. Cecily said, "I certainly don't want to offend, Rose. I guess I got off on the wrong foot!"
"Nonsense! Daniel has a way of making stories believable. That was some of the problem. But let's forget about him! Come on--I'll take you over to the other house. You can meet William and Celeste and whoever else is there. I can get someone to watch Julie and Jenna for me. And then we go shopping for some clothes for you! You have a smaller foot than I do. And I think Bess has a pair of shoes you can borrow."
Cecily stood up. "I appreciate you lending me these clothes, Rose."
Rose said, "Well, Cecily, you have to get your own style."
She opened her purse and took out the credit card. She kissed it and said, "And this little baby is going to let us make all your wishes come true!"


WANDA SUE'S PARADE......by Coralynn

"Your line isn't straight!" WandaSue yells at the uniformed marchers, yanking several of the WW2 vets in the marching brigade into what she considers a proper formation, then standing back to see how it looks.
"You!" she yells at an old man leaning on a walker, "Step lively!" which brings a murmur of dissent from the vets who have always been treated with respect until now.
"Bagpipers! Sound your 'a'....." WandaSue is proud that she knows how symphony orchestras warm up.
"We don't do that!" the bagpiper at the head of the pipe band speaks up.
"Do it anyhow!" WandaSue fears she's losing control of this hastily thrown together funeral parade, but abadons her quest for perfect marching bagpipers and walks briskly over to the float which was left over from their town Christmas parade. It features a chair for Santa with no Santa in it. Well, whatever, she thinks, at least it's colorful! Then, inspiration strikes and she goes back to the WW2 vets. "You!" she again yells at the old guy with the walker, "Get up on this float! You're gonna be Santa!"
He makes his torturously slow way toward the float, but is unable to get up onto it. WandaSue boosts him up, but not all the way, which leaves him clinging to the side. "Close enough!" she proclaims, pulling out her bullhorn and yelling, "We are going to march down Main Street, then up Winding Willow, then over to Elm Street, then double back on Oak, then take a jog into the Sycamore cul-de-sac, then head north on Oak to Camelot Avenue, then...."
The high school band begins to march in place, if only to keep the blood flowing in their legs, then, at the signal from the new mayor, march ahead, gamely producing whatever sound they can in the freezing air temperature. The baton twirlers toss their batons in the air, catch them, and toss them again......except for Cindy Henderson, whose baton hits the pavement and is marched over by the trumpet section.
A sudden wind whips up, ripping off half the decorations from the leftover Christmas float and blowing the sound the high school band and the bagpipers are gamefully making to the west. WandaSue frowns, as she knows the wind blowing in from the east is the sure sign of a nor'easter, the nastiest weather pattern known to mankind.
They forge onward. Two of the WW2 vets duck away as they pass by a Starbucks, which Wandasue doesn't notice. The other vets notice, however, and break rank. From her position at the head of the parade, WandaSue begins to hear voices, angry voices, so she walks back to the vets and yells, "I said stay in a straight line!"
"But a couple of the guys just went into the Starbucks over there!" Charlie Wilson yells, "If they can do it, so can I!" and walks toward the coffee shop that promises not only hot coffee, but a shelter from the storm.
"No you don't!" WandaSue is frantic, as several other vets follow Charlie into the Starbucks. Even the old guy clinging to the edge of the leftover Xmas float manages to drop down to the street again and is inching his way over in the direction of the same place.
"Who need you?!" WandaSue yells.
Now it's not only windy, but rainy. WandaSue feels the cold rain hit her face. It hits the pavement and freezes, which causes Wendy Shott, baton twirler, to fall down, and is about to be tramped by the trombone section, or would have been had not several of those band members fallen down as well.
"Get up!" WandaSue yells through the bullhorn, "Get up!"
They scramble to their feet, only to slide back to the pavement three steps later. All the WW2 vets have defected, WandaSue sees, leaving a good sized blank space in the procession. "Hey! Close up that gap!" she yells to the Girl Scouts, who are marching behind the vets. Several of them begin to cry and yell out for their Mommies.
WandaSue slides over to the Scouts and yells, "OK, then, wimps! Go home, who needs you?"
They make their way over to the vans in which they had arrived and quickly get inside, freezing rain dripping from their noses.
She realizes her parade is getting pretty skimpy, surely not a fitting tribute to a deceased woman who she personally hated, but this is a P.R. move to assure that she's re-elected four years down the road.
Speaking of the road, it is now so coated with ice that not one person in the parade is making any attempt to move forward. Several have made their way to the side of the street, and are clinging onto parking meters.
WandaSue also finds it impossible to move forward without falling. "S&$#!" she yells, knowing that with the fierce wind nobody will hear the expletive.
The sound of a Police car with sirens blazing is heard approaching. The marchers, WSue included, just stand there waiting.
As it approaches, WandaSue can see Alan Carson, of all people, behind the wheel. She also stands stock still, and when the car comes up alongside, sees the window rolled down. She smiles at the Police Chief as if there were nothing amiss.
"You'd better disband!" Alan yells out the window, "we're in for a hellacious storm!"
"I thought it snowed in January, not rained!" is heard.
"Welcome to the real world!" Alan Carson replies as he manuevers his police car around and heads back to the station.
WandaSue realizes her big parade is doomed and wonders how she can save face, when she sees a huge truck spewing salt and sand on the street coming toward the last few straggling members of the parade.
"RUN!" is on everyone's lips as they scramble to the side of the street, falling, getting up, falling again, getting up.
And thus does the great Memorial Parade for Eleanor come to an end, the new mayor of the town sliding off to the side of the street muttering expletives that span the alphabet.


DRIVING MISS CECILY......by Terri

Rosamond got the children ready while Cecily sat there, trying to assimilate herself into her surroundings. How very different from my home in Northumberland! She got up and looked out the window. Rain was starting to freeze, creating a pattern on the window. Cecily tapped it. Looks like two layers of glass there. And I am so warm! She looked up and saw a vent blowing a nice breeze of warm air on her.
Rosamond put Jenna in her swing and wound it up. She looked for Julie's mittens and found them under Belle.
"Cecily? Are you comfortable with us? I mean, you don't think this month is going to be too much for you? I guarantee if you stick it out, the benefits are wonderful! If you get sick, there is medicine that can make you feel better in a jiffy. The bathroom facilities speak for itself."
Cecily said, "I know. Just the hot water that comes out of the little faucets..wonderful! No more toting water from the fireplace. And my hair and skin have never felt so soft!" Rose said, "I know! Back when I lived, we had soap. But it was very drying."
"Rosamond, where are you from? I mean..really? John said he ran into three time travelers. They took him to this century. You ARE a time traveler then, aren't you?"
Rose said, "Did John not tell you the whole story?"
"No. Just that his wife Elizabeth left him and he came forward 350 years. Were you one of them?"
Rose sighed. "This will take some explaining."
She looked in her diaper bag. "Oh, nuts! Jenna is down to one diaper! I need to run down to the Grand Union and pick some up. Would you like to drive with me?"
"Drive?"
"Oh, that's right! You've never been in a car before! Come on! It's a new experience."
Just then the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Rose! I've got a great idea!"
Rose sighed, "Beth, Beth, Beth! I love the way you just plunge in!"
Bethia laughed. "I was just checking. Is OK tonight?"
Rose slapped her hand on her forehead. "With all the commotion, I forgot!"
"But..we planned this for a week now!"
Rose said, "Bethia, didn't you hear that John and Daniel went back in time and got their sister Cecily?"
Beth was astonished. "NO! Wonderful! But--can you raise another little kid?"
Rose said, "Beth, John and Daniel brought her back when she is twenty-one."
"Oh. Do you like her? What is she like? I have the most marvelous idea! Let's turn this small dinner party into a Welcome Cecily party! Everyone bring a covered dish over here and let's invite everyone! I mean, everyone in our circle!"
Rose said, "What a wonderful idea! I've got to take her shopping but it can be like a debut party."
Bethia was excited. "Oh this is wonderful! I'll touch base with you later. Bye!"
"Bye!"
Cecily said, "Who was that whirlwind?"
"That is Bethia, a neighbor of John's 350 years ago who got sucked up with him in our time frame. Let's get these diapers, and we'll go over to the other house and then we can go shopping and do lunch and I will give you a run-down on who's who. Cecily, you will be in for the biggest surprise of your life!"

Rosamond situated her children in the back seat, both in car seats. Cecily sat there, her eyes wide in wonder. Rose sighed and sat in the driver's seat. "I didn't think I would EVER have two of them in car seats together!"
Cecily ran her hands over the dash and said, "What is this all about, Rosamond? What are all those..things?"
Rose looked over at the dash. "Oh! These? They tell me lots of things. This is the instrument panel. Look, Cecily, no matter what happens, don't freak out on me, OK? It will seem strange but believe me, this is what we call a modern day horse!"
She let the engine warm up and then flipped the heater on.
"If you have any questions, just ask me privately. Don't do what I did. When I first saw an elevator, I screamed at the top of my lungs. So embarrassing now that I think about it! Now, just relax!"
Rose took it easy going down the road, not at her normal break-neck speed because she didn't want to scare Cecily. Cecily sat there with her eyes wide open and trying not to clutch the seat.
"See, this takes us wherever we want to go...what the heck is THAT??"
They looked over and saw a float going down the road. With an old man stuck to the sides. Rose said, "Is it really that cold that an old codger is stuck to the side of a float? And...what..?"
Cecily peered out the window. "It looks like some woman is getting mad at that old guy who just fell off that funny thing...oh, look! Little girls who are crying..Rose, what is this all about?"
Rose pulled up alongside Alan Carson and rolled down her window.
"Alan, what is going on?"
"Oh, hey, Rose. Our esteemed mayor, who should be in an insane asylum but you didn't hear it from me, decided she would have a Memorial parade for Eleanor. She didn't take the ice storm into consideration when she enlisted the VFW legion. Those guys are frozen stiffs as it is. And those girl scouts? Forget their motto, 'be prepared!' NO one is prepared for Wanda Sue Skaggs! The Brownie Troop left a long time ago. They weren't Brownies, they were Smurfs!"
Rose looked closely, "Isn't that Wendy Shott on the ground with the marching band ready to decimate her?"
Alan Carson slammed his hand on the horn and he yelled, "*&*^*%&%&$^$!!!!!! Hey! You'd better disband! We're in for a hellacious storm!"
He hastily said, "You'd better get a move on, Rosamond! This is going to be a bad one!"
Then he yelled, "Welcome to the real world!" and turned his squad car back towards the station.
Rose said "He's right. And there's the Grand Union. I just have to get diapers. Would you mind watching the kids while I run in there? I will only be a few minutes."
Cecily said, "This thing won't move by itself?"
"Oh, no!" Rose assured her. "I'll be right out."

She came out in five minutes with the diapers and some juice.
"Thanks a lot! Oh, dear! The weather is really taking a turn for the worse."
She ran over something in the road. "Oh, dear! Looks like Mr. Wiley's walker. I guess I mangled it. Hope I didn't damage the underside of the car. John will NOT be happy!"
She drove by the fragments of the parade. The bagpipers were trying to play their bagpipes and hold their kilts down with the other hand. And not succeeding very well.
Rose sighed and smiled sentimentally. "I just love Scotland, don't you?"


IMPATIENCE........by Coralynn

"Where are they? I thought they were coming over early this morning!" Marilyn once again looks out the front window, then turns away when she doesn't see Rose and Cecily.
"Give them time," William chides, "do you see the freezing rain out there?"
"It was freezing," Eleanor says as she puts on her rain slicker and goes out on the front porch, checks out the weather, then returns, tossing the slicker on a peg, "But now it seems to be just rain pure and simple. I think the ice on the street is melting, too. The temps must be rising."
William flips on the tv to the weather channel. "Hmmm, it says here we're in for a day or so of rain, says nothing about freezing. Highly unusual for January."
"Then where does the term 'January thaw' come from?" Marilyn queries.
"Beats me!" the others answer as in one voice.
"When are you going to inform the media that you're alive, Eleanor?" William asks, annoyed, "I went up into the attic where there's a good view, and saw a big parade down on Main Street headed this way, and I suspect it had something to do with your supposed demise. I don't hear bagpipes anymore, so the freezing rain must have botched it up, which is a blessing. But you really have to put a stop to this nonsense!"
"Why don't you tell them?" Celeste asks, puzzled.
"I guess I was just having fun letting them think I was dead, but you're right, enough is enough. I should phone the tv station and tell them that I'm no longer the Wonder Woman sportscaster, too."
"They had some really pitiful excuse for a sports caster on the morning show," Marilyn tells her, "Bet they miss you like crazy. Why are you quitting?"
"Got tired of it. Dressing in that ridiculous costume every evening for years, yuck. There must be something else I can do that doesn't require me to look like a cartoon!" Eleanor explains.
"I take it jousting at the renassaince festival is out, too," William comments.
"Right. Been there, done that. I have a lot of money saved up, so I don't have to decide right away about a job. I may take a sabbatical. A long one."
"But not a long one as in R.I.P.!" Bess laughs.
"Bingo!" Eleanor laughs back.

MEANWHILE:

"Tiffany, you've gone out with Billy Bo....I mean 'Bill'....how many times now?"
"Must be 8 or 9. He is so gone on me it's pathetic, but still he won't propose..."
"You still holding out?" Holly asks.
"You bet your life! This is like back in the 1950s when girls saved themselves for their husbands. I read about it online. Many a lad married because even cold showers weren't working anymore. If it worked then, it could work now."
"If he proposes, what are you going to say, yes or no??"
"I'll say yes, but after he splits his earthly possessions with WandaSue because after all he does have to divorce her first, then I'll dump him. WandaSue will then give me a big piece of her windfall."
"How big a piece?"
"Big."
"Do you have this in writing?" Holly looks at Tillany skeptically.
"Don't need it in writing. She'll do it, I'm sure."
"I hope you're right. But how are you going to break the stalemate with 'Bill'? He hangs on to not getting married again because he can't afford to divorce WandaSue...."
"She could file!" Tiffany realizes aloud, "I wonder why she hasn't?"
"Ask her. I see her car sliding into the parking lot from here. OK, she's getting out. Ooooo, she looks in a foul mood. This might not be the best time to ask her anything. She looks like she'd bite your head off."
Tiffany looks out and sees WandaSue walking toward the condo Tiffany and Holly share, "I wonder why she's coming over here?"
"Let her in and let's find out!"
WandaSue has barely rung the doorbell when Tiffany asks her to come inside, "You're soaked!"
"I know. Wouldn't cha just know the weather had to get nasty on the morning of my Memorial parade for Eleanor! It was a disaster. People falling all over from the freezing rain everywhere! I don't even think the newspapers or tv stations sent out crews!"
"Sorry about that, but other than that how do you like being mayor?" Holly asks.
"It has its perks! I get a special car to drive, I get to meet with the city council and act like a big shot. But.....what I came over to find out is, how ya doin' with Montgomery, Tiffany? Is he about to pop the question do ya think?"
"I'm getting impatient with him, but I don't let it show. I just keep resisting his advances and he keeps resisting the idea of divorcing you so he can marry me," she pauses, searching for just the right words, "did you ever.....consider.....divorcing him?"
"Off and on. I've had a lot of fun razzing him because we are still legally wed, but I want to get my mitts on more of his money, so what'd'ya think? Should I?"
"Get your hands on his money?" Holly wrinkles up her forehead.
"NO! Divorce him."
"Ohhh yeah," Holly giggles.
"This is New York state, a bad state to get divorced in, though," WandaSue tells them, "You have to have some old fashioned reason like finding the other person in bed with..........hey! This could work out, Tiffany! Tell me where and when and I'll send a photograher to get pictures!"
"Pictures?"
"Yeah. Ya hafta have proof of the adultery!" WandaSue's spirits are rising.
"I don't want my picture all over the front page of the newspaper!" Tiffany is aghast.
"So I tell the guy with the camera to make sure not to show your face!" WandaSue's spirits are definitely rising.
"How much longer are you prepared to wait?" Tiffany asks.
"I give ya a week, and if he doesn't pop the question, we go to Plan B., the one where I get grounds for divorce because he's in bed with a tramp."
"Tramp?!" Tiffany has never been called that before.
"Nawww, it's just a phrase I like ta use!" WandaSue goes into the kitchen and helps herself to some coffee, "Glad I dropped in on ya, gals. We're gonna win this one!"
Holly looks at Tiffany, who is still stinging from the tramp remark and shakes her head ever so slightly, wondering if her pal is going to end up discarded after WandaSue, plotter extraordinarie, gets what she wants.


AND NOW....HERE'S CECILY!......by Terri

Rosamond reached over for her cellphone and dialed the Big House.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Marilyn, it's me."
"Where the heck are you? I am on pins and needles waiting for you to bring Cecily over here!"
"Jenna was out of diapers and I had to get some. I was down to the last one. Julie emptied the diaper bag into the toilet and I had newborn Pampers floating all over. But we are on our way."
"How much longer?"
"The freezing rain is starting to thaw out and the roads are slush now. I would say, oh, fifteen minutes."
"Well, you'd better hurry. Moose is coming over any minute now and Celeste made a pecan coffeecake. It's his favorite so I don't want to be held responsible if it is all gone."
"We're on our way."
Cecily looked at Rose. "What is that?"
"This? Oh, this is a cellphone. You can push these little numbers and then they talk into their phone. Really marvelous!"
Cecily leaned back and sighed. "So many things....will I ever learn them all?"
"Sure you will! I mean, you mastered the bathtub and that was only last night! You'll talk to the others. They will have similar stories."
They were quiet for a minute and then Rose asked, "Cecily? Are you having any doubts?"
Cecily said, "Everything is so new. Yesterday I was in Northumberland packing up my stuff to come to the Colonies."
Rose said, "Well...you ARE here. Just a little later in time!"
They pulled up to the Big House. Cecily looked at it. "It is so imposing. How many people live here?"
Rose thought a minute and then burst out laughing. "To tell you the truth...I don't know! Let's just say there are no empty spaces at the dinner table! John and I both started out here. Then I got married."
"You married someone else?"
Rose sighed. "I can tell we are going to have a long lunch!"
She took Julie out of her carseat and handed her to Cecily. "Here. You may as well get to know your niece!" Julie went happily to Cecily and gave her a big smile.
Rose unfastened Jenna out of her baby seat and Rose grabbed the diaper bag and the box of Pampers. "Ready to meet the rest of them?"
Cecily took a deep breath. "Ready as I will ever be!"
Rose grinned. "Don't worry--you'll love them and I know they will love you!"
As they walked in the kitchen door, Marilyn jumped up from the table, almost spilling her coffee. She threw her arms around Cecily and said, "I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE ALIVE!"
Cecily and Julie were massively crushed. Rose laughed and said, "Well, for now she is! But if you don't let her breathe, Marilyn, I don't know about later!"
Marilyn released her quickly and Rose said, "Cecily Gwinnett Fitzhugh, may I present your fairy godmother? Marilyn Monroe!"
Cecily put Julie down and shyly extended her hand. But Marilyn swept her into another hug. When she let go, Marilyn dabbed her eyes.
"I'm not usually so emotional. But when I read your diary, I just KNEW we had to bring you here!"
Rose said, "Marilyn is the one who helped Moose decipher and copy it."
"Moose?"
"He is a writer. And he should be here in about fifteen minutes. Oh, Cecily! He will be so happy to see you, too!"

William and Celeste came into the room. William boomed, "So, this is the sister of our John and Daniel! Welcome, welcome, child!"
Celeste playfully smacked him on the arm. "Oh, William, you old poop! This is not a child! She is a delightful young woman! And let us not overwhelm her! Come, my dear! Sit down and I shall pour you a cup of tea. I am Celeste."
Cecily sat down at the table. "Oh! You and William are married?"
There was a silence and Rose burst out laughing. "You know---sometimes we forget if they are or aren't!"
Marilyn said, "Yes. You can't think of William without Celeste and vice versa!"
To Cecily she said, "Celeste is like our mother. And William--well, I guess he is our 'dad'!"
Celeste laughed and put a cup of tea down in front of Cecily. Rosamond cut a piece of coffee cake and said, "This alone will make you stay in our century!"
She handed a generous slice to Cecily.
Celeste patted Cecily's hand and said, "I hope we aren't too overwhelming for you!"
Cecily smiled and said, "No--not really! I just have to try to get used to so many things."
Celeste said, "That you will, dear! You have an excellent teacher in Rosamond!"
To which Rose gave her a grateful look.
Rose said, "I need to take Cecily shopping. Would you mind watching Jenna and Julie? I'll pick Will up from school at 3:00 and then I can swing by and pick up the girls. Cecily and I can get a good three hour's shopping in. She'll need everything."
William said, "Well, Rose is the expert! She will have you outfitted in no time!"
Bess came downstairs and introductions were made again. Bess teared up and said, "Oh, what a tragic end you had! But you don't! What I am trying to say....what AM I trying to say, Marilyn?"
Marilyn laughed and said, " 'Welcome, Cecily', will do!"
Rose asked about a pair of shoes and Bess ran upstairs and came back with a nice pair of boots to slip on. "There! Same size as me and same for the clothes, too! Any thing you want to borrow, just say so!"
Cecily looked around and said, "Thank you all! I was scared to death. But all of you have made me feel so welcome!"
Bess said, "Oh, this is nothing! Wait until you meet everyone at Bethia's party for you!"
Rose said, "I know it will seem like too much. But everyone who is there is family and will consider you family too."
Cecily nodded slowly. "I guess you are all the family that John has now. What about Daniel?"
Celeste quickly covered over it by saying, "We think of Daniel as part of our lives. He's a very...unique addition!"
Cecily smiled a genuine smile. "I think I just may like it here!"

Just then, there was a banging on the back door. Not an intentional bang, but one who really wanted to come in. Marilyn threw the door open and literally dragged Moose across the threshold. She wore a 100 proof grin. Then she took Moose by the arm and said proudly, "Here she is! Cecily Gwinnett? May I present Moose? Real name is Matthew. Matthew Hutchinson."
Cecily extended her hand to Moose and he just stared at her. She unconsciously rubbed her face and asked, "Do I have something on my face?"
Moose could only shake his head. "I'm sorry," he said, when he found his voice.
"It--it's just that...the portrait..WOW! I couldn't have pictured it any better!"
He blushed. "Oh, jeez Louise, I am really making a mess of this!"
He gave Cecily a brilliant smile. "It just blows my mind to be face-to-face with you--finally!"
Marilyn laughed, rolled her eyes and said, "Here...eat a piece of coffee cake and let the young lady relax!"

WE'VE ONLY YET BEGUN...TO SHOP!....by Terri

After a half hour of chit-chat, Rose said, "OK..the mall is open now and I have John's credit cards. I need to get Cecily a whole new wardrobe!"
Cecily tried to protest, "But Rosamond, I don't require much. Maybe a frock or two.."
Rose said, "Cecily, have you seen my closet?"
"Well, no..."
Everyone laughed. Marilyn said, "Cecily, in the twenty-first century, people have more than a 'frock' or two."
William said, "Best put yourself in Rosamond's hands, dear. A make-over is what she lives for."
Eleanor came into the room. "Well, you don't have to tell me who THIS is! John's little sister!" Eleanor extended her hand to Cecily.
Rose said, "We'd better get shopping." She counted off on her fingers. "Let's see...makeup, shoes, accessories, lingerie, sleepwear, casualwear, party stuff... yow! We've got our work cut out for us so we had better take off!"
Cecily looked bewildered. Marilyn said, "Trust Rose. She knows what she's doing. After all, she got John in debt to the tune of... how much was that again, Rose?"
Rose coloured and said, "I'm not sure..anyways, we've got to get a move on!"

Rose and Cecily pulled into a mall parking lot. She turned to Cecily and said, "One tip I will give you. If you are not sure of something, best you ask me quietly. We don't want to give it away that something is not quite right."
Cecily nodded wordlessly. "What is this place?"
Rose grinned and said, "You'll see!"
She opened the door of the mall and Cecily looked around in amazement.
"First thing we do is get you some lingerie."
They walked into Victoria's Secret.
"Mrs. Gwinnett! How wonderful to see you again!"
"Hi, Suzanne! I brought my sister in law with me..she 's going to need the works. She's visiting from England. The countryside. So we have to fix her up right!"M
The saleswoman looked at Cecily and said, "You are so petite...and such a lovely figure! You can wear those cute little strappy dresses. Lots of us can't. Think she may want the Miracle Bra?"
"Bra?" Cecily asked.
Rose put her finger up to her lips and then said to Suzanne. "Yes. In white and blue and pink and black. Size..oh, I would say....34B."
Rose walked over to the tables and picked up bikini underwear in all colors and patterns. Suzanne said, "Mrs. Gwinnett, we just got in some new thongs and.."
Rose said hastily, "I think these will be fine. Could you find some sleepwear in size...oh, I would say 3 or small!"
As the salesgirl bustled off, Rose thrust them in Cecily's hands. "We can buy them now and if they don't fit, we can take them back. I think with the underwear, you may be more comfortable trying them on at home. These string bikinis are a breeze, but I don't think you are ready for thongs yet Now, here is a bra. You slip this on and hook it like..so! Think you can figure out what goes in these cups?"
Cecily nodded, but unsure of herself. The saleswoman came back with a few lacy nightgowns. Long and short. She said, "The young lady has a romantic look about her...I think these will be just fine. Does she want to try them on?"
Rose said, "Yes, and she wants to make sure the bra fits."
Cecily esconced herself in the dressing room while Rose waited for her outside the door.
"Rosamond?" she whispered.
"Yes?"
"Is that woman gone?"
"Yes."
More whispering. "Can you help me with this...thing?"
Rose called out to Suzanne, "She's got a cut on her finger, I'll be in the dressing room helping her with the hooks."
Rose opened the door. Cecily was just about in tears with frustration. Rose said gently, "You should have seen me trying on one of these contraptions. But they are marvelous. Can make mountains out of molehills."
"Mountains?"
"Just an expression. They don't call it a 'wonder bra' for nothing!"
Rosamond turned Cecily around and slipped the bra on her and then fastened the back. She turned her to face her and then adjusted the straps.
"There! A 21st century marvel!"
Cecily tried not to laugh. "Who would have guessed! A girdle for my chest!"
Within an hour,.Rose had Cecily outfitted with the best undergarments and sleepwear.
"Suzanne? Please send them to package pickup. Cecily? Onward and forward! We've only yet begun to shop!"

Rosamond took a list out of her purse and consulted it.
"What is that, Rose?"
Rose said, "This is my list of what you need. Funny, I go shopping all the time. But I don't think I have been totally in charge of outfitting someone from top to bottom. Usually I have Eleanor or Bethia with me."
She took out a pen and started crossing things off the list. "OK--let's get you some nice casual wear. We're headed for The Gap! A real Yuppie heaven!"
She took Cecily in and sized her up. "What colors do you like, Cecily?"
"Well,.....in England I wore deep red for my ballgowns...but what do you think? My regular frocks were usually deep brown or light brown."
Rose made a face , stood back and surveyed her. "I think let's try a dusty pink and an icy blue. With your coloring you are a definite 'winter' person."
"Winter?"
"It's a way to tell what colours look best on you. It's kind of hard to explain. But you have that gorgeous English complexion with just a hint of pink...here! Try on this turtleneck sweater."
Cecily stood there and looked down.
Rose asked, "Do you have a problem with this, Cecily?"
Cecily said, "How are we paying for this, Rose? I mean, I have seen no money exchanged. And it seems like we have quite a bit of things in those pink striped bags. Back where...I mean, back home, I only had six everyday dresses and two ballgowns. And a few petticoats."
Rose said, "Don't worry about payment. John indulges me. He knows how I love to shop. And your brother has made some very fine investments so he has the money for this. This little card lets me take things and at the end of the month, John pays the bills. I don't suppose you know that your brother and I are actors, do you?"
"Actors? I went once to see a play by a man named William Shakespeare. You mean like that? He would play Mercurio or Romeo?"
Rose said, ":Something like that. Now here are some pullover sweaters and turtlenecks...."
"Turtlenecks?"
Rose said, "Do you want me to come in the dressing room and help you?"
"Would you?" Cecily said gratefully.
"Sure. Here's the story we concoct so we don't look weird. You sprained your hand and can't use it. So I have to help you zip up. OK?"
"Yes! Thank you!"
Rosamond consulted the saleswoman and she picked out jeans and sweaters with ease from the racks. With her arms loaded, she said, "OK, let's go! These are all winter clothes. Time enough to pick out a swimsuit and shorts and sandals in a few months."
Cecily tried to suppress a smile. "You seem pretty confident that I will stay when the month is over."
Rose heaved the load of clothes into the dressing room, shoved Cecily in and followed her, closing the door. She said with confidence, "Oh, you're staying, sister! No doubt about it!"