The next morning, it was close to 10:30. Alice woke us all up for breakfast and down we went. First, I brushed by teeth and washed my face and brushed my hair. Then I got dressed and then I went downstairs for breakfast.

In the kitchen, Mom was sitting with Aunt Shirley and Laurie, eating.

“Morning, Mom. Morning, Aunt Shirley. Morning, Laurie, Morning, Alice,” I said, sitting down. Tracy, Jan, and Cindy were right behind me.

“Good morning, Marcia. Did you sleep well?” Mom asked.

I yawned. “Not really. I need more sleep.”

“I don’t see why. I slept like a baby,” Laurie bragged.

I frowned.

“I slept well, too,” Jan said. “And so did Tracy and Cindy. Right?”

Cindy nodded.

“Yup!” Tracy agreed.

Laurie took a bite of waffle. “Aunt Carol, where are these men you’ve been talking about?”

I frowned again. I knew Laurie really wanted to meet Greg.

“They should be down here in a few. But now that we’re all down here, I want us to get to know each other better. Starting with you, Laurie. How’s school?”

“School’s great, Aunt Carol. Mom just enrolled me in a prep school.”

Mom looked interested. “Really?”

Laurie nodded. “I’m learning all kinds of things. Like, proper etiquette and manners. Plus, I’m learning how to speak Spanish and French!”

Mom smiled. “Good for you, Laurie! I wish I could afford to send Marcia and Jan to a prep school, but it’s too expensive.”

“That’s okay, Mom. I don’t want to go to a prep school, anyway. I don’t like them, anyway. They’re full of snobs,” I replied.

Laurie glared at me, but she didn’t say anything. She drank her orange juice.

“Can I have some more waffles?” Tracy asked, holding up her plate.

“Of course you can!” Alice replied. She picked up Tracy’s plate and put more waffles on it.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

At that moment, all the men walked in, still groggy and sleepy.

“Man, talk about exhausted. I barely slept a_” Greg replied, stopping midsentence when he saw Laurie.

Laurie saw him at the same time. “Hey, you must be Greg. Marcia’s told me all about you,” she replied.

Greg nodded. “Yeah. And you are?”

“I’m Laurie Partridge, Marcia’s cousin. You’re Greg Brady, right?”

Greg nodded again.

Peter and Bobby jumped in. “And I’m Peter!” he said, shaking Laurie’s hand roughly.

“And I’m Bobby!” Bobby replied.

“Uh, nice to meet you,” Laurie said distractly.

Greg pushed his brothers away. “Don’t mind them. They’re full of energy today,” he said.

“I see,” Laurie replied.

“Do you mind if I sit next to you?” Greg asked.

Laurie shook her head. “No, I don’t mind at all,” she replied.

Greg took his seat next to Laurie while I rolled my eyes.

“So, Shirley, tell me. What brings you here?” Dad asked.

Aunt Shirley put down her coffee mug. “Well, Mike, my boys are out on a week long tour. The girls and me had nothing else better to do, so I thought ‘Why not we go and visit my sister and my nieces?’ I’ve always wondered what Carol was doing, all these years, anyway.”

Mom smiled. “Well, I’m glad she’s here. After breakfast, I’m going to a quilting bee with several of my friends. Would you like to come, Shirley?”

Aunt Shirley smiled. “I’d love to come! We can go now!”

Mom took her and Aunt Shirley’s dirty dishes to the sink. “Alright, let’s go,” she replied. She kissed Dad’s cheek. “I’ll see you soon, Mike,” she replied.

“Bye, Mom!” Greg, Peter, Cindy, Jan, Bobby, and I said.

“See you, Mom!” Tracy and Laurie said.

“Bye, you all! Be good!”

Mom and Aunt Shirley walked out of the kitchen through the back door of the family room.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Hey, Laurie? You want to go to the_”

I stopped when I saw Greg and Laurie were still having a deep conversation about music. Laurie was staring at Greg dreamily.

“Never mind,” I muttered.

“Hey, Tracy? Where’s that new bike you said I could ride?” Cindy asked.

Tracy got up. “It’s back here,” she said.

“A new bike! Neato! Can I see it, too?” Bobby asked.

“Sure!”

Bobby, Tracy, and Cindy put their dirty dishes in the sink.

“I guess I’d better go watch them,” Jan said. She put her dish away. Peter followed after her.

“We had a band for awhile. We called ourselves the Brady 6,” Greg told Laurie.

“That sounds super cool. How many records did you sell?”

“Only about 3,000 copies. And we had a top ten hit, too.”

“Really? What was it?”

“Have you ever heard of the song ‘Time To Change’”?

Laurie’s mouth dropped open. “You mean the song that goes ‘autumn turns to winter and then winter turns to spring’? That song?”

“Yeah,”

Laurie squealed. “My brother, Keith, tries to imitate that song. I had no idea you wrote it!”

I was singing it, too, I thought.

Greg nodded. “Well, I had no idea my song was such a trendsetter,” he replied.

He and Laurie continued talking. I sighed, got up, and went back upstairs to use the phone. I dialed my best friend, Katie Lou Simmons.

“Hello?” Katie Lou asked.

“Hey, KL. It’s me, Marcia,” I replied.

“Marcia? Are you okay?” Katie Lou asked, sensing something was wrong.

“Oh, something’s wrong alright. My mom’s sister came last night with some of my cousins and right now, one of them is being a pain.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about that, Marcia. Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah. Can you come pick me up? We can go to the rec center together.”

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

“Thanks a lot, Katie Lou,” I replied.

We hung up.

After we hung up, I began fishing around for my bathing suit and towel and an extra outfit.

“Going somewhere?” Laurie asked me when she walked in.

“Yeah. I’m going to the rec center with my best friend. You have any plans?”

“Yup! Greg’s taking me to the park today.”

I frowned. “I thought you said you wanted to go to the rec center with me,” I replied.

“Well, I guess I changed my mind. Marcia, your stepbrother is absolutely adorable! He’s so cute!”

I frowned. “Uh, sure. I’m happy for you, Laurie,” I replied.

Laurie grinned. Then she left the room.

After she left, I couldn’t help but think that something was wrong.

 

 

“Are you ready to go?” Katie Lou asked later.

I picked up my bag and nodded. “I have to tell Alice I’m leaving first,” I told her.

I walked into the kitchen. “Alice, I’m leaving,” I told her.

“Okay, you have a good time, Marcia. Be safe! And don’t eat and then swim. It will leave you with cramps for hours!”

I laughed. “Thanks for the advice, Alice,” I said.

I kissed her cheek and left.

“Okay, let’s go!” I replied.

 

 

As we walked to the rec center, Katie Lou stopped suddenly. “Oh, Marcia! Look!” she exclaimed.

“Huh? What?” I asked.

Katie Lou pointed. “Look! Isn’t that Greg over there?”

I followed Katie Lou’s pointing finger. “Yeah, that’s him alright,” I replied.

“Who’s the girl he’s with? I’ve never seen her around here before.”

“That’s my cousin, Laurie Partridge,” I said dryly.

“Wow! I had no idea you were related to the Partridges…Hey, are you Keith’s cousin, too?”

“Um, yeah.”

Katie Lou’s eyes widened. “Why, Marcia Marie Brady! We’re best friends! We’re supposed to tell each other everything!”

“It isn’t that big of a deal. And furthermore_”

Katie Lou beamed. “I’d love to meet Laurie. She’s so pretty!”

I waved my hand. “She’d be too busy paying attention to Greg to notice you. She’s been ignoring everyone else, including me,” I replied.

It sounded a little bitter, but it was true. Laurie hadn’t said a nice thing to me all day.

“I don’t care. I want to talk to her, anyway! Hold my bag for me, will you?”

And with that, Katie Lou ran across the street to join Laurie and Greg.

I sighed and followed her. I made it just in time to hear her say to Laurie, “Hey, I’m Katie Lou Simmons, your cousin’s friend!”

Laurie and Greg were having some kind of conversation. Laurie looked irritated and annoyed.

“What?” she asked.

Greg stopped talking. “Marcia! Katie Lou! What do you two want?” he demanded.

“Me? I don’t want to talk to either of you. It’s Katie Lou who wants to talk,” I snapped.

“I had no idea you were cousins with Marcia, Laurie. She’s so lucky!” Katie Lou rambled.

“Oh, well…Thank you,” Laurie said.

“You know, I just bought the new Partridge Family album and I love it! Your brother’s adorable!”

Laurie smiled feebly. “Well, that’s what they say,” she replied. She shrugged helplessly at Greg.

“I really love your voice. It’s incredible,” Katie Lou gushed.

Laurie grinned a little. “Well, thank you. I took voice lessons in Italy, you know.”

I gritted my teeth. I’d had it with Laurie’s constant bragging.

“Well, I had voice lessons in Switzerland,” I lied. “My voice teacher said I was the best.”

Greg and Katie Lou stared at me like I’d grown two heads.

“But, Marcia, you_” Greg began, but I cut him off. “In fact, all of us had the same voice teacher. He was a friend of Mom’s and was nice enough to let us in his class. Right, Katie Lou?” I asked, nudging her a bit.

“Um, yeah. You told me that.”

Laurie looked interested. “Is that true, Greg?” she asked.

Greg looked at the sidewalk. “Yeah. One of the best. Hey, Laurie? Can I talk to Marcia for a second?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks,” he replied.

He grabbed my shoulder and walked ahead of Laurie and Katie Lou. “Marcia, why did you say that for?” he asked.

“Come on, Greg. Laurie has only been here for eight hours and already, I’m getting sick of her. Her and her constant bragging. Didn’t you hear her at breakfast?”

Greg sighed. “Marcia, Mom was only asking her a little about herself. I wouldn’t call that bragging.”

“Well, what would you call it?”

“I think you’re jealous of Laurie.”

What? What did he say?

“What?”

“Marcia, just because she’s rich and famous, doesn’t mean you have to hate her. You guys are cousins, after all.”

“I don’t believe this. I can’t believe you said that! I am not jealous of Laurie!”

Greg rolled his eyes. “Well, I really like Laurie. I’m not going to let you ruin my chances of getting to know her better. Whatever problem you have with her, you’d better fix, Marcia.”

And with that, he turned around and grabbed Laurie’s hand. “C’mon, let’s go to the park,” he replied.

Without saying good-bye, Greg and Laurie turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

Katie Lou beamed. “Isn’t she amazing?”  She asked.

I grimaced. “Absolutely,” I said dryly.

 

 

After leaving the rec center, I went back home.

“I’m home!” I shouted as I came through the door.

Alice greeted me. “Hey, Marcia! Your mom wants to talk to you about something important.”

“Really? What about?” I asked.

Alice shrugged. “You got me. She’s in the den,” she replied.

I nodded and went into the den. Sure enough, Mom was there, sitting in Dad’s desk.

“Oh, Marcia! Thank goodness you’re here!” she exclaimed.

“How was the quilting bee?” I asked.

“Oh, we had a lot of fun. We made three quilts today.”

“That’s great, Mom. Where’s everyone else?”

“Well, Aunt Shirley wanted to stay longer at the quilting bee, Jan and Peter took Bobby, Cindy, and Tracy to the zoo, your father’s at work, and …I don’t know where Greg and Laurie are.”

“They went to the park,” I replied.

“Oh. Why didn’t you go with them?”

I shrugged. “Didn’t want to. I went to the rec center with Katie Lou instead.”

“Oh. Well, anyway, I have an idea. I told Alice about this already. I was planning we have a party to welcome Shirley and the girls here! Shirley said she was thinking of moving in this area.”

My face grew pale. I would be living near Laurie the Snob?

I had to grab a chair to prevent from being knocked down.

“Isn’t that great?” Mom said.

“Oh, it’s…very super cool,” I lied, flashing a false smile.

“Our party doesn’t have to be big, you know. I was thinking that only we should be here at the party. It would the perfect way to welcome Shirley, Laurie, and Tracy,” Mom bubbled.

“It should be great,” I said with false cheerfulness. Mom looked so happy. I couldn’t talk to her about Laurie. Mom seemed proud of her.

“I’m going to go upstairs and take a nap, Mom,” I said.

“Oh, I was hoping you would help me. I need to go to the store.”

“Um, maybe Alice can go with you?” I said.

Mom smiled. “Okay, I’ll ask her. You go get some rest,”

I smiled and went upstairs. In the bedroom, I went in my closet and dug out some pictures. The pictures were old, a lot of them. There was a picture of me when I was a girl, holding Jan a week or two after she was born. Another was of Cindy taking her first steps. I smiled at those and turned the page.

Then I saw a picture of Laurie and me in one of our dance recital outfits. We both had the same matching pink tutus and slippers. The both of us were striking ballerina poses. I was the more serious-looking one and Laurie was smiling from ear to ear. In almost all the pictures, we were dressed the same. In one Easter picture, we were wearing the same PJs with those silly ears on them. In a Christmas one, we were dressed in white dresses with red and green polka dots with white flats and tights.

I laughed. Our moms always thought we were cute when we they dressed her the same.

Those were the good old days, I thought. I put the album away and went on my bed and began moping.