The next day, we slept a bit late. We got up at ten am. We got dressed and told Steven we're going to surprise the girls and spend the day with them. He was okay with it. Stephanie walked over to Mary Jane's and I rang the doorbell. Mrs. Coonts answered the door and was surprised to see us.
"Hi, what a lovely surprise," said Mrs. Coonts.
"We flew here yesterday, so we decided to see Mary Jane, Sarah, and Janet. They had no clue we were coming," said Stephanie.
"Good. Mary Jane's going to be so glad to see you both," said Mrs. Coonts.
"Janet told me the news about Mary Jane's illness. She must be scared," I said.
"She is, but I know she can do it. She's a strong person," said Mrs. Coonts.
"I know she is," I agreed.
"I can't believe they caught it late," said Stephanie. "They should've found it earlier to give her time to fight to live."
"That's what she said, too," said Mrs. Coonts. "I told her some people beat battles no matter what stage they're in."
"True," I said.
"Can we see her?" asked Stephanie.
"Sure. She's in her room," said Mrs. Coonts.
We went to her and was she shocked to see us there and hugged us happily.
"I miss you both so much," said Mary Jane.
"We wanted to surprise you, Sarah, and Janet," said Stephanie. "Let's go hang out with our other girls."
"Okay," said Mary Jane.
She just wanted to forget about her illness. Sarah and Janet were also glad to see us. We went to the mall for the day and had a great time. We had lunch, saw a movie, and did everything else. It was nice that all five of us girls are back together for today.
"Maybe we can have lunch at the airport tomorrow before your flight arrives if you want," said Mary Jane.
"Sure. I like that idea," said Stephanie.
"Me, too. Our flight isn't until one, so we'd have plenty of time to do so," I added.
"Perfect," said Sarah.
"Yeah," said Janet.
Later, we were back at the house in time for supper. After that, we watched a few movies.
"It was fun to see our girls today," I said.
"I agree," said Stephanie. "We should surprise them more often."
"Yeah, I like that idea," I said. "I just hope Mary Jane would be cancer free soon. I don't want to lose her."
"Me either," said Stephanie.
After we watched a few movies, we went to bed at 11:00 pm. The next day, we were up at 9:00 am and had breakfast. Stephen had a meeting to attend, so he said bye to us and won't be seeing us when we leave here.
"Who's going to take us to the airport?" asked Stephanie.
"I'm sure Mrs. Coonts may offer to do so. I'll call her and ask her," I said.
I did and told her Steven had a meeting and won't be back until after we leave for home. I added the flight is at 1:00 pm. She offered to bring us.
"Mary Jane, Sarah, and Janet wants to come along since we plan to have lunch at the airport before our flight," I said.
"Okay. I can treat you all for lunch," said Mrs. Coonts.
"Sounds good to me," I said. "Thanks."
"Not a problem," said Mrs. Coonts.
After we talked, I called Janet and Sarah to tell them about the plan.
"Alright," said Sarah.
Ten minutes later, the girls came over shortly before Mrs. Coonts arrived and brought us to the airport. Stephanie and I checked in before we all went to go have lunch. After lunch, we went to our gate. The group wanted to stay there until the plane arrives.
"I had a fun time over the weekend," I said.
"Me, too," said Mary Jane.
"At least I can be with you all and my father at the same time," said Stephanie.
"True," said Janet.
"Yeah," agreed Sarah.
We kept talking until the plane came and after everyone got off the plane, Stephanie and I said good-bye to the girls before went on the plane.
Five hours later, we were back in Providence and Stephanie's mom was there waiting for us when we got our suitcases.
"Your father's in the hospital. He had a heart attack yesterday," said Miranda.
"What? Is he going to be okay?" I asked.
"He's going to be fine. He'll be released later this afternoon. They wanted to keep an eye on him in case he gets another heart attack during the night," said Miranda. "That's why he asked me to pick you up."
"That's fine," I said.
When Miranda dropped me off, my dad was already home. I was glad he made out fine.
"They wanted me to take a week off to get some rest," said Dad.
"Okay," I said. "I would like to spend a week with Mom, but I'll stay here with you in case something happens to you while I'm not here."
That night, Dad decided to order Chinese for dinner.
"Who would be here with you while I'm in school?" I asked.
"I'm sure I'd be fine on my own," said Dad.
"Are you sure?" I asked him.
"Positive," replied my father.
"Okay. Just making sure," I said.
I'd be worried no one would be here if he gets another heart attack.
"I also have some news to share with you. I'm going to date someone new soon," said Dad.
"Really? Who's your new girlfriend?" I asked.
"Miranda," said Dad.
"As in, Stephanie's mom?" I asked.
"Yes," said Dad.
"Wow," I said. "It must be nice you're getting back together again."
"It sure is," said Dad.
"Does Stephanie know?" I asked.
"Miranda plans to tell Stephanie tonight, too," said Dad.
"I bet she's going to be all excited about it," I said. "So, if you and Miranda decided to get married, does it mean Stephanie and I would be stepsisters?"
"That's right," answered Dad.
"Cool," I said.
Now, I liked that idea. I can't wait to see how Stephanie would take the excellent news.
After dinner, when Stephanie texted me about on what she learned, she was thrilled.
"Wouldn't that be awesome if you and I would become stepsisters?" asked Stephanie.
"Yeah," I replied. "But let's don't get our hopes up in case it didn't work out."
"You got a valid point," said Stephanie. "You and I have been best friends for a long time anyway."
"True," I agreed. "You and I would be seeing my mom every other weekend while we spend other weekends with your father together."
"Exactly," said Stephanie.
"We could keep this a secret for now until they get engaged," I said.
"Good idea," said Stephanie. "If Samuel is good at keeping secrets, he can be an exception."
"Yeah. We still could tell our girls if we wanted to, but they'll have to promise not to say anything," I said.
"I know," said Stephanie. "What about Eliza?"
"She's not good at keeping secrets. When we were growing up while I was still living in California and when I visited here to see her, each time I tell her my secrets, she'd spill it. So, I learned my lesson not to trust her with any of my secrets. I tried to teach her not to do it because I always keep her secrets, which she's supposed to do with mine. The only time I had to spill the beans was when she was telling me she was going to date someone online. When she let me read her messages one day, she was talking to a guy who is an adult. She begged me not to say anything, but I knew I shouldn't keep that promise, so I told Dad, who contracted Aunt Betty. She was glad I did the right thing. Eliza got in trouble and got grounded for a month without using the computer. Eliza got mad at first, but then she didn't realize I wanted to protect her from danger. I didn't want something happened bad to her. She could've got kidnapped and worse, killed," I explained.
"It's a good thing you did the right choice by protecting your cousin," said Stephanie.
"Yeah. Dad told me the same thing. At least he knows I watched out for her," I said. "Because I'd feel guilty if I didn't say anything right away."
"If that was you, she'd do the same thing," said Stephanie.
"Exactly. I never do anything that is dangerous anyway," I said. "I know how to keep myself safe, especially whenever I'm online. Dad never asked for my passwords because he trusts me. I have Facebook and all I do is talk with you girls, Samuel, and play games. I don't accept requests if I don't know that person."
"Yeah," said Stephanie.
After I talked to Stephanie, I emailed my girls and told them the news: Miranda and Dad are dating. When they asked who Miranda was, I told them she's Stephanie's mother and they couldn't believe that. They were thrilled because we could be sisters one day if they decided to get married. I told them not to say anything in case it didn't happen. They promised not to spill the beans. I texted Samuel about the secret and he said he's very good at keeping secrets and he promised not to tell anyone. I told him I didn't want Eliza to know yet and told him the reason. He didn't blame me to wait for a while.
After that, I was getting ready for bed. In the middle of the night, I heard a thud. I wondered that was Dad and sure enough, it was him when I got up. He must have collapsed. I went to call 911 and he got taken to the hospital. He had another heart attack. The doctor said it was a good thing I saved his life because if I didn't call 911, he would've been dead. The doctors are going to do an open heart surgery to prevent him from having any more heart attacks. They also going to put him on Aspirin and he would have to start taking it once a day when they release him in a few days. A doctor offered to take me back home so I can get some rest. I could stay with Mom while he's in the hospital.
The next day, at school, Stephanie and I talked about Dad.
"What are you going to do while he's in the hospital?" asked Stephanie.
"I might stay with Mom so I won't be alone," I said.
"Or you could be with you if you want," added Stephanie. "It would be a great way to practice to be roommates."
As you can see, she didn't say sisters, which was the smart thing to do.
"Okay. I could do that. It's closer to school," I replied.
"Yeah," said Stephanie. "You can still see your mom over the weekend though. I'd go with you."
"I plan on spend the weekend with her, depends on how Dad is feeling," I said.
"True. That would help him rest if he's told to do so," said Stephanie.
"What if he suffers another heart attack while I'm not home?" I asked. "He could die if happens while I'm with Mom.
"You're right to be concerned. You're never know how long your father would be hospitalized after the surgery," said Stephanie.
"Yeah. They'll probably keep him until whenever he's well enough," I said. "They're doing the open heart surgery today. Maybe I should go see him."
"That's a good idea to do," agreed Stephanie.
I went to see Dad two hours later. They already did the open heart surgery. They also said that his both arteries were blocked which caused them to have three heart attacks. They had to unblock them in the meantime. He's doing well so far.
"We just have to keep him the rest of the week so he can get rest. He'll need to take time from work for three extra weeks," said Dr. Morton, who is Dad's doctor and co-worker.
"Okay," I said. "I'll probably stay with a friend from school for now and spend the weekend with Mom. May I go see him now?"
"Sure. I'll take you to him," said the doctor.
That's what she did and Dad was already awake.
"Hi, Dad," I said as I sat near his side.
"Hi, honey, it's a good thing you heard me," said Dad.
"Yeah. I'm glad I got up right away," I said. "I knew if I didn't call 911, I would've lost you."
"I know," said Dad.
"Stephanie said I can stay with her during the week since her home is closer to school so we can practice to be roommates and I'll stay with Mom during the weekend. I'll do that until you get out of the hospital," I said.
"Okay. You can do it that way. I don't mind," said Dad.
After we talked, I left to go back to Stephanie's. Her mom waited for me. She wanted me to take my time and let me to be alone with Dad. She already knew I can stay with her and Stephanie. It's better than to be on my own at home. I told them I can still go home for the mail after school. They don't mind me doing on the way to Stephanie's.