Early the next morning, Mike was still dead to the world when Paige started making a racket outside his door.
"What's going on?" Mike opened the door, looking completely out of it.
"Meemaw sent me to get you for breakfast," Paige said, giggling as she pointed at a stubborn tuft of Mike's hair sticking straight up.
Still half-asleep, Mike had a sort of lazy, disheveled charm about him.
"Got it. I'll be out in a second," Mike mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Usually, Meemaw knew better than to wake Mike up on a weekend morning. Today, however, with Paige and her sister over, she had gone all out and whipped up a massive breakfast spread.
By the time Mike got dressed and made it to the dining room, he found the two sisters helping carry plates out of the kitchen.
As the four of them sat down, Mike eyed the spread of milk, juice, breakfast burritos, and sandwiches. "Meemaw, isn't this a bit much for a random Sunday?"
He knew Meemaw still had some gambling debts hanging over her head, and her current financial situation wasn't exactly "five-star brunch" level.
"You can thank the girls for this. Linda paid me a very generous 'babysitting' fee," Meemaw explained with a wink.
Earlier that morning, Paige had called home to say she was having a great time, and she made sure to let her parents know that her sister, Erica, was doing well too. Linda, who had just reconciled with Barry, was so relieved that she insisted on bumping up Meemaw's compensation.
Once breakfast was over, Paige spoke up. "Mike, what's your schedule look like today?"
Knowing her parents were back together and having patched things up with her sister, Paige was clearly in a fantastic mood.
"I've got plans to meet up with some people to practice music," Mike said after a moment's thought.
Katie and the girls were still obsessed with their new instruments. If he hadn't been busy helping Paige solve her family drama yesterday, he would have been with them then.
"Music? I'm actually pretty interested in that. Can I come along?" Paige asked immediately.
"Uh..." Mike's "music practice" wasn't exactly kid-friendly. He quickly tried to backpedal. "That's probably not a great idea. If you're bored, you can always head over to the Coopers'."
"But I—" Paige started to protest, but Erica pulled her aside.
"Paige, quit being so thirsty," Erica whispered. "Look at him—he clearly has private plans. If you're too clingy, you're just going to annoy him."
Erica, being older and more socially aware, understood these things much better than her sister. She wouldn't have bothered to tip her off if they hadn't bonded the night before, but she could see Paige had a bit of a crush. In Erica's eyes, her sister's approach was a total rookie mistake.
To be honest, Erica didn't think her sister stood a chance.
A few minutes later, a pink convertible loaded with beautiful girls pulled up in front of Meemaw's house.
"Mike! Let's go!" Regina called out from the driver's seat.
"Coming!" Mike shouted back. He waved to the three people in the house. "I'm off. Call me if you need anything."
With that, Mike hopped into the car and disappeared in a cloud of exhaust.
"Those girls were gorgeous. One of them is definitely his girlfriend," Erica muttered, raising an eyebrow at her sister.
To Erica, the competition looked fierce. If Paige really had feelings for Mike, she was bringing a knife to a gunfight.
"Meemaw, was one of those girls Mike's girlfriend?" Paige asked, turning to the older woman.
"Oh, honey... they all are," Meemaw said with a chuckle.
Mike never really bothered to hide his lifestyle. Meemaw and the Coopers were well aware that he had a few "close friends."
"Alright, I've got plans of my own," Meemaw added. She was meeting Dr. Sturgis today. "You two can either stay here and play on the computer or head across the street to the Coopers'."
"Let's go across the street," Erica said. She wasn't the type to sit at home, and from what she'd seen, Georgie Cooper seemed like a pretty fun guy.
She grabbed her somewhat dejected sister and headed for the house across the way.
---
After a long day of "practicing music," Mike returned to the Cooper house in the evening to find a full house.
The entire Barry family was there, along with Meemaw and Dr. Sturgis. The living room, which was usually spacious, felt a bit cramped.
"Mike! Come sit down!" Meemaw called out.
At the table, the Coopers and the Barrys were chatting and laughing like old friends. Missy and Paige looked like they had become besties, and on the other side of the room, Georgie was clearly busy trying to charm Erica.
The only one not having a good time was Sheldon, who sat in the corner looking miserable and silent.
"Alright, everyone's here," Mary said with a bright smile. "Let's say grace."
Mary was over the moon. She loved having friends who also understood the struggle of raising a child prodigy. Plus, she felt a deep sense of Christian accomplishment for helping save Paige's parents' marriage.
During dinner, Linda mentioned that she hoped Paige could spend more weekends here. After having some "adult time" with Barry, Linda had realized she needed to give both her daughter and herself some space.
When the meal ended, the Barrys thanked everyone again and headed home.
"Linda is actually quite lovely. We should definitely do this more often," Mary said, watching them leave. Now that Linda had dropped the "perfect mom" act, Mary liked her a lot more.
"Barry's a good guy, too," George Sr. added. "He offered to give me a free dental checkup."
With Missy and Paige becoming friends and Georgie already eyeing Erica, the two families were becoming very close—everyone except Sheldon, of course.
---
Another week passed, and Thanksgiving arrived at the end of November.
That day, something tragic happened at the church: a congregation member's daughter passed away.
After the funeral service, Mary returned home in a dark, somber mood. Unable to find peace, she went into the backyard and built a small memorial out of stones.
She then made the entire family stand before the memorial to lay flowers for the girl.
"Mary, honey, you don't have to do this. People pass away, it's part of life," George Sr. tried to comfort her.
"I know people die, George, but why today?" Mary said tearfully. "She was only sixteen. She was the same age as Georgie and Mike. She had her whole life ahead of her. Why is God so unfair?"
The thought of parents losing a child on Thanksgiving broke her heart. For the first time, she felt like God was being cruel.
"Alright, Mike. Time to head back," Meemaw said, having laid her flowers. "I'm making my special BBQ tonight."
Compared to Mary's emotional crisis, Meemaw was perfectly calm.
"Aren't you going to talk to her?" Mike asked, nodding toward the distraught Mary.
"No point," Meemaw said, shaking her head. "She's just got too much time on her hands to think. She'll snap out of it in a few days."
At seventy years old, Meemaw had seen it all.
---