My mom is really terrific, but her habits are what drove her and Dad apart. I'm not saying the divorce was her fault. I'm just saying that she's disorganized and Dad couldn't live with that.

I didn't tell Mallory all that, though. What I said was, "Mom's okay. She's still going out with Mr. Spier."

"Yea!" cried Mallory.

"And she's started looking for a job. She's always off on interviews — "

We were interrupted by a thump and a wail that seemed to come from the front porch. Mallory and I looked at each other. "What was that?" I asked.

We raced to the door. There was Nicky Pike with a boy about his age, and a round-faced, pigtailed little girl who was crying.

"Suzi!" Mallory exclaimed. "It's Suzi Bar-rett," she informed me. "And this is Buddy, her brother."

"She fell coming up the steps," Buddy said. "I think she skinned her knee."

I braved the cold weather to dart outside and roll up Suzi's pants legs. Sure enough, one

knee was bleeding, but it didn't look bad. "I'm Dawn, Suzi," I told her. "Why don't you come in and I'll wash your cut and find you a Band-Aid."

"Thanks," said Suzi tearfully.

"We have Band-Aids with dinosaurs on them," Nicky said helpfully.

We found one and I put it carefully over Suzi's scrape. She liked it so much that she rolled up the leg of her pants and left it that way so everyone could see the Band-Aid.

Suzi and Buddy stayed at the Pikes' the rest of the afternoon. Suzi watched Sesame Street with Claire and Margo, and Mallory helped Nicky and Buddy make a dinosaur village. (I never did figure out what that was.)

When Mrs. Pike got home it was 5:15 and time to make tracks to the Baby-sitters Club meeting. I said good-bye to the children, got on my bike, and rode off in a hurry, deciding to go to Mary Anne's house and pick her up beforehand.