Yes, the father of Mary Anne, who, as you know, became my stepsister! You see, Mary Anne's mom died when she was a baby. Mary Anne doesn't even remember her, and Richard didn't talk about her at all for years. Her death left him shocked and heartbroken, and he could barely make it through the day. He even left Mary Anne with her grandparents for a long time, until he could pull himself together.
Eventually he took her back and raised her by himself. Now, he is not exactly Mr. Laid Back. With Mary Anne, he became incredibly strict. He made her wear little-girl clothes, keep her hair in pigtails, and come in for super-early curfews until seventh grade. Mary Anne hated that, but she forgives him. She says he was just worried about being a perfect mother and father.
Whatever.
Fortunately, he treats her like a true thirteen-year-old now. He's still kind of stuffy, and super-organized. (Make that mega-organized. Twrbo-organized. I mean, he wears his shirts in a strict order each day so they wear out evenly.) But my mom liberated him. Now, how would you picture a woman who'd fall in love with Richard Spier? Guess again. My mom couldn't be more different. She's . . . well, easy-going, fun-loving, carefree, ab-sentminded. . . .
Okay, okay, she's sort of a space cadet. Not always, but she does do some pretty strange things. In our house, it is not unusual to find a mitten in the refrigerator or a set of keys in the microwave. And it's kind of amazing we manage to eat regular dinners. Once I discovered raisins in my clam chowder. Another time she made a yogurt-based salad dressing with