Now. Back to the drama of the stir-fried dinner. Act One, the Preparation. I threw in some vinegar and soy sauce and it began to smell delicious. Even Mary Anne agreed. I checked the rice on the back burner, and it was perfect.

Mary Anne dressed the salad we'd made (with a homemade, p/ain-yogurt-based dressing), and we were ready for . . .

Act Two. It began with the ringing of the doorbell and the opening of the front door. "What smells so fabulous?"

Enter my mom, Sharon Porter Schafer Spier. Wearing a summery-print oversized blouse and matching shorts, she breezed into the kitchen and gave her daughter and stepdaughter a kiss. "What a treat to come home to dinner!" she exclaimed.

She exited.

A few minutes later Richard Spier arrived, and he immediately set the table. (Forks and knives for him and Mary Anne, chopsticks for Mom and me.)

Act Three. Dinner.

Theme: Health food can taste good.

"My compliments to the chefs," Richard said.

"What's your secret?" Mom asked.

"The different textures," I explained.

"And the right amount of arrowroot," Mary Anne added.

Richard stopped chewing. "What?"

Mary Anne gave me a look. We both started laughing.

"Just eat, dear," Mom said with a smile.

Richard shrugged and munched. Before long we were all jabbering away. Well, not all. Richard doesn't jabber. He speaks, slowly and clearly. But even he was pretty psyched about something. You could see it in his eyes. It was the look he gets when he has something to

say about the stock market (zzzzzz). But this time it was actually about something interesting.

"I was reading in theStamford paper about the joint fund-raising event by the Chambers of Commerce of Stoneybrook and Lawrence-ville," he said. (Hang in there, it gets better.) "This, um, 'Run for Your Money/ I believe it's called? It looks interesting. Anyone can form a team — coworkers, families, friends — and there are all kinds of crazy events. You pay a fee to enter and the proceeds go to charities. I think Stoneybrook's donating to an organization for the homeless, and Lawrence-ville chose a literacy program."