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Original Airdate: 9/23/96
When Happy decides to go on a shoe-eating rampage with Eric as the unlucky victim, Simon stashes the chewed up soles under his bed, making Ruthie promise not to tell Dad. Later, Simon finds out from Matt why Happy is acting so strangely - Happy is going to have puppies. Meanwhile, Annie's parents head back to Arizona, and Annie is uncertain whether she will ever see her mother alive again, due to her illness - leukemia. Having not told the kids yet, Matt begins to ask what is going on.
Figuring he better make up for Happy eating dad's shoes, Simon gleefully does not only his own chores, but those of his other siblings as well. Hovering in the kitchen are both Mary and Lucy - waiting for their respective boyfriends to call. While everybody is distracted with other issues, Simon tries to figure out the right time to tell his parents about the expected pups. Getting the phone before the girls, Matt makes a date with a mysterious girl which causes both girls to talk about their own love interests. Matt tells Annie he is going to the library to study.
The next morning, Eric is pacing the kitchen when Matt comes through the back door. As angry as a minister can be, Eric listens as Matt tells him he fell asleep on the couch at a friend's house - who happened to be a girl. Mary and Lucy try to reason out what Matt was really doing, and Simon questions Matt about being in trouble - thinking this is his perfect chance to tell his parents about the puppies. Matt talks him out of it however, telling Simon that bad news on top of bad news isn't a good thing.
When Eric gets ready to go to the local hospital, he looks all over for his shoes and eventually goes to Annie in the kitchen, who is helping Ruthie with her ABC's. Annie helps Eric remember where all of his personal items are, and expresses her concern over Matt's situation the previous night. Although she believes Matt when he says nothing happened, they both agree they must punish Matt.
While at school, Matt meets up with his lifelong friend, Jeff, and warns him about not going out with his sister. When Jeff asks what the big deal is, Matt tells him that it would be too weird.
At the hospital, Eric is making his rounds with his aching feet in brand new shoes, when a nurse stops to ask him if she can help. Taking her hand of friendship, Eric allows her to take his shoes across the street to have them stretched. When he tells the nurse he's married, has five kids, and is a minister, she shrugs it off and walks away,
Back at the house, the kids raid the refrigerator. Matt is forced into telling his mom about his friend. He tells Annie he will bring her by sometime to meet the family, and leaves to go study. When Renee, the friend, calls for Matt, Annie asks her over for dinner that night. Upon arriving, the family is stunned to find her pregnant. And all eyes look at Matt. Seeing this as "good news," Simon cheerily tells his parents about Happy's puppies as well.
While at the dinner table, Simon grills Renee about the baby. When the conversation fails to change, Simon continues with his interrogation. After dinner, Eric says he's proud of Matt for being her friend. The girls pretend their pregnant with basketballs in their room.
When Eric goes to Renee's father's house to talk to him, he gets the door slammed in his face - not once, not twice, but three different times. Back at the house, Matt finally gets the answers about his grandmother's terminal illness.
Eric sets out to find the father of Renee's baby, finding instead his brother, and mistakenly offers the brother a job at the local pool hall. Later, the real father comes to the house and accepts the job, asking Eric to find a job for his brother as well.
Matt and Simon have a heart to heart where Simon tells Matt he should marry Renee because she's sweet, she's pretty and she has good table manners. Later, Simon asks his parents about setting up a lemonade stand between Sunday school and church so people won't leave. Reluctant at first, Annie and Eric agree. While serving lemonade, Simon makes a bundle in donations to get his dad new shoes.
Inside the service, Renee gets up to sing and is surprised and comforted to see both her baby's father, and her own father, come through the door.