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Original Airdate: 05/04/98
It's Sunday morning and the Camdens are at church services. When Matt moves to sit next to Ruthie, Ruthie in turns moves away from Matt. Simon tells him she is just expressing what they all feel – that he is abandoning the family to go to college. Matt tells Simon if he helps him get through to Ruthie, then he will help Simon train Happy for the Pow-Chow dog food contest. Simon agrees. Lucy finds the family while carrying Billy, and Wilson and Mary soon follow. To Eric's surprise, even Lucy's ex-boyfriends Rod and Jimmy also enter the church.Back at the house, Annie is making a salad when Wilson and Mary come in and raid the refrigerator and talk about whether Billy is tired or hungry. Still at the church, Rod and Jimmy tell Eric they want to study him as part of their career day at school. Eric agrees, and the two give Eric their pager numbers, in case there is a church emergency.
Simon and Matt try to think of a trick to teach Happy. They come up with a "dead dog" trick but when Ruthie says "dead dog" Happy raises her paw to shake. Ruthie then walks off, still refusing to talk to Matt.
Eric comes home and tells Annie about Rod and Jimmy. She tells him that she thinks Mary and Wilson are starting to become like a married couple, and they need a break from each other. She says she has a plan to get all of the kids out of the house this summer and have them go to camps. Eric is enchanted by the idea.
Matt finds Billy galloping upstairs and picks the little guy up and takes him to Mary's room, only to find Mary and Wilson in each others arms asleep on her bed. He turns around, hands Billy to Lucy, then goes in the room and slams the door. After Matt yells at them, Mary slaps him across the face. Wilson leaves, and Mary and Matt exchange harsh glances.
Mary goes downstairs to tell her parents that nothing happened, and they tell her she can go to basketball camp this year. Mary is ecstatic and wants to rush up and call Wilson, but they say she should spend a couple days away from him. Instead, she goes to her room and has Lucy call Wilson to tell him the news.
The next day at school, Matt meets with the counselor who asks if Matt has told his parents about his summer job yet. When Matt says he hasn't, the counselor tell shim he better hurry, because it will be in the local paper tomorrow afternoon. Matt exits the office and Mary and Lucy see him and wonder what is up.
After school, Mary and Lucy search the kitchen for snacks. Lucy refuses to go to Camp Catch-A-Pride, but Annie tells her to think it over some more. Simon and Ruthie come home and Simon is still trying to get Happy to do the trick. Seems Happy will do the trick when they are alone, but never in front of other people.
Jimmy and Rod follow Eric to his daily visits, and they arrive at the retirement home. There, Eric takes a woman in a wheelchair for a stroll, leaving Rod and Jimmy in the activity center. When he comes back a short time later, he finds the room has been transformed into a dance hall.
Before she can mail the basketball camp registration form, Mary is required to have a physical. Also, since Annie hasn't had one recently, her doctor suggested she have one as well. When they arrive at the doctor's, Mary tells Annie about Matt's summer job and that instead of leaving in a few months, Matt only has a couple of days left with the family.
Later that night, Annie is cleaning the kitchen when Simon comes in and asks her to watch Happy's trick. Matt comes in and tells both Annie and Eric that he has good news and bad news. The good news is that he is valedictorian. The bad news is that he got a summer job in Washington D.C, a government gig, and that he leaves in a few days. Heartbroken, Ruthie leaves and goes upstairs.
The next day, Eric takes Simon and Happy to the Pow-Chow contest to do the trick. Simon is a little nervous, but Happy performs the trick flawlessly, and wins over all the judges. They all rush home so they can see the trick on the news with the family. Unknown to all of them, a little girl was also watching the news and screams. When her dad runs in, she exclaims that the "blonde kid" stole her dog Whitey and she wants him back. Her father calms the girl down and says he will get her dog back.
Annie and Eric go to the kitchen to grab some ice-cream to celebrate Happy's success when the phone rings. As Annie waits for Doctor Peterson to be transferred to the line, Eric walks in. Annie tells the doctor thanks for calling and then tells Eric that Mary is pregnant.
TO BE CONTINUED….