Sydney to the Max

Ugh! I ate too much.

I know. I love going to church,

but nothing prepared me for

the after‐church brunches. I'm stuffed.

I am so full, my belly button went from an innie to an outie.

And now for the best part...

All: (sighs) Ahh!

I told y'all to pace yourself, but you never learn.

I think that was the best brunch yet.

The Franklins were such great hosts.

Yeah, they made me feel so at home,

I accidentally told another guest,

"Thanks for stopping by."

You know what?

Everyone's hosted us.

Isn't it time that we host them?

We have to do it at least once before

Lexi moves back to Savannah.

You'd do that for me?

Lexi, we'd do anything for you.

‐Copy that. ‐Wow.

Cooking for the entire church congregation?

That's a tall order,

but I think we can pull it off.

We better. We have a saying back in Savannah,

"You throw a bad brunch,

it'll be your last brunch, child."

Okay. I'd like to call

the first Reynolds Sunday Brunch Meeting

to order.

I've gone ahead and figured out

everyone's jobs,

so I'll handle decorations,

Grandma, you'll be in charge of music.

Perfect. I've been keeping a playlist

of all my favorite church brunch songs.

I call it my,

"pray list."

Lexi,

you always laugh when Uncle Max

tells those jokes.

What can I say?

The man cracks me up.

Dad, you and Lexi will be in charge of the food.

Whoa. That's a lot of food.

I don't know that Lexi's taught me enough yet.

Don't be nervous. You're ready for this.

Thank you, chef.

‐And Olive, your job is‐‐ ‐Making spreadsheets!

Already done!

We only have five days,

so I created a schedule

for all our tasks.

Yes, it's intense,

but I was generous,

and gave you each an hour of sleep.

‐(Winston whinnies) ‐Oh, wait.

We forgot to assign

Winston a job.

He's in charge of being cute.

So, just keep doin' what you're doin', boo.

Okay, team.

This week is gonna be a lotta work,

but I think we've got this brunch on lock.

We sure have. We're already on the church calendar.

Oh. That's weird.

Someone named, Lydia Robinson,

has also signed up to host brunch this Sunday.

Wait. So, there's two brunches on the exact same day?

Yeah. That happens.

But we're new at church,

and don't know that many people.

What if everyone goes to her brunch?

Well, can't you just book another Sunday?

Every Sunday for the next month is booked up.

By then, Lexi will be back in Savannah.

It's okay. Y'all tried.

You know what? Maybe if I talk to Lydia,

and explain how much this brunch matters to us,

she'll totally understand and move hers.

Yeah, I'll come with you,

and tell that Lydia lady what's what.

Actually, maybe I should just go alone.

Good idea, 'cause this Georgia peach

can turn rotten real quick.

Max, why are you playing your Mini Gamer

when you're standin' five feet

from full‐size arcade games?

Because your Dad said playing the games

was distracting us from...

Wait. What was I saying?

I believe you were practicing your

Employee of the Month speech.

Hey, guys. I am having a day.

What's wrong?

I'm working my shift at the store,

and my mom is making me watch Essence

while she's downstairs at this big shoe sale.

Would you guys mind watching her for a bit?

She's a handful, and you have twice as many hands.

Alisha, this is a place of business,

not a daycare center.

‐Absolutely‐‐ ‐Yes!

Absolutely yes.

Nice!

This place is way more fun than a lame science store.

Thanks, Max. This is so helpful.

That's me.

So helpful I can't help it.

Great. Now we're stuck babysitting

just because you have a crush on Alisha.

When are you gonna tell her already?

I'm not ready for her to know I like her.

What if she doesn't like me back?

That's why I'm playing the long game.

Well, whatever game you're playin', I'm the one losin'.

Hey, where's Essence?

Hey, cuz.

What are you doin' back there?

Just looking to see what prizes I wanna win.

Here's a dinosaur eraser.

It's your prize for winnin'

the "give us some space" game.

What kind of game is that?

The one where you go over there, and give us some space.

Dude. We were just talking about my crush on Alisha.

‐I know. ‐She could've heard us.

‐I know. ‐That'd be so bad for me.

I know.

Stop saying, "I know!"

Stop saying things that I know!

My Mom just paged me.

I gotta go meet her downstairs.

See ya.

Ask her! Ask her!

Ah, Essence, when you were back here

did you happen to hear what Max and I were talkin' about?

‐No. ‐(sigh of relief)

Just the part about Max having a crush on my sister. Bye!

Oh no.

Now you gotta tell Alisha how you feel.

Or Essence will do it for you.

I just wish I had more time.

Well, I wish I had an employee who didn't play video games all day,

but here we are.

Lydia's gonna be here any minute.

I just hope I can convince her to move her brunch.

Well, as the owner of this establishment,

I've got a way to butter her up.

Oh, a free smoothie?

Well, I was thinkin' half off,

but you're right. We gotta go big.

Hi. Sydney, right?

Oh, yes! Hi, Lydia.

Thank you for coming by.

This is my Dad.

Max. Welcome to Reynolds Rides.

Can I get you a free smoothie?

Anything you want.

Okay. How 'bout strawberry banana?

Shoot, we just ran out of strawberries.

Okay, uh, how about blueberry then?

You know, I'm, kind of, in a fight with my blueberry guy.

Uh, you got mangoes?

Mangoes. You got it!

How 'bout I just surprise you?

Sydney, I am so glad you reached out about the church brunch.

I've been thinking, and there's no reason

to have two church brunches the same day.

Exactly!

I mean, why do all that work

if only half the congregation is gonna show up?

You said it. Especially when it's so easy to reschedule.

I couldn't agree more.

Great. So, you'll move your brunch?

Totally! Wait. What?

No, uh, I‐‐

I thought that you meant you were gonna move yours.

Oh.

I'd be happy to reschedule,

but my little cousin, Lexi, is moving back to Savannah soon,

and I would hate to have her miss it.

This is her.

Oh. She is adorable.

Right?

I mean, who could say "no' to that face?

I feel the same way about my twin nephews

coming to my brunch.

Aren't they the cutest?

Yes. Quite cute.

But unfortunately, we've already bought all the groceries.

So did I.

And rented the tables and chairs,

put together a playlist, and picked out flowers.

Did that, did that, and then did that.

Any chance you haven't bought napkins yet?

I'm sorry, sweetie.

It looks like we're just gonna have to have two brunches.