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Chapter 52: Jana
"Thank heavens for little girls! Thaaaaaaaank heavens for little giiiiiiiirls! Thank heavens for little girls!"
Those were the only words Jana knew and she was too dizzy to try and remember anymore. "For...liiiitle....girls!" Jana gasped and, the world turning way too much for her, she took one final twirl over the grass and tumbled to the ground. Just as he had told her to do, she shut her eyes tightly and squealed in a mix between terror and delight, it felt like she was still spinning, just like the ride she threw up on in Elitch’s.
"Twenty nine.... Thirty. OK now you can get up now."
"Hehehehehe," Jana giggled and she opened her eyes, Jonathen’s face was spinning. "I did it, and I didn’t get sick either. So there, nyah! And I sang too."
The spinning was nearly stopped and it wasn’t so dizzy and it was easier to focus on Jonathen as he squatted on the grass next to her. "You didn’t sing," Jonathen said. "You just said the same thing over and over again."
A dart of anger flashed through Jana, and she sat up, feeling her cheeks flush. "I did too sing," she snapped. "I sang the song from the movie."
"Nope," Jonathen said, shaking his head, "You lose, you didn’t sing."
That was it! Jonathen was being mean again, aaannnd he was calling her a liar.
"I...did...too!" Jana growled. "Don’t call me a liar."
Jonathen sat back on his butt and crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn’t say you were a liar," he grinned. "I just said you didn’t sing."
How could he be so wrong? Jana thought. Wasn’t he always right? Wasn’t he smart, smarter than all the grown-ups? But he was wrong! Or else he was just being mean again.
"I did too sing," Jana grumbled, crossing her arms just like Jonathen, just to show him that she could be just as tough as he could. "You didn’t hear me. I sang the song from the movie. The movie with the girl and all the singing."
"Aw," Jonathen said, "Gigi? That was a stupid movie. That doesn’t count, so I say you didn’t sing a note."
Jana could not believe her ears, which were flaming with anger. Stupid? Stupid?! He had just called the most funny, pretty, fantastic movie in the world stupid? And he was still calling her a liar! Her tummy was hurting now. "You’re stupid!" Jana said as clearly as she could. "Put that in your kite and smoke it!"
Jonathen paused for a minute staring at her with a slightly stunned face. Good, Jana thought, I hurt his feelings! And then Jonathen began to laugh, not just laugh he was rolling on the ground and turning red and there were tears coming out of his eyes. That wasn’t the reaction she wanted.
"Pipe!" Jonathen wheezed, "It’s pipe! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!"
He fell to his back again and laughed harder. Jana wrinkled her nose, he was being meeean!
"Stop it!" She cried. "Stop laughing! I’m not wrong!"
But Jonathen wouldn’t stop laughing and Jana was getting angrier. She stood up and stomped her foot. "Stop!"
Jonathen coughed and blinked at her, swallowing his last laugh and standing up, towering over her. Ha! Jana thought, I’m not scared of you.
Jana stuck her tongue out and not missing a beat, Jonathen snatched the hair clip that her mom had let her use out of her hair and held it just out of her reach. Every time she tried to jump at the clip, Jonathen would bop her playfully on the head and ward her off. "Jonathen!" she snapped. "That’s not funny! That’s mommy’s clip! I promised I’d take care of it!"
Jana hugged herself and frowned. He wanted her to jump at him, fine, then she wouldn’t jump at him. She glanced over at the house, was there anyone in the kitchen to help her? She needed a grown-up! There was a grown-up, he had just stepped out onto the backyard.
"Mike!" Jana cried, "Mike help me! Jonathen’s being mean he stole my hair clippie and he called me a liar!"
Big ole red-headed Mike Keane sauntered onto the lawn and with a serious face, one of those scary serious faces, he looked straight at Jonathen, "That true?" he asked.
"Nah," Jonathen said.
"Liar!" Jana said reaching for the hair clip again and she was more infuriated when he again held it just out of her reach.
"Don’t think he’s gonna be scared of words," Mike said to her, "Show him who’s boss Grand Empress."
Jana pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "OK," she said, not wanting to let him down, Jana turned back to Jonathen who was hooting and hopping, and she slugged him in the gut.
"Oooof!" Jonathen groaned as he fell to the grass, relinquishing the hair clip.
Jana scooped it up and clipped it to her shirt. Now Jonathen was lying all hurt and red-faced. She felt bad.
"Thatta girl, good girl," Keane said. "Now tell him you’re sorry."
Jana frowned and she sat next to Jonathen patting his head. "I’m sorry," she said quietly.
"My fault," Jonathen gasped. "I had it coming... that was a good hit!"
Jana looked at her little fist and then wiped it against her shirt as Jonathen sat back up, a big smile on his face. At least he was OK.
"Mike," Jana said looking up at Keane, "Jonathen said I said what you told me to said was wrong."
"Aye?" Keane asked.
Jonathen smiled wiping grass off his jeans. "Jana said, ‘Put that in your kite and smoke it’, it’s pipe not kite."
Jana blinked and looked back at Keaner. "I said it right! Tell him! Tell him!"
Faith could not be stronger in her at that moment. She knew that Mike would come through, he always said the right things and he always was nice.
"Yah," Mike said looking at Jonathen, winning Jana’s eternal affection. "Your sis has it right. You’re wrong."
Jana grinned and put her hands on her hip. She was vindicated!
"Aw, come on!" Jonathen groaned. "It’s pipe! Kite makes no sense!"
"Well, get it right," Keaner said winking at Jonathen. "Get used to it, the ladies are always right. Grand Empress says it’s kite, then it’s kite."
Jonathen rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"Now get into the house, both of you," Keane said in a growly voice. "Your momma has a surprise for you but she’s gonna need your help, especially you, Empress, she’s gonna need you."
"Why?" Jana asked, this was sounding exciting, secret surprises and mommy needing her special help, he had said EX-SPESH-LEE! Exspeshlee her help was needed. Jonathen had told her just the day before that that was an important word.
"Get into the house!" Keaner roared sending a flush of excitement through Jana and she and Jonathen tore across the grass and clattered into the kitchen.
"Non!" she heard daddy yell, it was his angry bear yell.
Jonathen skid to a stop in the kitchen and threw his arm across Jana’s chest to stop her. "Wait," he whispered. "Just a sec, I wanna hear."
"Ooooh Patrick, my love, what could she hurt? Is it because I picked the girl? Mitchell decided to keep the boy, I’m so sorry," Mommy said.
Jana looked straight into Jonathen’s eyes which were wide open.
"But she’s such a darling! Just a little thing, aren’t you a sweetie!" Mommy said.
"That’s not even a dog!" Patrick snapped.
"Doggie!" Jana whispered and she looked behind her at Keaner who had come back into the kitchen. He had a big smile through his red beard and he shoved her and Jonathen into the living room.
Right in the middle of the floor was Mommy with the cutest, fluffiest, puppy she had ever seen. It was running in circles around Mommy and wagging its curly tail on its fluffy, fluffy butt.
"Yip! Yip!" went the puppy.
"Eeeeeep!" Jana squealed in delight.
Mommy, Daddy, and the puppy all stopped still and looked at them. Daddy said a bad word in French and put his face in his hands and Mommy smiled, "Look at the baby, isn’t she cute?"
The puppy scampered forward at Jana’s feet, baring its tiny puppy teeth and snatching Jana’s sock in its mouth. How cute! Jana scooped it up in her arms, holding it to her face and barely hearing the sound of her sock ripping as most of it stuck in the puppy’s teeth.
"You’re right dad," Jonathen said, lifting an eyebrow, "That’s not even a dog!"
"Oh, so sad Freddy had to go to Jack’s house," Mommy said, "He would love her!"
"A girl puppy?" Jana asked.
Mommy nodded and then Jana saw Daddy’s angry face. He didn’t want the puppy! He would make them not keep it and then she would end up in the cold and on the street and get picked on by mean dogs and then maybe she would die of not eating and it would all be because Daddy didn’t want her!
Jana turned and handed the puppy to Jonathen and looked at Daddy. Mike was right, Mommy was gonna need her help exspeshlee!
"Daddy," Jana said, turning her mouth down at the corners just right, "Daddy I love you."
Daddy shook his head. "Nope," he said quickly, "It’s not gonna work."
Even though she was suddenly so angry she could stomp her foot through the floor Jana didn’t. She knew this was too important to mess up, way too important.
"Daddy," Jana said, bringing the tears to her eyes, trembling a little bit, hugging herself, "She has no other place to go, Daddy what if I were missing and some nice family took me in and their daddy wouldn’t take care of me and I died!"
It was working! Jana didn’t laugh though as she saw Daddy’s eyes tremble just a little bit. He was still trying to act tough. Hah! That never worked for him!
"Princess," Daddy said, trying to soften her up, standing up from his seat and coming to her, trying to give her a big, strong, hug.
"No!" Jana snapped, stepping away from him and hugging Jonathen and the puppy. And she said the magic phrase, the most important phrase, and the phrase she knew never to use too much, only for special occasions. "You don’t love me anymore!"
The puppy licked her face and she heard Keaner laugh.
"She is kinda cute, dad," Jonathen said, looking up at Daddy. Jana decided she loved Jonathen again.
"Alright!" Daddy snapped, "but I’m not the one to take care of her, and neither will your mother, you children read those books and you take care of her! And name her! Or I’ll be calling her Fluff-Butt!"
"Merci!" Jana cried, pleased with herself, so pleased that she gave Daddy a big hug, "I love you!"
"Just name her," Daddy grumbled, but Jana could feel him squeeze her.
"Gigi!" Jana squealed. "Her name is Gigi!"
"Ooooh God!" Jonathen moaned. "Mom not that!"
Mommy smiled. "Oh, that’s nice!" she said. "I like it!"
Jana laughed and hugged Gigi taking her from Jonathen’s arms.
"Gigi," Daddy muttered and he walked over to Keaner, "Gigi?"
Keaner laughed. "Thank heavens for little girls!"
"Oh shut up!" Daddy snapped.
Jana didn’t care that Daddy was in a kinda bad mood. She kissed Gigi and closed her eyes. A Grand Empress in her palace, with a new puppy to call her own.
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