New Beginnings: Back to the
Ranch-chapter 5
by Sampast and Huggedlots
Copyright © 1999
Regular disclaimers apply -
see index page
The next day, Bob took
Maggie to camp, himself.
"All right, now,
behave yourself!" he called after her.
Maggie turned around and gave her daddy a big hug. "I will,
Daddy, I will." Maggie, Heather, and Bob had had a very long talk the
night before. Again, she had explained her need to help her friend, Pam. Bob
was a little more understanding this time, and at least had tried to accept
what Maggie was saying. He still felt that what she did was wrong, but he
agreed to disagree with her. Maggie knew that would be the best he could do.
But she did promise she would behave herself. For a while, anyway.
Maggie gave Bob one last
hug and kiss and ran off to see if Pam was there yet. She was. The two friends
hugged hello.
"Maggie, I just wanted
to thank you again for yesterday. You really made me feel a lot better. I'm
sorry I got you in trouble, though. Your dad looked really mad," Pam said.
"Yeah, you could say
that. But we talked, and everything's all right now," Maggie insisted.
"Wow! You're so lucky.
My dad probably wouldn't even have listened to what I would say," Pam
said.
"What do you
mean?" Maggie asked.
The two girls sat on a
bench and continued to talk. It was still early; most of the campers weren't
even there yet. Not even Robin and Jennifer. Maggie kept looking out for them.
Pam said, "Well, my
dad was hardly ever home. And when he was, he wasn't interested in what I was
doing. If I got into any trouble, he'd tell my mother to handle it. And she
didn't do anything either."
"Sounds very
familiar," Maggie said.
"What do you mean? You
seem to have a big family, who cares about you. Even your uncle. Can you keep a
secret?" Pam asked.
"Sure," said
Maggie.
"I think I have a
crush on your uncle."
"Really? You do?"
"Well, I didn't at
first. He was kind of strict. But I found that I kind of liked it, you
know?" Pam asked.
Maggie just laughed. She
wondered what her Aunt Lisa would think if she told her that a twelve year old
girl had a crush on HER husband.
"Anyway, tell me what
you meant when you said, it sounded familiar, Maggie." "Well, I told
you that my parents were divorced yesterday, remember?" Maggie asked.
"Yeah, you said your
mom was really young when she had you and that your father took off. But you
made it sound like that was a long time ago. Your father now cares about you a
lot. I can tell," Pam said.
Maggie nodded. "Yeah,
but he only adopted me a few months ago. He's only been my daddy for less than
a year."
"Really? I never would
have known. You are so lucky!" "Yeah, I really am. But I wasn't for
awhile, you know. This time last year, I just wondered around where ever I
wanted. I had no rules. I thought my mother didn't love me. All she did was
drink and hang out with her friends, and. . ."
Maggie became silent. She
noticed Pam was looking away. "What's the matter?" "You just
described my life," Pam said quietly.
"Oh, I'm so
sorry," Maggie said, putting her arms around her new friend. "I
didn't mean to upset you."
Pam let Maggie hug her for
a minute, then shook her off. "No, that's okay. You have a great life now.
That means that there's hope for me." They sat back down and Maggie
finished her story. She told Pam about last summer and how Charlie had rescued
her several times. And punished her several times. She then told how she and
her mom had moved down to Long Island, and her mom had hooked up with Charlie's
brother.
"HEY! Does your uncle
have any more brothers?" Pam asked. Maggie laughed and shook her head.
"No, sorry," she said. Then they both laughed.
At that moment, Robin and
Jennifer came running up. "Hey!" Robin said. "What's so
funny?" Jenn asked.
"Nothing. Nothing at
all," Pam said. She and Maggie laughed some more. Then Maggie asked,
"How come you two are so late?"
Robin answered, "We're
not late. You're early! Your dad and our dad were going to play golf today.
Doesn't that sound boring?"
"Yeah, they were
wearing funny pants, and they left already. Daddy told Mommy he was gonna get a
hole in one, just for her."
Robin started to laugh.
"Yeah, and I thought he meant, a hole in his pants!" All the girls
began laughing. Pam was glad she and Maggie had had time for their private
conversation before the twins showed up. She was a good friend. And Pam needed
some good friends.
Before long, the counselors
called all the girls over to take attendance and plan their day. The girls
skipped over, looping all their arms around each other's waists.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Lisa and Heather
stood outside the corner store. "Well?" Lisa asked. "Are you
going to do it?"
"Yes," Heather
decided, "I am." She walked up to the store, started to pull open the
door, and then stopped.
"Oh, Lisa, I can't.
I'm scared."
"Come on, Heather. You
have to know. Just go buy the test. Then we'll worry about whether you actually
take it."
"You're right. I know
you're right. But..."
"But, what? This is
perfect. Bob is gone for the whole day, with Charlie. It will give you the
chance to take the pregnancy test, and also to deal with the results. Come on
now, Heather, I'm here for you," Lisa said. Heather hugged Lisa. "Oh,
I know you are. And I appreciate it so much. I really do. But, but I'm
afraid."
"Oh, for crying out
loud!" Lisa yelled, losing patience. She disappeared into the store. She
came out a few minutes later, with a small paper bag. She thrust it into
Heather's hands and said, "There, now, step one is over." Heather
stared at Lisa, and then slowly opened the bag. Inside, was an over the counter
pregnancy test.
"Come on, now. Let's
walk back to the cabin."
Lisa pulled Heather along.
When they got to the door, Heather hesitated again. "Oh, Lisa, what if I
am? What if Bob isn't ready for a baby? After all, Maggie is quite a
handful."
"Yes, she is. But Bob
will be so excited. If you are pregnant, this'll be a baby you created
yourselves. Charlie and I have been talking about having children together, as
well. That doesn't mean I love the twins any less," Lisa said calmly.
"Oh, I know. Oh, Lisa,
you're right! And besides, I might not even be pregnant. I should just take the
test and know for sure. Right?" Heather asked.
Lisa nodded. "Yes, you
should. Come on!" She grabbed Heather's hand and pulled her into the cabin
she and Bob and Maggie were staying in. There were clothes everywhere.
Heather looked around.
"Oh, maybe I should clean up first. I promised Bob this place would be
neat when he got back." Heather started picking up clothes. Lisa knocked
them out of her hands.
"Heather, you're
stalling. Besides, you have plenty of time to do that. Bob and Charlie just
left. They won't be back for hours!" Lisa stated. Heather looked at Lisa
and smiled. "Yes, of course, you're right. Okay, Lisa, I'm going to do
it." She picked up the pregnancy test and headed for the bathroom.
"Keep your fingers crossed."
Lisa asked, "Which way
am I keeping them crossed for?" She grabbed Heather's arm. "Are you
hoping you are, Heather?"
Heather smiled, and shook
her head. "Yes, I am. I really am. I can't believe it, but I am."
* * *
Lisa stood outside the
bathroom door, waiting. Finally, she couldn't stand it another second. She
knocked on the door. "Well?" she called to Heather. Heather opened
the bathroom door. She was crying. Lisa took one look at her and began to cry,
too. "Oh, Heather, I'm so sorry." They held each other close.
Heather pulled away.
"No, it's not that. Lisa, I am pregnant!" "WHAAAAAAT!?"
They turned to see who the
voice belonged to. It was Maggie. "Mom? You're pregnant?"
Heather looked to Lisa for
some advice. Lisa just shook her head. She didn't know what to say. Who could
have known that Maggie would pick that precise moment to come back and overhear
that? She'd be mortified if the twins found that out by chance, and before she
could tell her husband, no less. "Oh, honey, isn't it wonderful? You're
going to have a baby brother or sister!" Heather declared, walking toward
Maggie, with outstretched arms. But Maggie pushed Heather away. "I don't
want a baby brother or sister! I can't believe this!" Maggie yelled, to no
one in particular. "You always have to ruin a good thing, MOM! Things were
going just great. And now this!" Maggie began to cry, and folded her arms
across her chest. She sunk down on the sofa, pushing the clothes, out of the
way.
Lisa went over to Maggie.
She touched her arm, but Maggie pulled away. Lisa looked up at Heather. She
could tell her sister in law was hurt by Maggie's words.
Heather came over to her
daughter. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Maggs. I didn't know
myself until a few minutes ago. What are you doing back here, anyway?"
Maggie picked up a piece of
clothing from the floor. "I forgot my bathing suit! But now I don't feel
like swimming anyway!"
Lisa said to Maggie.
"Tell me what you're feeling, sweetie." Maggie jumped up. "I
don't want to talk to you! I don't want to talk to anyone. I just want to be
alone!" At that, Maggie did one of her famous acts; she ran away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5b~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Warning: There is no
spanking in this part. But there is something more controversial. There is a
lot of humor. Don't say I didn't warn you. LOL. Enjoy! Please send any comments
to [email protected])
Maggie bolted out of the
cabin. Away from her aunt, away from her mother, away from this newest news,
that her mother was pregnant. Pregnant. She couldn't believe it. Everything had
been perfect. Her daddy had finally adopted her and everyone was happy. Why did
her mother have to ruin things by becoming pregnant?
Robin, Jennifer, and Pam
were standing with the other kids waiting to go to the local swimming hole. All
of a sudden, they saw Maggie run past them. "Hey! Maggie, where're you
going?" Jenn called after her cousin. But Maggie didn't stop. Robin and
Jenn looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
"I don't think she's
coming swimming," Robin noted.
Pam announced, "I'd
better go check on her. Here, hold onto this." Pam flung her bag that held
her towel and ran off after Maggie. Maggie was heading toward the woods.
"Do you think we
should tell someone, Jenn?" Robin asked. Jenn nodded. "We'd better.
Remember what happened last time?" Robin agreed. They both went to find
their counselor to fill her in on what happened.
Meanwhile, Lisa ran back
into the cabin. "Nope, sorry Heather, I couldn't catch up with her. She's
too fast," Lisa said, out of breath. Lisa sunk onto the couch. Heather
joined her, handing Lisa a glass of water. "Thanks."
"Well, at least you
tried," Heather said, putting her head in her hands. "I can't believe
what's happened. Of all times for Maggie to come back here." "Yeah,
that wasn't great timing," Lisa said.
"What am I gonna do?
Maggie's run off again. Bob and Charlie won't be back for hours, we have no way
of calling them, and then when they do come back, I'll have to tell Bob why she
ran off! It's not the most romantic way of telling your husband that you're
having his baby."
Lisa didn't know what to
say. She knew her sister in law was right, and there wasn't much to be said.
A little later, Maggie's
counselor, Susan, knocked on Heather's cabin door. Lisa had gone to lunch and
was going to bring some soup back for Heather. Heather was going to clean up
the cabin, but didn't. She was laying on the couch when Susan knocked.
Heather opened the door and
saw Susan. She invited her in.
"Oh, well, Mrs.
Clemente, I'm here, uh, well, what I mean is, I'm sorry to say, that Maggie's
run off again," Susan gulped.
"Yes, I know,"
Heather answered.
"You know?" Susan
asked surprised.
"Yes, she ran from
here. I'm sorry; I didn't even think to let you know. We, uh, sort of had a
little disagreement. Maggie is upset with me over something."
"Oh, I see. Well, do
you know where she might be?" Susan asked. Heather shook her head no.
"She could be anywhere. She could have gone to the waterfall, or back on
the trail. I really don't know." Heather sank back onto the couch. She
didn't know what to do.
Susan just stood there. She
didn't know what to do either. Then Lisa came back. She saw Susan and figured
out why the counselor was there. "I'm sorry, Susan. We should have let you
know that we knew Maggie ran off. We weren't thinking clearly after she
ran."
"Yes, Mrs. Clemente,
that's what Mrs. Clem-uh, yeah, she told me," Susan responded, pointing to
Heather. Then she added, "Well, we'll try to look for her. We'll let you
know when we've found her. You should know that it was the twins who let me
know Maggie was missing again."
Lisa said, "Was it?
Oh, good, I'm glad they told you." Susan said, "Yes, but this time
Pam went after Maggie." "Pam? Oh, no!" Heather said. "I'm
so sorry." "Well, like I said, we'll find them. Talk to you
later," Susan said before running off.
Heather tried to eat her
soup. She looked around at the messy cabin. "I really should clean this
place up. Bob'll be so mad."
"Bob's not going to
care about the state of the cabin, Heather. But, we can't just sit here. We
have to either go out and look for Maggie and Pam, or go find Charlie and
Bob," Lisa stated.
"Oh, no! I can't do
that!" Heather said.
"Heather! We have to
do something."
Heather knew Lisa was
right, but she didn't know what to do. She decided that finding Bob and Charlie
would be easier than finding Maggie. She finished her soup and she and Lisa got
into the car and set off for the closest golf course.
~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Pam ran pretty fast
to catch up to Maggie, who had stopped to rest on a rock in the woods.
"Wow, Maggs, you run
pretty fast for a little kid," Pam said, breathless. "Who you calling
a little kid?" Maggie asked defensively. "And what are you doing
here? Why'd you follow me? I ran off to be alone."
"Okay, okay, calm
down. I just thought you might like some company. Remember when I ran off? You
came after me. That's what friends do." "Yeah, I remember,"
Maggie stated.
Pam sat down next to Maggie
and put her arm around Maggie's shoulder. "So, you wanna talk about
it?"
"Not really. 'Cause if
I say it out loud, then it'll probably be true." "Oh, come on, how
bad can it be?" Pam asked.
"Really bad,"
Maggie stated. She was upset. She looked at Pam and continued, "I just found
out my mother is pregnant."
"Pregnant? You mean
she's gonna have a baby? Wow, that sucks." "Yeah, I know. Hey, thanks
for understanding."
"Well, I mean, I would
hate it. My mom would go off and leave me alone to take care of it, just
like..."
"Just like what?"
Maggie asked.
"Nothing, never mind.
But yeah, I mean, you're ten, right? That would be embarrassing having a little
baby for a brother or sister." "Well, that's not why I'm upset. It's
just that, well, I just got my daddy. And I like having him all to myself. I
don't want to share him with a baby. My mom really blew it. Things were going
really great. Boy, she really messed up. Big time."
Pam was quiet. She was
thinking about something else. The moment became very intense, and Maggie felt
it.
"What's the matter,
Pam? What's wrong?"
Pam began to cry.
"It's n-nothing. Don't worry about it." Maggie said, "Come on,
tell me. I'm the one who's supposed to be upset here, not you. So out with
it."
But before Pam could
answer, they heard their names being called. "PAM!"
"MAGGIE!"
Pam was about to answer,
when Maggie put her hand on Pam's mouth. "Shh! It's Adam, from the camp.
Don't answer. I'm not ready to be found. Come on, let's hide."
The girls ran behind the
rock, and Adam and the others walked right past them. "What'd you do that
for, Maggie?" Pam asked.
"Look, if you want to
go back, go ahead. I need to be alone now, to think." Pam stood undecided.
Maggie said, "Go, if
you want."
Pam said, "Nah, I'll
stay with you. You might need me."
~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, after checking
with four golf courses, Lisa and Heather finally located the one Bob and
Charlie were at. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of the course, and they
couldn't get to them.
Then Lisa had an idea.
"Come on, let's go!"
"Where? What? Lisa,
what are you doing?" Heather exclaimed. Heather stood planted to the
ground, and watched in horror as Lisa grabbed the keys to a security golf car
and jumped inside. "Come on, Heather, let's go!" she shouted.
Heather looked around.
There was an angry guy in a golf shirt heading towards them.
"Come on!" Lisa
insisted. "It's now or never!" Heather looked back at the man and
then at Lisa and jumped in. Once seated, Lisa turned the key and zoomed off.
The man tried chasing them
on foot, yelling, "STOP! STOP!" But Heather and Lisa did not stop.
They just kept on going. After a minute, Heather turned to Lisa and said,
"Lisa! I didn't know you could be so wild!" Lisa laughed and said,
"I didn't either. Come on, let's go find Charlie and Bob."
The two women drove through
each hole. They asked each set of people if they could play through. Most of
them had no problem. At one hole, there were two elderly gentlemen who did not
want to let them pass.
Lisa was getting annoyed.
She was increasingly worried about Maggie, and didn't want these men getting in
her way. She picked up the security megaphone and yelled into it, "LOOK! I
got a pregnant woman in this car, who's daughter is missing, and we need to
find her husband. So get OUTTA OUR WAY!" The men stepped back, and let
Lisa and Heather pass. Heather grabbed the megaphone from Lisa and said,
"Oh, my god, Lisa! You are out of control." The two women were
hysterically laughing, when they finally found Bob and Charlie. Lisa wished she
could save the look on Charlie's face when he figured out who was in the
security car that was zipping up to them. Bob didn't see yet, as he was bending
over his club, lining up his shot. Charlie nudged him, and Bob said, "Hey,
watch it, bro!"
Charlie said, "Um, I
think you need to see this, little brother." Bob said, "What?"
Then he looked up and he noticed Heather and Lisa in the golf security car.
"What the hell!"
Lisa pulled up to the two
men and stopped the car. They both hurried over. "Lisa, what's going
on?" Charlie asked.
"Yeah, honey, what are
you two doing here?" Bob asked, surprised. Before they could answer,
another security golf car pulled up. "Okay, there they are," one man
said. "Arrest them."
"What?!" Lisa
asked, as one man grabbed her.
"Hold on a second.
That's my wife. What are you doing to her?" Charlie asked. Charlie was
ready to punch these men.
"These two women stole
this golf car," the man said.
Bob looked from Heather to
Lisa and shook his head. "I cannot believe this," he said.
"Officer, just hold on a minute. Something is going on here. I think we
need to hear what our wives have to say."
"Oh, Bob! It's Maggie!
She's run off again!" Heather wailed. "What? Why? What
happened?" Bob asked, concerned.
Charlie nodded to the
officers and went over to Lisa. He pulled her aside and asked her what was
going on. Lisa whispered to Charlie what Maggie overheard and how she ran off.
"Oh, boy!"
Charlie said. "Okay, let me see if I can't get Officer Chip and Officer
Dale off your backs." He started to walk away and then turned back to Lisa
and whispered, "Hon, did you really steal this vehicle?" Lisa just
nodded. Charlie couldn't believe it. He didn't know whether to be angry or
amused. He couldn't picture his wife stealing anything. While Charlie spoke to
the security officer and the police, Heather spoke quietly to Bob.
"Honey, tell me, what
happened?" Bob asked.
"Oh, hon, this isn't
how I wanted to tell you," Heather said. "I don't understand. What do
you mean? Heather! You'd better tell me, right now!" Bob commanded.
Heather started to cry.
"Oh, hon, don't cry. I'm sorry," Bob said. He took a deep breath and
said, "Okay, I'm calm. Please tell me whatever it is you need to tell
me."
Heather took a deep breath
and said, "Bob, I'm pregnant." "PREGNANT?"
Heather nodded and said,
"Yes."
"Well, why didn't you
just say so?" Bob whooped. Then he picked Heather up and swung her around.
"Hey, everyone, did you hear? We're going to have a baby!"
Charlie and Lisa both hugged
Bob and Heather. Everyone was congratulating them. Even the security officer
was happy, and agreed not to press charges. Well, really, how could he, under
the circumstances?
Bob looked around and said,
"But, why here? I don't understand." "Well, Bob, this isn't
exactly the way I wanted to tell you. It's just that, well, Maggie, she
overheard me tell Lisa. That's why she ran off," Heather explained.
Bob said, "Oh, so
that's what did it. Oh, that poor little girl." "What do you mean,
honey?" Heather asked.
They were walking towards
Charlie and Bob's golf cart as they had their little discussion.
Bob continued, "Well,
Hon, think of what she must think. She's so happy and then we go and have a baby.
She must think she wasn't enough for us. She's going to have a hard time
dealing with this, I think."
"And you?"
Heather asked, uncertainly.
"Me? I think it's
wonderful. Don't you worry about that. Okay?" Bob asked. "Okay."
"Let's just get back
and find Maggie. And don't even worry about that. We'll assure her that we love
her. She'll come to accept the baby in due time, as well."
Bob and Heather got into
their car, while Charlie and Lisa got into their car. They drove as fast as was
possible without getting speeding tickets, back to the ranch. Bob walked with
Heather into the cabin.
"I'll find her, hon,
don't you worry," Bob said.
"I know you will, hon.
And I'm sorry I had to tell you the news that way," Heather said.
"Are you kidding? How
many men get to hear about their wife's pregnancy on a golf course, surrounded
by security and the police?" Bob joked. "Oh, Bob!" Heather said,
putting her arms around her husband. "I love you so much."
"And I love you so
much," Bob said, looking around the cabin. He grabbed a water bottle and a
flashlight. "I hope I won't be needing this," he said, referring to
the flashlight. It was still early in the day, and Bob hoped he would find
Maggie before dinner.
Suddenly there was a knock
on the door. Bob opened it. It was Charlie. In his hand was a first aid kit and
a water bottle. Bob also noticed Charlie had a flashlight in his pocket.
"Ready?" Charlie
asked.
"Oh, you don't have
to, Charlie, it's okay," Bob said. "Are you kidding? Come on, let's
go!" Charlie said, smiling. Bob smiled back. Then he peeked back into the
cabin and jokingly said to Heather, "Hey, how 'bout cleaning this place up
while I'm gone?" Heather laughed, so she wouldn't cry. "Okay, hon. Be
careful!" "I will," Bob called to her. "And don't worry,
we'll find her." Bob closed the cabin door and followed Charlie off down
the trail, toward the woods, where the twins had told Susan Maggie had run off
to. They hoped they would find Maggie, and Pam, in a short amount of time.
Warning: Hold on to your
seats, and grab a hankie, this is an intense one!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5c~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bob and Charlie searched
and searched for Maggie. Charlie told Bob about last summer when Maggie ran off
to the waterfall. He had a feeling that Maggie might be there. They decided to
look there first. It was a long walk up there.
Meanwhile, Maggie and Pam
arrived at the waterfall. "Oh, Pam, isn't it beautiful?" Maggie
asked.
"Yes, it really is. I
love waterfalls." Pam sat down on a rock next to Maggie. "So, how're
you doing?" Pam asked.
"Well, it's starting
to sink in, I guess. It's not like there's much I can do about it. I just wish
it weren't true. I wish my mom wasn't pregnant," Maggie said, sighing.
"But, I don't
understand," Pam said. "Why wouldn't you want a cute little baby
brother or sister? They're really fun to play with, and cuddle, and you can
tell bedtime stories, and. . . well, never mind." Pam realized she had
gotten carried away.
But Maggie turned and
stared at her. "And what? Come on, Pam, don't stop there. Besides, how do
you know any of this? You told me you were an only child!"
"Yes, but," she
began.
Maggie was becoming
impatient. "But, what? Tell me." Pam began to cry. "I, I wasn't
always an only child. I had a brother." "Had? What do you mean? Oh,
Pam, what happened?"
Pam looked up at Maggie,
tears running down her cheeks, "He-he-he died." "What? You had a
brother, who died? Oh, my god, I'm so sorry," Maggie said, putting her arm
around Pam. "Tell me, please, what happened?" "He, he was just a
tiny thing. Only a few months old. They said it was crib death. My parents, my
parents were so upset. I'd never seen them like that. They didn't even try to
communicate with each other. Everyone was so upset for so long, so quiet. Then
the arguing started. I couldn't deal. I left the house whenever I could. Then
my parents just split up."
"That's so awful. OH,
Pam, I didn't know."
"No, of course, you
didn't. How could you?" Pam asked, tearfully. Maggie didn't know what to
say. She just sat there, with her arm around Pam's, trying to be a good friend.
"How, how long ago was this?" Maggie asked. "I was 9 when Billy
died. So, about 3 years ago. My parents don't talk to each other at all. I know
that what they did wasn't healthy. They probably do, too, but it's been so
long, now. I guess it's too late," Pam said sadly. Already the wheels were
turning inside Maggie's head. There must be something she could do, to help Pam
and her parents. Her daddy would know, or Uncle Charlie. She had to ask them,
right away. Oh, but wait, she had run away. That was a bad thing to do! Why did
she always do that, she wondered to herself.
She thought back to the
first time that her daddy had punished her after running away. Bob wasn't even
her daddy yet. In fact, he had just met Maggie and Heather. It was Thanksgiving
last year. She had run off after she heard Bob and Heather having words. Uncle
Charlie and Bob had found her in the playground. Maggie recalled the
conversation with Bob, later, in her room:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Shhhh, little
one," Bob crooned to Maggie until she calmed down. "Okay, first of
all, running from our problems rarely solves anything. Secondly, it is
dangerous, and makes everyone who loves you crazy with worry. Right?"
"Yes Sir."
"Okay, so hearing your
mom and I have some words made you run, right?"
"Yes sir."
"It scared you?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay, I think I
understand," Bob acknowledged.
"You do?" Maggie
asked, thinking that her plan was ruined.
"Yes, and it's okay. I
do like your mom," Bob told her.
"Then why did you yell
at each other? I thought you hated each other," Maggie admitted.
Bob smiled, and looking
down at Maggie, told her, "You know what, you two are going to be
interesting to get to know better, but honey, I think you better get used to
your mom and I having words with one another. It is okay. It does NOT mean we
don't like each other; it's just the way some people communicate. Your mom and
I well, I guess I can't explain it, but trust me, it is all part of getting to
know each other, okay? Now, I want you to promise me something..."
"What?" Maggie
asked, surprised.
"I want you to promise
me, if you start to feel unhappy and like you need to run, that you'll talk to
an adult. Okay?" Bob asked.
"Yes sir, I
promise."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I promise. Oh, Maggie's own
words rang through her head. She had promised. She had promised her daddy that
she wouldn't run away any more. But she had done it. And not just this time,
but many times. Maggie was suddenly very angry at herself.
She jumped up off the rock,
and said, "C'mon, Pam, we gotta go." "What? Why? Maggie, what's
wrong?" Pam asked, surprised. "I made a promise to my Daddy. I have
to keep it. We have to go back. C'mon!" Maggie said, pulling Pam up.
Suddenly, Maggie slipped
and started to fall into the water. Pam tried to hold on to Maggie, but her
grip wasn't strong enough. Maggie realized that if she didn't grab onto something
soon, she would go straight down the river, and then over another small
waterfall.
Maggie was scared.
"Please, Pam, don't let go!" she screamed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie and Bob were
walking along, when Bob suddenly stopped. "Charlie? Did you hear
that?"
"No, what?"
"It sounded like
screaming. It sounded like Maggie. Come on!" Bob shouted, and ran in the
direction of Maggie's voice.
By this time, Charlie heard
it, too. Within minutes, they were at the waterfall, and saw Pam trying to hold
on to Maggie. Maggie was in the river, and was holding on to Pam with all her
might.
Bob froze. He was so
scared. Charlie nudged him and said, "BOB! COME ON!" The two men
raced over to where Pam was kneeling on the ground. She was stretched as far as
she could, holding on to Maggie. Maggie was struggling against the raving
water. She was crying hysterically. When she saw her father and her uncle, she
screamed.
"DADDY! UNCLE CHARLIE!
OHMYGOD! HELP ME!"
"Hold on, Baby, we're
coming!" Bob yelled.
"Please, I can't hold
on much longer," Pam yelled.
"Okay, there, there,
it's okay," Charlie said, grabbing Maggie, at the same time, gently
pushing Pam out of the way. "I got you." "I can't," Maggie
cried.
And at the moment Charlie
grabbed Maggie's hand, and pushed Pam's out of the way, Maggie let go. She
thought her uncle had her, but it was a split second and he didn't. Maggie
started to drift down the river.
"Oh, my god!
Maggie!" Bob shouted.
Charlie screamed,
"Maggie! Grab onto that rock, sweetie. We'll get you." He started to
take his shoes off.
Bob looked at his brother,
and said, "What are you doing?" "I'm going in to get
Maggie," Charlie said.
"You can't do that.
You'll be pulled away," Bob said, logically. Charlie frowned. "Well,
what do you suppose we do? We can't stand here and argue all day."
"I have an idea. We'll
make a little human bridge, and the one closest to her, will pull her out. That
way, none of us will get pulled away, okay?" Charlie looked to see where
Bob was pointing. "Okay, that will work. Come here, Pam, you can help,
too."
Bob looked out to Maggie,
still holding on to the rock for dear life. "You just hold on, sweetheart,
we're going to come get you."
"HURRY, DADDY! I'm
scared!" Maggie cried.
"I'm scared, too,
honey. But I got Uncle Charlie here to help me. We'll get you, it's gonna be
all right!" Bob shouted over the noise of the rapids. Pam was crying.
"I don't know what to do. I don't understand." "Listen, honey, I
know this will be hard, but you can do it. I'm going to stand on shore, and put
you in the middle of Bob and I, and he's going to grab Maggie. Okay? Shhh, you
can do it," Charlie advised Pam.
Before long, they had made
their human chain, and Bob was almost to Maggie. "Reach out and grab my
hand, Maggs!" Bob called to her. "I can't, Daddy. I'm too scared. I
don't want to let go of this rock!" Maggie cried.
The scene was a tense one.
Bob didn't know what to do. He understood why Maggie was reluctant to let go,
but at the same time he was irritated, and scared.
"Sweetie, Daddy's
right here. I'm going to grab you." Bob pulled on Pam and Charlie and got
as close to Maggie as he could. Finally, he was able to pull Maggie off of the
rock and into his arms. "Hold on tight, Maggs."
But you didn't have to tell
Maggie that twice. She wouldn't have let go of Bob for anything at that point.
Just then, Pam's hand started to shake. "I can't do it. It's too far. I
can't hold on!" Pam cried.
"Just another minute,
Pam," shouted Charlie. "You can do it." Charlie pulled on Pam,
who pulled on Bob, and safely Pam made it back to shore. Bob went to try to
throw Maggie to Charlie, but she wouldn't let go. "It's okay now, honey.
Go to your uncle. I can stand up here, now," Bob encouraged.
Finally, Maggie let her dad
place her into her uncle's waiting arms. She clung to him as she had to her
father not a minute before. Just then, Bob lost his balance, and fell back into
the river.
"DADDY!" Maggie
cried, seeing her dad go under.
Then he bobbed back up again.
"Oh, my god, Daddy!" Maggie cried. Charlie put Maggie down and ran to
help his brother. Pam came over and the girls put their arms around each other
and held each other for support. They were both beyond crying.
Charlie reached his hand
out to Bob. He was able to pull Bob up on the land, but not before Bob tripped
over a hidden rock in the water. He fell onto the ground and clutched his foot.
Maggie dropped Pam's
comforting arm like a hot potato, and ran over to where her father lay on the
ground.
"DADDY! DADDY! Are you
all right?" Maggie asked.
Bob looked up at his
daughter, still clutching his foot and nodded. "Yes, sweetie, I'm fine.
Are you okay?"
"Oh, Daddy!"
Maggie cried, throwing herself into Bob's lap. She just held onto him and cried.
------ ----
NB: Back to the Ranch-part
5d,
Disclaimer: There is a
spanking in this part. If you're not into that, go away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5d~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heather laid with Bob, in
their bed. The camp counselors had come along pretty soon after the incident,
and had helped Charlie get Bob back to the ranch. Now, Bob was resting in bed,
with an ice pack on his foot, and with Maggie, asleep on the other side of him.
"Oh, honey, I'm so
glad you're all right," Heather crooned at him. "Me, too. And I'm
glad Maggie's all right. She was pretty hysterical. I know we still have to
talk, but it can wait a bit, I think," Bob stated. Just then, Maggie
stirred. "Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetie, I'm
here," Bob said gently.
Maggie sat up and hugged
Bob hard. "Oh, Daddy, I was so scared." "So was I, baby. But
it's all over now, okay?"
"But Daddy! You could
have been killed. You could have gotten swept away by that water!"
"Maggie!" Heather
warned.
"But Mommy, no,
listen. Listen, Daddy, what I'm saying is, you saved me. You risked your life
to save *ME*!" Maggie cried.
Bob sat up, and even though
shifting hurt his foot a little, he did it. He faced Maggie and said,
"Maggie, of course I did, sweetie. Don't you know I would do anything for
you. Anything at all to save my sweet, dear, little Maggie. You're my daughter.
The only one I have. I would be devastated if anything happened to you."
Maggie put her arms around
Bob then, and hugged him really hard. "Oh, Daddy!" she cried, holding
tight.
They held each other for a
long time, then. Neither of them wanting to let go. Heather held on to Bob's
other side, also. She was glad the bad part had passed, but she knew there was
still going to be a lot of other stuff coming up, what with a very insecure
daughter, and a new baby on the way. Things were sure to stay interesting, to
say the least.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It took a few days for
Bob's foot to heal. But between Heather, and Maggie waiting on him hand and
foot, he had nothing to complain about. Heather and Bob had sat Maggie down and
lectured her on running away, and made her promise for the fiftieth time that
she would never do it again.
"But Daddy, that's why
I fell in the river!" Maggie had said. "What do you mean?" Bob
had asked.
"Well, I remembered
when you made me promise last Thanksgiving not to run away, and then I felt bad
that I had gone back on my promise. That's when I told Pam we had to go
back."
Heather was surprised.
"Last Thanksgiving? But Maggs, we had just met Daddy then."
"I know. Don't you
remember, Mommy? I had run away, and Daddy spanked me. Only I called him Uncle
Bob then," Maggie said, smiling.
"I remember,
sweetheart. I told you that running away didn't solve anything, and that you
have to talk to an adult when you're upset."
"Yes, Daddy,"
Maggie said.
"But Maggs, you didn't
do that this time," Heather kindly reminded her. "I know, Mommy. I
was just so upset and mad when I heard you tell Aunt Lisa you were pregnant. I
thought you wanted to replace me with a little baby," Maggie said,
thoughtfully, beyond her ten years.
"Oh, sweetie. No one
could ever replace you. You, sweetie, are one of a kind," Heather said.
"That's right,"
Bob added. "Besides, we need you to help the baby. He or she will have no
idea what this world is like. You can help him or her." "I know. And
I want to. And I want to read to him/her, and cuddle, and tell stories, too.
Just like Pam told me. Oh, Mommy, Daddy, it's so sad. Let me tell you about
Pam."
"Hold on, young lady.
Just a minute, before you go telling any more tales. We need to discuss what
you did, first."
Maggie hung her head and
said, "Yes, Daddy."
"Now, I know you are
sorry. And I know you tried to come back when you realized your mistake, but
Maggie, you must stop running away." "I know, Daddy."
"You know? But you
continue to do it. I'm afraid, young lady, that you still must be
punished."
"Yes, Daddy."
"Come here."
Maggie went and stood in
front of her father. He was sitting in one of the leather chairs that came in
the cabin. Bob put his hands on the waistband of Maggie's pajama bottoms and
lowered them to the floor. Then he did the same thing with her panties.
Bob pulled Maggie over his
lap. He started to spank, hard and fast. He also started to lecture.
"You will not (spank,
spank) run away, (spank, spank) ever (spank, spank) again. It is wrong, (spank,
spank) and you know better. (spank, spank) You have been punished for this
(spank, spank) several times already, (spank, spank) and I am getting tired of
it. (spank, spank) You know if you are upset about something, (spank, spank)
that you should find an adult (spank, spank) that you trust and talk to them.
(spank, spank) Is that understood, young lady? (spank, spank)"
"Yes, Daddy,"
Maggie cried.
"Good, and to help
send this message home, I'm going to give you something to remember it."
He grabbed the hairbrush that Heather offered him. "Daddy, no! Not the
hairbrush. I promise!" Maggie cried. "Maggie, don't!" Heather
warned.
Bob gave her about ten
whacks with it while he finished his lecture. "It is okay (WHACK!) to be
upset (WHACK!) or even angry (WHACK!) about a situation, (WHACK!) but it is not
(WHACK!) okay (WHACK!) to run away. (WHACK!) Ever! (WHACK!) I don't want to
have to repeat this again. (WHACK!) Is that clear? (WHACK!)"
"Yes, Daddy,"
Maggie sobbed.
Finally, Bob put down the
brush and pulled Maggie up into his arms. He held her tight and rubbed her red,
sore bottom.
"Oh, I love you so
much, honey. And I don't ever want anything bad to happen to you. Do you
understand me?" Bob asked, gently.
"Yes, Daddy, I
understand. And I'm so sorry, sorry for everything." Very quietly, Bob
whispered to Maggie, "I think, Magpie, that you have one more apology to
make." He nodded over to where Heather was sitting on their bed.
"Yes, Daddy."
Maggie stepped out of her
panties and pajama bottoms and walked over to where her mother sat. She climbed
up on the bed, and sunk into Heather and threw her arms around her mother.
"I'm so sorry, Mommy.
I'm sorry I screamed at you, and ran away. I really am happy about the baby.
And you'll see, I'm gonna make the best big sister there ever was."
"Oh, I know you will,
Maggs. Oh, I love you, sweetie," Heather said, holding on to Maggie.
She was very happy. At
least for the moment. She knew there would be tough times ahead. There always
would be. But for now, things were all right.
to be continued...