NB: Cradle Time-chapter 7
(M/f)
Copyright © 2000
by SamPast and Huggedlots
It was moving
day, for Maggie, Heather, and Bob. They hated leaving their two-bedroom
apartment in Brookville, but they knew in a few more short months, there would be
a new baby who would need its own room.
Saying good-bye to Mrs.
Warner was difficult for Maggie, but Bob promised her they would visit often.
Heather and Bob had found a five-bedroom colonial in Rockville Centre. It was a
little out of their price range, but Heather had fallen in love with it the
moment she laid eyes on it. And Bob was too much in love with Heather to say
no. So they bought it.
Maggie loved the new house.
And she loved the fact that they would now only be fifteen minutes away from Robin
and Jennifer, instead of twenty-five to thirty, (depending on traffic, of
course.)
Bob sent Heather and Maggie
to spend the day with Charlie and Lisa. All he needed was a ten-year-old and
six-month pregnant woman underfoot of movers all day. He told her he would call
when everything was settled. Heather understood, but still panicked at the
thought of having to unpack all those boxes and set everything up.
She was feeling much better
these days, now that her first trimester was over. In fact, her second
trimester was almost over, and it had been going fine. She barely felt pregnant
at all. Heather was due in February, which was only three months away. She was
getting very excited about the prospect of holding her and Bob's baby in her
hands. They had started thinking of baby names, but hadn't chosen one set yet.
Bob surprised Heather later
that day when he brought her home. It had taken most of the day and part of the
night, but he had done it. He had hired people to come in and unpack all the
boxes. Sure, Heather would still want to put things in certain places, but most
of the hard labor was done.
Heather was so excited, she
just cried. Bob was instantly alarmed. Had he not done the right thing?
"What's wrong,
sweetie? Don't you like it?" Bob asked.
"Oh, Bob, I love
it!" Heather said, looking around. She couldn't believe how much of the
work was done. She gave Bob a big hug and a kiss.
Maggie danced around her
new room, which was twice as big as her old room. "Oh, Daddy, it's so
nice. I love this color." Bob had had the room painted aqua, which was
Maggie's new favorite color. It had a dark blue rug, and shelves for Maggie to
put up all her toys and stuffed animals.
"Can I arrange them
all now?" Maggie asked hopefully.
But Bob shook his head. He
looked at his watch. "No, Maggs, it's 10:00 at night, way past your bedtime. Come on, now,
into pajamas." He took out a pair and handed them to Maggie. When Maggie
didn't move, Bob said, "Now, let's go. The animals can wait until
tomorrow."
Reluctantly Maggie took the
proffered pajamas and said, "Okay, Daddy." She put them on, went to
the bathroom, washed and brushed, and let Heather and Bob tuck her in.
Things had been going much
better for Maggie. She was doing better in school; even Mrs. Clarke was
impressed with the change in her. Bob was checking Maggie's homework every
night. First Heather would check her assignment book every day after school,
and sit with her to make sure she did it. Then Bob would check the work every
night and sign it.
She was handing in her
work, studying and doing well on her tests, and trying hard to pay attention in
school. Bob had finally given in to Mrs. Clarke's suggestion of a counselor.
Maggie saw Ms. Josephine twice a week at school. Maggie loved Ms. Josephine;
she could tell her anything and Ms. Josephine wouldn't laugh or tell her it was
silly.
When Mrs. Clarke noticed
Maggie drifting off, she would walk by her desk, and gently tap it, reminding
Maggie to pay attention. Yes, things were working out well for her. And at home, too.
Heather wasn't
ill all the time, so Maggie didn't need to worry as much. She still did a bit,
but she talked over these things with Ms. Josephine.
Maggie woke up. It was
really late; she knew that. Daddy hadn't plugged in her clock yet, so she
wasn't sure of the exact time, but it felt late. Maggie got out of bed, pulled
on her slippers, and opened her new bedroom door. She peeked out into the hall.
Heather and Bob had left the bathroom light on. She guessed they didn't want Maggie
to fall down the steps if she needed to get up in the middle of the night.
Maggie peeked into her
parents' bedroom. They were fast asleep. She crept in and looked at their
clock. It was 2:36 am. "Wow, that's the middle of the night," she
thought to herself.
She crept around the second
floor, peeking into all the rooms. "Let's see, this is the baby's
room," she said at one door. She crept to the next door and peered in.
"This is the guest room."
Then the last door. This was going to be her daddy's study. Maggie wandered in.
She picked up her daddy's things, holding and smelling each one. Maggie knew
she shouldn't be in there, so she quickly closed the door and headed for the
stairs.
Not sure exactly what she
was doing, Maggie snuck down the steps and started checking out all the rooms.
She walked slowly through the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, and
finally the den. This was her most favorite room. There were large shelves in
one corner that were going to hold lots of books and games. Maggie sat in one
of the easy chairs looking up at the large shelves.
Suddenly, she felt herself
get sort of sleepy. She got up and headed back to her room. Once there, she lay
down in her bed. She closed her eyes. But the sleepiness she had felt downstairs
in the den was gone. Maggie sat up. She looked around the room. She spied the
box of stuffed animals.
"That's it!" she
said. Maggie jumped up and dumped the animals onto her bed. "It'll look so
great, once they're all in their places." Maggie took out the biggest ones
and started putting them on the second shelf. She stood back and shook her
head. Something wasn't right. "No, they're too low down; they need to be
up higher."
Maggie looked around for something
to stand on. Nothing. Then she remembered the
footstool that her mom kept in the bathroom. Maggie ran to retrieve it. She
brought it into her room and climbed on it, and tried to put the animals on the
second to top shelf. She knew they would look great up there.
She was almost there. One
more little reach and "Teddy" would be at home on his new shelf. But
the footstool did not give her the height she needed, and soon Maggie tumbled
over.
Bob awoke with a start. He
had heard a loud crash. Heather stirred, too. She turned to Bob and said,
"Hon, what was that?"
Bob jumped up.
"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." Bob put his feet into his
slippers and pulled on his robe. He turned on the hall light and started
looking around.
Finally, he made his way to
Maggie's room. He saw his daughter on the floor, surrounded by a million
stuffed animals. "MAGGIE!" he shouted. He ran over to her and helped
her up. "Are you okay? What are you doing?"
Maggie was scared. She knew
she was not supposed to be up in the middle of the night, and she certainly
should not have been trying to arrange her animals. Especially since her daddy
had said no, not a few hours before.
"I'm okay, Daddy. I
just fell off the footstool." Bob righted the footstool and picked up
several of the stuffed animals that had fallen and put them back in the box. He
carried Maggie back over to her bed and plopped her down.
"Go to sleep, Maggs. It's late. We'll talk in the morning." Bob was
much too exhausted and angry to deal with his little girl at 3 a.m. Bob tucked
Maggie back into bed and kissed her forehead. He started to walk away, then
turned around and said, "I love you, sweetie."
"I love you, too,
Daddy," Maggie said, as she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Maggie slept
late. She had had a busy night. When she finally came down to breakfast, Bob
put some pancakes on her plate. "How'd you sleep, Magpie?"
"Good, Daddy. The
second time, anyway."
"We will talk after
you eat. Here's your juice," Bob said, putting orange juice down in front
of her.
Heather just looked at
Maggie. No one said a word. Maggie knew there wasn't much to say. She was wrong
and she knew it, and she knew her daddy would punish her. There wasn't anything
she could do about it. And she also knew that all the whining, protesting, and
carrying-on to get out of her impending spanking would do no good. See, she had
grown up a little.
After breakfast, Bob and
Heather sat Maggie down in the living room. It was the most uncluttered room in
the new house. "Okay, Maggs,
suppose you tell us what you were doing this morning, at 3 am," Bob said
sternly.
"Well, Daddy, I,"
Maggie paused. She decided to skip her early morning tour of the house. It
would only complicate matters. "I couldn't sleep, and I saw the box of
animals just sitting there, and I, well, I just wanted to give them each a spot
they could call their own."
"At 3 am?"
Heather asked.
Maggie nodded. "Yes, Mommy."
"It couldn't have
waited, Maggs?" Heather asked.
The little girl looked up
at her parents. How could they understand? "Well, I know it could have,
but I couldn't sleep anyway. I didn't think I was hurting anything."
Bob said, "Even though
I had already told you no?"
Maggie nodded. "Yes, sir."
"So you directly
defied me? You know what happens when you do that, don't you, Maggie?" Bob
asked.
"Yes,
Daddy. You're gonna spank me."
"Yes, I am. Come over
here."
Maggie got up and walked
over to Bob. Heather stood up then and made an excuse to leave the room. She
wanted to give them some privacy. Bob pulled Maggie's pajama bottoms and
panties down and lifted her over his lap.
"You're being a big,
brave girl, and I'm proud of you," Bob said.
"Thank you,
Daddy."
Bob began to spank Maggie;
first one cheek and then the other. He only used his hand, but it was large and
strong. Maggie tried to continue to be brave as each spank landed on her
backside, but after about a dozen, she gave in and started to cry. After two
dozen, Maggie's bottom was bright red and Maggie was hysterical.
"Okay,
baby, all done." Bob pulled Maggie up and hugged her close. "It's all
over, I forgive you. But, don't ever do anything like that again. Do you
understand me, young lady?"
"Yes, Daddy. I won't."
Bob comforted Maggie
for a long time. He knew it would not be the last spanking he would give her,
but it had been the first one in the new house. Bob held Maggie close.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The family spent
Thanksgiving together in Heather and Bob's new house. It was wonderful. Even
though they had only moved in at the beginning of November, the house was
completely set up. Lisa and Charlie could not believe it. The twins loved it,
too.
There was a large backyard
for Maggie and the twins to run around in. And it was completely fenced in, so
the adults did not have to worry about them wandering off. Heather was just
glad there were no woods here. Bob had set up a swingset
and a little clubhouse for Maggie, too. He knew he spoiled her rotten, but he
didn't care.
Lisa was beginning to show
now, too. She was only two months behind Heather, as her baby was due in April.
Bob said he was glad their kitchen was so big, or he and Charlie would not be
able to fit in there with the two pregnant women. There were smiles all around.
Jennifer had eased up a bit
on the upcoming arrival of another sibling. She was still moody a lot, but she
hadn't initiated any more disappearances like the time when she and Maggie went
off to the mall. Robin was still excited and helped Lisa out whenever she
could. It was amazing: the difference between the two twins, like night and
day.
Chanukah was coming early
this year. The Clementes were all sitting around the
dining room table discussing the holiday, while Maggie and the twins were out
back in the clubhouse. Lisa kept getting up and looking out the window.
"Are you sure it's not
too cold for them out there, Bob?" she asked, worriedly.
"They're kids. They're
never cold. They'll come in when they want dessert," Bob answered.
Lisa laughed. "I guess
you're right."
They decided to celebrate
Chanukah at Rose and Harry's house in New Jersey. The kids hadn't seen their
grandparents in a few months. Rose and Harry were out of town for Thanksgiving.
Also, that way, Rose wouldn't be upset when she saw the Christmas decorations
up in Heather and Bob's house.
Even though Bob was Jewish,
and Heather had converted, they still wanted to do some Christmas stuff for
Maggie. After all, she had always had a Christmas tree growing up at her
grandmother's house. Robin and Jennifer didn't think that was fair; Maggie got
gifts at Chanukah and at Christmas.
Chanukah arrived. Bob,
Heather, and Maggie showed up at Nana and Grampsie's
carrying a large plate of potato latkes. Charlie, Lisa, and the twins brought a
pot roast. There were lots of presents, but of course, they would wait until
after the candles were lit.
They ate first. Maggie
liked her latkes with applesauce, while Jennifer liked them with sour cream.
Robin liked them plain. And she didn't like pot roast. Lisa tried to make her
eat some.
"No, Mommy, it's fatty
and it's yucky!" Robin declared.
"Robin!" Charlie
said, sternly. "Be polite."
Robin pushed the stringy
meat around the plate. She reached for another potato pancake, but Lisa pulled
the plate away. "No, Robin. After you've eaten a few bites of your pot
roast, you can have another latke."
"I don't want to eat
my pot roast!" Robin whined.
Charlie stood up and went
over to Robin's side. "Do you and I need to have a little "talk"
in Nana's bedroom, young lady?"
Robin knew what her daddy
meant by a "talk" and shook her head no. Charlie picked her up and
put her in his lap, and fed her some pot roast like a baby. Jennifer and Maggie
snickered until both Bob and Charlie gave them dirty looks.
After dinner, the women
cleaned up. It was sundown and time to light the candles. Robin put the candles
in the menorah. She liked to put them in a certain way.
"Oh,
brother!"
Jenn exclaimed.
"What?" said Maggie.
Jenn pointed. "Look,
Robin put the candles in the menorah in rainbow order. I think I'm gonna be sick." Jenn started to make barfing noises.
Charlie silenced her.
"That's enough!" he said. "You know your sister loves rainbows.
Come on now, it's time to light the candles."
Bob lit a match and first
lighted the shamus candle. He picked it out of its special place and started to
light the first candle on the left. Everyone said the blessing, "Baruch atah adonay, elohaynu,
melech halom, asher, kidashanu, b'mitzvah suv, vitzy vanu, la hadlik, ner shel
Chanukah."
As soon as the last candle
was lit, the twins ran to the living room. "Yeah, presents!" they
screamed. All the adults laughed. Everyone was happy. Things were going well in
the Clemente families. For now.
to be continued...