Change of Scenery-chapter
12
by SamPast and Huggedlots
Copyright (c) 1999
Maggie stood waiting in the
airport with the stewardess from the flight. Her name was Maria, and Maggie had
told her everything on the short trip from New York to Chicago. Finally, Maggie
saw him, and ran away from Maria. Maria ran after her.
"UNCLE BOB! UNCLE
BOB!" Maggie yelled, running into his arms.
Bob scooped her up and
hugged her tight. He had really missed her.
"There you are. You
shouldn't have run away like that, Maggie," Maria said, out of breath.
Bob put Maggie down. He put
out his hand to shake Maria's. "Hi, I'm Bob," he said.
"Hi, I'm Maria. I was
the flight attendant, assigned to your, your, uh, niece," she hesitated.
Maggie laughed. "He's
not really my uncle, I told you that! He's my mommy's boyfriend.
Bob laughed uncomfortably.
"Yes, well, ahem, thank you, Maria, for taking such good care of Maggie. I
hope she wasn't any trouble," he said looking at Maggie.
"Oh, no! She was an
angel. We had a good flight. Well, I have to go. Here's your bag, Maggie. Have
fun!" Maria spoke.
"Okay, I will. Bye,
Maria!" Maggie called after her.
"Oh, I'm so glad to be
here, Uncle Bob. Thanks for having me, the flight was so much fun. I..."
Maggie began.
Bob laughed. She was
rambling a mile a minute, telling him every detail of her trip. How Heather had
made her bring her school work, and she had done some on the plane, and had
talked to a million people, and went into the cockpit.
"See? I got these
captain's wings. It's a pin. Isn't it neat?" Maggie asked.
Bob leaned down to look at
the pin. "It's very nice, Maggie. Now, young lady, we're going to talk
about what we tell to strangers," Bob began.
"Am I in trouble,
Uncle Bob?" Maggie asked cautiously.
"No, sweetie, not
really. But you know, Maggie, you don't have to tell everyone our private
business. You could have just told Maria that I was your uncle," Bob
suggested.
"But why?" Maggie
asked.
"Nevermind, sweetie.
Come on, let's go. I bet you're starved. Where would you like to go for
lunch?" Bob asked.
They ended up at
McDonald's. Bob thought it was funny, that over all the places Maggie could
have picked, she wanted McDonald's.
After they ordered, Maggie
pointed and said, "Oooh, look, a playground. Can I go in?"
"After you eat. If you
eat a good lunch, you can go in," Bob said.
Maggie ate the last of her
cheeseburger and again asked to go into the playground. "Okay, but only
for ten minutes. We have a lot of work to get done today."
"Okay," Maggie
said, slipping off her shoes and running inside. There was this large room
filled with plastic balls, and Maggie squealed with joy as she jumped in them.
She went down all three slides, and laughed when Bob caught her at the bottom
of the squiggly slide.
"Okay, Maggie, time to
go. Put your shoes on," Bob announced.
"Oh, no! Just five
more minutes, please!" Maggie begged.
"Maggie! NO! I told
you you could have ten minutes, now it's time to go!" Bob said.
Maggie looked up. She
wanted to test him. She was about to beg again, but then she saw the stern look
on his face. She had promised both her mom and Uncle Charlie that she would
behave. Besides, she had only been in Chicago for less than an hour, and she
didn't want to begin her trip with a spanking.
"NOW, Maggie!"
Uncle Bob warned.
"I'm coming, I'm
coming!" Maggie said. She quickly put her shoes back on and took Uncle
Bob's hand.
"I'm glad you
listened, Maggie. I want to try to get through this weekend without having to
spank you," Uncle Bob said.
"Me, too, Uncle Bob.
I'll be good," Maggie said.
And she was good. The whole
afternoon. While Bob worked on his boxes, Maggie worked on her homework.
Finally, around 5:00, Bob said, "C'mon, let's call it a day."
They had dinner. Bob made
franks and beans. Then they called Heather and Maggie told her mom about her
day. She told her about her trip, and getting the captain's wings, going to
McDonald's, and working on her homework.
"And Uncle Bob said
that tomorrow we could go see the Sears tower, Mommy," Maggie told
Heather. "It's the tallest building in the United States. And Uncle Bob
said we could go to the top and look out over the whole city. Isn't that cool,
Mommy?"
Heather said it was, and
told Maggie she wished she was with them. After hanging up the phone, Heather
really did wish she were there. But she also knew that Bob and Maggie needed
this time to get to know one another.
After putting down the
phone, Bob said to Maggie. "How about a nice, warm bath?"
Maggie knew she didn't have
much choice, and trying to do the right thing, said, "Okay, but..."
"But what?" Bob
asked.
"Um, will you...oh,
never mind, "Maggie said.
"Will I what? What is
it, Maggie?" Bob asked concerned.
Maggie paused. "Well,
I was just wondering, if, um, if you would give me a bath? You know, like Uncle
Charlie does with the twins? You know, like a Daddy does." There, she had
said it. She waited for his reaction.
"I would love to give
you a bath. Come on!" Bob said.
Maggie was so happy. While
Bob ran the bath, Maggie pulled off her clothes and brought her pajamas into
the bathroom. She got into the tub, and let Bob wash her with a washcloth.
Neither of them were embarrassed. Maggie felt so happy. This was exactly what
she had always dreamed it would be like.
After the bath, Bob wrapped
her in a towel and hugged her hard. "Thank you, Maggie, for asking me to
give you a bath. That was nice!"
"I love you, Uncle
Bob!" Maggie cried.
"I love you, too,
Magpie," Bob admitted.
"Magpie? What's
that?" Maggie asked.
"It's a kind of bird.
I just thought it would be cute to call you that," Bob said. He looked at
her surprised face. "I don't have to, though."
"No, I like it. I want
you to. No one's ever given me a special name before. I love it! Magpie!"
Maggie repeated. She liked it.
Maggie was so happy; she
thought she would cry real tears. Here was the daddy she had always dreamed of.
Now, if she could just get him to see it, too. Then he would marry her mother
and they would be one, big, happy family.
~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, after
breakfast, Bob said, "Okay, Magpie, we have some work to do now."
Maggie smiled at her new
nickname. "WORK? I thought we were going sightseeing?" Maggie whined.
"Maggie!" Bob
warned.
"Sorry! But really, I
thought we were going to the Sears Tower?" she asked.
"Well, we will. After
lunch. But I have about two hours worth of work to do this morning, and you,
young lady, have homework to do," Bob uttered.
"But I don't wanna do
it!" Maggie whined.
"Excuse me?" Bob
asked. "You are going to do the homework."
"NO! I'm on vacation.
I won't do the homework!" Maggie stated.
"You WILL do the
homework, right this minute, or you'll be doing it with a sore bottom!"
Bob explained.
Maggie gulped. She had
stayed out of trouble, thus far. "Um, but I don't wanna do any more work,
Uncle Bob!" she whined.
Bob went and sat down next
to Maggie on the couch. "Come here, sweetheart," Bob said. His voice
had softened. Maggie came right over. "Do you remember why you have all
this work, and why you're not in school this very minute?"
"Yes, sir, because I
started a fight, and got suspended," Maggie said dryly.
"Yes, and most
children who do things like that are not put on a plane and taken sightseeing.
So, I suggest you do what you are told. Do you understand me, young lady?"
Bob reasoned.
"Yes, sir. I'll do it.
But I won't like it," Maggie said.
Bob just chuckled.
"Okay, you work on that school work. Then after lunch, we'll go to the
Sears Tower, and then my friend, Doug is coming over to help me load the
U-haul. And he's bringing his daughter, Donna, who's nine, also."
"Really? Cool,"
Maggie replied. Then she sat right down to do her work.
For lunch, they ate grilled
cheese sandwiches and chocolate milk. Then Maggie and Bob went to the Sears
Tower. Maggie was a little scared in the elevator, especially when it went to
the 110th floor. Her stomach started to flip-flop a little. But then when the
elevator stopped, she was all right.
They walked around the
observation deck. Bob gave Maggie a quarter and she looked through the
telescope, out over the city. She was having the best time. She was holding
Bob's hand and really enjoying herself. Then, suddenly, out of the corner of
her eye, Maggie saw something that caught her attention. She just had to get
closer. She let go of Bob's hand and ran.
Bob looked wildly around.
He couldn't see Maggie. "Maggie!" he called. But Maggie was too far
away, and too excited, to have heard him. Bob looked over the heads of hundreds
of people. He looked down at all the small children near him. He couldn't see
her. Bob never felt so scared in his whole life.
Finally, he saw her. She
was standing next to one of the windows, with her face pressed up against the
glass. She started to move away, but he caught up with her.
Bob grabbed Maggie and
pulled her close. "Oh, thank god," he muttered.
"Hi, Uncle Bob. You
have to see this. It is the coolest th---, what's the matter? Uncle Bob? What's
wrong?" Maggie asked. The look on his face was indescribable.
"Maggie, you must
never do that again," Bob warned.
Maggie had no idea what he
was talking about. "What? What'd I do? Am I in trouble, Uncle Bob?"
she asked, as her lower lip started to tremble.
Bob knew he had to stay
cool. He took a deep breath. He looked around. Bob knelt down until he was at
Maggie's level. "Honey, you must never wander off like that again. There
are hundreds, no, thousands, of people here. I didn't know where you went. I
couldn't see you, couldn't find you. I was very scared, Magpie."
Maggie heard her nickname
and felt a bit of relief. Uncle Bob wouldn't call her that if he was very
angry, she knew. "I'm sorry, Uncle Bob. I just wanted to see this thing. I
won't do it again."
Bob picked her up and
brought her over to where there was a bench. He sat down and pulled Maggie onto
his lap. "Honey, do you even know what you did wrong?"
Maggie shook her head from
side to side. At least she was honest, Bob thought to himself.
"Honey, you let go of
my hand and ran off. I didn't know where you were. I always have to know where
you are, at all times, do you understand that?" Bob asked gently.
This time Maggie nodded her
head. "That's what Aunt Lisa and Uncle Charlie always tell Robin and
Jennifer and me."
"That's right,
sweetie. Okay, I think we're done here," Bob said as he looked at his
watch. "If we leave now, we'll just make it in time to meet Doug and
Donna. Okay?"
"Okay. Uncle Bob, I'm
sorry I worried you. I didn't mean it," Maggie blurted.
"I know, sweetie. It's
okay. Just don't ever do it again. All right?" Bob asked.
"All right,"
Maggie said, "I love you, Uncle Bob."
"I love you, too,
Magpie," Bob said, as he slipped his hand in Maggie's and they walked back
to the elevator.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at Bob's place, they
had no sooner come home and gotten a drink when Doug and Donna knocked at the
door. The girls hit it off immediately. After a few quick rules from the
adults, the girls headed to the guest room, where Maggie was staying, to play.
Bob and Doug spent several
hours loading the boxes into the U-haul. The girls were busy in the guest room
and in the den watching television. Taking a break, Doug laid down on the
couch, with a tall glass of ice water in his hand.
Bob went into his bedroom
to get something and was surprised to see Maggie and Donna in there. Donna
quickly put down the phone when she saw Bob walk into the room. Bob frowned.
Both girls had guilty looks on their faces.
"Were you two using
the telephone?" Bob asked them directly.
"No, sir," Maggie
replied, looking at Donna. "NO!" Donna said.
Just then, the phone rang.
The girls jumped. Bob picked up the phone and said, "Hello."
Maggie's heart jumped down to
her stomach. She knew she was in trouble. She listened as Bob talked to whoever
was on the phone.
"Yes. No, I didn't
know that. Yes, well, I'm very sorry. NO, I'm sure they didn't mean anything by
it. Yes, you have my word it will never happen again. They will be properly
punished. Okay, well, thank you."
Bob put down the phone. He
frowned at both girls. "That was a man named Mr. Wilson. He said someone
from this house has been calling him and hanging up for an hour now. Would you
two know anything about that?"
Maggie started to cry. She
had tried so hard to stay out of trouble, but then Donna had come over and
suggested this and it had seemed like a good idea at the time. It had been a
lot of fun, and they didn't mean anything by it. All this came spilling out of
Maggie's mouth.
Bob just stared at her. She
knew she had disappointed him, BIG TIME. Bob called out to the living room,
"Doug! Come in here, please!"
Doug came into Bob's
bedroom. He stared at his friend. "What's up?" he said.
"Maggie and Donna just
got caught making prank phone calls," Bob told him.
Doug frowned and looked at
his daughter. "Again? Get over here," he called to Donna. When she
did, he took her by the arm and said, "You have been told repeatedly that
this is not acceptable. You're going to be sorry you didn't listen." Doug
smacked her on the bottom and told her to wait for him by the front door.
"Uh, Bob, we'll have to take a raincheck on that dinner. I have a naughty
little girl that I need to deal with."
Bob said, "Yes, I know
what you mean. Okay, thanks, man, for helping with the boxes. I think we pretty
much have the u-haul packed up. I can do the rest myself."
Doug replied, "Okay,
well, if you need my help in the morning, let me know."The two men shook
hands. Bob listened until he heard the front door close. Then he looked at
Maggie.
Maggie looked down at the
floor. Bob sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. He told Maggie to come
and stand next to him. She did as she was told.
He put her between his legs
and made her look at him. "You know," he began, "I was hoping to
get through these four days without having to punish you."
"I was hoping, too,
sir," Maggie replied.
Bob asked, "What were
you thinking, Maggs? Didn't you think that what you were doing was wrong?"
Maggie started to cry.
"I guess I knew," she said.
"Don't guess!
THINK!" Bob ordered.
Maggie sobbed, "I did
know. But it was fun! And Donna said she did it all the time. And we weren't
hurting anyone."
Bob frowned. "Oh, but
you were. You were hurting Mr. Wilson, and whoever else you called. Now, I want
you to promise me that you will never do anything like this again," Bob
said sternly.
Maggie nodded. "I
promise, Uncle Bob, I won't."
"Okay, then, let's get
this over with," Bob said, as he started to pull down Maggie's pants.
"NO! Please don't
spank me, Uncle Bob! I won't do it again, I PROMISE!" Maggie yelled.
Bob stopped what he was
doing. "Now, Magpie," Maggie looked up when he said her nickname,
"Would that be fair if I didn't punish you?"
"I think it would be
fair," Maggie said, " I promised I wouldn't do it again."
"But what about Donna?
Her father was taking her home to punish her. Would it be fair if you weren't
punished?" Bob asked gently.
"She won't know,"
Maggie whined.
"Maggie! You know
better than that!" Bob snapped.
"I'm sorrrreee,
Please! Uncle Bob! Please don't spank me," Maggie cried.
"I'm sorry, Maggie,
but I don't think that would be right. Your mother left me in charge of you.
You have broken the rules, and you must be punished. Let's go!" Bob said.
He was getting angry, now.
Bob pulled Maggie's pants
and panties down.
"NO! Not on the bare
bottom! Please, Uncle Bob!" Maggie yelled.
Bob landed one hard smack
in the middle of Maggie's bottom and said, "That's enough, young lady! You
are getting a spanking right now, and you're getting it on the bare
bottom."
He pulled Maggie across his
lap and began to spank her, hard. First, he alternated cheeks, as he rained
spank after spank, down on Maggie's naughty bottom. Then he spanked lower,
making sure not to miss her sit spot. He wanted her to feel the effects of this
spanking for a couple of hours. Bob didn't want to have to spank her again this
weekend.
While he spanked, he
lectured her on not using the telephone for such purposes as she and Donna had
done. "And also, you are not to use the telephone without permission. Do
you understand me?"
"Yes, sir,"
Maggie sobbed.
Finally, Bob realized
Maggie had had enough, when she laid subdued across his lap. He stopped
spanking, and gently rubbed her backside for a few minutes. He then stood her
up and asked whether she wanted him to pull her pants up. She nodded, and he
pulled them up.
Maggie winced as the
material rubbed against her bottom. She reached her hand back to try to wipe
away the sting.
"I'm sorry I had to do
that, Maggie. But I just want you to know, that I love you. And I only want you
to learn the difference between right and wrong. Okay?" Bob asked.
Maggie couldn't even look
at Bob. She was too angry. Mad at herself for making Bob punish her, and mad at
him for doing it. She turned away from him. Bob was a little disappointed. He
saw the way Charlie and the girls hugged after a spanking and he felt like he
must have done something wrong, because Maggie was not bonding with him.
Then he realized that
Charlie had eight years with the girls to get to that stage. Patience, he told
himself. Maggie has only known you a little over a month. Things will change.
Bob decided to give Maggie some space.
"Why don't you lie
down and think about what you've done for a little while? Then we'll talk, and
have dinner, and go to bed early. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow,"
Bob suggested.
Maggie only nodded. Then
she laid down on Bob's big bed. Bob went into the living room to pack up some
last minute things. After a little while, he went to check on Maggie.
Bob walked quietly into his
room. He thought she might have fallen asleep, which is what Jennifer or Robin
usually do. Bob's eyes popped open and his mouth dropped to the floor as he
walked into his bedroom, and saw Maggie on the phone!
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING,
YOUNG LADY?" he shouted.
"Mommy! I miss
you!" Maggie cried into the phone.
At the other end, Heather
could tell Maggie had been crying. "What is it, baby? What's the
matter?"
"Mommy! I want to come
home!" Maggie cried.
Bob went over and snatched
the telephone out of Maggie's hand. He put it to his ear and listened. He heard
Heather asking what the matter was. "Heather!" Bob said.
"Oh, Bob? What's
wrong? Why is Maggie crying?" she asked concerned.
Maggie looked at Bob, and
threw herself crying on his bed. "Don't even move, young lady. That was
not a smart thing to do," Bob warned. Into the phone, Bob said, "Hon!
I'm sorry, this is not a good time. Can Maggie and I call you back a little
later?"
"BOB! I want to know
what's going on. What do you mean, now is not a good time? What happened?"
Heather asked.
Bob sighed. He looked at
Maggie crying on the bed, and heard the alarm in Heather's voice. He sat down
on the edge of his bed and said into the phone, "Heather? Calm down,
honey. Maggie's just upset because she got into trouble," he told her.
"She did? Oh, I'm
sorry, Bob. What did she do?" Heather asked. Bob noticed her voice had
gone down an octave.
"You know what, I'll
let her tell you later. After she's calmed down, too. It's not that bad, and
she's been punished. We'll call you back in a little while, okay, hon?"
Bob asked.
Heather sighed, "Okay,
I guess I'll have to wait. I miss you, hon."
"I miss you, too.
We'll talk to you soon. Bye, hon," Bob said as he put down the phone.
Bob turned to Maggie. She
was facing the other way with her head in the bed. "Sit up and look at me,
young lady." Maggie didn't move. "NOW!" Bob scolded as he gave
Maggie one solid smack on her already sore rear end.
That made Maggie spring up.
"OW!" Maggie cried. She turned over and looked at Bob. Bob wanted to
cry. To see that look of pure hatred on Maggie's face, and to know it was aimed
at him.
They stared at each other
for a few seconds, which felt to both of them like hours. "Come here,
sweetheart," Bob said gently.
Maggie crawled over to Bob.
He picked her up and put her on the floor in front of him, facing him.
"What were you just thinking, young lady? Picking up the phone after you'd
just been told not to use it without permission?"
Maggie leaned down and put
her head into Bob's lap and cried. "I don't know, I'm sorry, Uncle Bob!
I'm sorry, please don't hate me because I'm bad!"
Bob said, "You are not
bad, Maggie. Look at me!" Maggie looked up. She had tears in her eyes.
Bob pulled Maggie into his
lap. She winced when she sat down. He pulled her so that she was kneeling on
him and had her head on his shoulder.
"You are not bad,
Maggie. Your behavior today, was not so wonderful, but not you. It's your
behavior that was bad, do you understand the difference?" Bob asked
gently.
Maggie nodded. "Yes,
sir. I'm sorry I behaved BAD. Please don't hate me!"
Bob held Maggie tight. "Oh,
my baby. I could never hate you. I love you!"
Maggie pulled away from
him. "You do?" she asked. "For real?"
"Of course, for real.
How many times have I said it to you, just the past two days?" Bob asked.
"I know, but I thought
you were just saying that, you know, because I did. I didn't know if you meant
that you really loved me!" Maggie said quickly.
Bob looked Maggie right in
the eyes and said, "Well, I do. From the minute I met you, I knew I would
love you."
"Oh, Uncle Bob! I love
you, too!" Maggie cried.
They held each other for a
very long time. Bob didn't want to let this little girl go, not ever. Maggie
held on for dear life, hoping that love like this would never end.
After a little while,
Maggie's sobs subsided. She lifted her head up from Bob's shoulder and realized
he was asleep. She knew he had had a very long day, so she decided to let him
sleep. She got down off the bed and tiptoed quietly into the living room.
That's where Bob found her
a half hour later. "What'cha doing, Magpie?"
Maggie smiled. She loved
that nickname he had for her. "I thought I'd try to finish my homework.
I'm almost done."
"That's a good girl.
Come here," Bob said as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch.
Maggie went over to him and
nestled into his lap. "I just wanted to make sure you and I were
okay."
"Yea," Maggie
said, "We're okay."
Bob turned her so that she
was looking at him. "I want you to know why I punished you, Maggie."
"I know. Because
making prank phone calls is bad," Maggie uttered.
"Yes, it is. But I
punished you, because I love you. And I want you to learn right from wrong.
Spanking you, helps you to learn. Do you understand that?" Bob asked.
"Yes, sir,"
Maggie replied.
"Good. Because I want
you to learn. And I know little girls make mistakes. It's all part of growing
up. Okay?" Bob said.
"Okay," Maggie
said, and then she was silent.
"What'cha thinking
about, Magpie?" Bob asked.
"I was thinking, I was
thinking that this is what it must feel like to have two parents who love you.
And I wished that you were my daddy," Maggie admitted.
"Really?" Bob
asked.
"Yeah, I know that's
silly," Maggie said, "but I really wish it."
"Well, little one,
maybe your wishes will come true," Bob said.
"Really? How?"
Maggie asked, surprised.
Bob laughed, "Oh, I
don't know. You might just have to wait and find out, how."
Now Maggie laughed.
"Wait 'til I tell the girls."
"What do you
mean?" Bob asked.
"Wellllll,"
Maggie said, "I don't know if I should tell you this. It's kind of a
secret."
Bob said, "Oh, I love
secrets. Tell me."
Maggie thought about it and
then said, "Well, okay, but you can't tell the twins I told you. And you
can't tell Mommy."
Bob said, "Hmm, well,
I won't tell the twins. But I don't know if I can keep a secret from your
mother."
"Then I can't tell
you," Maggie sighed.
Bob laughed, "Okay, I
promise, I won't tell her. Tell me the secret."
Maggie laughed, and said,
"Okay, but you're not going to believe me. You see, when Uncle Charlie
first told us you were coming, I started asking lots of questions about you,
and the twins told me about you, and then I started wondering what you'd be
like, and if you'd be good with my mom."
Maggie paused to see Bob's
reaction. He was smiling, amused, because he realized that in Maggie's mind,
all this was a setup. "Go on," he suggested.
"And we worked it out,
so that my grandma would be invited to Thanksgiving dinner at Uncle Charlie's
house, so my mom and I would be there, too, and then..." Maggie stopped.
She was embarrassed to continue.
"I get the point. So
the three of you plotted this all by yourselves?" he asked, amazed.
"Wellllll, I guess we
might have had a little help from Aunt Lisa," Maggie replied.
Bob just laughed. He
laughed and laughed and laughed. He held Maggie tight and said, "I love
you, sweetie."
They called Heather
together, and Maggie filled her mom in on what she had done. She told Heather
she would never do it again, and Bob had punished her and they had had a nice,
long talk. Then the two of them had dinner. Bob gave Maggie a bath, and tucked
her in at 8:00. He was going to bed early, too. They had a long drive ahead of
them.
to be continued...