New Beginnings-chapter 8
By Sampast and Huggedlots
Copyright © 1999, All rights reserved.

 

The kids were so glad to see one another that they stayed holed up in the twins' room all night. Charlie and Lisa had to dig them out for dinner, and then dessert. The girls talked for a little while, but basically went to sleep when asked. Charlie and Lisa were very surprised.

They were shocked all day Saturday as well. Actually, Charlie was working, but Lisa kept him up to date with telephone calls. The girls played nicely inside the apartment in the morning, and then Lisa took them out for pizza for lunch. Maggie stayed nearby at all times. The girls were a little silly, but well behaved the whole day.

After lunch, Lisa took them to the wooden playground. It was really Randall Park in Freeport, but the whole playground was made of wood. The girls loved that playground. All the equipment was attached, and the girls screamed with excitement running from place to place.

Even when they got back, and Lisa suggested they go rest, Maggie was obedient. The twins looked at her like she was crazy when she said, "okay." In Maggie's head were thoughts of her daddy's words-"Remember, if Uncle Charlie has to spank you, you can expect another spanking from ME!" Maggie was tired of being spanked; she was going to behave.

Charlie came home at 6:30. Nobody came to greet him. He thought to himself, "Uh-oh, I bet they're all in trouble." He hadn't heard from Lisa in at least two hours. He went into the den and was surprised to see Lisa and all three girls watching t.v.

Lisa looked up. "Oh, hi, honey." She went over and kissed her husband. "We're watching The Sound of Music."

"Again? Aren't the girls sick of that movie, yet? They watch it all the time," Charlie chuckled.

"Well Maggie's never seen it. She's very engrossed. She might not even notice you're here," Lisa whispered.

After the movie, they made hot dogs and beans for dinner. Charlie suggested they all go out for ice cream, and the girls thought it was a super idea.

"Okay, go use the bathroom and put on your coats," Lisa commanded. She turned to Charlie, "I still have my fingers crossed. All three girls have been so good, I'm waiting for the dam to burst."

"Don't say it!" Charlie said and laughed.

They went out to Baskin Robbins(tm) for ice cream. Robin had chocolate, her favorite. Maggie got bubble gum ice cream, which had little pieces of gum in it, and Jennifer got Rocky Road.

After dinner, all three girls took baths. Charlie and Lisa had let them stay up late but then it was time to go to bed. Maggie was sleeping on a cot in between the twins' beds. They were all in a row and looked so cute. Lisa came in and kissed all three girls goodnight.

Then Charlie came in. He said, "Now, girls, remember Nana and Grampsie are coming tomorrow to visit. Maybe you could make them some pictures in the morning."

Robin said, "Okay, Daddy. When are they coming?"

"Around 2:00 and then they're staying for dinner," he answered.

"Who's Nana and Crampsy?" Maggie asked.

Jenn laughed. "Grampsie, not Crampsie. They're our Grandma and Grandpa. Now yours, too. They're Daddy and Uncle Bob's parents."

"Oh, I don't know them," Maggie remarked.

"You've met them. You just saw them at your mom and Bob's wedding," Charlie expressed.

"Daddy, doesn't Nana and Grampsie live far from us?" Jenn asked.

"No, baby, they live in New Jersey. Not even an hour away," Charlie said. "Now, it's getting late, time to hit the hay!"

All three girls giggled. Maggie began hitting her pillow. "Hey! Hey!"

Charlie smirked. "Not that kind of 'hey'. The other 'hay'."

Robin laughed, "Hay is for horses! Mommy always says that."

"Yes, now go to sleep!" Charlie said sternly.

Of course, the girls didn't listen. So many hours of behaving had finally caught up to them. They talked, and laughed, and told stories, and giggled until very late. It was only when Charlie came back to their room and threatened to spank them all, that they finally quieted down.

The next day, Maggie woke up very early. She got up and padded into the kitchen. Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Maggs, what are you doing up so early, honey?" he asked.

"I dunno, couldn't sleep anymore, I guess," Maggie remarked.

She climbed up into his lap, and snuggled for a little while. Charlie could tell that she was still a bit sleepy. He cuddled her for awhile, knowing that even though she didn't say anything, she probably missed Bob and Heather a lot. They had only been back from their honeymoon a week.

"So, how's your new school?" Charlie asked.

"It's fine," Maggie snapped.

Charlie turned Maggie toward him, and frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry," Maggie said, "it's okay. Some of the boys got me in trouble with Daddy. But he's gonna work it out."

Charlie smiled, and said, "I'm glad, honey."

Charlie started to get up and placed Maggie on the floor. "I have to get to work now, sweetie."

"WHY?" she whined.

"Maggie, I think someone needs to go back to sleep for a little while. You were up very late last night!" Charlie commented.

"Why are you going to work, Uncle Charlie?" Maggie tried hard to keep the whine out of her voice. "I thought Nana and Crampsy were comin'!"

"That's Grampsie, honey. Come on, back to bed for you!" Charlie said as he pushed her gently toward the twins' room. "I'll see you at 12:30." Then he left.

Maggie didn't want to go back to bed, so she went into the den to watch t.v. Jenn joined her there an hour later, and the two of them watched Sunday morning cartoons until Lisa got up and made them breakfast.

"How long have you two been up?" Lisa asked while they were eating.

Jenn said, "Not long, Mommy." Maggie just nodded. She didn't want to tell her aunt that Charlie had tried to send her back to bed at 6:30 that morning.

Lisa let Jennifer and Maggie watch t.v. until Robin woke up and had her breakfast.

"Okay, no more t.v." Lisa said as she turned it off.

"But why, Mommy?" Jenn asked.

"Because you've had enough. Now, let's find something else for you three to do," Lisa answered.

"Daddy said we could make pictures for Nana and Grampsie," Robin suggested.

"Yeah! I'll go get the crayons and markers!" Jenn shouted.

Maggie just followed them. As far as she was concerned, the people coming over were someone else's grandparents. She didn't know them from a hole in the wall. They were just old geezers. Maggie thought hard; she couldn't even picture what they looked like in her head, even though everyone told her she had met them.

The only image she had of grandparents was of her grandma who she had stayed with while her parents were on their honeymoon. And thinking of that grandma made her too sad, so she blocked the image from her head.

Robin and Jennifer went right to work drawing their pictures, and writing their grandparents' names on their cards they were making. Maggie stared at the paper until her eyes hurt. She didn't know what to make. How could you make something for someone you didn't even know?

Maggie started thinking about her new class. The other kids were really into jokes. The teacher had all kinds of riddle and joke books in the classroom. Every night she gave them a riddle and they had to write a witty answer to it. That's what she would do, Maggie decided; she would make a jokebook for these new grandparents.

Maggie worked very hard on her jokebook. She wouldn't even let Robin or Jennifer see what she was doing. She looked over a few times to see what the twins were doing. Robin was drawing hearts and flowers on one paper. She guessed that was for Nana. Jenn was making a design with every color marker. Maggie thought hers would be the best.

One joke read: Which fruit does a sheep like best? Baa-Nana. Another read: What candy smells bad? Nana mints. Maggie laughed to herself. Everyone knew old ladies had bad breath. Another joke read: Who gets bad stomachaches? Crampsy. Ha ha ha. While still another, read: Why couldn't the children run away from their grandparents? Because they were "stuck in the mud" with them.

She thought everyone would love her joke book. After each joke, Maggie drew a nice picture. She couldn't wait for everyone to see her Granny Joke Book. She even thought maybe she should make herself a copy to bring to school on Monday.

Around 11:30, Maggie whined, "I'm hungry!"

"What did you just say?" Lisa asked.

"I'm hungry. When's lunch?" Maggie demanded.

Lisa frowned. She knew Maggie's good behavior was too good to last. "I think you need to rephrase that, young lady."

"But I'm hungry!" Maggie cried.

"Someone is very cranky. Did you not get enough sleep last night, Maggie?" Lisa asked.

"I'm not tired! Just hungry!" Maggie shouted.

Lisa went over to Maggie and took her by the hand. "I think you need to stand in this corner and think about the way you're speaking to me. If it happens again, I will wash your mouth out with soap, and that will be your lunch!"

Maggie stood in the corner and cried. She didn't mean to speak to Lisa that way; it just slipped out. And she really was hungry; breakfast was hours ago.

After fifteen minutes, Lisa let Maggie come back to the table, where the girls were still coloring. She handed Maggie some cheese crackers. "Here, you can eat these while you wait for Uncle Charlie to come home. Then we'll have lunch."

Maggie ate the crackers. She was afraid to open her mouth. She didn't want a bar of soap stuck in it.

Robin began to scream and cry. "Hey, Gimme that. I was using the red."

"No, I was," Jennifer shouted back.

Lisa came over and said, "What is going on here?"

"Mommy, Jennifer took the red marker, and I was using it," Robin whined.

"I did not, Mommy. She's just trying to get me in trouble," Jenn whined.

Lisa frowned. "I think you all need to go take a nap, separately. Jenn, go to your room. Robin, go lay on my bed. And Maggie, go lay on the couch in the den. I don't want to see your faces until Daddy and I call you for lunch. Now go!" She gave her daughters each a smack on the rear and sent them on their ways.

Lisa cleaned up the crayons and markers. She put all the pictures in a pile. She didn't notice Maggie's "Granny's Joke Book" at the bottom. Charlie came home about twenty minutes later and was surprised at how quiet the apartment was.

"Did they finally get into trouble?" he asked carefully.

Lisa sneered, "In a way. They were all very whiny, so I made them all go and lay down. Maggie spent some time in the corner, too, for being fresh."

"She was up at the crack of dawn this morning," Charlie explained. "I sent her back to bed when I left at 6:30."

"6:30? When I got up at 8:30, I asked Jenn and Maggie how long they had been up, and they said, 'not long'. Hmmmm!" Lisa sighed.

"Well, hopefully, they'll be better when they wake up this second time!" Charlie offered.

"I hope so. Your mom and dad have just enough patience to last a little while," Lisa commented.

"True enough!" Charlie exclaimed. "I'm going to change."

"Just be quiet. Robin's in there. I had to separate them," Lisa admitted.

Charlie went to change, and smiled when he saw his daughter fast asleep on his bed. He went over and kissed her cheek, but she didn't even stir. Meanwhile, Maggie was wide awake in the den. She had trouble falling asleep, even though she was so tired. Her mom would call it being overtired. She could never fall asleep when she was overtired.

Maggie decided to put on the t.v. She put it on very softly and figured she'd watch until her aunt called her for lunch. Even though she had those crackers, she was still pretty hungry.

Charlie went back to the kitchen and helped Lisa prepare lunch. They were just having sandwiches, since they would be having dinner early. Bob and Heather were expected around 3:00. His parents said they'd be there at 2:00, so Charlie figured they'd be there by 2:30 or so. He chuckled to himself; they were always late.

Lisa said, "Oh, I suppose we have to wake them for lunch. I was really starting to enjoy the quiet."

Charlie said, "I'll wake Robin and Maggie."

"Gee, thanks!" Lisa said. Jennifer was always hard to wake up from a nap.

Robin woke right up and was happy to see her dad. He gave her a big kiss and hug. "Go wash your hands for lunch, sweetie."

Then he went to wake Maggie. He was surprised to see her up watching t.v. "Are you supposed to be watching t.v, Maggie?" Charlie asked.

Maggie jumped at her uncle's voice. She quickly turned off the set. "Oh, hi! Um, I just turned it on."

Maggie held her breath. She had been so good all weekend. Please don't spoil it, she thought. She waited.

"Okay, honey, come have your lunch!" Charlie said, giving his niece a big hug. Maggie let out her breath. She was so relieved.

After lunch, the girls played in the playground until Robin and Jennifer noticed their grandparents' car. "THEY'RE HERE! Come on, Maggie!" they shouted.

Robin and Jennifer ran over to their grandparents. "Hi, Nana! Hi Grampsie!" they both said. Nana and Grampsie leaned down to kiss and hug the twins. Maggie hung back.

"Hello Maggie," Nana said.

"Hi, uh, Nana," Maggie repeated awkwardly.

"Shall we go up?" Grampsie asked.

They all rode up together in the elevator. The twins chatted with Nana and Grampsie. Maggie didn't say anything. She smelled something funny. It was probably Nana's old lady breath. Figures, she thought.

When they got to the apartment, Harry and Rose Clemente were glad to see their oldest son and daughter-in-law.

"Hi, Mom, did you have a good trip here?" Charlie asked.

"As good as can be expected. You know, your father drives too fast," Rose said.

"Oh, I do not," Harry sneered.

"Come, sit down, who wants coffee?" Lisa asked.

"Nana! Grampsie! Look, we made you pictures!" Robin shouted.

Jenn and Robin brought their pictures over to their grandparents.

"Oh, let me see! Oh, how nice. Harry, look at the girls' penmanship! Oh, Charlie, they write so nicely!" Nana complimented.

"Well, they're in third grade already, MOM!" Charlie stated.

"Third grade? We thought you were in kindergarten!" Grampsie uttered.

"Oh, Grampsie!" Jenn laughed.

Charlie noticed Maggie hanging back and said, "And Maggie's in fourth grade!"

"Fourth grade? My, you're old, darling!" Nana said.

Maggie didn't like the way her new grandma said, "darling", but she didn't say anything. After all, her mother had raised her to be polite.

"I made you a joke book," Maggie said quietly.

"What, honey?" Nana asked.

"A jokebook. I made you a jokebook," Maggie repeated.

Rose took the paper that Maggie offered her. She saw the cover and said, "OH, how bee-u-tee-ful! Harry, come see this drawing!" She opened up the book, but Maggie had written so small that Rose said, "Oh, I don't have my glasses on. Harry, read this!"

Harry took the hand-made book from his wife. He read the first joke out loud, "Who gets bad stomach-aches?"

Everyone shook their heads; they didn't know. Maggie held her breath, waiting for him to read the punch line. She couldn't wait for everyone to say how funny she was.

"Crampsy. Crampsy?" Harry asked.

Nobody laughed. "Don't you get it?" Maggie asked. "Crampsy? That's your name. Cramps, bad stomach-ache?" Maggie laughed, then quickly became nervous. Aunt Lisa and Uncle Charlie were frowning at her.

Jenn nudged Maggie. "That's Grampsie. Remember we told you?" she asked.

Harry began to laugh. "Oh, you thought my name was Crampsie? I get it!" He laughed, but still he was the only one laughing. "Let's try another one," he said. He skimmed the page and laughed.

Finally, Maggie thought, someone likes my jokes. But when Harry read the one about the bad breath out loud, no one laughed again. Maggie started to explain that joke, too. She figured these adults just didn't get kid humor.

"That's quite enough, young lady!" Charlie said, grabbing Maggie's wrist. He started to lead her out of the room.

"What? What'd I do?" Maggie cried.

Charlie spoke, "Did you think insulting your grandparent was funny, Maggie?"

Maggie's mouth dropped open. "I wasn't insulting them. I was just making jokes," she explained.

"Yes, at their expense. Now, go apologize right now," Charlie whispered. His parents were watching him and Maggie.

"NO!" Maggie cried.

"Excuse me?" Charlie asked. He smacked her on her rear end. "I said, go and apologize, right now!"

"I won't!" Maggie wailed. Then she threw herself on the kitchen floor, and kicked and screamed. Charlie stood with his hands on his hips, frowning.

Just then, Bob and Heather walked in. "What's going on in here?" Bob asked.

Everyone turned to stare at Bob and Heather, including Maggie. When she saw her mom and daddy, she cried even harder.

"What's going on?" Heather mirrored Bob.

"Maggie made a joke book insulting Mom and Dad. Charlie told her to apologize and she started throwing a temper tantrum. You didn't miss much!" Lisa confided.

Harry showed Heather and Bob the joke book. Heather could see where Maggie thought she was joking, but she could also see why everyone was upset.

"Maggie! You stop that right now!" Heather warned.

"NO! I won't apologize! I didn't do anything wrong!" Maggie cried.

"Young lady, you get off that floor this instant! You are much too big to be throwing a temper tantrum!" Bob expressed.

"NO!" was all Maggie said.

Bob was embarrassed. He knew his parents and his wife, and his older brother were all watching him, and they expected him to take charge. He marched over to Maggie and said, "I'm going to count to three. I suggest that before I get to three, you will be standing up, showing me that you are, indeed, a big nine-year-old."

Everyone stared at Maggie. Maggie continued to cry, but turned to look at her daddy. "One," Bob began to count. "Two," he counted.

"You know, in my day, if a child had acted like that," Rose started to say.

"Mom, please!" Bob growled. "Maggie!"

Right before Bob said, "Three", Maggie jumped up.

"Good girl. Let's go. We have some "talking" to do in the other room," Bob said to Maggie. He took her by the hand, and led her to Charlie and Lisa's bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Changing direction, Bob marched Maggie into the twins' bedroom.

"Okay, what is going on, Maggie?" Bob asked sternly.

"Ohh, Daddy, I didn't mean anything. I don't know your parents, and they really aren't MY grandparents, and I didn't know what to draw. We have been reading joke and riddle books at school, and I worked HARD on that book for them. I THOUGHT they would appreciate it, but instead EVERYONE got mad at me. It isn't fair, Daddy, it just isn't! It doesn't matter what I do, I am NEVER good enough for anyone!" Maggie cried.

With that, Maggie threw herself on Jenn's bed and sobbed and sobbed.

Bob sighed. He sat down on the edge of Robin's bed. "Okay, little one, come here."

Maggie was too far gone to hear her dad, and sobbed as if her heart would break. Gathering her in his arms, Bob soothed her as best he could until he felt she could hear him.

"Honey, I know that you have gone through a whole lot of changes. We have talked about that, right?" Bob asked. Maggie just nodded, her head on her daddy's shoulder.

Bob continued, "Well, meeting new family members is a tough one, too, isn't it? Honey, not all grandparents are like your other grandma, but these are MY parents, and so that makes them YOUR grandparents. Grandparents can be a fun thing to have, Magpie, but you have to give them a chance, and they have to give you one."

"But Daddy," Maggie said, as she hiccuped, "they KNOW Jenn and Robin, and have all their lives, and I tried to do something for them, honest. I didn't mean to make fun of them, but it all went wrong, like it always does."

"Ohhh Magpie, I know you meant well, but let's talk this through, okay? Now I spoke to Aunt Lisa on the phone a few hours ago. First of all, Uncle Charlie sent you back to bed this morning because you were up very early and he thought you were sleepy, is that correct?"

"Yes Daddy."

"Did you go?"

"No, Daddy," Maggie admitted.

"Okay, so that's one problem. I also heard that you were sassy with Aunt Lisa? True or not true?"

Sighing, Maggie had to admit that she had been.

"So, then you were sent for a nap, did you sleep?" Bob asked.

"No Daddy, I tried, but I couldn't fall asleep. Mommy would say I was overtired, I guess," Maggie said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sooo, by the time Nana and Grampsie came, you were pretty ragged, correct?"

"I umm, guess so, Daddy."

"Then you were asked to apologize, and you sure didn't handle that like a big nine-year-old, did you sweetie?" "I guess not, Daddy."

"Sooo, how do you feel about all this?" Bob asked sternly.

Big tears rolled down Maggie's face. "Ohh, Daddy, I tried and tried allll weekend to be good. I was doing fine until today. I don't want you to have to spank me all the time. I hate it, and then I hate you and me, too!" Maggie wailed.

"Hate is a very powerful word, Magpie, and I am sorry you feel that about yourself. I can handle you being angry at me. Nobody likes discipline. It isn't fun, and I don't like HAVING to discipline you. but Magpie, I do it BECAUSE I love you.

Whether you realize it or not, your life needs structure, and boundaries, in order for you to feel safe, and to grow up to be healthy, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. I know that makes no sense to you right now, but it will sweetheart, I promise you. I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be able to cope with things that come your way.

Like today, for example. You made some really poor choices, hon, and not owning up to them, made everything worse. Can you see that?"

Maggie cried, "All I can see, is that I try and try and it is NEVER good enough for anyone!"

Bob encouraged, "Ohh Maggie, I am soo sorry that is how you see things. I guess I must not be doing a very good job explaining things to you. Magpie, look at me." Tilting her head up, Bob told her, "Sweetie, it is totally unacceptable to EVER throw yourself on the floor and have a tantrum, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Maggie replied in a small voice.

"Secondly, you must always be respectful to your elders. Got it?" "Yes sir."

"And lastly, I want you to really understand that we love you, very very much. Do you feel that?" Bob asked.

"Yes Daddy, I know you do. Are you going to spank me?" Maggie asked, for this was all she was concerned with.

Hugging her very tight, Bob told her, "NO, I am not. Not this time. But I do insist that you apologize to Aunt Lisa for being sassy, and to my parents, YOUR new grandparents. Not for being creative, because I know that's what you were trying to do, but for the scene, hon.

I want you to tell them that you honestly were trying to do something for them to make them laugh. The fact that they didn't was NOT your fault. You meant no harm, and I do not want to punish you when your intentions were good, sweetie."

"Ohhh, Daddy, thank you for understanding," Maggie uttered.

"I do, sweetie. I want you always to tell me or Mommy how you are feeling about things, okay? Now I want you to hold my hand, and come with me to make your apologies," Bob stated.

"Daddy? Will you carry and hold me? I am NOT feeling like a big girl right now," Maggie admitted.

"Sure sweetie, come on." Bob picked Maggie up, and wrapped her in his big arms, and dried her tears with his shirt sleeve. Together they walked back into the other room where everyone was talking, and having some appetizers. Bob sat down on a chair facing his parents, and sat Maggie on his lap.

"Maggie has something she wants to say to everyone," he told the group. "Go ahead sweetie, I am right here."

Taking a deep breath, she faced Lisa, and told her, "I am sorry Aunt Lisa for being sassy today. And Uncle Charlie, I should have listened to you and gone back to bed this morning, but I couldn't sleep. Nana and Grampsie, I truly meant no disrespect by making that joke book for you. You see, we are studying jokes and riddles in school, and I really thought you would like that. I am sorry you didn't, but anyway, I shouldn't have made a scene. I am sorry for that, too."

Thankful that that part was over, Maggie buried her face in her daddy's neck, and quietly asked him if they could go home. Bob looked up questioning Heather for her opinion, because he knew she had heard Maggie's request, but Heather didn't know what to do either.

Charlie came to their rescue, and said, "You know what? I think that our girl here needs to get home and get some proper rest, so she will be ready for a new school week. We can all get together again in a few weeks. How does that sound to everyone?"

Rose got up, and walked over to Bob and Maggie. Rubbing her back, Nana told her, "Sweetie, no one is mad at you, hon. We really do think of you as our granddaughter, and look forward to getting to know you better. Okay?"

Bob realized he had been holding his breath when he saw his mom got up. He let out his breath and silently thanked his mother for her kind words. Maggie looked up with grateful tears in her eyes, and Nana's heart went out to her.

Heather went into the twins' room, gathered up all of Maggie's things, and they were heading out the door a few minutes later. Bob told his folks he would call soon, and carried Maggie out to the car.

Maggie was asleep before they hit the freeway.

to be continued...

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