My Three Sons

by Sn1963

This is a story I had written earlier this year, It took me three months to write it, I'm hoping that you will ove it and put it into the TV shows category.

My Three Sons

The Early Years

There was a young man named Steven Douglas, he met a woman named Colleen. They dated for three years and after college, they married. A year after their first anniversary, Colleen gave birth to their first son, they named him Michael Francis Douglas, Francis was after his grandfather O Casey. When Mike, as they called him was learning to talk, he called his grandpa Bub, from then on, that's what he was called. When Mike was three-years-old, he got a brand new baby brother, his name was Robert William, but they were soon calling him Robbie.

Both boys had brown hair and blue eyes like their parents, Mike joined the Cub Scouts, then two years later so did Robbie. When the boys were seven and ten, Colleen gave birth to another baby boy. They named this blue eyed baby Richard Steven, but when Grandpa Bub looked at a baby picture of Steve he said, looking in Richard's bassinet "You are a chip off the old block young man." Then Richard was forever known as Chip. Colleen was finding herself very tired, she could barely get up in the morning to cook and get the older boys off to school.

One afternoon, when Chip was about five months old, Colleen was walking down the stairs and fell down the rest of the way, she had began having blinding headaches. She woke to her baby's screams in his playpen. She called her Father and Steve, they rushed her to the hospital. Later on, after Mike and Robbie had gotten home, then bathed and fed, they all went to the hospital to see what was wrong with Mommy. The doctor told Steve and Bub, "I'm very sorry, but Colleen has a tumor in her brain." Heartbroken, they all went home, the boys cried themselves to sleep, Steve did too, at home, the widowed Bub also cried.

When Colleen finally got to come home, she held her baby boy and cried, she wouldn't get to see him much longer, she also begged Bub to move in with them. As the months went on, she got weaker. Then one day before Chips first birthday, Colleen died, Mike was eleven, and Robbie was eight. They were too grief stricken to celebrate little Chips first birthday. One year later, they were getting along as well as expected. When Chip turned two, they celebrated his second birthday they bought two cakes, one for the whole family, and Chip had his very own cake, he plunged his hands into the cake, but before he did that, he put his face into the cake, he came back up with blue, green and red all over his face, they laughed at the cute face and took a picture of it. They sang Happy Birthday and For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.

Happier Times

It was for Chips third birthday, Steve brought home a surprise, the surprise came in a big box with holes, Robbie and Mike helped their little brother open the box. To their surprise and delight, a Sheepdog puppy looked up at them with soulful brown eyes, "A puppy!" Chip exclaimed happily. They family named him Tramp. Soon after, Robbie and Tramp were seen walking and running through the park and the street. Mike taught Tramp how to roll over, shake paws, sit up, speak, and play dead. Chip would try to ride him, but he would sit down.

Bub kept the house clean while Steve worked at his airplane factory. Later on the boys began getting money for chores. Mike cut the lawn and raked, Robbie trimmed the hedges and kept the driveway swept and clean, Chip was responsible for the garbage, he rolled the can to the edge of the street every Tuesday, he was also responsible for keeping Tramp fed and watered. Bub cooked and baked, he also sewed and mended the boys clothes. When Chip was six years old, Bub took him to his first day of school. He was the only man there among nervous Mothers and some sobbing children. A few days after school started, Chip was asked by several of his classmates "Where's your Mother?" Chip answered "My Mother is in heaven, Bub's my Grand dad, he's like a Mother."

Mike fell in love with the next door neighbors daughter Jean Pearson, they went places together, when it was time for graduation, Jean tearfully told Mike she was going away to college, Mike asked her if she'd marry him, Both Steve and Jean's parents quickly talked the children out of marriage. Robbie came in one day with a black eye, he'd gotten it from a girl in the neighborhood who was a Tomboy, her name was Peggy Roberts but Robbie called her Piggy. Steve talked to Robbie about the girl. "Why don't you ask her to a movie and a hamburger" Horrified Robbie said "A DATE!" Steve replied "Yes a date, then after the movie and the hamburger, walk her home and give her a goodnight kiss." Even more horrified, the fifteen year old replied "Kiss her GOODNIGHT!" The next day, Robbie did as his Father asked him.

Robbie came home that night telling him how Peggy started crying and hit him again. But she liked him anyway. There was a little girl in the neighborhood that fell in love with Chip, her name was Doreen Harris, Chip called her "That dumb Doreen." The little girl had sandy blond hair and blue eyes and kept her hair in a pony tail. When Chip was nine, he won a contest at school. It was about how Bub was like a Mother to him and his brothers. The essay got into the newspaper The Bryant Park Gazette. When Mike began his third year of college, he fell in love with a classmate, she was from another state and her name was Sally Morrison, she was blond and blue eyed. In her spare time, she got a job at Steve's company as a secretary.

Robbie liked a girl in his class in high school named Gail Harper, she also had blond hair and blue eyes. Chip became friends with a little boy three years younger than he was. His name was Ernie Thompson, he had dark brown hair and sparkling brown eyes and wore horned rimmed glasses. He and Chip built a raft like Tom Sawyer, they also tried to get Bub a hairpiece they cut a sample of Tramps coat and sent it to a company. Bub wore the thing, despite it looking hilarious. Tramp chewed it to shreds one day.

One day, Bub got a letter from his Uncle Shamus from Ireland, he went to visit him. The boys tearfully told him goodbye. In his place, his brother Charley O Casey came to take care of the family. Uncle Charley was ten years younger than Bub and was a former sailor, he had red gold hair and blue eyes. He was there for a while when the family got the news, Bub had passed away, The boys and Steve and Charley were devastated, Ernie cried too, he liked Bub too. After watching a James Bond movie, eight year old Ernie wanted to be a spy, while in his James Bond suit and hat, he spotted Mike with a girl.

Ernie saw the two together and told Chip to follow him. "It's just Jean Pearson, she used to live next door." Somehow, it got back to Sally, who Mike had recently proposed to. She tearfully told Steve "Oh Mister Douglas! I'm scared he'll go back to her." Steve reassured her he would speak to Mike that night. Like told Steve "I just talked to her a few times Dad, we remembered old times together." Steve told him "Mike you are engaged, now your going to have to make up your mind. Is it going to be Sally? Or is it going to be Jeannie?" He went straight to Sally's dorm room and told her "I love you! I want to marry you." The next day he broke the news to Jean. The girl was heartbroken, but lied and told him she was also engaged.

One Son Leaves and Another Son is Gained

The big day came, Michael Francis Douglas married Sally Ann Morrison on the 23rd of June. Chip and Ernie threw rice at the newly married couple, Mike had gotten a position at a construction company in Bangor Maine. As Chip and Ernie walked to Ernie's house, Ernie saw a car in the driveway. "Uh Oh! That's Miss Coulter the social worker." Chip wanted to know what that was, Ernie told him, "I'm a foster child, Mom and Dad are moving to Japan and I have to go to another home." Chip was visibly upset. He asked Steve if Ernie could stay the night at their house, Steve said yes.

That night, Chip went into Steve's room, "Dad, Ernie's crying, he says he's getting a cold, but I can tell he's crying." Steve told Chip to get into his bed and he went to talk to Ernie. When he went into the room, Ernie had his face in the pillow. "Ernie, would you like to talk about it?" Ernie brought his face out of the pillow, "You mean I can ask you things?" Steve smiled and said, "Why sure, and you know there's always God if you want to talk to someone higher up than me." Ernie snuffled and said, "I just asked God if you could come in here, Mister Douglas? Would it be baby if I asked you to stay in here until I fall asleep?" Steve smiled and said "No Ernie, it wouldn't be baby at all".

After Miss Coulter came to get Ernie, Steve went to the Children's Social Service agency and applied to be a foster parent for Ernie. They interviewed the boys and Uncle Charley, Miss Coulter brought Ernie to the Douglas house, after he stayed with them six months, Miss Coulter told them after interviews with neighbors and a call to Mike in Maine, they could adopt Ernie. The family went to the courthouse and after signing papers, Steve was now the father of nine-year old Ernest Stanley Douglas.

Right after Ernie joined the family, a circus was in town, one evening, Steve promised Ernie he and Chip would take him to the circus, that night, Chip and Ernie camped out in the backyard. Ernie woke about one in the morning to go inside to the bathroom, when he went back downstairs and outside, he heard a roar, looked and saw a full grown male lion outside. Ernie ran into the tent and woke up Chip "A lion's out there Chip!" Chip laughed but went inside with him. Before Ernie remembered to shut the back door, the lion came into the house.

After trapping the family in the house, Ernie climbed down the trellis and called the police from the neighbors. The lion's trainer came and took him away. Two years later, Steve got a promotion, with this, he got a chance to transfer to Los Angeles California, the boys were exited at first, but the day they were moving, they looked at their home, the one where they were born in, except for Ernie and almost cried, They drove from their state to California. Five days later; they arrived. The new house was nothing like the bungalow, this house was a ranch style, built in the middle 1940s.

After their furniture arrived, they settled down, Monday, the boys went to their new schools, they met the new neighbors, The Dearing's. Both Chip and Ernie came home that afternoon complaining about the way they were ignored, Uncle Charley was angry at the rude checkout lady at the supermarket. It took Steve to talk to the neighbor, she introduced herself as Mrs. Jan Dearing. They just moved in a day before the Douglas family and were waiting for a native Californian to greet them. Robbie came home with a smile a mile wide. He brought a pretty young woman with him.

Meet Katie

Robbie smiled and told Steve, "Dad, this is Katie Miller, she was born in California." A pretty girl with golden hair and blue eyes, Katie was eighteen years old, Katie smiled, showing dimples in her cheeks. "The way any Californian gets together with a new person, is to grill some burgers and have a barbecue." At the barbecue, Robbie looked at the pretty girl, then gasped and looked at her again, she was wearing a bridal dress. "Dad? What do you see when you look at Katie?" Steve smiled and said, "I see a lovely young girl pouring coffee" Robbie said back, "Well I see a bride."

Two months later, Katie was staying for dinner almost every night, Robbie proposed to her, The couple were married three months later. They honeymooned in Mexico. When they came back, Katie was nervous and the boys weren't used to having a girl in the house. The first breakfast, Uncle Charley gave them bacon, eggs, toast, oatmeal, and pancakes. "I can't eat all that." Katie whispered to Robbie. Later on, she told Uncle Charley she was going to fix a desert for Robbie, custard. Uncle Charley said "Robbie hates custard', Katie said. "Maybe you mean one of the other boys," Charley replied back. "No, I mean Robbie with the brown hair and blue eyes that just came back from his honeymoon." At desert time, Robbie made a face. "Uncle Charley! I HATE custard!" Katie burst into tears and ran upstairs. Robbie went to her. "I'm sorry Katie, but I hate custard. " Katie sobbed, "But when we were on the honeymoon, you ate Flan, and that's custard."

The next day, Katie fixed her hair a different way, Robbie didn't notice and Katie cried again. That evening, Katie cooked a cheese soufflé, When she got it to the table it fell, again she ran from the room in tears. Robbie was very upset, Steve went to her and told her "When I married Mrs. Douglas, all she could cook for the first two months was Spanish Rice and prunes, she had an Aunt Sofia in her house and didn't know how to cook. Robbie was very young when his Mother died, and he doesn't remember her that well, so tears frighten him." Katie smiled and told Steve, "Well I didn't have a house full of brothers, will it get better Dad?" Steve smiled and reassured her "Yes it will."

Ernie brought a friend from school one day, the friend called himself Mike. But Mike was destructive, he broke a window. Then came over one morning and blew up a vase. Uncle Charley called Mike a juvenile delinquent. Mike replied "I don't know what a juvenile delinquent is, but I'm not a he, I'm a she; my name is Michelle" Ernie was shocked, after Michelle went home, Ernie ran and hid in the laundry chute. Steve went to see Mike's Father that afternoon. The two were watching a football game. Mike had no Mother and her Father treated her like a boy, calling her "sport" The next day, she came over and Katie took her into her room.

Katie showed Mike a picture of herself when she was a teenager. "Wow!" Mike said, "You didn't know how to look like a girl or anything did you?" Katie smiled and said "No, but I can teach you if you want me to" Mike came down the stairs with lipstick on her lips and some blush on her cheeks and was holding Katie's old doll Raggedy Ann. Ernie said "Come on and play baseball Mike." Mike smiled and said, "I don't have time to play with boys right now Ernie.

That weekend, there was a dance at the junior high, Ernie invited Mike, there was a knock at the door, Ernie answered it. "Wow!" Ernie said as Michelle was wearing a pretty dress, and her hair was styled ." Michelle smiled and said, "Are you ready to go Ernie?" A few months later, Katie was helping Uncle Charley and the boys do Spring housecleaning, she fainted. She did this three more times. Robbie took her to the doctor. He called home whooping "We're expecting Dad!" They began going to Katie's family doctor, a General Practioner named Doctor Roy Osborne. He delivered hundreds of babies, he delivered both Katie and her Mother. At first, Robbie wasn't sure of this old time doctor, but the family liked him. In her fifth month, Katie was bigger than most pregnant women. Doctor Osborne told her he heard more than one heartbeat.

Katie danced out of the office. Her secret was kept, Robbie was in the Army Reserve, when it was time for Katie to have the baby, he was away on maneuvers. Steve called him. The entire family arrived at the hospital, including Lorraine, Katie's Mother. When Robbie finally arrived a nurse told the family to come to the nursery window. They all smiled as a blue bundle was brought out. "It's a boy!" Robbie said, then another nurse brought another blue bundle. "Look there's two of them!" Chip said beaming, "They don't call it two of them Chip, they call them twins!" Ernie proudly said. Steve asked "Is this one a boy too?" The nurse replied "Yes." As they were all gazing over the two babies another nurse came out "Mister Douglas! Mister Douglas!" Chip looked at her and said, "Hey look Rob! There's another one." Robbie could have been knocked over with a feather. "Triplets! Is that all?" The nurse laughed "Yes that's all" They had triplets, all boys, all beautiful.

My Three Grandsons

In the room that night, a nurse came around with the babies footprints and birth certificates. She asked Katie, "What are you naming the babies? Katie replied, "Robert William Douglas II, Steven Joseph Douglas II, and Charles Patrick Douglas II." Two days later, they took the boys home. Everyone got up at night when the babies were being fed. There were diapers always in the dryer, bottles being prepared. When the boys were three months old, Katie was completely exhausted, she began crying all the time, her mother came to see her, and took her with her to Santa Barbara, where her grandma lived. For two days, Katie got treated like a queen, she slept until she woke, ate things she loved, and watched her favorite television programs.

The third day, she was homesick and wanted her babies. When she arrived home, she expected to see the house in a mess, the babies all screaming, but when she arrived, the house was sparkling clean and it was so quiet you could have heard pin drop. Katie sat down on the sofa and sniffled, Steve walked in the room. "Katie! How are you? Is everything all right?" He saw the tears on her face and sat beside her, "Oh Dad!" Katie sobbed, "I thought everyone missed me, but I guess they didn't care, the house is cleaner than when I was here." Steve began to laugh. "Kate, I just saw a cleaning bill for three women for three hours work for each."

At that moment, Robbie walked in the door, "Katie!" He smiled and went to Katie. He looked at her face, and wiped the tears away. "What's this?" Katie sniffled, "can't a girl be happy to be home?" Things went okay for the family, a man came in and built an alcove for the babies. When the babies were thirteen months old, Robbie graduated from college, got a position at Steve's Aeronautical plant and the five of them moved to an apartment three blocks down the road.

Barbara Harper Douglas

One afternoon, Ernie came in with a note from his substitute teacher in his history class. She wanted to see Steve about Ernie's grades. When he went to school, he met the teacher, her name was Barbara Jean Harper, a widow with a five-year-old daughter named Dorothy, but she was called Dodie. Barbara had blond hair and hazel eyes. Steve and Barbara went to a restaurant after the conference. Then he began calling her at home. A few days later, he met little Dodie, she was a cute little girl with brown hair and blue eyes. The two of them lived with Barbara's mother. Steve and Barbara fell in love, he proposed to her, she accepted.

That night, Robbie talked to Katie, "I was only eight years old when my mother died, Chip was just a baby. It's going to feel strange having a mother after seventeen years. The next day, Dodie angrily brought a picture of her birth father to Steve, "This was MY Daddy!" Barbara told Steve later on "She was only three when Larry died, I don't understand why she can be so bitter." Steve began to take Dodie places, the zoo, the movies, the park. But finally, he took her for an ice cream cone "Sir? Can I finish this in the car?" Steve told her "No, just try to finish it a little more, then we'll leave." He then lit his pipe. Dodie looked up at him, "You smell like my Daddy." Steve asked her, "Did your Daddy smoke a pipe?" Dodie replied "Yes sir." Steve smiled and said to her "I bet your Daddy was a very nice man." Dodie smiled and told Steve. "Yes he was, I think I like you, I'm glad you're marrying Momma." Steve smiled and said, "Come on Dodie, you can finish your ice cream in the car."

After Barbara and Steve were married, they went to Mexico for their honeymoon, the place they stayed at was a honeymoon hotel. When they went back home, Dodie moved into Steve's room and Steve and Barbara moved into Robbie and Katie's old room. Chip and Ernie called their new mom Barbara, so did Robbie. Dodie immediately called Steve daddy. A few months later, Steve was away on business, Chip's Geometry teacher accused Chip and another girl of cheating, the girls parents came over. The children told them "We didn't cheat!" The teacher accused them again and threatened to fail Chip for the year. Barbara saw red, "Let me tell you something Miss Terry! Chip and Debbie sat right here and studied until ten o clock for that test, I saw them, they studied every night. I'm here to tell you that MY SON DOE'S NOT CHEAT!"

The woman left the house. The next day, Steve came home, Chip and Ernie were in the den watching television. "Hi Dad." Steve smiled and said, "Well Chipper, I heard you had some teacher trouble." Barbara came in, "Steve!" they kissed. "Hi honey, how did everything go while I was gone?" Well I lost my temper with Chips teacher yesterday, I'm embarrassed, standing there screaming at her and pounding on the coffee table." Chip told Steve. "I wish you could have been here, Mom really told off Miss Terry" At the word mom, Barbara began to cry, Ernie called her Mom also, the boys accepted Barbara as their mother. Time and again, Steve received letters from Mike, he was told some happy news one day. Dear Dad, You're a Grandfather again, Sally just gave birth to a seven pound, twelve ounce baby girl, we named her Colleen Frances, after Mom and Bub. He enclosed a picture of the beautiful baby girl, along with another picture of Sally holding her in her arms, and a picture of the three of them.

Barbara looked at the pictures "Oh Steve, she's lovely." Steve smiled and said, "I sure would love to go and see them." He called Duluth Minnesota, Sally answered the phone, they spoke for few minutes, yes they would be glad to see Steve and Barbara, and Mike got on the phone, he told him to bring Chip, Ernie and Dodie. A week later, the family, including Robbie, Katie and the now two-year-old triplets boarded a plane.

When they arrived in Duluth, they got off the plane and saw someone waving, "It's Mike!" Robbie said and they all ran to him, they hugged each other and cried too. Mike kissed his new little sister and step-mother, and Katie. They got into two taxi's and Mike took them to his house. They all went inside, When they stepped inside, there was Sally, standing at the door, the baby in her arms. Steve smiled, "Sally! How are you darling?" She handed Colleen to Mike and threw her arms around Steve, then all her brothers-in-law, then Katie, then Barbara and Dodie. The family all took turns holding the baby in their arms.

Mike took a picture of Rob junior, Steven and Charley holding the baby in their laps. The reason Uncle Charley couldn't come was that he went to Ireland to see his brother Thomas. Barbara and Katie helped Sally cook dinner as Mike, Steve and the brothers all reminisced, Dodie and the triplets played with the toys they brought. When the family was seated at two tables, Steve asked the blessing. They all said Amen, then ate. After coffee, Steve and Barbara and the boys and Dodie, and Robbie and Katie and the toddlers all left to stay at a hotel.

Three days later they tearfully left, saying they would come out to California when Colleen got a bit older, Mike and Sally cried and hugged everyone. When they arrived home, they had a letter in the mail, Dodie was officially a Douglas, they took her to the adoption agency and Steve signed papers. Dodie was now Dodie, Elizabeth Douglas. She brought a note to her teacher the following Monday. A little girl named Victoria was mean to Dodie, she began taking her sandwich and desserts and giving them to her friends. Dodie had nightmares. She told Chip and Ernie about Victoria. They walked outside and saw the little girl walking.

They stopped her, and told her that they would cream anyone that hurt their little sister, at school that afternoon, Dodie told Victoria she had a bigger brother named Robbie and he would do terrible, rotten things to her. The next day, Robbie and Katie came over after Victoria's mother just left, Barbara told them what happened. Robbie told her that Victoria had called him and asked her if he did terrible, rotten things to little girls. Steve told Chip and Ernie to go outside and apologize to Victoria. They saw Victoria walking down the sidewalk. "She gets sent to the store a lot." Dodie told them. Chip and Ernie asked Victoria to come there, the child turned pale. "Victoria, we heard you get to go to the store on your own." Victoria said "Yes" Ernie told her, "Dodie is little and We'd like to know if he could walk to the store with you? And if anyone bothers either one of you, we'll cream them real good." Victoria's blue eyes shone, "Sure I will!" and she smiled.

Victoria and Dodie walked hand in hand to the store, they became the best of friends. It was time for Steve and Barbara's first anniversary. Dodie was very excited, she asked Robbie and Katie, Ernie and Chip and Uncle Charlie to help give them a surprise party. They thought she was just playing, but she had it in her seven-year-old mind that her Daddy and Mommy were going to have a party. Uncle Charley told Steve and Barbara about it, Dodie kept hinting about it to her brothers. Steve took all the boys into his room and said "Now Dodie thinks you're giving me and Mom a party, so please! Come to my party."

Everyone showed up for the party, Dodie sat beside daddy and watched him and Momma open all the presents, then Dodie ran up the stairs. Steve and Barbara went to her, she was lying on her bed sobbing. "What's the matter honey?" Barbara asked her, Dodie tearfully said, "Everybody got you nice things, and my present is rotten." Steve asked her "May we see it?" Dodie handed them a large manila envelope. They opened it to see Dodie's handprint and a message, To my Mommy and Daddy my right hand over my heart. Steve and Barbara had to wipe their eyes from tears in them. "Oh Dodie this is so sweet, This is the best present of all, because it came from you." They kissed and hugged their little girl.

Polly

The next afternoon, Chip brought a girl home with him, he met her in college, "Mom, Dad, this is Polly Williams." Polly was a pretty young girl, blond and blue eyed like Katie. She was an only child. She ate dinner with the family. Later on Chip took her home. As the couple drove to Polly's house, a stern looking man opened the front door, "Pauline! Get inside this house right now!" Polly turned a cottage cheese white and ran to the front door. The next day, Polly told Chip "Poppa wants to see you today Chip." He drove her home. When they went inside, a woman came out of the kitchen, she was also blond and blue eyed, it was Polly's mother Hazel, she smiled and shook Chip's hand.

Polly's father Joe came down the stairs, "So you're the young man that's dating our daughter." He was brown haired and blue eyed, in his late thirties, "Hello Mister Williams, I'm Chip Douglas." Joe asked him, "What's your given name?" Chip replied "Richard sir." Joe replied "Well that's what I'll call you." Hazel said "Would you like to stay for dinner Richard?" Chip smiled and was about to say yes when Joe said. "Pauline has homework to do after dinner, she doesn't have time to entertain." Chip said' That's all right sir, I need to get home anyway, bye Polly." AS Chip walked out the door, Polly said "Oh Poppa! How could you do that!" and ran to her room in tears. Hazel wondered the same thing. Joe angrily sat down and opened the newspaper. At dinner that night, Chip told the family about Joe Williams. "He doesn't like me, and I don't know why?"

The two children began sneaking around dating, one evening a strange car was following Chips car, he got scared and went home, as he went inside, he shut the door and Steve looked at his eighteen-year-old son, white faced and frightened. After telling him what was the matter, he went outside and asked the man why he was there. He told them he was a detective, he was following Chip because a Mr. Joe Williams wanted him to. Steve called the Williams house and told Joe to stop scaring his son and his daughter. That night, Chip had a talk with Steve and Barbara, later on, he drove to the Williams house, Polly climbed out her bedroom window with a suitcase. The children went to Las Vegas Nevada and got married.

That night, Steve told Barbara a funny story, "Chipper was around seven-years-old and there was a little girl named Doreen that kept following him around, he told me that the kids in his second grade class called him lover boy Chip," Steve chuckled and said, "His brothers teased him for days, well now I wonder where lover boy Chip is now?"

After the couple married, they drove to Mexico for the same honeymoon hotel Steve and Barbara went to. They got there very late, the man told them that this was no longer a honeymoon hotel, Polly burst into tears, she was so tired, she needed some rest. The man felt sorry for them and gave them a room together. They both were scared. But their fear eased after a good nights sleep and a nice breakfast free, courtesy of the hotel manager. Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Joe Williams was angry, he didn't want his little girl to get married, but Steve told him "I gave Chip my permission to marry." Hazel Williams said "And I gave Polly MY permission to marry."

When the newlyweds arrived back in Los Angeles, they moved into the college apartments. Polly's mom and Steve and Barbara all came to see them, Uncle Charley brought lots of food, Katie and Robbie brought more food. That night, Ernie and Dodie came to see them, Dodie told them "I really miss you guys." A few days later Chip was woken by soft sobbing, "Polly? What's wrong?" Polly cried, "I miss my Papa, he hasn't even came to see me, it's been a whole week too." Chip held her in his arms until she fell asleep.

The next afternoon, Chip knocked on the William's door. Joe answered it, "Hello Mister Williams, may I come in and talk to you?" He snarled his face, but let Chip in. Hazel was reading the paper, she smiled and said hello warmly to her new son-in-law. Chip sat down, "Sir? I want to know why you've not came to visit Polly?" Joe said "Well I work all the time and am tired when I get home." Chip told him, "Well Mr. Williams, Polly cries at night, she really misses you." Joe turned red with embarrassment and Hazel was beginning to cry. "Please come and see her sir, she loves and misses you, well she didn't know I came so I'll leave now, goodbye Mr. Williams, goodbye Mom." Chip shook hands with Joe and hugged Hazel. After he left, Hazel said "Joe, didn't you realize your own son-in-law called you Mr. Williams?"

Later on as Chip and Polly were finishing dinner, the doorbell rang. As Polly opened the door, she smiled and cried at the same time, "Oh Papa! You came!" Joe smiled and said, "Yes sweetheart, Papa's here, and by the way, Richard, I mean Chip, please call me Dad or Father." Chip smiled and said "Sure Dad."

A few days later, the telephone rang, Ernie answered it. "Hello?" a voice on the line warmly replied "Hi Ernie! This is Sally, how are you?" Ernie said to her "I'm doing great, I graduate from high school next week." Sally replied, well how would you like your brother and sister-in-law and your niece Colleen to come to it?" Ernie smiled and said "Sure!" Sally replied "Well guess what, we're moving to Los Angeles and we'll be a few miles from you."

Ernie got Steve, they talked for a while to Sally, Mike had gotten a job at UCLA as a professor, and Sally sang like and angel, she was going to be a teacher in an elementary school, teaching music and piano too. Colleen was three now and looked just like her Mother, blond and blue-eyed. Four days later, they met them at the airport, their furniture and clothes was coming by trucks. They all kissed and hugged one another. They got to the house and Steve and Ernie went and got chicken and all the trimmings.

Robbie and Katie, and the triplets who were five now and Chip and Polly came over. After the food had been brought in, they set the table and the children were all at a small table, Steve bowed his head, along with the whole family. "Dear God, we thank you ever so much for bringing the whole family together again after all these years, and please keep us together throughout the rest of our lives, Amen!" They all said Amen, and passed the food. The children laughed and ate the food and talked children's talk, and the grownups talked and reminisced.

Soon, after Mike and Sally and Colleen moved to California, Polly came over and announced to the families that she was going to have a baby. They were frightened, but happy Chip told them. Chip had graduated college and had gotten a job as a dentist. Polly went to school until it was time for the baby. Doctor Osborne, of course was her doctor, he had delivered Katie, Katie's mother, the triplets and he was still going strong at age 74. When it was time for the baby to be born, the families gathered at the hospital. A few hours later, a nurse came out and announced that they had a brand new granddaughter, niece and cousin for Colleen, Rob Jr, Steven and Charley Jr.

The nurse brought the baby to a window for them to see the new addition, she was beautiful of course. Then they went to see Polly and got to hold the tiny baby. Before the day was over, a nurse came in to take the baby's footprints, she asked the couple what they were going to name the baby. "Meredith Josephine Douglas" replied Chip. Polly smiled and kissed the baby on her tiny cheek. Of course Polly and Chip were scared to death so Hazel spent a few nights at the house, then Barbara. They showed the young couple how to feed and burp and diaper a baby, how to bathe her, and fix the blanket to make her feel secure. She was an exceptionally good baby, only crying to be fed. Polly didn't get the baby blues either.

Goodbye

When Meredith was nine months old, she was trying to walk, Steve became sick, he went to his doctor, it didn't look good, he told the family he was very sick, due to all the pipe smoking, he had developed cancer of the lungs, after three months right before Meredith's first birthday, Steve died, it was a horrible coincidence, since Chips Mom, Colleen had died one day before his birthday. After the funeral, they tried to get back to normal, the family stayed by Barbara for a while.

When little Meredith turned two, they gave her two cakes, one for her first birthday, and another one for her second birthday, Meredith did just what her Daddy done, stuck her hands and face in the cake, the family laughed and applauded and sang Happy Birthday and For She's A Jolly Good Fellow. Meredith was a beautiful little girl, her hair was dark blond and her eyes were as blue as her Mommy and Daddy's. By the time she turned four, her Aunty Sally was teaching her to play the piano, just like her cousin Colleen, who was now six, her cousins Rob junior, Steven and Charley were now nine, their pretty Aunty Dodie was now fifteen.

Ernie, twenty-one now was seeing a girl named Debbie, they had dated as high school children, they became engaged after they graduated college, Ernie became a doctor and Debbie was studying to become a lawyer. They two married and went to Australia for the honeymoon, they came home with gifts and pictures. Dodie was crazy about an Australian soap opera that played on television called Prisoner Cell Block H, Ernie had gotten four autographed pictures for her with him and Debbie with actress' Val Lehman, Elspeth Ballantyne Fiona Spence, and Betty Bobbit along with a group picture of them all with Ernie and Debbie, then Ernie surprised her with another autographed picture, it was Gerard Maguire, the pictures all said "To our biggest American Fan Dodie," Love and the actors names.

For the triplets, they brought a didgeridoo and a boomerang. For the little girls, they brought stuffed Koala's and kangaroos. For Barbara Sally and Katie and Polly, they brought treasures from Queensland and for Mike, Robbie and Chip and Uncle Charley, they brought real gold.

Ernie and Debbie moved to Santa Barbara, but they visited every Sunday and ate lunch after church with Barbara and Dodie and Uncle Charley. Soon after they gotten settled down Uncle Charley got sick and died. The family was again devastated. Barbara and Dodie were all alone again. But Barbara assured the worried children they would be okay. A year later, Ernie announced that Debbie was going to have a baby. Seven months later, the entire family gathered at the hospital to see the newest addition, once again a nurse came out and announced the birth of the newest Douglas a seven pound seven ounce baby boy. Another nurse brought the tiny baby out so they could see him, he was also beautiful.

After all the family held him and they let Dodie feed him, they all left, the nurse brought the baby's footprints and asked the parents what they were naming the baby. Debbie told her "William Steven Douglas" as little Liam, that's what they called him grew, his blue eyes turned brown, like his Daddy's and he had brown hair also. Liam was walking at age ten months and was talking even before. At his first birthday, he stuck his hands in his cake and chortled with delight, the families all applauded, and sang Happy Birthday and For He's A Jolly Good Fellow.

When Dodie was twenty one years old, she met and married a young man named Jason Brown. They honeymooned in Hawaii. When they came home to Los Angeles, they moved in with Barbara, she didn't mind. As the couple took care of Barbara, they also worked, Dodie became a teacher like her Aunty Sally and Jason was working in the aeronautical plant where Robbie was still at. Two year later, the families were gathered at the hospital again, awaiting the birth of a new baby. The nurse came out and told the families they were now the proud grandparent, uncles and aunts and cousins of a brand new baby girl. They named the baby Stephanie Danielle Brown.

As the years came and went, the children grew up and married with families of their own, The triplets all married, had sons and daughters, as did Colleen and Meredith. One afternoon, Sally wasn't feeling well. She had been getting headaches, they had gotten worse. Her doctor told her she had a brain tumor. She lived two years and died. By then, Liam had grown up and met and married, so did Stephanie.

Then Barbara, who was 78 passed away. Liam and Stephanie had already married and Liam and his wife had a baby boy they named him Brandon Michael , Then one day, Robbie felt sick, he went to his doctor and was told he also had cancer, he died three years later. Dodie and Jason still lived in the house Dodie had grown up in from age five, they were now grandparents. Their daughter Stephanie had a baby boy named Joseph William. Life goes on people are born and they die.

THE END