While Eleanor's Away…
"…And I left a list of numbers on the table in case you need to reach me for any reason."
"Got it." Alvin nodded as he followed Eleanor down the stairs of their home, carrying her suit cases.
"This is the first time you've been alone with the kids; are you sure you can handle it?" She asked pulling on her coat.
Alvin smirked. "Come on; do you remember who you married?"
Eleanor paused. "That's it; I'm not going!" She began pulling her coat off.
Alvin sighed and pulled it back onto her shoulders. "El, we'll be fine."
Eleanor let out a sigh of her own. "Are you sure? Because it won't be like when you took care of your brothers; these are girls-- a teenager who wants to be left alone, a preteen out to save the world, and a little girl who will need a lot of attention." Alvin rolled his eyes. "You just say the word, Alvin, and I'll come home right away."
Alvin smirked. "You worry too much." He turned her to face him and kissed away her creased forehead.
"I guess I do." She let out a breath. "I'll only be at Miss Miller's for a few days, but…" She smiled up at him. "I'll miss you."
Alvin chuckled and pulled her into a hug. "I'll miss you more."
They separated at the sound of a car horn. "That's Britt." Eleanor said.
Alvin nodded. "Come one guys, and hug mom good-bye." He called. Three children ran towards the front door hugging Eleanor and saying their good byes. Alvin and Eleanor shared one last good bye before she picked up her suit case and left. "Okay, mom's gone." Alvin announced as he shut the door behind her. He turned towards his children. "So what do we do?"
The oldest, Lori, gave a sigh. "I am going back upstairs to talk to Jennie." She smiled and then turned to go back to her room.
Alvin blinked. "O-kay…" He squatted down to the level of his two youngest daughters. "What do you guy want to do?"
Jessica, the middle daughter, shrugged. "I'm just going to watch some TV." She turned and walked back towards the living room couch.
Alvin sighed and chuckled. "Alright, Sophie," He smiled at his youngest. "It's just you and me; unless, you already have plans…"
Sophie smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him upstairs.
"More tea, Mr. Snuggles?" Sophie asked, pouring the make-believe tea into the tea cup placed in front of the stuffed bear. Alvin sighed as he struggled and remain comfortable in such a pettily built chair. "Daddy, you're not drinking your tea." Sophie pointed out.
"Oh, right," He picked up the cup and pretended to take a sip.
"Daddy,"
Alvin looked up to see Sophie wiggling her pinky. Alvin nodded and stuck out his pinky before taking another fake sip. "Unbelievable," A voice came from the doorway.
He looked up to see Lori standing there with a look of annoyance. A look, Alvin had noticed, was on her face most of the time. "What?" He asked finally.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes at her the sight of her father in a pink bonnet and blonde wig as she walked back down the hall. "Nothing, just my dad being weird… again." She spoke into the phone.
Alvin glared. "Hey, I'm one of the most famous rock stars on the planet!" He called to her.
"Now he's talking about the golden years."
Alvin rolled his eyes and went out into the hall. "Hey, Lori," He called again. She turned around still looking annoyed. "Get off the phone and find Jessie; we're all going to have a tea party."
Lori's jaw fell. "Are you serious?" She asked, pressing the phone to her chest.
"Yes, we're going to spend some time together this weekend doing something we all like because we're a family and we love each other!" Alvin let out an involuntary shudder. "Whoa, Dave, stop throwing your voice." He mumbled looking around the hall. He looked back at Lori who stared at him strangely. "Hang up the phone and get in here." He instructed.
As he stepped back into Sophie's room he could hear Lori groaning and stomping. "I'll have to call you back, Jen. My dad is going all Full House on me."
Alvin rolled his eyes and chuckled as he sat back in the uncomfortable chair and finished off his make-believe tea.
***
"Jessie, will you pass the tea?" Sophie asked.
Lori and Jessie and rolled their eyes as they boredly participated in the childish activity. "You guys could at least act a little into it." Alvin said, taking another sip of air-in-a-cup.
Lori glared at him. "This is stupid." She commented, crossing her arms and wiggling in the tiny chair.
Sophie gasped. "Oooh! You said a bad word!" She pointed at her oldest sister accusingly.
"Oooh…" Alvin repeated.
"Dad!" Lori continued to glare at him.
"Okay, okay," He removed his bonnet and wig from his head. "Tomorrow we can do something else. What do you want to do?"
Jessica gasped and her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. "Oh, I know!" She smiled excitedly.
"I'm not…having…fun!" Lori grumbled as she hammered a block of wood. "What's fun about building houses for the needy?" She glared at her little sister.
Jessica rolled her eyes. "It's fun because you know you're doing something good for someone other than yourself!" She explained. "But I wouldn't expect you to understand that."
Lori placed her hands on her hips. "You know what?!"
Alvin turned his head to see his two oldest daughters arguing. "Okay, guys, that's enough." He pointed his hammer at them in a warning manner.
"She started it!" They yelled simultaneously. "I did not! Dad!"
From a distance Sophie was playing around some paint cans and accidentally launched one off a board that was resting on a concrete pipe. The can flew into the air and Sophie watched as it soared towards her sisters. "You're probably the only person I know that does things like this for fun." Lori rolled her eyes and turned back towards the wooden board she was driving a nail into when…
SPLAT!
She gasped as a can full of blue paint splattered onto her head. Jessica bit her lip as she held back a laugh. "Jessie!" Lori screeched turned back to glare at her sister.
Jessica held her hands in the air in defense. "Hey, I didn't do it." She could no longer contain her laughter. "But I wish I had!"
Alvin held in snickers of his own. "Well, I wish I could do this." Lori turned and grabbed another can of paint. Alvin's eyes widened and he ducked as a blob of yellow paint slashed onto Jessica. "Looks like I did!"
Jessica huffed as she wiped some of the paint off her face. Lori began laughing and Jessica reached behind her, grabbing a red can of paint. She scooped up a handful and tossed it, hitting her sister's stomach. Lori growled and picked up another can of yellow paint, starting a paint war between them.
As the battle continued Alvin repeated tried to intervene and stop them, but only got the tail end of each blow.
"Lori!"
"Jessie!"
"Jessie! Lori!"
"Sophie!" Sophie yelled happily.
***
Alvin sighed in frustration as he opened the door and his three paint-covered daughters walked through into the house. "I am very disappointed in you girls." He said slamming the door shut. "What should've been a rewarding, family experience was just turned into a paintball war!" All three girls hung their heads. "I expected better from all of you! I mean, I didn't raise you this way!"
Lori slowly lifted her head. "I, uh, don't mean to be funny, but when did you turn into grandpa?" She asked.
Alvin bit his lip and blinked as he began to pace. He finally sighed and covered his eyes. "Ow," He whimpered as his head began to throb.
Alvin gently knocked on Lori's bedroom door. "Hey, Lori," He said creaking open the door.
"Hey, dad," She said a she continued brushing her hair.
Alvin blinked but took that as his permission to enter. "Do you know what today is?" He asked sitting on her bed.
Lori paused. "Uh, Friday?"
Alvin sighed. "Yes, but I meant it's your day to pick the activity." He smiled.
Lori rolled her eyes. "Ugh, dad, this family bonding thing is so lame." She said flipping her hair setting down her brush as she started putting on her make-up. "Can't you just take Jessie Appleseed and 'The Squirt' to Chuck E. Cheese and leave me here to relax?"
Alvin chuckled. "I could, but I'm not stupid." Lori quirked a brow at this statement. "I am Alvin Seville; I invented every trick ever used to get your parents and/or siblings out of the house." He stood and smiled smugly at her through the mirror. "You either have a date or you're going to throw a party. Which is it?"
Lori sighed. "I have a date." She confessed.
"Oh," Alvin nodded. "No problem."
Lori's eyes widened. "Really?" A smile appeared on her face.
Alvin shrugged. "Yeah, it's fine with me." He turned and left the room. "He can just come with us to Chuck E. Cheese."
Lori's eyes widened. "Dad!" She shrieked. She stomped over to her bedroom door and called downstairs. "Why can't you be cool for once?"
"Hey!" He called back to her. "I am cool! I'm the hippest dad on the block!"
Lori grimaced. "Ugh! Dad, hip people don't say hip!" She said slamming her door shut.
Alvin chuckled. "Just get ready to go to Chuck E. Cheese." He called back up.
As he said this, Jessica was walking by and groaned. "Chuck E. Cheese?" She rolled her eyes. "That place is for little kids."
Alvin looked surprised. "No it's not; you're never to old to go to Chuck E. Cheese." Jessica rolled her eyes again and walked back towards the living room. "Besides, we're supposed to be doing things as a family; kind of like the Brady Bunch."
"The who?" Sophie asked bouncing down he stairs.
Alvin's jaw fell and he blinked in total astonishment. "The Brady Bunch!" He repeated. "You know: here's a story of a lovely lady who was bring up three very lovely girls." He began to sing.
"Dad…" All three girls groaned form their spots in the house.
Alvin ignored them. "All of them had hair of gold like their mother… the youngest one in curls."
***
"Okay, I'll admit it; that was fun." Lori laughed as they entered the house.
"Yeah," Jessica agreed. "The way you body slammed Chuck, dad…" They group laughed.
Alvin nodded. "Maybe he'll think twice before he steals my pizza."
The three girls giggled. "We should do that again sometime." Sophie suggested.
"Oh, no, Soph; we can't." Jessica said guiding her sister upstairs. "When the nice mouse took our pictures, he wanted to make sure we never got back in." She explained as they disappeared into their rooms.
Alvin laughed and turned to his oldest daughter. "So?" He asked.
"What?" She shifted her eyes. "I said it was fun."
Alvin raised his brow. "Better than a date?"
Lori arched her brow as she thought. "No," She finally said. "But it was still fun." She smiled, heading up the stairs. "Good night, dad." She called before shutting her door behind her.
As soon as he heard the click of the lock he groaned and began to tiredly trudge towards the couch. He blew out a breath as he fell and relaxed into the couch, slowly drifting off to sleep.
***
Eleanor waved to Brittany and Jeanette as they pulled out of the driveway and she entered her home. The lights were off and all was quiet except for the low roar of the TV. She looked around the house and saw it wasn't completely destroyed. She walked a bit further and looked into each of the girls' rooms to see the peacefully asleep.
She went inside her bedroom and flipped on the lights. She stared curiously as Alvin's paint stain clothes that sat in the hamper and dropped her bags. She also found it curious that Alvin wasn't in bed. Eleanor furrowed her brows as she made her way back downstairs, into the living room. She stepped around the couch to grab the TV remote but stopped at the sight of her husband asleep on the couch.
She smirked and turned off the TV. She sat down and stroked his hair. Alvin shifted and opened his eyes. "Hey, you're back." He said, his voice low and groggy.
Eleanor giggled and leaned down to kiss him. "Why aren't you upstairs in bed?" She asked softly as she continued stroking his hair.
Alvin groaned as she shifted and stretched. "I'm too tired to move." He mumbled relaxing into the couch again.
Eleanor smirked again as she stood. "Well, that's too bad." She said heading back towards the stairs. "I've been away for two and a half days, and I missed you so much." Alvin rose into a sitting position and eyed her as she ran her finger up the banister. "I was kind of hoping to come home, hop into bed with you, and… fool around." Alvin's jaw fell and Eleanor shrugged. "But since you're too tired…"
"Tired…!" Alvin quickly jumped from the couch and ran towards the steps. "Who said anything about being tired?" He quickly scooped Eleanor up into his arms, bridal style, and smiled down at her. "Now it's time for my favorite activity."