TITLE: It's Time You Learn to Share
AUTHOR: Cindy ()
RATING: G
CHARACTERS: Toby
SUMMARY: A Lesson for Piper
DISCLAIMER: The characters used from the West Wing do not belong to me; they are the property of Aaron Sorkin.
FOLLOWS: Today Must Be My Birthday
I was sitting in the family room catching the ending of the Yankee game. CJ was on the loveseat and Keegan was crawling all over the room looking desperately for something to get into.
Piper had just entered the room with her hands full of crayons and colouring books. "Close the gate behind you so Keegan doesn't get out sweetie," CJ reminded her.
"I know," Piper replied as she closed the gate.
She sat herself down on the floor and prepared to start colouring. Keegan quickly crawled over to Piper and sat himself up across from her. He leaned over slightly to the newly opened page of her book. At the same time he drooled and it landed on her page.
Piper shrieked, "Eww he drooled. Do something."
"It's just saliva Piper it won't hurt you," I answered. I got up and took a wipe from the baby bag we kept in every room of the house for occasions such as this. I bent down and cleaned off Keegan's face, as well as Piper's book.
Keegan smiled and bounced a few times on his bum showing his enthusiasm for Piper. He adored her and whenever she was around all he wanted to do was be near her.
I went back to my recliner and sat down and started flipping through the channels. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Piper lie down on her stomach and begin to colour.
"What are you drawing honey?"
"I'm colouring Barbie. She's getting dressed to go to a party."
"Can I take it to work for my office?" CJ asked.
"Okay's. I'll make sure to colour very carefully so it's really pretty."
"Oh I'm sure it's going to pretty no matter what. You're very good at colouring."
Piper beamed at her mother and I smiled. Keegan took one of Piper's crayons out of her box and played with it.
"Daddy he's got my crayon."
"You've got enough there that you can share one with your brother," I replied.
"But I need that one."
"You've got a red one in your hand right now. You can only use one at a time. When you need that one you can have it back."
Piper sighed and went back to drawing. She scribbled for a couple of seconds and then threw down the red crayon she had been using. "Okay I need it now."
Piper reached over and grabbed the crayon from Keegan's hand making him cry. "Piper!"
"What? You said I could have it back."
"Yes I did but you didn't have to rip it from his hand. He's only a baby."
"Well then he should go and get his own crayons. These ones are mine."
CJ glanced at me through the bottom of her glasses with a slight grin. Keegan continued to cry but he was easing his way out of it. I felt sorry for him as he watched her colour with his crayon that he had been quite happy with not a minute earlier.
I got up and sat down beside Keegan and gave him a lime green coloured crayon. Keegan took it from my hand and more drool bubbled from his lips, as he got excited once again.
"Hey!" Piper shouted at me. "You can't do that."
"Yes I can."
"No you can't," she challenged me. "That is mine."
"Well I bought it."
"So that doesn't matter. It doesn't say Daddy's on the box. It says Piper's." She picked her crayon box up at me and showed me where her name was written in black magic marker. In my own penmanship to boot.
"Piper there is 64 crayons in that box. I think it's okay that you share them with Keegan. He only wants one."
"Yeah for now. And then he's going to want another and another and…"
She stopped talking and began to scream. Keegan had taken his crayon and tried to copy what Piper was doing by drawing on her page.
"He's ruining it, he's ruining it," she cried out over and over.
"It's not ruined," I said as I picked up Keegan and placed him on my lap.
"I hate you, I hate you," she screamed at Keegan. She threw her crayon at him and nearly missed hitting his head.
"That's enough out of you," I said getting angry. "I want you to say sorry to Keegan."
"No."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said NO."
"Go to your room please."
"That's not fair. It's his fault," she cried.
I pointed to her bedroom; "Don't make me say it again Piper."
She stood up, "I hate you too. You're nothing but a mean mean daddy and when I blowed my birthday candles out the next time I'm going to wish for a new family without a daddy and without any babies too."
She stormed out of the room leaving the gate unlocked. CJ got up and closed the gate and came over to where Keegan and I were sitting. She took the baby from me and gave him kisses on the top of his head.
"She'll be lucky to see her next birthday," I joked to CJ who just smiled back at me.
"What are you smiling at?"
"You two. You're both so funny sometimes."
"Funny? You call that scene funny?"
"She's just a kid Toby."
"She threw a crayon at Keegan CJ."
"I know she did and for that she was wrong. She was also wrong for what she said too but she also doesn't understand how much her words hurt."
I tried to blow her off, "She didn't hurt me."
"Yes she did Toby. Who are you trying to kid?"
"She's spoiled CJ. And it's got to stop."
"And whose fault is that?"
I took a second to answer and then guessed, "Bartlet's?"
CJ laughed, "Well his too. But I was thinking more along the lines of yours."
"I don't spoil her. She came spoiled."
"No she didn't Toby. She came scared," CJ replied softly.
"Okay how did this get to be my fault all of a sudden?"
"It's not your fault. Well I guess it is and it's mine too. Toby we've given her everything we could to make her happy and to make her feel like she's apart of us."
"She is apart of us."
"I know that and you know that. But she's still trying to feel her way around."
"It's been over a year CJ. I think that's just an excuse."
"Toby how many times have we given her something and she's asked 'Is this just for me'?"
I considered CJ's question. She did have a point. Nearly with every gift Piper has received she would always ask us that question. And our answer was always, 'Just for you'."
"And now she's got this brother who is always in her face trying to play with her toys or take her crayons or for some odd reason suck on her dolls faces. It's hard for her to adjust to that Toby."
"CJ she's old enough to know better."
"Toby not all children are born to share. There are those that have to be taught. And she's one of them."
"Are you speaking from experience?" I dared my wife. CJ grinned and hid her face behind Keegan's. She had him standing on her thighs and facing me.
"Talk to Piper Daddy," she said through Keegan.
"That's not fair. You can't use the baby against me."
"I didn't see that in the rules," she answered smiling at me. She gave Keegan a big huge smacker on his cheek and began to tickle him making him giggle as he tried to get out of her grasp.
"Go to her Toby."
"I don't think she wants to see me right now CJ. You heard her, she thinks I'm a mean Dad," I said trying not to choke on my own words. The truth was that when she said that she broke my heart. I was trying not to show it but it hit me and it hit harder than I ever thought any words ever could.
CJ pointed to Piper's bedroom, "Don't make me say it again Toby."
**2**
I knocked on Piper's door and waited to be invited in but I never was so I just entered her room.
"Have you calmed down?"
Piper didn't answer me. She was sitting in the middle of her bed petting Crikey our black Labrador. Crikey was snuggled up with her head in Piper's lap enjoying the attention.
I sat down on the edge of her canopy bed. I glanced around her bedroom. It looked as if someone had sprayed the room with Pepto Bismo it was so pink.
"Hey," I said gently. I reached out and began petting Crikey from the back. She lifted her head to look at me and once she was satisfied that I wasn't a stranger touching her she placed her head back down on Piper's lap.
We both continued to pet the dog in silence. Piper wouldn't even acknowledge that I was even in the room. I tried once more, "Piper?"
"I doesn't want to talk to you."
"Okay then how about I do all the talking and you just listen?" When she didn't answer I turned myself around more on her bed so that I was sitting cross-legged across from her.
"I'm really sorry that Keegan drew on your picture."
"It was really ugly anyway," Piper said with a level of 2 in the attitude category.
"I think we both know better than that. Nothing that you have ever coloured whether at home or in school has ever been ugly." Well there was that drawing of me where I was about 2 feet tall with a head the size of the blimp, but I'll be taking that one to my grave.
"I'm also sorry that I allowed Keegan to draw on your picture. That was wrong of me."
"Yes it was," she was quick to agree.
"But it wasn't his fault. And you were out of line by yelling what you did to him. He doesn't know any better."
"You always says that. You and mommy always take his side. You never takes mine."
"Piper there isn't any sides. It happens to be a true fact. He's just a baby."
"He's always just a baby."
"Piper he's only ten months. You on the other hand are going to be five next month," If I let you let you live long enough I teasingly thought to myself.
"He's always touching my toys. He has his own toys."
"Yes he does touch your toys. But you also touch his as well."
"I do not," she cried out looking at me for the first time since I came into her room.
"Think about it for a second Piper. Who was playing with his train set last month? Who was it that had his little cars in her room thinking she was Mario Andretti?"
"Those aren't his."
"Yes they are."
"They're big people's toys. They're not toys for a drooling stupid baby."
"Hey!" I said raising my voice. "We don't use the word stupid and we don't insult anyone who lives in this family or who are associated with it." I paused before adding, "Unless it's Uncle Josh…..wait, not even him."
"And those toys were bought for Keegan by Uncle Sam and Uncle Josh. So that makes them his toys."
"But he can't use them."
"That doesn't matter. They belong to him. And he lets you share those with you."
"He can't talk that's why."
"True he can't speak…well he can say Dada and Mama and quite a few other words…but that's getting off the topic. The point is that mommy and I let you play with them because that is what sharing is. And we are all family and families share their toys."
I gave a hard nod. I was proud of how that came out. "Can I play with your toys then?"
I chuckled, "I don't have toys sweetie. But if I did I would let you play with them because that is what sharing is all about."
"You have toys in the basement. You have the box that you play the games on and you said I couldn't play with them because they were yours."
"Right. Those are adult toys for Daddy's."
"So you do have toys then."
"Well those aren't toys like your dollies are because they are for grown ups."
"Isn't the train set for grown ups?"
"Well, kind of but-"
"And you let me play with that."
"Piper I came up here because it's time you to learn to share and-"
"I'm sorry Daddy for what I said. I didn't mean them. I doesn't want a new family."
My heart melted to a puddle, "You don't know how happy I am to hear that baby."
"And I will let Keegan play with my toys from now on. Because that is what sharing is all about right daddy?"
"Exactly," I said with a tear of pride rising in my eye.
"I think I'd like to play your games now."
"I'm sorry what?" I asked giving my head a shake.
"Well if I have to share then you have to share too right? Because that's only fair." She pulled herself away from Crikey and hopped off of her bed and went to the door.
"Uh Piper, something went wrong here."
**Five minutes later**
CJ entered the basement with two cups of coffee in her hands. "I just put Keegan down. I thought you could use this," she handed me a hot mug.
"Thanks," I said wiping my brow with the opposite hand.
"It looks like you got through to her," CJ said raising the mug to her lips.
Piper was on the sofa smacking all the buttons on my X-Box making me cringe. I looked back at CJ, "I still can't figure out where I went wrong. But somehow she won this one and I ended up losing and I was the innocent in this whole thing."
CJ laughed and touched my cheek softly with her hand, "We win some and you lose most of them," she laughed again.
"Yeah well the next time she throws a fit I'm going to sit back and let you go in."
"That's fine. Atleast I'll come out with all of my toys intact."
"This is all Keegan's fault," I mumbled.
The End