Dress the Chickens?
Tali brings home a popular children's' book from the school library and as Tony reads the book to the kids, Ziva comments on the story. November 2019
Ziva checked through Tali's backpack as she and the two kids walked inside. The school bus had just dropped Tali off at the end of the driveway. Tali had been in kindergarten for almost three months now, and she loved school. Every day she came home full of things to tell about her day, often sharing the stories with her younger brother. Anthony listened to every word; he loved his big sister.
"And today we went to the school library and we each got to borrow a book to read," Tali was telling Anthony about the special activity the class had done that day. "I brought mine home; I will read it to you later." Anthony nodded; if the school library were anything like the public library, he wished he could go with Tali the next time.
"Who wants a snack?" Ziva called from the kitchen to her two children. Both kids loved to have an afternoon snack when Tali came home from school. Ziva usually had a snack with them, using her pregnancy cravings as an excuse to eat. She put some Goldfish crackers and apple slices into plastic bowls for each of the kids and filled lidded cups with apple juice. Tali and Anthony sat at the kitchen table with their food and drinks. Ziva put her own apple slices and Goldfish crackers into a larger bowl and added some spicy mustard in the center. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down with her children.
"Eww, Ima; that's gross!" Tali made a face as Ziva dipped her apple slices into the mustard.
"Gross, Ima," Anthony echoed his big sister.
Ziva grinned at the kids, "It is what your sisters want!" She did have to admit that she had some weird cravings with this pregnancy; maybe it had to do with the fact that she was carrying twins this time.
Mother and children were just finishing their snacks when Ziva heard the front door open. She glanced at the clock; it was too early for Tony to be home. Anthony ran into the entryway, shouting out, "Abba is home; Abba is home!"
Tony hugged the kids and grinned at Ziva, "HVAC went out, so they sent us home early. Parts are supposed to be delivered in the morning so I'll be working from home tomorrow." He drew her to him, kissing her softly. "Somebody's been eating spicy mustard again."
Ziva nodded, grinning sheepishly, "It is what the girls wanted."
"Abba, Abba," Tali tugged at Tony's sleeve. "I borrowed a book from the school library today. Will you read it with me? Please?" Tali held up the book, showing it to her father.
"Amelia Bedelia," Tony read the title out loud. "I loved this book when I was your age, Tali. My Mom read it to me! It's very funny."
"Me too! Me too!" Anthony was not going to be left out of the story time. "And Ima, too." He jumped up and down excitedly when Tony and Ziva both nodded agreement. He ran to the family room ahead of the others, jumping onto the sofa and grinning at his parents.
"Anthony, please stay still so Ima can sit down," Tony admonished the little boy.
Anthony stopped moving and watched Ziva lower herself on to the sofa, "It's okay, Ima. I will be careful about the babies in your tummy." As he sat next to his mother, he leaned towards her belly, speaking softly, "Hi, baby sisters. Are you going to listen to the story too?"
Tony and Ziva made eye contact and smiled at their son. He would be a good big brother for his twin sisters if his interactions with Ziva's baby bump were any indication. Tony sat down next to Ziva, pulling Anthony into his lap and patting the sofa on the other side for Tali to sit. She handed her father the book and cuddled into his side.
"Amelia Bedelia," Tony began as the kids settled and Ziva leaned against his arm. "This story is older than me," he pointed to the copyright date.
"WOW, that's OLD!" Anthony remarked. Tony rolled his eyes and Ziva smirked at her husband's reaction. She had little sympathy for him since he had been the one to bring up dates.
Tony continued reading the story, "Change the towels in the green bathroom." He read how Amelia Bedelia used scissors to make the towels different. Tali giggled and Anthony followed his sister's lead. Ziva frowned, which Tony noticed. He raised an eyebrow when she made eye contact.
"Well, she did what she was told to do; she changed those towels," Ziva stated. "I would have just put different towels in the bathroom, though."
When he read the next page about "dusting" the furniture in the living room, Ziva commented again, "I do not understand why the directions did not say remove the dust from the furniture!" Tony rolled his eyes and said nothing, wondering if he was going to have to explain the story to Ziva. Both kids laughed at the picture of Amelia Bedelia putting powder on the furniture.
Tony read about the maid drawing the drapes when the sun comes in, expecting a comment from Ziva as the two children laughed at the image of Amelia Bedelia with a sketchpad in hand. He glanced over at his wife when she stayed silent and noticed a smile on her face.
At the page where Amelia Bedelia put the light bulbs outside on the clothes line, Ziva chuckled as Tali and Anthony laughed loudly. "Put the lights out; I would have put them in the trash!" Tony joked, making the other three laugh harder.
Anthony leaned towards his Ima, "Baby sisters, are you laughing too? Abba is being silly so you should laugh!" Ziva wiped at her eyes as she and Tony locked glances. He grinned at her and she started laughing again. He tried to make a serious face and all four DiNozzos laughed out loud.
"Okay, everyone, let's try to finish the story!" Tony attempted to get his kids under some control, while he could still hear Ziva trying not to giggle. He turned the page to read about "measuring two cups of rice."
Ziva spoke up, "Well, it did not say HOW she should measure the two cups of rice. Oh, wait! TWO. CUPS. …of rice…" Tony had to bite his lip to keep from snickering. He glanced at his ninja; whew, she had a grin on her face! Tali and Anthony were oblivious to their Ima's momentary confusion; Anthony grabbed the page to turn for the next part of the story.
"Trim the fat before you put the steaks in the icebox," Tony read the next page. Tali giggled and pointed to the lace and bows that Amelia Bedelia had put on the steaks.
"That's silly, Abba! You don't put bows and lace on the meat!" Tali laughed more. Anthony laughed with Tali. Ziva laughed out loud with her children.
"That would make the meat rather tough to eat!" Ziva said through her laughter. "Although it would make for some extra fiber…" Tony chuckled loudly. He looked at Ziva and they both laughed even more.
"Can you even imagine putting lace and bows on Gibbs' fireplace steaks?" Tony guffawed. "What a visual!" Ziva wiped at her eyes as she laughed.
As they were trying to calm a bit, Anthony leaned towards Ziva again. "Baby sisters, are you laughing too? We laugh lots in this house!" He spoke so seriously that Ziva lost it and laughed so hard she snorted. That of course made them all laugh even more. Tony wiped a hand across his eyes and face and tried to avoid eye contact with Ziva so he could pull it together.
"One more chore to go," Tony announced as he turned the page. "Let's see what she's doing now."
Ziva looked at the page and read, "Dress the chickens. Oh, my, she put clothes on the chickens!" She started laughing out loud again.
"Who picked out their clothes, Ima?" Anthony asked very seriously. "Do they need help getting dressed because their arms are too short?" He pointed to the folded up wings on the pictures of the chickens. Tony lost it; he laughed so hard he had tears running down his face and Anthony made a comment that Abba was shaking too much. Ziva snorted and laughed even harder. He climbed between his parents, "Abba is too shaky to sit in his lap."
Anthony rested his ear on Ziva's belly, "I hear the baby sisters laughing, Ima!" Just as he said that, one of the twins moved and kicked. The movement hit Anthony's head. "Hey, baby, you kicked me!" He sat up quickly, frowning at Ziva and her baby bump. "Not funny."
Ziva laughed even harder, much to Anthony's chagrin. "I am sorry, motek, but it is funny," she kissed the side of Anthony's head and hugged him to her. She placed his hand on her belly and watched as he felt the movements again. His eyes widened as there were multiple kicks. Tali came around to her Ima and placed her hand next to Anthony's. She grinned when she felt the kicks as well.
Later that evening, when Tony was helping Ziva clean up after dinner, he made a comment about dressing the chickens. She laughed as they made eye contact. "Just be careful, Tony. Remember that Ducky talks about dressing the turkey for Thanksgiving!"
"He must use bigger clothes then!" Tony snickered. "And a little bowtie!"
Ziva had to sit down on one of the bar stools in the kitchen because she was laughing so much. Anthony came into the kitchen to see what all the noise was about. "What is so funny, Ima?"
"Abba said something funny about the Amelia Bedelia story," Ziva tried to be vague. The last thing she wanted was for Anthony to repeat any comments about Ducky's turkey to the family.
"Okay; that was a funny story, especially about the chickens in clothes!" Anthony grinned at his parents. "Can we read it again?"
"Over the weekend, motek," Ziva replied.
Two days later the family was at the Palmer house for the weekly family dinner. Ducky made a comment about Thanksgiving and that Breena would be helping him prepare the turkey for roasting. Tony and Ziva met gazes and smirked at each other. "Once we dress the bird, I will roast it overnight," Ducky continued.
"Dress the turkey?" Anthony piped up. "What kind of clothes are you going to put on it, Grandducky?"
"Say what, young lad?" Ducky had a confused look. Anthony grinned at the old doctor.
"Amelia Bedelia dressed the chickens in clothes," Tali explained. "Anthony thinks you are going to put clothes on your turkey."
Ziva and Tony again met gazes, and Ziva mouthed, "Bowtie!" Both DiNozzo parents started giggling.
"What's so funny?" Abby asked. "Let the rest of us in on the joke."
Ziva shook her head as she laughed and pointed to Tony. Abby looked at him expectantly, "Well?"
"Nothing, Abs," Tony suppressed a laugh. "Well, okay. The other night we were talking about the story I read to the kids and I said that Ducky was going to put a bowtie on his turkey." He burst out in peals of laughter again with Ziva joining him.
Soon the others were laughing at the visual of the Thanksgiving turkey wearing a little bowtie, even Ducky. "Just you wait until Thanksgiving," he chuckled…
A/N Happy birthday to Hippiechic81; a conversation about children's books was the inspiration for this story.