" I'm hungry." Lena said from the floor. Well I want a shower. I thought angrily then shook my head. I'd tried to get her to go to sleep but she was too much awake by the time I got her to stop crying. I got up and went into the kitchen. Lena followed me, dragging her teddy bear and sucking her thumb. Her brown curls hung in her eyes. I began going thru the bags and found things like, macaroni and cheese, bread, peanut butter, grape jelly, a thing of Oreo's, and a few cans of vegetables. It was already four so I guessed it would be okay to go ahead and macaroni and cheese for their supper. I stuffed the rest of the stuff in the cupboard above the microwave. I took two boxes of the macaroni and knelt down beside Lena.
" Do you like this?" I asked. She nodded, grinning around her thumb, and I couldn't help but grin back. I measured out the water and sat down at the table to wait for it to boil. Lena leaned on my knee and looked at me, still sucking her thumb. I heard a noise and looked over to see Luke standing in the doorway. His curly hair was mussed and his face was red. He yawned and stumbled over to stand beside Lena. They both reached up, wanting to be picked so I did. I sat there for second before I notice my knee, that Luke was sitting on, was wet. I set Lena down the floor and lifted him up. I groaned inwardly and stood up with Luke at arms length. Now I really wanted to shower. He struggled with me as I took him into the living room where I'd dropped the bags of diapers earlier. I set him on the floor and he tried to run from me. I grabbed the back of his shirt.
" Now listen Luke. Do you want to walk around in wet stinky pants? Or do you want clean pants?" I asked him. He seemed to think for a second before struggling to get away. I hooked an arm around his middle and pulled him back making me fall back. I clenched my teeth and tried to calm down.
" Luke, do you want to eat?" I asked. He looked back at me and nodded slowly.
" Well if you don't let me change you, you can't eat." I said. He looked at me with wide horrified eyes and plopped down in front of me. I smiled triumphantly, grabbed the bottom of his pants and tugged them off. It was hard but I was able to resist the urge to cover my nose from the strong stench of pee. Lena plopped down beside me and grabbed onto my pants. I ripped open the pack of boy diapers and took one out and undid the sticky tabs on the side. When I pulled the heavy soaked diaper out from under Luke, Lena began giggling. Luke glared at her and his chin trembled. I tried to cover him up as quickly as I could.
" Stay here while I get you some clean clothes." I said standing up. Lena got up and latched onto my jeans again. I was beginning to get used to it. I dug into Luke's backpack and pulled out a pair of shorts and t-shirt. That's when I saw the sheets on my bed, that use to be clean, had a huge yellow spot in the middle. I cringed and decided I'd deal with that later before I picked up Lena so I could get to the living room faster and sat down in front of Luke again. I pulled him to his feet so I could pull the shirt over his head. When he was dressed I rolled up the old diaper and set it as far away from me as I could.
" Okay Lena your turn." It had been a long time since her last diaper change so I knew I might as well get it over with. She sighed and Luke took her place by my side. He looked smug and I tried not to laugh. I changed her as quickly as I could and had her redressed in a few minutes. I felt proud of myself. A while later I put two bowls of cheesy noodles in front of them at the table. They were too small to reach the table so I'd had to pile books on the chairs for them to sit on. Luke thrust his hand in the bowl with a happy cry. I cringed and grabbed his hand.
" Use your spoon kid." I said carrying him to the sink so I could rinse off his hands. Then I set him back down and he attempted to dive at the bowl again but I caught his hand and placed a spoon in it.
" Eat it like this." I instructed him. He picked it up and began shoveling the gooey stuff into his mouth I cringed as most of it landed on his clean shirt. I shook my head and sat down in front of them. Lena ate slowly, not exactly carefully since she used her hands to put the noodles on her spoon, but she was able to get most of it in her mouth.
" I'm thirsty." Luke said with his mouth full. I got up and got a couple of glasses from the cupboard. I opened the refrigerator to see if I had anything in there for them to drink. I found a jug of milk, not sure how it got there but it still had a week until it expired, so I poured them some and Luke chugged it down as soon as it was placed in front of him.
" No!" I turned around just in time to see Luke holding a spoon full of noodles over Lena's head. I lunged for his hand but I was too late. She screamed and I groaned.
" Luke why did you that?" I asked picking the noodles out of Lena's hair.
" Because I wanted to." He said shrugging. I dumped the noodles I was able to get out in the trash and turned around and stared in shock as Lena raised up her bowl and dumped the entire thing over her brothers head. It dripped down his back onto the floor and Lena put her bowl down looking satisfied. It was quiet for a second. Then Luke was screaming, making me wince. I had no idea what to do. So I did what any single father did. I grabbed the phone and called Emily.
" What happened?" Sam answered the phone with a sigh. I explained and looked behind me as Lena grabbed Luke's bowl and began eating his. Luke was still screaming and tears were pouring down his face. By the time I was finished Sam was laughing.
" Sam it's not funny! I don't know what to do." I said desperately. I heard him sigh.
" First thing you do, give them a bath. Then just try to get them settled down and put them to bed. It's simple." He said. I hung up and turned to the mess. Then I took a deep breath and grabbed them both around the waist. Luke clung to me and I was covered in the sticky mess in seconds. Some how, even if I had to tie them up, I would shower tonight. I carried them to the bathroom and Lena sat down on the rug looking very satisfied and happy. I held Luke and tried to calm him down. It wasn't until his cries turned to sniffles. I knelt down next to the tub and started the water. I had Lena feel it to see if it was too hot. She said it was good and gave me a huge grin. I sighed and sat down beside them, feeling drained of all energy.
" What am I going to do with you two?" I asked resting my chin in my hands. Luke sniffed and his eyes sparkled a little.
" Give us a cookie?" He asked hopefully. I chuckled and he grinned.
" I want a cookie!" Lena said excitedly.
" I don't think either of you deserve one." I said shaking my head. Lena puckered her lip. And I sighed.
" One, that's all though." I said and they smiled excitedly. When the tub was filled I undressed Luke and set him in the water. He was the dirtiest so I thought it would be better to get him cleaned first. Lena played with a card board toilet thing while I scrubbed Luke's head clean of cheese. It was all going really good. Until Lena began whimpering.
" What's wrong?" I asked her.
" My tummy hurts." She said pointing at her stomach. Then I remembered what Maggie had said in the note. About her sometimes getting sick when she had cheese. And what did I fix them to eat? Macaroni and CHEESE! I cursed at myself. I helped Luke out of the tub and wrapped a towel around him.
" Sit there." I told him pointing to a corner. He plopped down and watched me with a grin. Lena began to get green in the face and I knew what was coming. I lunged at her, lifted the toilet seat, and held her over it right as she began to spew. I looked away as her small body heaved in my arms. My chest ached with sympathy. Which was weird because I hardly ever felt sympathy. I'd turned into a big softy in one day by two little twerps. To tell you the truth I really didn't care. When she went limp I pulled her away from the toilet and helped her undress. Her face was pail and her chin quivered. I helped her undress and put her in the tub. She was exhausted by the time she was finished. I carried them both to my bedroom and realized I hadn't changed the sheets yet. I dug thru their bags and pulled out a pink plaid pajama shirt and bottoms for Lena and a pair of blue plaid for Luke and dressed them after I put clean diapers on them. They looked ready to drop where they stood so I quickly changed the sheets and tucked them in. they were both asleep in seconds. I waited a few minutes to make sure they would stay asleep. Then I walked carefully out of the room and closed the door gently. Half an hour later I finished cleaning the mess in the kitchen and was finally able to take my shower. I felt so much better afterward. I went to check on Luke and Lena. When I opened the door Lena sat up with a whimper. I got to her before she began crying. I found myself laying on the bed with her curled up on one side and Luke on my other. I fell asleep in moments. Exhausted from the first day with my two buddy's.