Chapter Twenty One: The pageant
Siblings: Elena and Gabby
Setting: Before chapter fifteen of I'm cute and other songs.
"You feeling better this morning?" Bobby Lee asked his wife with a gentle smile. "You scared me half to death last night."
"I just have a headache but mostly I'm fine," Nell said before turning away. "And I'm sorry about that. I just have the girls on my mind a lot lately."
"Oh look at that! Speak of the devil!" Bobby Lee laughed, seeing the girls run into their room.
"Spring! Spring! Spring!" Elena sung with a flap of her hands. "Spring! Spring! Spring!"
"Miss Milly is gonna pick names for spring today!" Gabby giggled, clapping her hands.
"You mean the pageant?" Nell groaned, getting a little annoyed with Elena's singing that she normally enjoyed. "I talked to Milly about one of the roles. The role of the geese."
"Don't worry, Milly knows how you are about that, and she told me that Elena and Gabby will not be cast as geese," Bobby Lee assured her.
"That's good to know, but what about the other roles?" Nell asked.
"Well, since the girls know all the songs in the program, they'll be happy with any role," Bobby Lee shrugged.
"Mommy sad?" Elena asked with a frown, handing Nell Kitty.
"Mommy's sick," Bobby Lee answered, musing her hair.
"We stay with Mommy!" Gabby yelled, hugging Nell's legs.
"That's sweet, Gabby, but you and Elena should go to preschool," Nell smiled. "You want to know what roles you get for the pageant, don't you?"
"Mommy more important," Elena smiled.
"While it's sweet that you're thinking of me, this time the two of you going to school is important," Nell smiled. "I'll be okay. I'll have Kitty, Pinky, Lily, Bluebell, Sergeant, Ricky, Zoomer, Greenie, and Daddy with me to keep me company."
"We have jaquins named Ricky and Daddy?" Gabby asked, looking at the small group of stuffed jaquins she and Elena had brought out for a kitty party.
"Yes we do, and one of them is right here!" Bobby Lee grinned, scooping her up and covering her with kisses.
"Daddy! Stop it!" Gabby giggled, shrieking excitedly with each kiss she was given.
"Come on Robert. They gotta get to preschool!" Florence laughed, holding Ricky in her arms.
"Hi Ricky!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.
"You and Grand Mommy take good care of Mommy, okay, Ricky?" Gabby said as she kissed Ricky.
Ricky squealed and reached out for Zoomer as Bobby Lee, Elena, and Gabby left.
"Now girls, especially you Elena, don't get upset if you get a role that you didn't want," Bobby Lee said in an attempt to have his girls understand that not everything was always going to go their way.
"Okay Daddy," Gabby smiled, playing with the fur on her teddy bear backpack. "We won't."
"But no spider!" Elena yelled with crossed arms. "Mean boy Jack teased me with them."
"You don't have to worry about him anymore, Love Bug," Bobby Lee assured her, "He's in a different class now. And I heard that he's sick today, so he won't even be here."
Elena smiled a little at that. She was happy Jack wasn't in her class anymore, but she knew that he and his class were also going to be in the pageant with them. "What if he make fun of me at the pageant?"
"In front of so many grown-ups? I don't think he'll do that," Bobby Lee promised.
"Sides he nice now cause of his daddy and auntie," Gabby reminded Elena with a smile. "He even played with us and Ricky one time."
"Only cause his daddy watched him," Elena grumbled, petting the fur from her kitty bag.
"It's all right, Elena," Bobby Lee smiled. "I know it's going to take a while for you to trust Jack, especially since he's always been a bully toward you two. But you know that you should take it one day at a time. You'll be friends with him in your own time. And that goes for you too, Gabby."
"Okay," Elena said at last.
"Okay," Gabby agreed.
"Good girls," Bobby Lee smiled. "Now, do you want to see what roles you're playing?"
"Yeah!" Elena and Gabby cheered.
"That won't be until this afternoon after nap time," Milly smiled, giving the girls a hug as they ran out of the carriage. "Oh! Good morning Robert."
"Same to you Milly," Bobby Lee said, kissing her hand. "Helen isn't feeling well this morning."
"Tell her I hope she feels better soon," Milly said sympathetically. "And if she needs anything, let me know."
"I will," Bobby Lee smiled. "Now, since I'm filling in today as official classroom parent, what am I doing again?"
"Well, we're doing some reading tests today," Milly started. "I'll send one person at a time back to you, and you'll be listening to them read. Your job is to write down any mistakes they make. If they make seven total mistakes, then you send them back to their seat and send the next person back."
"Okay," Bobby Lee agreed. He saw that Elena looked terrified at the idea. He pulled her into a reassuring hug and said, "Don't worry, Elena; you know we practice reading every night. You'll do fine, and you know that we always tell you to do your best." He turned to Gabby, adding, "That goes for you too, Gabby."
"Do we call you Mr. Johnson?" Elena and Gabby asked, knowing that the other kids would have to.
"No girls. School or not, it's still Daddy," Bobby Lee smirked, musing their hair. "Now go to the Twin Table."
"And how often do the students get to intentionally call the teacher Mommy or Daddy?" Milly chuckled beside him as Elena and Gabby sat with their best friends Suzie and Sally, who were also twins. She cast a mischievous look at Bobby Lee, who frowned.
"I'll have you know that I was five when that happened, but luckily for me, nobody but you heard that!" Bobby Lee whispered, keeping his back to the class so they wouldn't see him turning red. "Not even Helen knows about that, and I'll thank you to keep that between us!"
"I've kept it a secret for this long, what's a few more years between friends?" Milly whispered back, patting his arm as Bobby Lee went to the testing table in the back of the room.
"Be lucky I'm being polite and dressed my best this morning," Bobby Lee whispered before turning to the class and watched them.
His little girls were placed in the front, almost having him worry about their vision.
It was then that he remembered that Milly had moved them there, not because of their vision, but because Elena and Sally had trouble with certain subjects. Sally wasn't autistic like Elena, but it was discovered that she had a learning disability. Milly and her teaching aide, Miss Nancy, gave them extra help whenever they needed it.
As the day began, Bobby Lee greeted each student and explained about what they'd be doing. "Hi, I'm Mr. Johnson," he greeted the first person who came back to him, "I'm going to show you some words, and we're going to see how well you know them. All you have to do is read, but I'll let you know when you can stop." He went a little off Miss Milly's script when he added, "Just do your best. It's not a competition with anyone."
The first person, a little boy who used to be one of Jack's followers, actually smiled at how nice he was being, and began to read.
Bobby Lee noticed how shy the little boy was as he read, having him take the little boy aside with a smile.
"What's gotten you so shy huh?" Bobby Lee asked gently, stroking his hair.
"I never met a daddy before," the little boy muttered softly, looking down at his shoes. "It's just me and Mommy."
"Well, you did a really good job and you should be very proud of yourself," Bobby Lee smiled. "We'll tell your Mommy how well you did."
"Yes, Daniel's always been a reader," Milly smiled as she came back and saw what was going on. "That's very good, dear, now why don't you go back to your seat and send the next person back here?" She whispered to Bobby Lee, "Daniel also contributes stories to the magazine Prince James has stories in."
Bobby Lee watched as Daniel went back to his seat and tapped Gabby's shoulder, signaling her to go back for her test.
"Hi Daddy," Gabby smiled a little as she sat down in the chair that was assigned to her. "Do I get my role for spring if I do this?"
"No honey. It's just a reading test," Bobby Lee reminded her, patting her head. "Daddy can't be Daddy right now."
"Why?" Gabby frowned, starting to tear up. "I like you being Daddy."
"I know, but for now let's just do some reading. I'll show you some words and I'm going to see how well you know them. All you have to do is read, but I'll let you know when you can stop," Bobby Lee repeated what he'd said before, adding, "Just remember to do your best. It's not a competition with anyone."
"Take it one day at a time," Gabby smiled as she began to read.
Bobby Lee smiled as she read. Gabby did very well, and when she finished, he had her get Elena for her test.
When Elena came back, she was nervous, even though she'd read with him before.
"Elena, Love Bug, it's Daddy," Bobby Lee assured her with a smile.
"Daddy?" Elena asked, looking at his nicely combed hair and one of the bow ties Bobby Lee had borrowed from Roland that morning.
Bobby Lee nodded, repeating what he'd said already about showing her some words, seeing how well she knew them, and letting her know when she could stop. He also encouraged her to do her best and that it wasn't a competition.
Hearing the familiar words of comfort, Elena started reading slowly. She stumbled on a few words, but she remembered what her daddy said, and tried her best.
When Bobby Lee had her stop, she asked, "I do a good job, Daddy?"
"Yes you did," Bobby Lee smiled. "You missed a few words, but other than that, you did very well."
"Yay!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands before looking down at her feet. "Sorry."
"What's the matter Love Bug?" Bobby Lee asked, only for her to stand up and walk away, tapping Sally's shoulder. "Love Bug?"
"Something wrong Robert?" Milly asked as Sally sat down.
"I'm not sure," Bobby Lee frowned. "Elena made a few mistakes, but she did very well otherwise. I tried to tell her that, but she looked upset. Do you want me to talk to her?"
"No, you just listen to Sally read for now, and I'll talk to her," Milly started. "We'll let you know if we need you for anything."
"Okay," Bobby Lee nodded, then he explained to Sally what was going on, encouraged her to do her best, and as she started reading, Milly went over to the quiet area where Elena was.
Elena's favorite toys were the soft and cuddly ones, making Milly smile before sitting down next to her.
"Hi," Elena muttered softly, petting the fur of a teddy bear.
"Hi. You okay?" Milly asked, taking her hand in hers.
"No," Elena sighed, not looking up front the teddy bear.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Milly asked.
"I flap my hands," Elena started.
"You did? I didn't even notice," Milly smiled. "But your daddy said you did very well with your test, aside from missing a word or two."
"I did. And I'm happy but I flap my hands," Elena frowned, looking at her hands. "I'll probably ruin spring cause of them."
"No you won't sweetheart," Milly assured her with a smile. "But why are you sad that you flapped your hands?"
"People give me funny looks when I flap my hands," Elena admitted.
"It's all right, Elena," Milly smiled. "Nobody's going to give you funny looks here. You know we're all friends here, don't you?"
"Yeah, but what if I flap in front of everyone again?" Elena asked.
"Are you worried you'll flap in the pageant?" Milly asked. When Elena nodded, Milly thought for a moment, then smiled. "Don't worry about a thing, Elena. I promise, everything is going to be all right. Now, why don't you go back to the Twin Table and work on that cute little kitty picture I saw you working on?"
Elena smiled, and as she walked back to her seat, she gave Suzie a hug as she went back to Bobby Lee.
Bobby Lee had lost count of how many times he had to repeat himself but with the last kid walking back to their seat, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He loved kids, especially his own. But the sea of faces looked distracted with their own things before seeing Elena look at him in tears with Gabby right behind her.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Elena said she was sad because she flapped her hands after she took her test," Milly replied. "She's afraid that she'll do that during the pageant, but I told her that everything's going to be all right."
"Elena, you know you have nothing to worry about," Bobby Lee murmured. "You're surrounded by people who love you and accept you for who you are. They know what it means when you flap your hands. They'll all stand by you and support you no matter what."
"You mean that?" Elena asked.
"Of course I mean it," Bobby Lee smiled as he pulled her into a hug.
"Daddy," Gabby yawned, snuggling close against him.
"Preschool make her tired," Elena explained softly, wanting to stroke her daddy's hair but reminded herself that it had to be combed all day.
"It does?" Bobby Lee asked playfully, musing her hair.
"Well, she's in luck," Milly smiled. "It's nap time."
"Already?" Elena asked.
"That's right," Milly nodded. "While your daddy was doing the reading tests in the back, we were having class up here in the front. We got so much work done that I think we all deserve a nap!"
"Yay!" Elena giggled, finding her mat next to Sally.
"I noticed that Elena enjoys nap time," Bobby Lee smirked, looking down at a sleeping Gabby. "Wish her little brother was the same way."
"I know exactly how you feel," Milly smirked. "I'd put my little one down, but ten minutes later, she'd want to play. I used to lie down next to her until she fell asleep. No matter how quietly I got up, she'd pull my hand and say 'Mama story?' or 'Mama teddy?' or 'Mama play?' or something like that! Thank heavens she's in third grade now and doesn't do that anymore!"
"Okay, so I have to wait until all my children are third graders before they willingly take a nap!" Bobby Lee chuckled. "When Elena and Gabby were Ricky's age, they'd play and dance around. Helen and I would have to bring James in so he could help us with them! He'd sing the girls a song and they'd dance until they were exhausted."
"I've heard that Prince James is quite good with music," Milly smiled. "We have all the music for the pageant, but nobody to play the piano. I know this is a last-minute idea, but-"
"I'll run it by him tonight," Bobby Lee assured her.
"Thank you," Milly sighed in relief. "So how many months is Ricky now?"
"To the point where he has two teeth and has been weaned," Bobby Lee smirked softly, seeing Elena settle down for a nap.
"Oh? He bit Helen during a feeding?" Milly guessed, having once been through the same thing.
"Twice," Bobby Lee smirked. "After that, we decided that enough was enough, and we started weaning him."
"Good idea," Milly smiled, "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with this."
"I will, but Sofia, James, and Amber did all kinds of research on teething when Ricky got his first tooth before Wassalia," Bobby Lee explained. "They wrote down things they learned in books, and shared some of their personal experiences."
"Wish I had them to help with my daughter when she started teething!" Milly chuckled with a smile before tapping Gabby on the shoulder. "Sweetie, your daddy isn't your mat."
"Why?" Gabby yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Let's just have you lie down right here, Gabby," Bobby Lee smiled, easing Gabby onto her mat. "You just go to sleep now. We'll wake you up when it's time."
"Okay..." Gabby murmured as she fell asleep again.
"You're so good with the kids," Milly whispered with a smile.
"I'd had practice," Bobby Lee smirked, blushing a little. "Helen's little sisters were my practice of how to be with children."
"And it certainly paid off," Milly smiled. "Elena and Gabby are wonderful children!"
"Yes they are," Bobby Lee smiled at his sleeping daughters. "So, when should we tell them about the pageant?"
"Not for a few more minutes," Milly smiled. "Everyone's worked so hard that they deserve a little break."
"At least I'll get a good sleep tonight! I don't even think Helen's snoring could wake me up," Bobby Lee grinned.
"She still has that problem?" Milly smirked a little playfully.
"She still does," Bobby Lee mused, hearing luckily not his daughters wake up.
The one that did wake up was Daniel who ran into Bobby Lee's arms in tears.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Bobby Lee asked, sitting down with him.
"Monster!" Daniel whimpered.
"Oh, sweetheart, it was probably just a bad dream," Milly smiled, patting his back.
"There's nothing here to hurt you," Bobby Lee added, "You're safe, and you've got all kinds of friends here."
Daniel seemed to relax, and after a minute, Bobby Lee took him back to his mat. He patted his shoulder as he lay down again, and went back to Milly.
"Daniel's father died from a virus when he was a year old," Milly murmured. "He lives with his mother, grandmother, and an older sister. He hasn't had much contact with men."
"I can kind of relate," Bobby Lee murmured, recalling how he'd lost his own father to a virus.
"Since you arrived this morning, I noticed him staring at you a lot," Milly admitted with a smile "I think I saw a little bit of his drawing too."
"Really?" Bobby Lee grinned, thrilled with making Daniel's day.
"Yes, and I heard his mother say that she's going to be married again," Milly murmured, "Daniel seems to be excited about having a new daddy, but he's a little nervous too."
"Everything's going to be just fine," Bobby Lee smiled. "All they can really do is take it one day at a time."
"Now I know where Elena and Gabby get that from," Milly smiled. "That's good advice."
"Helen and I tell them that every day," Bobby Lee said as Milly started waking everyone up.
"Spring now?" Elena asked with a yawn.
"Yes spring now," Milly assured her, stroking her hair.
"Mr. Johnson?" Daniel asked, tugging on Bobby Lee's pants leg.
"Yes? What is it?" Bobby Lee smiled, taking him in his arms.
"Thank you for being nice to me today," Daniel smiled. "And I'm sorry I got scared at nap time."
"It happens to the best of us," Bobby Lee assured him, "Everyone gets scared; it's nothing to be ashamed of."
As Daniel sat down, Milly sang out, "One-two-three, eyes on me!" Everyone looked up, and Milly continued, "All right, everyone, it's the moment you've all been waiting for...we find out who plays what in the pageant!"
"Yay!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.
"Hopefully not birdies," Gabby hoped, not wanting their mommy to be scared of them as well.
"You two as birdies?!" Sally giggled with a smile. "No way!"
"No, Elena and Gabby are not playing birdies," Milly smiled as she turned to them. "Elena, you're playing a ladybug. And Gabby, you're a butterfly."
"Like Auntie Madeline!" Gabby giggled, knowing that was Madeline's nickname.
"Well, it looks like we'll have two butterflies in the family now, at least for a little while," Bobby Lee joked as Milly read the rest of the cast list.
"I thought of another role for the girls in case the other ones get sick," Milly whispered to Bobby Lee as the girls played with Sally and Susie.
"What do you have in mind?" Bobby Lee asked.
"We're having some of the girls in the flower chorus," Milly started. "Elena and Gabby will either be a daisy or a rose, depending on the person they fill in for."
"What's the difference between the two?" Bobby Lee asked.
"Well, aside from the fact that they're different flowers, roses have costumes that cover their hands," Milly started, "so in case Elena does flap her hands during the pageant, nobody will see it."
"Well the sunflowers don't like their part," Bobby Lee smirked, pointing to two pouty little girls with crossed arms.
"I'm guessing they wanted the bugs?" Milly guessed with a smile.
"You can say that," Bobby Lee sighed, seeing Elena in the quiet corner with tears down her cheeks. "You rearrange the roles. I'll go check on her." He walked over to the quiet area and took his crying daughter's hand. "Elena, what's going on? I thought you were happy with how things were going. What happened?"
"Mean girl said that I can't be a ladybug cause they don't flap and if I flap, everyone will be mad at me," Elena sniffed, snuggling against Bobby Lee's chest. "Daddy why she say that?"
"She's just jealous since she didn't get such a great part like you did," Bobby Lee assured her, "And if ladybugs didn't flap their wings, they couldn't fly."
"Really?" Elena asked.
"That's right, Love Bug...or should I say Ladybug?" Bobby Lee smiled, mussing her hair.
Elena giggled as Daniel came over. "I'm a hummingbird!"
"Oh, the stories I could tell you about that!" Bobby Lee grinned, "You know I'm a junior guard at Enchancia Castle, right?" Elena, Gabby, and Daniel nodded; Daniel having been told stories of the castle before. "Anyway, when Elena and Gabby were born, I had to pull some extra shifts for some of the guards when they were sick. By the time I was finished, I thought I was a hummingbird of some kind!" He scooped up Elena and ran across the room with her as he made a humming noise. He did the same with Gabby and Daniel. As he set them down, they were all giggling as he said, "In a few minutes, I tried to drink nectar out of Gabby's head!"
"I heard Mommy wasn't happy with that from Auntie Madeline!" Gabby giggled, clapping her hands.
"No she wasn't," Bobby Lee recalled with a smirk. "But I hear that Miss Milly might change a few roles."
"Why?" Elena pouted with a frown.
"Some of the kids weren't happy with the roles they got," Bobby Lee explained. "But Elena, Gabby, you two are fine with your parts, right?"
"Yeah!" Elena smiled. "Miss Milly said I'm a rose if she wants one too!"
"I like being a butterfly!" Gabby agreed. "But Miss Milly said I'm a daisy if she needs one!"
"I'm not a flower, but I'll be the best hummingbird ever!" Daniel added.
"Well, you three don't have anything to worry about," Milly assured them.
"But I was reading a couple of books last night and found that the kingdom of Avalor does a sunflower festival to celebrate spring."
"Sunflower! Sunflower!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.
"Well, you'll be really happy to hear this, Elena," Milly smiled, "because according to my cast list, not only are you and Gabby substitute dancers for a rose and a daisy, but both of you are also playing sunflowers in the second act of the pageant!"
"Yay!" Elena cheered. "Daddy, if I sunflower, can Queen Elena come see me?"
"I think she's going to be busy that day, sweetheart," Bobby Lee smiled, "But we'll tape the pageant and if she comes here or we go to Avalor, we'll take the tape with us and show it to her."
"Okay!" Elena smiled.
"Good girl," Bobby Lee said, kissing her cheek. "But you're a lady bug first."
"I like that bug!" Elena giggled, jumping up and down.
"Okay now settle down and go play until you have to go home," Milly smiled, musing her hair.
An hour later, after school let out for the day, Bobby Lee, Elena, and Gabby were back at the castle. Bobby Lee had even volunteered to be the classroom parent again, so Milly put his name on her volunteer list and said she'd let him know if she needed him for anything.
He smiled as he followed the girls. Daniel had introduced him to his mommy, who was thrilled that he had found such a positive male role model. Her new husband-to-be was just as encouraging and nice as he was, she'd said.
"Hello, everyone! How did it go today?" Nell greeted them as they came in.
"Hello, I'm Mr. Johnson," Bobby Lee smiled, "I'll show you some words and I'm going to see how well you know them. All you have to do is read, but I'll let you know when you can stop. Just remember to do your best. It's not a competition with anyone."
"Oh no. Daddy had to do reading tests today?" Nell started laughing. "He probably had to test the whole class, and now that phrase is burned into his mind!"
From the floor, Ricky cooed, rolling on his stomach as he held out his arms.
"Looks like you missed Daddy!" Elena giggled, flapping her hands.
"He did," Nell smiled, patting her head.
"Mommy okay?" Gabby asked, taking a drawing out of her backpack.
"I'm feeling much better," Nell smiled. "Did you find out what you are for the pageant?"
"I'm a ladybug!" Elena giggled.
"I'm a butterfly!" Gabby smiled.
"You are? But I thought Auntie Madeline was a butterfly!" Nell grinned.
"Elena's also a substitute rose and Gabby's a substitute daisy," Bobby Lee added as he took Ricky on his lap. "They're also playing sunflowers in the second act."
"Good for you, girls!" Nell smiled.
"Gabby is that for me?"
"Yes," Gabby muttered softly, rubbing her bad leg. "It's me and Elena as a butterfly and ladybug, and we're with daisies, roses, and sunflowers!"
"It's beautiful! But are you okay? Maybe you should sit down," Nell said, helping her onto the couch.
"Will my leg be okay for the pageant?" Gabby asked nervously.
"I'm sure it will," Bobby Lee assured her. "You just overdid it a little with some stretches during playtime, but you'll feel better before you know it."