Age 8 Henry and Holly chatting
Gwen waved Arthur to her as she sat in their cozy kitchen. A baby monitor propped between a glass of milk ,and Arthur's freshly warmed dinner. Arthur hated missing saying goodnight to his children. He was forced to stay at the office to discuss a few things around the globe.
He slumped in his chair, and stabbed a bit of chicken with his fork. He didn't want to be jealous of Gwen and the amount of time that she had with the twins and the new baby. They were like little weeds, growing much too fast. He couldn't believe that eight years had passed.
Gwen calmly turned the monitor louder. She discovered her little chicks had quite the night life.
"I don't like chicken," Holly complained. "It's hard to chew and hurts my teeth"
"I like chicken with potatoes and gravy, not red cabbage, Holly."
"Next time, you eat my chicken, and I'll eat your cabbage."
"Okay, Holly."
"Do we have school in the morning?"
"No, it's Saturday."
"Football!"
Gwen and Arthur listened for Henry's reply.
"I don't want to play anymore. The ball hit my hand, and it was hard to play the piano for a few days."
"Did you tell Mummy and Daddy?"
"No…."
"Daddy will understand."
"I know."
"Henry, I hate playing the piano…"
"I know Holls. Tell Mummy…"
"It will hurt her feelings."
"She'll understand."
"No, I'm mad at them over this…"
"The baby…"
"He's sweet."
"He walked into my room today. Sticky hands touched everything."
"He doesn't look like us except for the curls… darker than yours, and lighter mine. He has really nice green eyes."
"He's a monster."
"Daniel… you and Mummy named him Daniel, you should know his name."
"That's when I wanted a baby."
"Why are we in here?"
"To check on the little bugger… I heard him chatting."
"See, you do like him."
"I should have asked for a puppy."
Arthur stared at his wife, trying not to laugh. "When did this start?"
"Last night, I don't have the heart to stop them."
"He doesn't have to continue on the team."
"She's a musical nightmare…."