Chapter 21

Grumpy, Doc, and Bashful

Tiffany sulked instead of having fun while Hunter sat on a bench surrounded by other children and colored with

the specialty crayons that weren't available for public sale. These little brats were going to get her Burberry skirt

all dirty! She hoped she could skip the paint room.

"Tiffany…why don't you join in?"

"Dad…I'm NOT a kid…I'm the only one my age here…it's embarrassing…I don't know why I couldn't stay at

home…"

"And deny me of missing that smiling face?" Hyde asked while holding a stack of papers that Hunter already

went through already. The kid had a real talent and both Hyde and Jackie were very proud of him, but would

never push him into a career that he didn't want.

"Can we go out for lunch?"

"Yeah…at lunch time…Tiffany, you think you would like it here. Just because it's not a shopping mall doesn't mean

you can't have fun and spend time with your brother."

"It's a place for kids…. I'll be graduating soon and I'll be in NEW YORK where things actually happen…I'm not a

child."

But you still act like one…Hyde thought.

Hunter walked over with another sheet of paper. This one was purple with a pink glitter heart that said Mom on

it in his best cursive. Hannah and Hunter's public school were phasing out teaching cursive and Hyde didn't want

his children to be what Red would sometimes affectionately call "a dumbass" and Jackie was teaching Hannah

and Hunter how to write cursive so they could compete in a global world instead of a small narrow-minded

non-world view.

"Very good, Son. Your Mother will love this…" and the rest of his short stack, "Where do you want to go next?

This is part of your birthday present…" Hyde looked over at Tiffany to remind her why they were here in the first

place.

"Can I finger paint?"

Tiffany did a silent gasp.

"Of course you can, Hunter…"

"Dad, can I wait in the car?"

"Nope…"

If one snot-nosed brat dirtied up her fancy clothes, she was going to scream! Money didn't grow on trees and

she didn't want to replace an outfit just because some child (including her brother) got her dirty.

"When do you go away for your job again?" Tiffany asked in a slightly serious tone.

"Never…every waking moment will be an exercise in getting your clothes dirty….so shut your pie hole and

support your brother."

"I'm never having children…." Tiffany sighed

"Oh, how I feel for the man will wind up marrying you, I'm definitely getting a statue erected of him for his

patience…"

She kept her mouth shut for the moment, but she wished she could be home in the privacy of her room.

J – How are the kids?

H – Good. Tiffany has a smart mouth.

J- What else is new? Hannah's fine. Miss you.

H – Miss you too.

J- L Y S

H- L Y 2 J

"How come you get to text on your cell phone?" Tiffany sat by her Father; she didn't want to be near any

children in this room.

"Because you don't pay the bills…"

Hunter took his sheets of paper and wanted to sit at a solitary table so he could work on his finger painting in

private.

"Dad, do I really have to be here?"

"Yes…Tiffany, there's a paint mark on your skirt…"

"Ha ha…I'm not falling for one of your burns, Dad."

"Does your plaid skirt have a orange stripe on it?"

Tiffany stood up, "I wasn't even near…THEM! My skirt!" She swiftly put her hands down her skirt and got paint on

her hands, "UGH! Dad, this is all your fault! This is a Burberry skirt!"

"My fault?" You should've checked the bench before you sat on it. He laughed.

"It's not funny."

"Yes, it is…"

"I have to find the rest room…and then I'm waiting outside this door!"

"Whatever you need to do, Love. This is your Brother's day. Not yours."

Hunter made a wreath design with his hands; he wished they were smaller so it would look more uniform and

then inside. He wrote Our Family in marker. They were symbolized with a red hand for Hyde, a pink hand for

Jackie, blue for himself, purple for Hannah, and orange for Tiffany.

"This is never going to come out…" Tiffany didn't want to use too much of the cheap liquid bathroom soap and

the equally sub par scratchy and thin brown paper towels from the dispenser.

"Think of it as your involvement for this day…."

"This wouldn't have happened if you let me stay at home…"

"Dad, can we have lunch now?" Hunter was hungry and he couldn't take his sister's whining for another second.

"Sure…where would you like to go, Hunter?"

"for pizza?"

"Of course…"

"Dad, may I call Mom on your phone?" Tiffany asked in her best voice. Hyde supposed it would be all right, she

knew she was going to complain about the day and to ask how to get the paint stain out of her skirt.

"Sure." He handed her his phone.

"Thanks…"

"You could've gone to Point Place with your Mother…"

"and be stuck with Hannah? No way…."

"Because this was so much better." Hunter wryly replied, which caused Hyde to actually let out a laugh. His little

boy much wiser than his 10, the first number in the double-digit years.

"Dad!" Tiffany would have stomped, if she weren't sitting in the car.

"It's true. You should learn to appreciate the small things in life, Tiffany, otherwise, life, and your happiness is

going to pass you by."

And that was Steven Hyde's pearl-of-wisdom that he gave to his daughter today. The rest was going to be up to

her. Yes a statue indeed for the man that was going to have to put up with her some day. High maintenance thy

name was Tiffany Grace Hyde.