Chapter 15: Lois Lane

"Alright, Squishy." Mommy says, standing next to the open door of Lois Lane's little house. "Time to put your little red hen to bed."

"Ah, Momma." I complain. "Five more minutes. Please?" I ask, rocking slowly back and forth in the wooden rocking chair with Lois Lane on my lap. She sits on top of a blue towel so she won't accidentally poop on me. I gently pat her with my left hand and in my left hand I'm holding a book.

Mommy looks up at the ceiling inside the small shed that's out back by Grandma's greenhouse. Since we have three different sheds in the backyard that stay quite warm - the perfect temperature for a chicken when it's cold and snowing outside - Grandma decided to build the chicken hutch in here. After the fiasco when my pet pooped everywhere and we cleaned it all up Grandma and I then went to work. She and I made a big chicken hutch that sits high off the ground and fits over one whole wall. It's very big, it has an upstairs and downstairs and on the bottom are her food and water bowls and there's a big place for her to play. In the right corner there is a little ladder going up to where her sleeping place is and there is and there is also another place for her to lay her eggs.

I'm very happy that I got to help build my baby's (Lois Lane's) house, it looks very beautiful. I was even allowed to bring a rocking chair in here, so I could sit on it and read a bedtime story to my feathery baby. She really likes "The Pigeon Needs a Bath", she was happy and even closed her eyes when I read her that book over and over again.

"Can I read the book one more time please?" I ask hopefully.

Mommy looks at me. I give her my best please face as Lois Lane clucks and wiggles in my lap. I gently pet her back and she quiets down. Hoping Mommy says yes because I really don't want to leave Lois Lane, I bend down and kiss the top of my hen's head.

"Just one more time." Mommy replies, holding up one finger.

"Yay! Thank you, Mommy. Thank you." I smile very big. If Lois Lane wasn't in my lap, I'd get up and do a happy dance.

Mommy smiles. "Let's read the book one more time." She walks over to me and stands behind me. "But only one more time." She runs her fingers through my hair. "After that it's bed time for your hen and dinner time for you."

"Hunting?" I ask, picking my head up and looking upside down at her.

The corners of Mommy's mouth turn down into a frown. I silently wait for her answer.

"Renesmee," She says, using my full name. "You know we are planning to go out to a restaurant of your choosing. Besides, you hunted this afternoon which means you skipped lunch and need to have some real food."

I make a sad face and stop looking at her. My eyes look down at my chicken who is relaxing in my lap. I feel sad about having to eat human food tonight, I don't like that at all. Lois Lane turns her head and clucks softly at me. I wonder if she knows that I am sad. I start to pet her and I feel better, not as sad as I was a second ago.

"Did you forget we were going out for dinner?" Mommy questions, running her fingers through my hair again.

"No." I shake my head.

Of course I already knew and didn't forget about going out to a restaurant for dinner tonight. That idea came up after Lois Lane's chicken hunch was built. That's when Daddy carried the box in here that my hen was safely placed in. Everybody had followed him in here, well almost everyone. It turns out that Auntie Rose is terrified of chickens and any animal with wings because she was chased around a pond by a really big swan and fell into a pond head first when she was a human kid. So she stayed inside the house while everyone came in here to see Lois Lane's new house.

Grandma had placed Lois Lane in her coop right away so she could get used to it. While my pretty little chicken walked around her new home, I asked everyone to apologize to Lois Lane for running from and scaring her when she first came home. After all, that is no way to meet your new family. After Mommy, Daddy, my aunts (Auntie Rose did a video chat on Uncle Em's phone) and my uncles apologize to Lois Lane. Grandpa had brought it up to my parents that since I hunted this afternoon I needed real food for dinner. That's when Daddy thought of going out to a restaurant and Grandma suggested that everyone but her and Grandpa go, to help me learn to play human, she said.

That's what Grandma said but after the craziness of this afternoon I think that she just really wants to relax with Grandpa. He seemed to like the idea of having everyone out of the house too. But I still haven't decided on what restaurant I want to go to because I don't really want to eat human food.

Lois Lane clucks. She's reminding me that she's waiting for her bedtime story.

"Okay, my baby." I talk baby talk to my pretty hen. "I'll read to you."

Lois Lane clucks and blinks her eyes. I think she might be getting impatient.

"This is really the last time, Nessie." Mommy warns. For some reason she doesn't seem to be that happy to hear this story again. I haven't read it that many times. Just about a hundred.

Nodding my head I open up the book. "The Pigeon needs a bath . . ." I begin, reading the first page and Lois Lane listens contentedly. It's fun to read to her with just mommy and me in here. As I read I listen to Mommy's steady breath and Lois Lane's heart beat, it's very fast and kinda sounds like mine.

I read out loud about the very dirty pigeon who really needs a bath but doesn't want one. While I read, I think. Usually I don't read this book because it has way too many pictures and not enough words. My Grandma from Florida sent this book to me for my seventh birthday. It's a book that she reads to her Kindergarten class and was sure I would like it too. I didn't really enjoy it until now, because it wasn't so much fun reading it by myself but it's a lot of fun reading this book to my chicken who likes looking at all the pictures.

Lois Lane is a very good listener. She stays right on my lap, not making too much noise and only pecking at one page. Which happens to be the one that shows the picture of a group of flies not wanting to be around the poor little, dirty pigeon. I think pecking the book is Lois Lane's way of saying that the pigeon needs to get clean. That's what it has to be since she quits pecking the book and relaxes once the pigeon gets in the bathtub. He then finds that he likes being in the water so much that he never wants to get out.

"The end. The pigeon is all clean now." With the last page read, I close the book.

"That's a good story." Mommy says. She's now standing in front of me. "Now it really is time to put Lois Lane to bed. She's sleepy."

I look down at my hen. I'm surprised to see that her eyes are closed. She really is sleepy, just like Mommy said.

"Shh." I whisper to Mommy, with two fingers in front of my mouth. "We mustn't wake her up."

"Of course." Mommy whispers back.

I'm as still as can be as Mommy gently picks up Lois Land and takes her over to the chicken coop. I hop down from the rocking chair and skip over to Mommy. At the same time she shuts the door of the cage Lois Lane gets up and walks up the ladder to go to bed. While I watch my pet settling in her bed I sing "Rock-a-bye Baby" to her, just the way Auntie Rose used to sing it to me to help me go to sleep when I was a baby. Just like Auntie Rose used to do, I switch out the words at the end from "and down will come baby, cradle and all". To "I will catch you, cradle and all". Lois Lane seems to like that, she makes a happy clucking noise.

When my song comes to an end my little red hen is sound asleep. I'm pleased that she likes her new house. But now that I'm not busy with my baby I think of something that I've been wanting to ask Mommy. I can't exactly figure out what to say in words so I have another idea. I stand on my tiptoes, reaching up, she gently takes my hand in his and places it on her cheek. Using my special gift I show her the memory of her asking Daddy something on the stairs when she let down her shield, that was this afternoon when everyone first met my pet. I want to know what she was asking him.

"Well," Mommy sounds unsure as I drop my hand from her cheek. I look up at her, waiting for her answer. "I was letting your Dad know that I didn't know how to care of a chicken. I don't really have a good history with being a pet owner."

I think about that for a second. I'm not sure what that could mean.

"I don't understand." I say, feeling puzzled.

Taking my hand and turning toward the door to the shed, she bites her lower lip. "When I was a little girl I had a goldfish for a little while. Well…actually I had three of them. Each of them didn't live too long and one even kept jumping out of the fishbowl."

"Why did it do that?" I wonder.

"I'm not too sure." She giggles, turning off the light as we step outside. "I just don't think that particular fish of mine liked swimming in the fishbowl that much."

I do a dramatic gasp.

What Mommy said about the jumping fish is terrifying. Fish should be in water, after all. I know that because I know a lot about sea creatures since I like to read about whales and sharks and other creatures of the sea. Just not octopuses because they are too creepy. But I've never heard of a sea animal that is supposed to be in water that does not want to be. That's very unusual.

"Or...maybe I just didn't know how to properly take care of a pet. Even one as simple as a fish." Mommy says, closing the shed door and we begin to walk towards my grandparents house. "After all, I had nobody to help or show me how to care for a pet of my own. I tried to learn all by myself. Guess it didn't work out very well since my fish didn't live very long."

Thinking about what she just said as we walk in the snow, our feet leaving no footprint behind. I put everything together in my mind like a puzzle. Each piece falling into place and that's when it all makes sense to me with what she was saying.

"So, since your fish had jumped out of the fishbowl," I began, my voice doesn't sound happy. "You thought my chicken was going to fly away from me?"

Saying those words out loud makes me feel sad. Does my Mommy really think I won't be a good chicken owner?

I stop walking and so does Mommy. She looks at me. In a second she is on her knees in the snow, kneeling down on my level in front of me, her golden eyes looking into my brown ones. She brushes back the strand of hair that was on my face. She gives me a kiss and wraps me in a big hug.

"Just because I wasn't good at pet ownership doesn't mean the same thing will happen to you." She says very softy. "I don't mean that because I didn't have good luck with taking care of three different fish, that you won't be able to care for a hen. You will."

"You think so?" I ask as our hug comes to an end.

"I'm sure of it." Mommy stands up. "Besides. You have me and everyone else to remind you to feed and care for your pet. You'll do fine."

Horrified, I look up at her with my eyes and mouth wide open. "You forgot to feed your fishes?"

"Yes." She admits. "The first one I really over fed. The second one I may have fed way too little. And the third...well. I think he just knew I wasn't good at taking care of fish. He wanted to escape so he jumped out of the fishbowl one too many times and landed in a potted plant. Eventually I didn't get to him in time. He was my last fish. After him I didn't think it was wise to buy another fish if they were all just going to die."

We begin walking through the snow as the sun goes down. She laughs but I don't. I feel bad for all those fish.

"The poor fishies." I mumble.

"Hmm." She says, rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb. "You sure had such a different reaction about my misadventures in being a fish owner than your Dad did the first time he heard that story."

"Really?" I wonder. "What did he think about it?"

"He thought it was funny." She giggles.

I hop as Mommy walks, I don't say anything. Though I do wonder why Daddy would think that story was funny. To me it's not funny, it's sad. Suddenly I hear a noise coming from the back porch. I see the backdoor opening and catch the familiar scent before I take another step. I see Daddy walk out onto the porch. He's bundled up in a big jacket with a blue beanie covering his hair, looking like a human that's trying to stay warm. Leaning next to a pillar with his arms crossed, he looks over at me and Mommy with a smile on his face. I smile back at him.

"Are my girls ready to go out to dinner?" Daddy asks, smiling his crooked smile.

"Yes," Mommy replies as we get closer to the porch. "We just have to figure out where we are going."

"Of course." Daddy nods his head. "The others are waiting for us in the garage. They're all ready to leave."

In an instant I let go of Mommy's hand. I zoom up the porch steps and right into Daddy's arms. He catches me like a football and spins me around. Once the spinning is done, without putting me down he asks where I would like to go eat. It's up to me since I am the only one that is really going to eat food. Not that I want to eat, but I have to.

At the same time I place both of my hands on either side of Daddy's face, his golden eyes twinkling as he looks at me. I drop my hands from his hands and he presses his forehead gently to mine. Mommy walks up onto the porch steps and stands next to us. Both of them share a look that I've seen so many times from Disney movies with a Prince and a Princess; it's the look of true love. I squeal at that thought. I love how much my parents love each other.

"Where do you want to eat?" Mommy and Daddy ask at the very same time.

With their question in mind I think about where I want to go. I begin to think of someplace I would like to go. It's in a movie so it's just for pretend and it's not a restaurant but a place in Guardians of the Galaxy where Peter goes to see the collector.

"Knowhere." I answer proudly.

Mommy groans. "Now Nessie, going nowhere is not an option. You need to eat human food tonight. We talked about this, remember?"

I look back at Mommy. I'm not sure why but she seems irritated.

"Love," Daddy chuckles, setting me down. "She didn't mean "nowhere" as in actually going nowhere. She was thinking of the place called Knowhere from Guardians of the Galaxy. She wishes it were real so she could visit there. You know how much she likes the characters from the movies."

"Oh. My misunderstanding." Mommy sounds and looks embarrassed.

Daddy and I share a look and a giggle. Sometimes it's helpful that Daddy is able to read my mind and know exactly what I'm thinking.

Daddy opens the backdoor and we step inside. Mommy and I have to get our jackets, we're not cold but we have to bundle up to appear human. The house is so quiet. That's because only my grandparents are upstairs.

"I have an idea, Princess." Daddy says, waking into the kitchen. "You like the Toy Story movies, right?"

Turning and walking backwards I raise my eyebrow at him. I don't understand where his question is going and Mommy looks as puzzled as I am. She doesn't seem to know either. After all, he should know the answer to this question is yes. I love watching those movies so much that I once insisted on being called Jessie after the best yodeling cowgirl in the movies. I also wanted to call Daddy Buzz Lightyear after the Space Ranger and pretend that we were the toys from the movie last year. But Daddy didn't like that idea too much, especially after he saw it in my mind that I wanted to have a make believe wedding with him since Buzz and Jessie are in love and I love my Daddy a lot. He did play pretend with me, but only after he explained that he is married to Mommy and we would not be having a wedding with me. Even if it would only be for pretend, he didn't want to do that.

Since then I haven't thought about marrying Daddy in a pretend game. Though, not long ago I did come up with a much more fun game called Wedding Planner. Uncle Em was more than happy to play that game with me. I ended up marrying our shiny red toaster off to him, they had a beautiful backyard wedding. Uncle Em was the most beautiful bride with a very pretty dress and flowers in his hair that Auntie Rose helped me place just so.

I hear Daddy chuckling at my thoughts as the three of us walk into the empty living room. Mine and Mommy's jackets are placed on the long couch. I grab mine and put it on in a hurry.

"Of course I do." I finally give an answer.

"Well, how about we go to Pizza Planet?" He wonders, helping Mommy into her jacket. "Where you can play games, win prizes and eat pizza? But you must eat the pizza."

Mommy zips up her jacket. She doesn't say anything, she only smiles at Daddy. He winks at her.

"But Pizza Planet isn't real." I reminded him. "It's only in the movie."

"She's got a point there." Mommy sounds amused, walking over to the door that leads to the garage.

"True." Daddy reaches for my hand. "But Chuck-E-Cheese is and I bet it's just as fun. What do you think about having dinner there, Princess?"

I thought about that for a long time. Mommy walks in front of us as Daddy and I walk into the garage where everyone is waiting for us. My aunts are in Auntie Rose's shiny red car, and my uncles are in Uncle Em's big Jeep. Without having to ask which car we are going to be riding in - because I already know - I pull Daddy over to the Jeep while Mommy gets in auntie Rose's car.

"Are we going to Chuck-E-Cheese?" Uncle Em who's sitting in the driver's seat of his Jeep, shouts out the open window.

I notice how excited Uncle Em is to go to Chuck-E-Cheese. He seems as happy as Auntie Alice would be the time she went to a limited shoe shopping convention for a weekend in Paris, France. I really don't want to disappoint my uncle.

"Sure." I say, even though I'm not looking forward to eating human food.

Both of my uncles cheer as Daddy opens the door to the back seat, he lifts me up then hops inside. In no time at all he grabs the seat belt and buckles me in. Nobody else has a seat belt on but me. That's because they can't be hurt since they are full vampires, but I am not a full vampire so I have to be safe.

"Alright, Babe," Uncle Em says to Auntie Rose, who's in the driver's seat of her car. "The race to Chuck-E-Cheese is on."

"You're going down." Auntie Rose says with a smile, she starts her engine as Mommy and Auntie Alice cheer her on.

"This should be fun." Uncle Jazz turns around in his seat, looking at Daddy.

Daddy shrugs. "If you say so." He chuckles.

"Uncle Em," I shout, he looks at me through the rear view mirror. "I know you'll win."

"You bet, Small Fry." Uncle Em turns on his Jeep.

The garage door opens, on the count of three both cars are off and going fast down the road. Daddy puts his arm around me, holding me close and making me feel safe as I laugh as Uncle Em drives fast like a race car driver.

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Thanks for reading. :)))

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