AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter took a lot longer to write than I originally anticipated- I hope you enjoy it, and thanks to tamilyn313 for sharing your ideas with me! Still having issues with anxiety and depression, so thanks to all of you who leave reviews and comments! I'm currently dealing with some new health issues and need to have some testing done, so please send me some good vibes. I have to go into the Big Bad MRI machine soon- eek! (don't worry, I'll be sedated) XXXOOO
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Mrs. Williams showed us downstairs to the basement. It was full of kids and noise. There were colorful lights strung up along the walls and shiny decorations all over.
There was a feast laid out on the table. A huge platter of little lunchmeat sandwiches, little mini pizzas, cheese curls, Goldfish, tortilla chips and salsa, three different kinds of potato chips, bowls of gummy bears, M & Ms, licorice, cookies, and individual containers of Jell-o and pudding. There was a cooler filled with cans of sodas and a cooler with juice boxes and bottled water.
I looked up at Daddy and Uncle Sam, who were looking at the food with surprised looks on their faces. "Can—can I have some?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, just in moderation, y'know," Daddy reached over and grabbed a handful of M & Ms.
"Use your judgement, don't over-eat, okay? We trust you," Uncle Sam said.
"Hey Charlie! Come do make-up!" Aubrey called to me. She was sitting across the room at a low table, and there were a couple of older looking girls sitting with her. They had all kinds of make-up and nail polish spread out.
I looked up at Daddy again, hopeful.
"No make-up tonight, kiddo," he said.
"Can I paint my nails?" I asked.
Daddy glanced at Uncle Sam. "Sure, I guess..."
Stella came walking over with Cara on her hip and Macy clinging to her hand.
"Charlie, you're here!" Macy exclaimed.
"I'm glad to see a familiar face!" Stella said with a smile, "The girls were nervous, they don't really know any of these kids."
Cara bounced on her mom's hip and pointed at the table. "Want Emmy-nems! An' fissys!"
"Mommy, can I have pudding?" Macy asked.
"After you eat a sandwich or a pizza, you can have one pudding," Stella told her.
"That sounds like a good idea," Uncle Sam said, looking at me, "Eat something a little healthy before you dive into the junk."
"Yes, Uncle Sam," I said.
"You're going to have to watch Cara and make sure she doesn't get into the food, all right?" Stella said to Macy.
"I will, Mommy," Macy agreed.
"You help out, Charlie, keep an eye on the little one too, okay?" Daddy said.
"Okay, Daddy."
Stella got food for Cara and Macy, and I put some food on a plate, and we walked over to a sofa and sat down together. 'The Lego Movie' was playing on a big t.v.
"I'm going to go upstairs now, come and get me if there's a problem," Stella said to Macy.
"Okay, Mommy," Macy replied.
"Same goes for us," Daddy put his hand on my head.
"Okay," I smiled up at him.
Daddy and Uncle Sam went upstairs with Stella.
There was a pool table at one end of the basement, and a few teenagers were playing. Next to that was a table with boxes of games on it and a couple of kids were playing Monopoly.
After we ate, I helped the girls throw away their trash. "Let's go do nails, want me to paint yours?" I asked Macy.
Her eyes lit up. "Yeah!"
We walked over to where Aubrey and the other girls were sitting. "Can we paint our nails?" I asked.
Aubrey tossed her head. "Sure," she said, "Do you want me to do a makeover on you?"
"Uh, no thanks," I said.
"Why not?"
"Yeah, let us do your makeup," another girl said, leaning forward and looking at me.
"Um, well my Daddy said no," I said uncomfortably.
Aubrey scoffed. The other girl rolled her eyes. "Dads are so dumb, my dad tells me I can't wear makeup to school and I just hide it in my backpack and put it on when I get there. He's clueless."
"I'm gonna paint Macy's nails," I told them. Macy picked out a nail polish, and I painted her nails quickly. We both kept an eye on Cara, but she was sitting on the floor watching the movie.
I was painting my nails when the movie ended. Addison put 'Frozen' in the DVD player, and Macy and I sat down with her to watch. When 'Let It Go' came on, everyone sang along, and then Addison made it play again, and a lot of kids stood up and we all sang it together again.
We sat down on the floor as the movie continued. I noticed that Cara wasn't sitting with us, just as I heard Aubrey say, "Hey, what are you doing! Get off that! You—what did you do, kid!"
I turned to see Aubrey push Cara down onto the floor. Cara whimpered, and Macy got up and ran over to her. "Don't touch my sister!" she yelled at Aubrey.
I stood up and hurried over to them.
"She—she ate my lipstick!" Aubrey yelled back, pointing at Cara.
We looked at Cara, who had red lipstick smeared on her mouth and chin.
"Cara, let's go talk to Mommy," Macy said.
"Nooo," Cara whined, and we could see that she had lipstick caked on her teeth too.
Macy pulled on Cara's hand, but Cara went limp and laid flat. "Nooo," she whined again.
"I'm gonna go get Mommy, then, and she's gonna be mad that you didn't come with me!" Macy said, stomping her foot.
Cara whimpered again, but she stood up, and followed Macy.
"Charlie, come with me, an' help me find my mommy," Macy said to me. I went up the stairs with them, following behind Cara, who had to take the steps one at a time.
The living room was crowded full of people. The t.v. was showing the New Year's Eve show where the ball drops, and there was a performer singing and dancing on a stage in front of a huge crowd.
We walked through lots of people standing around talking in the living room, and finally came across Stella talking to Daddy and Uncle Sam. They all had red plastic cups in their hands.
"Mommy, Cara ated a lipstick," Macy said regretfully.
"Oh, Cara," Stella sighed and shook her head. She reached down and took Cara's chin in her hand, and tried to wipe her mouth off, and Cara whined again.
Aubrey had come into the room behind us, and she and her mom came over to us. "That was my lipstick that costed me almost 10 dollars!" Aubrey said accusingly, holding up the tube. There was just a little stub of lipstick left.
"I'm so sorry," Stella said to Aubrey, "I'll give you money to replace it, all right?"
"You don't have to do that," Mrs. Williams shook her head.
"Yeah she does, Mom, that brat ate the whole thing!" Aubrey glared at Cara.
"My sister's not a brat!" Macy pushed Aubrey.
"Hey!" Aubrey exclaimed.
"All right, all right," Stella sighed again, "I think we should go home now, we've have enough excitement for one night."
"Noooo," Cara whined.
"Yes, honey, it's very late," Stella said.
"No, Mommy, me not go!" Cara yelled angrily, stomping her foot.
"Yes, Cara, let's go get your coat."
Cara threw herself down on the floor and began to kick and drum her fists on the floor. She hollered, "No! No! Me not go! No go, Mommy!"
"See, I told you she was a brat," Aubrey sneered.
"Aubrey, go downtairs," her mother snapped.
Stella leaned down and picked Cara up. "Let's go get our coats on, come on, Macy," Stella said. Macy followed her down the hallway.
Daddy raised his eyebrows and looked at Uncle Sam. "How the hell does she keep it together? She's so calm."
Uncle Sam shook his head. "I guess she's had a lot of experience, with two girls."
Daddy put his hand on my head. "Other than Cara eating lipstick, are you having a good time?"
"Yeah, I painted Macy's nails, and mine!" I held my hand up.
"That's a dark shade of pink," Daddy commented.
Stella came back into the room, holding Cara, who was still crying. "I'm so sorry," she said to Mrs. Williams, "She's tired, it's past her bedtime, and she's grumpy."
"Oh, I understand," Mrs. Williams said. She walked them to the door.
"Bye, Charlie," Macy called to me as they left.
I went back downstairs and found Addison. We sat down and watched the rest of 'Frozen', and then she said, "I'm hungry, let's get somethin' to eat."
We went over to the table that had all the food. There wasn't much left. She grabbed a handful of chips and ate them. "I didn't get any Jell-o or pudding, no fair! Let's go see if my mom's got any upstairs."
We had just gone into the living room when a couple of boys came running up the stairs. "Some of the kids are fighting!" they announced.
Daddy and Uncle Sam followed Mrs. Williams down, and a couple other people went after them.
"Let's see what's in the kitchen for us to eat," Addison said, walking into the kitchen. There were a couple of pans on the stove. One of them had what looked like tiny pies on it, and the other pan had a wedge of cheese that was all melty.
"Eww, it's quiche and brie," Addison wrinkled her nose.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Gross stuff that grown-ups like," she walked over to the counter, "Hey, Mom didn't tell me she made more Jell-o!"
There was a plastic tray sitting on the counter next to the refrigerator, with little paper cups of Jell-o on it.
Addison opened a drawer and pulled out two spoons, and handed me one. Then she took a couple of the cups and gave me one. There was only about a mouthful of Jell-o in each cup, so we ate a second cup.
"Let's see what else is in the fridge, maybe she made some pudding too," Addison opened the fridge door and leaned in. She brought out a dish filled with chocolate-covered strawberries, and we ate a couple of them.
My head started to feel a little funny, but it was okay, because I felt happy.
We both heard the music coming from the living room- "I love Taylor Swift!" Addison shrieked, and we ran into the other room.
"C'mon, let's dance!" Addison pulled me up onto the sofa, and we began to jump on the cushions and sing along to the song.
The door to the basement opened, and people came into the room.
"-get some ice for that," Addison's mom was saying.
"No, I'll just take him home, thanks anyway," a woman said, leading a boy over to the doorway, "Again, I'm so sorry this happened."
"Me too, what do you say, Chance?" Chance's father had his hand on Chance's shoulder.
"Sorry," Chance said sullenly. "Let's go," Chance's Dad gave him a shake.
They left, and Mrs. Williams closed the door after them. "Let's see, where was I? Oh, I just took the food out of the oven, let me set it out on the table," she walked into the kitchen.
Daddy and Uncle Sam came over to me. "Charlie, should you be jumping on—oof!" Daddy said as I launched myself off the sofa at him, and he caught me in his arms. My head felt a little spinny.
"Hi, Daddy! You know what? It's New Year's Eve, and I love you!" I looked up at him and laughed. "Everything is- is awesome!"
"Everything is awesooooomme!" Addison sang, and I laughed and joined in, "Everything is cool when you're part of a teeeam!"
"Dance with us, Daddy!" I insisted, grabbing on to his arms, "Don't you just love Taylor Swift?"
"Uh-" I saw Daddy glance at Uncle Sam. "Charlie, what's going on?"
I threw myself at Uncle Sam, who reached out and caught me. "Whoa, Charlie!"
"Uncle Sam, you dance with me!" I said, leaning my head back. I felt so happy!
Imagining Uncle Sam and his long legs dancing seemed silly, and I started to giggle.
"Jim, did you get into the Jell-o shooters?" Mrs. Williams came into the living room with the tray of Jello- cups.
"Ooh, I want more!" Addison reached her hand out, "Bring me some, Mom!"
"What, Addi?"
"Jell-o shooters?" Uncle Sam said, looking from me to Addison and then at her mom.
"We had some!" I told him.
"Why'd you hide the Jell-o up here, Mom, no fair!" Addison jumped off the sofa and ran over to her mom, stumbling and tripping over her feet. She burst out laughing after she fell, and just laid there on the floor.
"Charlie, you- you had some of the Jell-o?" Daddy asked, "How much?"
"Two," I said, "But it's not very much at all, and you know what?"
"What?" Daddy asked.
"I love you!" I leaned towards him, and he took me out of Uncle Sam's arms. I hugged him tightly around the neck and wrapped my legs around his torso.
"Oh my God, I think you're drunk," Daddy said.
"Addi—Addison, did you have some of this Jell-o? How much did you have?" Mrs. Williams bent down to her.
"Jus' two, Mom, gosh," Addison slurred, "S' not a lot, y'know!"
"What did you put in there?" Uncle Sam asked, pulling out his cell phone, "How much did you put in?"
"Uh, I mixed it with vodka, about 8 oz. The recipe said that it would be watered down."
"Okay..." Uncle Sam was looking something up on his phone, "8 ounces is...the average amount of Jell-o...okay..." he looked up at us, "Okay, they won't need to go to the hospital or anything. They haven't had enough that's dangerous. Getting some food into them and making sure they drink a lot of water should help get it out of their systems."
"I wanna go watch Frozen again!" Addison stood up and tried to walk, but she was weaving.
"Yeah, let's go!" I tried to get down out of Daddy's arms, "Let's goooo!" I laughed, and started to sing, "Let it go, let it GOOO!"
"Can't hold it back anyMOOOORRE!" Addison sang with me.
"Uh, no, Charlie," Daddy shifted me in his arms, "Charlie!" he said loudly, "I think we're going to go home now."
"Awww, why, Daddy? It's so much fun here!" I kicked my feet.
"Because—we need to get you home."
"I'll go get the coats," Uncle Sam said.
Daddy walked over to the table, where there was a bunch of food set out. "Do you want something?" he asked.
I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I want a hug, because I love you, Daddy! A lot!"
"I love you too, Charlie," he leaned over and picked up cracker, "Eat this."
I chewed on the cracker, "Do we have Jello at home?"
"No, I don't think we do," Daddy said.
Uncle Sam came over holding our coats. He helped me into my coat, and zipped it up for me, then he put my Hello Kitty hat on my head. "It's started snowing, so it's going to be pretty cold."
"Uncle Sam," I said.
"What, Charlie?" Uncle Sam asked with concern.
"I love you!" I crowed happily.
He chuckled. "I love you too," he looked at Daddy, and said quietly, "At least we know she's a happy drunk."
"Guys, I am so sorry," Mrs. Williams said, looking shame-faced, "I had no idea- well, I didn't think that any of the kids were going to come up here and get into the food, I told the girls they had to stay downstairs and eat the food that was down there, and that what's up here was for the grown-ups, but..." she sighed and shook her head.
"You'll have to have a discussion with them about listening to you and doing what you tell them," Daddy told her.
She shook her head again. "Not like they'll listen to me, you know?"
"Well, sometimes you gotta lay down the law with them. Charlie knows she has to listen to me, don't you, kiddo?" Daddy glanced down at me.
"Yes, Daddy," I said.
"Charlie is so polite, and such a sweet girl, you're so lucky."
Daddy patted my back. "Yeah, we did luck out with her, but she also knows she has to follow the rules and all. You ready?"
"I wanna stay!" I pouted.
"Nope, we're going to go home. C'mon," Daddy shifted me and set me on his other hip.
It was snowing lightly as we walked, but the flakes were big. I waved my arms in the air. "I can pretend that I'm Elsa! Let it go, let it gooo," I sang loudly.
"Charlie, shh, not so loud, it's kinda late," Uncle Sam looked at me.
"Uncle Sam, you—you've got snow in your hair! You're so big an' tall you look like a, a, whatsit? A—a yeti snow monster!" I laughed loudly.
Uncle Sam shook his head.
Daddy chuckled. "That's a new one!"
"Can we build a snowman? An' go sledding?" I asked.
"There's barely any snow on the ground, Charlie, we'll have to see how much it snowed, in the morning," Daddy said as he walked up the steps of our porch.
Grandpa John was sitting on the sofa with a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He stood up as we came into the room.
"I didn't expect you back until later, is everything okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Daddy huffed a laugh as he set me down and unzipped my coat, "Someone got into the Jell-o shooters, and we figured it'd be best to take her home and get her sobered up."
Grandpa John looked at me with his eyebrows raised. "Oh really? How'd that happen?"
"Come on, let's get you something to eat, Charlie," Uncle Sam said, and I followed him into the kitchen.
"I want to know how you got ahold of the Jell-o," Daddy said, with a serious look.
I sat down and looked up at him and Grandpa John. "We, um, we wanted some food, an' there wasn't much left in the basement. Addi said she didn't get any Jell-o, an' that her mom might have some in the kitchen. She found the tray of little cups sitting out, an' she—she gave me one. Well, we each had two."
Daddy frowned. "Am—am I in trouble?" I asked nervously, "I didn't know, they were just sitting there! We thought it was just Jell-o! I—I didn't even know you could put other stuff in it!"
Daddy sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "No, you're not in trouble, it was a- mistake. Next time-" he looked over at Uncle Sam, "We'll just have to watch things."
Grandpa John chuckled and shook his head. "It's a far cry from you sneaking my beer when you were 11, Dean," he said with a grin.
"Charlie, do you want a grilled cheese sandwich?" Uncle Sam asked.
"Yeah, that would be yummy!" I said, "and y' know what? I love you!"
Uncle Sam gave me a tall glass of ice water. "Drink it, all of it," he told me, chuckling.
Grandpa John sat down next to me, setting his glass on the table.
"Did Daddy get in trouble for drinking your beer?" I asked him.
He nodded, "You bet he did."
"What happened?"
"He got a spanking, and was grounded for a week," Grandpa John said.
"It took me almost that long to sit comfortably after you were done with me," Daddy said ruefully.
I looked at Grandpa John. "I was scared of you when you first came here, y'know, 'cause you were so grumpy. You didn't like me, an' I didn't like you neither."
Daddy laughed, and Uncle Sam turned to us and said, "Oh, are we telling truths now?" with a grin.
"Well, Charlie—it's not that I didn't like you-" Grandpa John looked uncomfortable.
"You were scared of having a grand-kid, I know," I shrugged, "but I'm not scared of you anymore, an' I love you!" I slid out of my chair and hugged his side.
He laughed, and put his arm around me to hug me back. "Well, that's good to hear. I'm sorry that I scared you, little one," his eyes looked sad for a moment as I sat down.
"Here you go," Uncle Sam set a plate in front of me. "Anyone else?"
"I was kinda nervous of you too, 'cause you were so big," I said to Uncle Sam, "You are like a big giant- a—a sass—a sask-wash-" my tongue felt heavy, like I couldn't get the word out right- "A sams-squanch!" I laughed, "Uncle Sam-squanch!"
Daddy started to laugh harder, but Uncle Sam looked annoyed.
"C'mon, Sam, she's probably not even going to remember this," Daddy chuckled, "and it is pretty funny."
"Are you still nervous about me?" Uncle Sam asked me.
"No, 'cause I love you!" I smiled at him, " 'Cept when you're mad or you're about to spank me, 'cause you have big big hands that're hard, an' they hurt a lot!"
Daddy and Grandpa John laughed. "Oh, Charlie, you're a trip," Daddy wiped his eyes.
I ate my grilled cheese as Uncle Sam served sandwiches to everyone else. Then he made a big pan a scrambled eggs too, and we ate that together.
"It's almost midnight, should we watch the ball drop?" Daddy asked.
We went into the living room and turned on the t.v. Grandpa John had his glass, and Daddy and Uncle Sam each had a bottle of beer, and I had another glass of water.
We counted down to midnight, and then we all clinked our glasses together, and hugged each other. I kissed them and told them I loved them too.
"All right, Charlie, it's time for bed," Daddy said to me, "Let's go."
"Let it GOOO, let it GOOO, can't hold it back anyMOOOORE!" I sang loudly as I ran up the stairs. I tripped over my feet and fell, and then I remembered Addison falling down and laughing, and that made me laugh.
"Are you okay?" Daddy hurried behind me.
"Yeah I'm okay," I bounced back up onto my feet. I kept singing as I brushed my teeth and changed my clothes.
Daddy had brought a chair into my room.
"What's that for?" I asked him.
"I'm going to stay with you for a while and keep an eye on you, make sure you're okay," Daddy said. I slid under my covers and he sat down on the bed facing me.
I got up on my knees and put my hands on his cheeks. "Kiss, Daddy," I said, and I kissed him on the lips, saying, "Mwah!" in a melodramatic way, then I giggled and threw my arms around his neck.
He pulled back and looked at me with an odd look on his face. "Charlie?"
"I just love you, Daddy!" I said.
"I love you too, baby," he said quietly, hugging me back, "lay down now."
I laid down and he pulled the covers up. "Happy New Year, Daddy," I said, "I love you!"
"Happy New Year, Charlie, I love you too. Now go to sleep." Daddy pulled the chair close to the head of the bed and sat down in it.
"Daddy?" I rolled over to face him.
"What, Charlie?"
"I love you."