Part 6: Saturday
"Kate, Tess, we are leaving in an hour with or without you," Carol yelled from the foot of the staircase.
Meg passed by Carol wearing her swimsuit.
"You need to find something to wear over top of that," Carol told her.
"Why?" Meg questioned.
"It's October," Carol explained.
"It's October," Meg said mocking her mother. However, she went to her room to put on sweatpants and a t-shirt.
Tess rolled out of bed and dressed quickly. She was downstairs minutes after Carol woken her.
Walking into the kitchen, Doug found Tess sitting on counter eating a piece of toast.
"We have chairs for a reason," he commented as he sat down at the table to read the newspaper.
Tess rolled her eyes and finished the last bite of toast. "Quit looking at me," she told him.
"Sorry," he said going back to the paper.
"How long do black eyes last?" Tess asked walking closer to the table.
"Depends," he answered.
"How long is mine going to last?" she rephrased the question.
"I'd say about a week," he said looking up at her.
Tess glared at Kate as she walked into the kitchen and headed to the refrigerator.
"What?" Kate asked her.
"See she doesn't even care," Tess complained to Doug.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kate pouring herself a glass of orange juice.
"Kate, you gave your sister a black yesterday. You don't remember doing that?" he questioned.
Kate looked at Tess and then back at Doug and shook her head.
"Kate, will you go get dressed please," Doug told her.
"Why? You are freaking me out," Kate said with a shaky voice.
"Go change," he said.
Kate walked out of the room in near tears.
"What is going on?" Tess asked after Kate was upstairs.
"When you were fighting did Kate hit her head on anything?" he questioned.
"I don't remember," Tess told him.
"Please try to remember," he stated before going to talk to Carol.
"Are you sure?" Carol questioned him.
"If she was lying, she better get an Oscar because she was really confused," Doug explained. "Tess is trying to remember if she hit her head on anything."
"Well, she must have if she blacked out," Carol said getting out of bed and going to the closet.
"Dad," Tess called from the hallway.
Doug stepped out into the hall and asked, "Did you remember anything?"
"No, Kate was lying," Tess told him.
"How do you know that?" he inquired.
"Well, it could have been that she was laughing hysterically in her room or when she said that she did not think you were going to fall for it," she explained.
"Excuse me," Doug said as his made his way to Kate's room. He did not even bother to knock. "Did you think you were being funny?" he demanded.
"No," Kate said rather meekly.
Doug continued to yell, and Kate zoned out. She snapped back when Doug said, "You are grounded for a week. If I ever find out you lied to me again there will be hell to pay." With that, Doug left Kate alone in her room.
"How was the gift basket?" Carol asked Doug as he came into their bedroom still fuming.
Doug gave her a puzzled looked.
"The gift basket you received for presenting the Oscar," she elaborated.
"I'm not amused," he told her.
"What is bothering you so much?" Carol asked.
"Kate told a blatant lie to me," Doug answered.
"They have been lying to me for years," she said sympathetically.
"To you, but I'm the cool one. Not just Kate, Tess too. She did not want me to find out she had a boyfriend," he complained.
"They're teenagers, Doug," Carol replied. "You still have Meg too be your perfect little girl for a few more years yet, and Tess and Kate will come around. Now is the part where we get to see if we influenced the girls in a positive way."
"Or we get to bail them out of jail," Doug commented.
"Stop," Carol told him. "We need to leave for the swim meet." Carol opened the door and almost ran into Meg.
"Kate, it's time to go," Carol called.
She waited a moment and went to Kate's door after there was no response. She knocked quietly before opening the door.
Carol saw Kate tucking something under her pillow.
"What was that?" Carol questioned.
"My journal," Kate said quickly.
"Are you ready?" Carol questioned.
"I'm not going," Kate answered.
"You're going," Doug said from the hall.
Kate rolled her eyes and followed her parents downstairs.
They left for the swim meet. At the pool, Carol led Doug, Tess, and Kate to an empty section of the bleachers. They watched the other races, and soon it was time for Meg's race.
Meg had a bad start but managed to keep up with the leader. On the last lap she pulled ahead for a easy win.
"And she was worried," Tess commented.
"I'm going to go meet Meg in the locker room," Carol told them.
"I think we'll just wait out in the car," Doug replied.
Near the door, Kate turned away.
"Where are you going?" Doug asked her.
"I have to use the restroom," Kate snapped. "Is that okay with you?"
"Do you want us to wait?" he questioned.
"No, go on ahead I'll meet you at the car," Kate told him.
Carol and Meg were in the parking lot in less than ten minutes.
"That was quick. I figured there would be a celebration," Doug commented.
"There is, but I can't go," Meg pouted.
"Why not?" he questioned.
"Mom said you were going out tonight so I can't go to the party," Meg explained.
"Where is Kate?" Carol asked noticing her absence.
"I'll go find her," Tess said. They had been at the pool for nearly three hours Tess was more than anxious to get home.
Later that Afternoon, Doug and Carol were getting ready for their anniversary dinner.
"Nice," Carol told her husband as he stepped out of the walk in closet wearing plaid pants and a rather loud tie.
"What?" he questioned.
"Put on the tux," Carol said as she rifled through her jewelry box.
"I knew I could get a reaction out of you," he told her as went back to the closet to change.
"Mom," Meg called from the hallway. "Grace is on the phone."
Carol looked over to the nightstand wondering why the telephone in the bedroom had not rung. She knew why immediately; the phone was missing from base. Tess had taken the phone and not returned it. Carol opened the door and took the cordless phone from Meg. Meg followed her mother back into the bedroom and sat on the bed.
"No, Grace, you should stay with your mother," Carol said into the phone. Carol said goodbye and sat the phone down.
"Is Grace not coming to baby-sit us?" Meg asked.
"No, Grace's mother is sick again," Carol told her daughter.
"Who is going to baby-sit us now?" Meg asked as Doug returned from the closet wearing a tuxedo.
"I don't know. Doug, I need to finish getting ready so you can call someone to watch the girls?" Carol questioned.
"Who should I call first?" he asked as he pulled an address book out of the nightstand.
"Danielle Wheaton, she lives the closest," Carol instructed. "After that just make your way down the list."
Carol went into the master bathroom to put her makeup on. Meg sat next to Doug as he made call after call. After a few minutes, she was bored and walked down the hall to her sister's room.
"Tess, they can't find a baby-sitter," Meg told her sister.
"I don't care. Kate and I are old enough to stay by ourselves," Tess told her. "Come on." Tess pulled Meg by the arm into their parents bedroom.
Doug looked up at them and said, "I don't think your mom and I are going out tonight."
"You have to; it's your anniversary. Why can't we stay home by ourselves?" Tess asked.
"I don't know about that," he stated.
"Why not? We stay home alone all the time during the day," Tess explained.
"I'll talk to your mom. You two go wait somewhere else," Doug told them.
Doug found them a few minutes later and said, "Here is the deal. No guests. No starting fires. And definitely no fun."
"Dad," Meg groaned.
"Sorry, just don't do anything stupid. Your mother isn't crazy about the idea, but we already promised we attend the benefit," he told them.
"And it is your anniversary," Tess stated.
"Yes, that too," he agreed.
"Can we order pizza?" Tess asked.
"If you order it now, I want to be here before we leave," Doug said.
Tess rolled her eyes but didn't mention that the pizza guy wasn't going to do anything to them if they were home alone.
A half hour later, Tess and Meg were eating their second pieces of pizza in the kitchen. Carol was writing telephone numbers and emergency instructions on a notepad.
"Inform Kate of our departure so she'll come and eat something," Doug told Tess.
"Okay," Tess mumbled between bites.
"Carol, we are going to be late for our reservation. The girls will be fine. They will call my cell if they need anything," he said. "Won't you."
Tess and Meg nodded.
"All right, behave," Carol told them before picking up her purse.
"Bye, mommy," Meg said jumping up to give her a hug.
"Careful with the grease," Carol warned.
Doug kissed Meg's forehead, and Carol and Doug left for a private dinner and a charity event. At the Rosette's, they were escorted to a quiet table in the back of the restaurant. Doug ordered a bottle of champagne, and they were left alone at their table.
"I know you wanted to wait until tonight to exchange gifts, but I want to give this to you now," Doug told her pulling an envelope out of his pocket.
"What is this?" she questioned.
"Just open it," he said.
She ripped open the envelope and examined the documents in contained.
"French Polynesia?" Carol asked, "What is about?"
"Next month you and I are going on our honeymoon," he explained.
"Next month. Where are the girls going to stay? And I do I have a job. I can't just take off whenever I feel like it," she protested.
"If you will check your flight schedules, you will notice that five people are flying to Chicago on Friday. But only two are continuing on with the rest of the trip. I called your mother, and she was more than delighted to have the girls stay with her for the week. We are dropping them off on our way there and picking them up on the way back. As for your job, I arranged for you to have the time off," Doug told her.
"I don't know what to say. This is absolutely the perfect present," Carol said, and her eyes filled with tears.
"You don't have to say anything," he replied reaching across the table to take her hand.
Thank you for all the reviews you guys are great. I'm saying Carol is early to mid-forties, but I honestly don't know how old she should really be. I am not going to make this story any longer than the seven days, but I am considering writing a longer prequel or sequel. If anyone has any ideas for the new story drop me a review. The sooner I can get a few chapters together, the soon I will post a new story.
B. Belle