Boston MASS. June 1960
"MOMMY!"
Haylie yelled running into the house. She and Lily just got back from
school.
"Haylie don't scream." Margaret said strictly,
but with a friendly smile.
"Sorry Mommy. Guess what!?"
Haylie said excitedly.
"What?" Margaret asked with a
bright smile.
"Next week is Father's Day at school! And Dad
said he'd come!" The seven-year-old smiled excitedly. She only
saw her father once a month for a weekend but she treasured that
time. "He said so when he dropped me off at school this morning."
Haylie smiled as she sat down at the table.
"That's pretty
nice of him. Where's Hawkeye?" Margaret asked.
Haylie
looked behind her and pointed to the door where he and Lily were
walking in. Hawkeye was holding both girls' bags.
"Right
there," she pointed.
"Hi Mommy." Lily smiled walking
into the kitchen.
"Hi honey. How was school?"
"Good.
I learned how to add!" Lily smiled proudly.
"Wow."
Margaret smiled placing glasses of juice on the table for both of the
girls.
They
both sat down and grabbed the 'ants on logs' that their mother
made for them.
"Sure. Don't say hi to me." Hawkeye
teased kissing his wife on the cheek.
"Hi." Margaret
smiled, putting Katy down.
"Where's the other two?"
Hawkeye asked looking around, not seeing his other two children.
"Alyson and Mabel are sleeping." Margaret smiled.
Refereeing to their two other daughters. Alyson Danielle, and Katy
Dana were born a year after they were married, and Mabel-Ella Maria
was born only eight weeks ago.
"Sleeping?
Why is Alyson still sleeping?" Hawkeye asked concerned. Alyson
never slept this late.
"She's not feeling well. Probably
just a cold. She'll be fine." Margaret said taking the girls'
lunch kits out of their bags. As on cue the sound of a baby's cry
filled the room.
"I'll get her." Hawkeye smiled.
Alyson was a daddy's girl most of the time, except when she was sick, and in that case Daddy would do, but Mommy was Mommy and no one could top Mommy. And that exact thought was just Mabel's, she was a mommy's girl through and through. And Katy was both. She didn't care who took her, or who held her, just as someone did.
Hawkeye actually didn't mind he was the only male in a house full of girls. He loved each and every one of them. And wouldn't trade one in for the world. The Universe even.
"Hi
Alyson." Hawkeye smiled picking up his daughter. The
two-year-old smiled and wrapped her arms around her father's neck.
"How are you feeling?"
"Icky. Mommy?" Alyson
said looking at him.
"I'll get you to Mommy. Don't you
worry darling. Should we get Mabel?" Hawkeye asked his daughter
walking into his and Margaret's room. Mabel was lying there about
ready to cry for someone to come get her. "Hi my Maple Syrup.
Are you ready to get up from your nap? I'll take that as a yes."
Hawkeye smiled picking the baby up with his spare arm.
"Well
hello." Margaret smiled walking upstairs seeing Hawkeye with
both the babies in his arms. Alyson immediately stuck her arms out to
her mother.
"Come here Baby. You're not feeling good are
you?" Alyson's only response was to lay her head down on her
mother's shoulder and look around.
"She's not feeling well.
Must have caught the cold that Lily had."
"Yeah. Come on, the
girls need to do their homework if we're going to go to California
over the break." Margaret told her husband walking downstairs
holding her toddler.
"Okay. Did you get everything packed
today?"
"Almost everything. Mabel needs to get finished. I
didn't have much time." Margaret said walking into the kitchen
where the girls we're already doing their homework.
"Do what
you two can before dinner, we're going to see Gramma." Hawkeye
told his girls. Both looked up with smiles on their faces. Haylie
loved visiting the only Gramma she knew. Even though she still had
contact with her father, she had never met his parents.
"Gramma!
I can teach her how to add!" Lily smiled excitedly.
"That you
can." Hawkeye said with a soft chuckle.
Lily was getting more like him every day. Her brown hair had turned into a dark shade of brown, almost a black and she was looking more like him everyday.
Haylie on the other hand looked like a miniature Margaret. Her hair was a golden blonde and was full of soft curls and her eyes sparkled with the same love for life her mother had.
Alyson looked like both of them. Red hair, green eyes, soft skin, but with the personality of her father.
Katy was a strawberry blonde with natural brown highlights and dark brown eyes that looked like chocolate.
Mabel-Ella didn't even look like any of her parents, but was looking more and more like both of them everyday.
Margaret looked around. She married Hawkeye three months after he proposed, and then Alyson and Katy were born. Already a mother of two, she took the new responsibility of being a mother of four girls like no other. And then the day she found out she was pregnant again, with their fifth and final child, Margaret hoped it would be a boy, but when the little girl came along, not only was she thrilled to have another girl, but Hawkeye was excited. He was the father of five girls...five girls that he never thought he'd ever had.
Life had turned out pretty good. She was the mother of five beautiful girls. All their own and loving life. She was married to the man of her dreams, and was as happy as she could ever be. Sure she and Hawkeye had problems, but what marriage doesn't? Sure the girls weren't absolutely perfect, but they were perfect being who they were. It was like something she heard before, once in a lullaby.
