Disclaimer: None of the characters from the movie Newsies belong to the
authors, but rather to Disney. Big surprise there, right? Dimples and Dewey
own themselves.
A.N.: Hello once again!! This is Chase and I have been working super hard on this chappie!! Hope you enjoy it!! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! ^_^
A Tale of Two Families.Trying to Make it As One
Chapter Two
The Kelly's lived about ten miles outside of town on a cattle ranch that Jack owned and managed. Medda and the newsies had all known about Jack's dream to live out west, so when he and Amy were married they purchased twenty acres of farmland outside of town for their wedding present. Luckily Jack was also able to be granted a few loans from some local banks, and so he and Amy spent their honeymoon constructing their house with some help from the newsies, and they also purchased some cattle and horses to begin their ranch. After struggling a bit in the beginning, Kelly Cattle Co. was off the ground and doing well. Now they oversaw a successful ranch and also tried to watch over their five children as well.
After about four years of marriage, Jack and Amy decided to start trying to have children. They quickly became pregnant and nine months later had a girl whom they named Felicity. Two years passed, and they celebrated the birth of their first son, Rhett, and then another son, Ty, was born three years after him. For a while Jack and Amy thought that they would not be having any more children until another son, Luke, came along four years later; and finally their second daughter, Adelaide, was born two years after him. Three boys and two girls. Even with the constant fighting, screaming, hitting, and crying Amy and Jack wouldn't have it any other way.
* * * * * * *
Amy groaned and rolled over as the rooster crowed, signaling the start of a new day. She glanced at the small clock by her bedside and frowned. Five thirty seemed to come even earlier these days. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jack's side of the bed vacant and sighed.
"Adelaide must be having nightmares again," she thought out loud to herself as she rose from the bed. She parted the bedroom curtains to give her a beautiful view of the sun peeking over the horizon and smiled as she stood there for a few minutes, watching the sun rise. It was her favorite time of day. She was about to make the bed when a pair of strong arms encircled her waist and a soft voice whispered in her ear, "Morning, sunshine."
"Well, good morning to you too," She didn't even have to look over her shoulder to know that it was Jack. She turned to face her husband and softly kissed him on the lips. They embraced each other for a moment until a small voice came from the doorway.
"Eww, Mommy and Daddy are kissin'!!" They quickly broke apart and smiled at each other as their youngest son, Luke, stood in the doorway with a disgusted look on his face. Amy smiled and walked toward him, all the while grinning at her son.
"What, did you feel left out?" She kissed him on the forehead and tussled his hair as he scowled in response. His disgust was quickly replaced with glee as Jack picked him up and threw him over his shoulder as they followed Amy to the kitchen, all the while giggling as his father threatened to feed him to the chickens. Amy smiled after them as she began to scramble some eggs and make some biscuits for the family's breakfast, and they went outside to feed the horses and chickens. Once she was finished with most of her breakfast, she went back upstairs to wake her children up.
First she went to Felicity and Adelaide's room and found them both sound asleep. She stepped over the pillow and blanket by Adelaide's bed, presumably where Jack had slept the night before, and proceeded to wake up her daughter.
"Adelaide, sweetie, get up. It's time to get up," She said in a soft voice as she pulled the blankets back. Adelaide soon cracked an eye open and smiled in recognition of her mother.
"Mommy!!" She said as she crawled to the foot of her bed and hugged Amy's neck. Amy laughed, kissed her hair, and lifted her out of her bed. She walked across the room to Felicity's bed and grasped her daughter's foot through the blankets.
"Come on Felicity. Get up," She and Adelaide both smiled as Felicity muttered something and turned over as she tucked her feet under her. Amy nodded at Adelaide and put her on her older sister's bed. In a matter of seconds the sound of shrieks filled the air as Adelaide began to tickle Felicity. Satisfied that they would not be going back to sleep Amy ventured across the hall where she began to wake her sons. Luckily Rhett was already awake and had begun to get dressed so Amy went to Ty's bed.
"Okay Ty. You've got to get up. Come on." She smiled at her son who seemed to not even hear her and softly shook him awake. He frowned and turned on his side as Amy sighed. He was the most difficult child to get up in the morning.
"Fine, I'll just get Chance and Max to come in here and get you up," She started for the door but then heard the sound of Ty's feet hit the floor and smiled. Chance and Max, the family's two Labrador retrievers had a reputation of getting the kids up by jumping on their beds and licking their faces until they woke up. Rhett had also taught Chance a trick in order to get back at Ty once. Chance would simply pull the sheets off the bed until eventually the child would come with it. Ty had been through that experience before and from the looks of things it seemed like he was in no mood to do it again. Amy retreated back to the kitchen, realizing that she needed to take the biscuits out of the oven soon before they burnt. She found Adelaide perched on a counter by the flour canister and informed her that breakfast would be ready and that she should get dressed soon.
"But can't I help you?" Adelaide pleaded with her mother as she tried to pucker out her lower lip in protest.
"Tell you what. You can help me set the table and then will you go get dressed?" Amy bargained with her as she removed her daughter from the counter and handed her some napkins and silverware. Adelaide immediately agreed and shook her head as she scurried to the table to fulfill her important duty. Soon the other children began to file in, and Jack and Luke also joined them from outside, having finished their early morning chores. As soon as everyone had served themselves the family sat down and joined hands as they looked expectantly at Luke to pray before their meal. He had already tightly shut his eyes and began to pray.
"Dear God, thank you for this food and this day and thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Felicity, Rhett, Ty, and Adelaide and please keep us healthy and safe and let us have a good day and please don't let it rain because we have recess today at school and please bless our chickens, cows, cattle, horses, and dogs. Amen," He managed to say all in one breath and smiled when he heard six other amen's in approval of his prayer. The family continued their morning ritual of eating together, and the older children shared what was in store for them that day at their school.
"I may get to walk to school with Paul," Felicity dreamily sighed as she thought of her current love interest to which all the males in the household answered with a groan. She laughed at them all and continued to eat her eggs, her smile soon growing contagious throughout the room.
"Well, I have an arithmetic test today," Rhett frowned at the thought of his upcoming exam. He looked up to see the surprised looks his parents were giving him and quickly added, "I studied all last night though, I promise."
All of the Kelly children had been raised with the same belief that a good education was one of the greatest things they could ever have, and so they all took great pride in making good grades. Sometimes they even disciplined themselves to study without Amy or Jack having to tell them to do so.
"Well we have a kickball game today after school," Ty spoke for both him and Luke who both loved the game and occasionally got together with the other children that went to school with them for a game or two on nice afternoons. Adelaide, not wanting to be left out replied to her sister and brothers, "Well I get to help Mommy so I have the best day today."
Her other four siblings laughed, and the family cleared the table after everyone had finished, leaving Amy with some more dirty dishes and napkins to rinse and dry before dinner. She waved goodbye to her children as they left for school, which was about a quarter of a mile from the house, and smiled at Adelaide as she led her to the kitchen to help with her daily chores.
For their first chore of the day, Adelaide would stand on a stool and dry glasses and dishes as Amy handed them to her, making her feel rather important about being trusted with such a big job at the tender age of four. Amy watched her daughter in silent wonder as the little girl would place a dish carefully back where she knew it had come from and smiled to herself, knowing that someday soon she wouldn't have her little shadow to follow her around the house and help her clean and also entertain her. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the small touch of her daughter's hand on her arm, signaling her back to her present duty.
"I'm sorry sweetie," she said as she scrubbed another dish and handed it to Adelaide, "I was just thinking about how you're growing up so fast. One of these days my little helper will be at school, and I won't have anyone to help me with the dishes."
"But Mommy," Adelaide replied as she took the dish held out to her, "you can just have another baby so you don't get lonely while you're doing chores."
Amy couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's logic. She and Jack had decided not long after Adelaide was born that five children were enough, unless God had some special plans for them that involved a sixth child. She smiled sweetly at her daughter and simply replied, "I think five's enough, don't you Adelaide?"
Adelaide simply shrugged in reply and continued to dry the dishes as she replied, "Maybe I'll have a baby for you."
They finished with the dishes and Adelaide entertained Amy with a story she made up about a tiger and a princess while the latter ironed some clothes and also mopped the kitchen. They were about to begin to make some sandwiches for lunch when a very muddy Jack trudged in. His pants and shirt were soaked with mud, and his face even had some traces of mud on it. He only wore his socks on his feet, and Amy guessed that his boots must have been muddy enough to leave outside. He smiled when he saw Amy and Adelaide's faces and made a move to hug his daughter when she screamed and ran behind Amy. Amy laughed at her daughter and said, "Aww, Adelaide, the mud man just wants to see you."
While she was momentarily distracted by her daughter, Jack had made his way to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. She looked at him and feigned shock and told Adelaide, "It's only Daddy covered in mud."
Adelaide continued to hide behind her mother and replied, "But he's all muddy and icky."
"You're right, he is," Amy told her as she retrieved a rag from the cabinet and ran it under some cool water from the sink before she handed it to Jack. Jack took it and began to wipe off his face when he saw Adelaide peek at him from behind Amy and said, "First I have to get my hug from Adelaide though," and put the rag down and began to chase her around the house, acting like he was tripping over his own feet as Adelaide screamed and ran all around the house.
"Jack, don't get the house too muddy," Amy yelled to him, smiling when she knew he would clean it all up anyway. Finally Jack reappeared with Adelaide screeching in his arms, complaining she was getting all muddy. He hugged her close to him and kissed her head before putting her down and laughed as she informed her mother that she needed a bubble bath because the mud man got her.
"Okay Adelaide, go get undressed and yes, you can have a bubble bath in our bathtub, okay?" Amy smiled as the girl momentarily forgot her dilemma of being muddy and smiled excitedly as she raced up the stairs to get some clean clothes from her room. Amy took the opportunity to clean up her husband's face and softly met his lips with hers.
"Have I told you lately that I love you?" she asked after they kissed, her eyes still closed, but she could still feel his breath on her.
"Mmm, I think we were in the middle of that this morning when Luke walked in. Remember?" Jack told her as he kissed her once more with a little more vigor.
"Okay, just checking. I love you," Amy told him and smiled as he replied the same thing. Suddenly she remembered that she needed to start the bath for Adelaide and led Jack to their bedroom. She began to fill the tub with water while Jack tried to finish getting some mud off of him. Adelaide soon joined them and smiled in recognition of Jack and said, "Now you look like Daddy."
Amy knelt down by the tub and poured some of her coveted bubble bath, creating a slew of bubbles that Adelaide would soon play in. Adelaide got into the tub and giggled as Jack frowned and asked, "Why does Adelaide get a bubble bath? I'm muddier than she is."
"She asked before you did," Amy replied as she smiled at her daughter and began to help her take a bath. She looked up to see Jack pouting and laughed as Adelaide splashed him from her place in the tub.
"There Daddy, all better," Adelaide said as she blew the bubbles around the tub. Jack laughed and knelt down beside Amy as he rolled up his sleeves and helped give his daughter a bath.
"I remember doing this when you were a baby," he told Adelaide and added, "but you were in the sink."
"Nah uh," she replied, to which Amy said, "Yes ma'am, you were."
When they finished giving Adelaide a bath Jack lifted her out of the tub and began to dry her off as the two family dogs, Chance and Max, came in and began to lick the water off of her. She got dressed and informed her mother that she was going to have some lunch.
"Okay, I'll be there in a second," Amy told her as she hung up a towel and cleaned off the tub. She quickly kissed Jack and laughed as he frowned when he saw all the bubbles were gone. She left him to take a shower and joined Adelaide in the kitchen and also found her other children there, preparing their lunches.
"Hello," she said to them as she began to make some lemonade for their lunch. She smiled as Ty helped Adelaide make a ham and cheese sandwich and watched as her children finished making their lunches. She was pleased at how self-reliant they were, which only reminded her that in just a few years' time, they would be all grown up. She was jolted back to reality when she realized they were ready to eat and waiting for her to bring the pitcher to the table. She quickly said a prayer before they ate and looked around the table at her children.
To her left was Felicity, a bright young girl of fifteen who had inherited her dark brown hair and Jack's caring hazel eyes. She was a daddy's girl, and also tried to help Amy around the house when she wasn't dreaming about her newest love interest. Across the table from Felicity was Rhett, who was busy teaching Luke tic tac toe. Rhett, who was now thirteen, had inherited Jack's face and personality, and sometimes Amy even mistook him for his father. She knew how much he aspired to be a man like his father, and sometimes it was hard to remember he was just thirteen years old. Next was Luke, who was trying to beat Rhett at his own game and failing miserably. At six years old, he was the youngest son and loved to explore and make mischief along with messes. He could also be a little bit sensitive and a momma's boy, and his dark brown hair and matching brown eyes contrasted with his brothers, who both resembled their father. By him was Adelaide, barely able to see over the table even though she sat on two dictionaries. At four years old going on twelve, she was the baby of the family and loved to imitate her sister and play with the older children. She was always in a rush to grow up and 'be a big girl' like her sister. She had light brown hair and Amy's dark brown eyes and loved to help around the house, even if her help wasn't needed. To her left was Ty, a ten year old and the very middle child of the family. He was the quiet one of the bunch, and liked to be by himself while his brothers and sisters liked to play games and go on adventures. He, like Rhett, looked like his father with the exception of his dark brown hair he had inherited from his mother.
Amy's thoughts were interrupted once more as Jack pecked her on the cheek and began to make them some lunch. She smiled after him and listened as Adelaide told her siblings about their father being the mud man earlier that day.
"What happened, Dad?" They all asked as he finished making roast beef sandwiches for Amy and himself. He gave Amy her sandwich and sat down as they began to repeat their questions and finally said, "If you'll be quiet for a second I'll tell you."
They immediately quieted, eager for his explanation of the morning's events.
"Y'all know Carrot, the horse I've been trying to train for a few weeks now?" he asked them as he took a bite of his sandwich, to which they all nodded.
"Well he must have gotten spooked by something this morning cause I was going through the normal routine with him, trotting around the arena, when he starts to buck and then he throws me into the mud," Jack told them, receiving a few laughs in the process from his otherwise sympathetic family.
"Daddy, you let Carrot throw you into the mud? He needs a time out," Adelaide concluded as finished her sandwich and smiled at her father. Jack laughed heartily and told her, "if you can find a corner big enough for him to fit in, then I'll think about it."
The rest of the afternoon the children spent their time doing their chores: Felicity mended some clothes, Rhett cleaned the stables, Ty washed the horses, Luke fed the horses and chickens, and Adelaide as usual helped Amy do whatever she had to do, which today was milk the cows and water the plants. Jack rode out along the perimeter of their property and rounded up some stray cattle he found every now and then. By dinner time everyone was tired and looking forward to just sitting around that night. Amy had just set the table for dinner when Jack came in, looking at an envelope in his hands.
"What's that?" she asked as she retrieved seven plates from the cabinet and looked at the letter. Jack shrugged and replied, "Mr. Jackson just rode by and said this came for me. I'll read it later."
By then all of the Kelly children were in the kitchen, asking what Jack was holding. He told them it was just a telegram and that they shouldn't worry about it, and they all seemed to forget about it as Luke and Ty bragged about beating the other team in kickball 9-4. After dinner everyone went about doing their nightly activities and got ready for bed. Felicity, Rhett, and Ty did their homework while Luke and Adelaide played with their toys. Amy cleaned up the kitchen and read a few pages of her book, and Jack told the children a bedtime story in the living room, since it was easier to tell all five than to go to each child and tell them the same story. He and Amy tucked the children into their beds and were getting ready for bed themselves when Jack pulled the telegram out of his pants pocket and began to read it.
"Dear Jack, stop, my family and I have fallen on hard financial times and were wondering if it were possible for us to stay with you all for a few weeks, stop. If this is a problem do not worry, stop. We will manage, stop. Thank you, stop. Spot Conlon and family," Jack read the telegram as he glanced up at Amy who was brushing her hair and smiled at her in the mirror. "What do you think?"
"Well," she began as she put down her brush and removed her robe and began to hang it up, "I think we should help them out. God forbid that if it were us, they would lend us a hand, right?"
She bent down to pick up some clothes that were strewn on the floor and saw the shadows of tiny feet under the doorway and smiled. She motioned to the doorway and loudly said, "Maybe we should ask the kids what they think" as she opened the door to reveal five guilty faces looking back at them. Jack laughed and sighed.
"Okay, family meeting. Get in here," he got up from the bed so that they could sit and took the cup from Ty's hand that had been used to help listen in on their conversation. All of the children gathered on the bed, looking at their parents as if prepared for punishment.
"Alright, obviously y'all want to know what the telegram said, if you haven't heard already," Amy said and read them the telegram. Once she finished she was bombarded with questions like 'Who's Spot Conlon?', 'Why do they want to come here?', and 'When are they coming?' She motioned for them to be quiet as Jack began to answer their questions.
"Spot Conlon is an old friend of mine. Last I heard he was a lawyer and lived in Brooklyn with his family. I don't know how many kids he has now though. Felicity, they spent Christmas here when you were about two and I think your mother just found out she was pregnant with Rhett." The children nodded in understanding and Rhett asked his father, "Dad, if you haven't seen them in so long, why are they writing you to ask for help?"
Jack pondered this for a moment and finally answered his son. "Well Rhett, because they probably need a place to stay and maybe this was the only place they could go." Rhett nodded in understanding.
"This is also your house," Amy added as she looked to each of her children and smiled, "so it's up to you all too, not just your father and I. Will you all be willing to let them come and stay here for awhile?"
She watched her children slowly nod and finally all of them agreed to let the Conlon's come and stay. Jack smiled, nodded in approval, and went to the desk where Amy had set the telegram after she read it to the kids. He copied the address and wrote a telegram back, reading it as he wrote.
"Dear Spot and family, stop. Sure, you all are welcome here, stop. Come whenever you like, stop. We hope to see you soon, The Kelly's" he looked up to see his family nod in approval and stuffed the telegram in an envelope to send the next day.
A.N.: Hello once again!! This is Chase and I have been working super hard on this chappie!! Hope you enjoy it!! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! ^_^
A Tale of Two Families.Trying to Make it As One
Chapter Two
The Kelly's lived about ten miles outside of town on a cattle ranch that Jack owned and managed. Medda and the newsies had all known about Jack's dream to live out west, so when he and Amy were married they purchased twenty acres of farmland outside of town for their wedding present. Luckily Jack was also able to be granted a few loans from some local banks, and so he and Amy spent their honeymoon constructing their house with some help from the newsies, and they also purchased some cattle and horses to begin their ranch. After struggling a bit in the beginning, Kelly Cattle Co. was off the ground and doing well. Now they oversaw a successful ranch and also tried to watch over their five children as well.
After about four years of marriage, Jack and Amy decided to start trying to have children. They quickly became pregnant and nine months later had a girl whom they named Felicity. Two years passed, and they celebrated the birth of their first son, Rhett, and then another son, Ty, was born three years after him. For a while Jack and Amy thought that they would not be having any more children until another son, Luke, came along four years later; and finally their second daughter, Adelaide, was born two years after him. Three boys and two girls. Even with the constant fighting, screaming, hitting, and crying Amy and Jack wouldn't have it any other way.
* * * * * * *
Amy groaned and rolled over as the rooster crowed, signaling the start of a new day. She glanced at the small clock by her bedside and frowned. Five thirty seemed to come even earlier these days. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jack's side of the bed vacant and sighed.
"Adelaide must be having nightmares again," she thought out loud to herself as she rose from the bed. She parted the bedroom curtains to give her a beautiful view of the sun peeking over the horizon and smiled as she stood there for a few minutes, watching the sun rise. It was her favorite time of day. She was about to make the bed when a pair of strong arms encircled her waist and a soft voice whispered in her ear, "Morning, sunshine."
"Well, good morning to you too," She didn't even have to look over her shoulder to know that it was Jack. She turned to face her husband and softly kissed him on the lips. They embraced each other for a moment until a small voice came from the doorway.
"Eww, Mommy and Daddy are kissin'!!" They quickly broke apart and smiled at each other as their youngest son, Luke, stood in the doorway with a disgusted look on his face. Amy smiled and walked toward him, all the while grinning at her son.
"What, did you feel left out?" She kissed him on the forehead and tussled his hair as he scowled in response. His disgust was quickly replaced with glee as Jack picked him up and threw him over his shoulder as they followed Amy to the kitchen, all the while giggling as his father threatened to feed him to the chickens. Amy smiled after them as she began to scramble some eggs and make some biscuits for the family's breakfast, and they went outside to feed the horses and chickens. Once she was finished with most of her breakfast, she went back upstairs to wake her children up.
First she went to Felicity and Adelaide's room and found them both sound asleep. She stepped over the pillow and blanket by Adelaide's bed, presumably where Jack had slept the night before, and proceeded to wake up her daughter.
"Adelaide, sweetie, get up. It's time to get up," She said in a soft voice as she pulled the blankets back. Adelaide soon cracked an eye open and smiled in recognition of her mother.
"Mommy!!" She said as she crawled to the foot of her bed and hugged Amy's neck. Amy laughed, kissed her hair, and lifted her out of her bed. She walked across the room to Felicity's bed and grasped her daughter's foot through the blankets.
"Come on Felicity. Get up," She and Adelaide both smiled as Felicity muttered something and turned over as she tucked her feet under her. Amy nodded at Adelaide and put her on her older sister's bed. In a matter of seconds the sound of shrieks filled the air as Adelaide began to tickle Felicity. Satisfied that they would not be going back to sleep Amy ventured across the hall where she began to wake her sons. Luckily Rhett was already awake and had begun to get dressed so Amy went to Ty's bed.
"Okay Ty. You've got to get up. Come on." She smiled at her son who seemed to not even hear her and softly shook him awake. He frowned and turned on his side as Amy sighed. He was the most difficult child to get up in the morning.
"Fine, I'll just get Chance and Max to come in here and get you up," She started for the door but then heard the sound of Ty's feet hit the floor and smiled. Chance and Max, the family's two Labrador retrievers had a reputation of getting the kids up by jumping on their beds and licking their faces until they woke up. Rhett had also taught Chance a trick in order to get back at Ty once. Chance would simply pull the sheets off the bed until eventually the child would come with it. Ty had been through that experience before and from the looks of things it seemed like he was in no mood to do it again. Amy retreated back to the kitchen, realizing that she needed to take the biscuits out of the oven soon before they burnt. She found Adelaide perched on a counter by the flour canister and informed her that breakfast would be ready and that she should get dressed soon.
"But can't I help you?" Adelaide pleaded with her mother as she tried to pucker out her lower lip in protest.
"Tell you what. You can help me set the table and then will you go get dressed?" Amy bargained with her as she removed her daughter from the counter and handed her some napkins and silverware. Adelaide immediately agreed and shook her head as she scurried to the table to fulfill her important duty. Soon the other children began to file in, and Jack and Luke also joined them from outside, having finished their early morning chores. As soon as everyone had served themselves the family sat down and joined hands as they looked expectantly at Luke to pray before their meal. He had already tightly shut his eyes and began to pray.
"Dear God, thank you for this food and this day and thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Felicity, Rhett, Ty, and Adelaide and please keep us healthy and safe and let us have a good day and please don't let it rain because we have recess today at school and please bless our chickens, cows, cattle, horses, and dogs. Amen," He managed to say all in one breath and smiled when he heard six other amen's in approval of his prayer. The family continued their morning ritual of eating together, and the older children shared what was in store for them that day at their school.
"I may get to walk to school with Paul," Felicity dreamily sighed as she thought of her current love interest to which all the males in the household answered with a groan. She laughed at them all and continued to eat her eggs, her smile soon growing contagious throughout the room.
"Well, I have an arithmetic test today," Rhett frowned at the thought of his upcoming exam. He looked up to see the surprised looks his parents were giving him and quickly added, "I studied all last night though, I promise."
All of the Kelly children had been raised with the same belief that a good education was one of the greatest things they could ever have, and so they all took great pride in making good grades. Sometimes they even disciplined themselves to study without Amy or Jack having to tell them to do so.
"Well we have a kickball game today after school," Ty spoke for both him and Luke who both loved the game and occasionally got together with the other children that went to school with them for a game or two on nice afternoons. Adelaide, not wanting to be left out replied to her sister and brothers, "Well I get to help Mommy so I have the best day today."
Her other four siblings laughed, and the family cleared the table after everyone had finished, leaving Amy with some more dirty dishes and napkins to rinse and dry before dinner. She waved goodbye to her children as they left for school, which was about a quarter of a mile from the house, and smiled at Adelaide as she led her to the kitchen to help with her daily chores.
For their first chore of the day, Adelaide would stand on a stool and dry glasses and dishes as Amy handed them to her, making her feel rather important about being trusted with such a big job at the tender age of four. Amy watched her daughter in silent wonder as the little girl would place a dish carefully back where she knew it had come from and smiled to herself, knowing that someday soon she wouldn't have her little shadow to follow her around the house and help her clean and also entertain her. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt the small touch of her daughter's hand on her arm, signaling her back to her present duty.
"I'm sorry sweetie," she said as she scrubbed another dish and handed it to Adelaide, "I was just thinking about how you're growing up so fast. One of these days my little helper will be at school, and I won't have anyone to help me with the dishes."
"But Mommy," Adelaide replied as she took the dish held out to her, "you can just have another baby so you don't get lonely while you're doing chores."
Amy couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's logic. She and Jack had decided not long after Adelaide was born that five children were enough, unless God had some special plans for them that involved a sixth child. She smiled sweetly at her daughter and simply replied, "I think five's enough, don't you Adelaide?"
Adelaide simply shrugged in reply and continued to dry the dishes as she replied, "Maybe I'll have a baby for you."
They finished with the dishes and Adelaide entertained Amy with a story she made up about a tiger and a princess while the latter ironed some clothes and also mopped the kitchen. They were about to begin to make some sandwiches for lunch when a very muddy Jack trudged in. His pants and shirt were soaked with mud, and his face even had some traces of mud on it. He only wore his socks on his feet, and Amy guessed that his boots must have been muddy enough to leave outside. He smiled when he saw Amy and Adelaide's faces and made a move to hug his daughter when she screamed and ran behind Amy. Amy laughed at her daughter and said, "Aww, Adelaide, the mud man just wants to see you."
While she was momentarily distracted by her daughter, Jack had made his way to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. She looked at him and feigned shock and told Adelaide, "It's only Daddy covered in mud."
Adelaide continued to hide behind her mother and replied, "But he's all muddy and icky."
"You're right, he is," Amy told her as she retrieved a rag from the cabinet and ran it under some cool water from the sink before she handed it to Jack. Jack took it and began to wipe off his face when he saw Adelaide peek at him from behind Amy and said, "First I have to get my hug from Adelaide though," and put the rag down and began to chase her around the house, acting like he was tripping over his own feet as Adelaide screamed and ran all around the house.
"Jack, don't get the house too muddy," Amy yelled to him, smiling when she knew he would clean it all up anyway. Finally Jack reappeared with Adelaide screeching in his arms, complaining she was getting all muddy. He hugged her close to him and kissed her head before putting her down and laughed as she informed her mother that she needed a bubble bath because the mud man got her.
"Okay Adelaide, go get undressed and yes, you can have a bubble bath in our bathtub, okay?" Amy smiled as the girl momentarily forgot her dilemma of being muddy and smiled excitedly as she raced up the stairs to get some clean clothes from her room. Amy took the opportunity to clean up her husband's face and softly met his lips with hers.
"Have I told you lately that I love you?" she asked after they kissed, her eyes still closed, but she could still feel his breath on her.
"Mmm, I think we were in the middle of that this morning when Luke walked in. Remember?" Jack told her as he kissed her once more with a little more vigor.
"Okay, just checking. I love you," Amy told him and smiled as he replied the same thing. Suddenly she remembered that she needed to start the bath for Adelaide and led Jack to their bedroom. She began to fill the tub with water while Jack tried to finish getting some mud off of him. Adelaide soon joined them and smiled in recognition of Jack and said, "Now you look like Daddy."
Amy knelt down by the tub and poured some of her coveted bubble bath, creating a slew of bubbles that Adelaide would soon play in. Adelaide got into the tub and giggled as Jack frowned and asked, "Why does Adelaide get a bubble bath? I'm muddier than she is."
"She asked before you did," Amy replied as she smiled at her daughter and began to help her take a bath. She looked up to see Jack pouting and laughed as Adelaide splashed him from her place in the tub.
"There Daddy, all better," Adelaide said as she blew the bubbles around the tub. Jack laughed and knelt down beside Amy as he rolled up his sleeves and helped give his daughter a bath.
"I remember doing this when you were a baby," he told Adelaide and added, "but you were in the sink."
"Nah uh," she replied, to which Amy said, "Yes ma'am, you were."
When they finished giving Adelaide a bath Jack lifted her out of the tub and began to dry her off as the two family dogs, Chance and Max, came in and began to lick the water off of her. She got dressed and informed her mother that she was going to have some lunch.
"Okay, I'll be there in a second," Amy told her as she hung up a towel and cleaned off the tub. She quickly kissed Jack and laughed as he frowned when he saw all the bubbles were gone. She left him to take a shower and joined Adelaide in the kitchen and also found her other children there, preparing their lunches.
"Hello," she said to them as she began to make some lemonade for their lunch. She smiled as Ty helped Adelaide make a ham and cheese sandwich and watched as her children finished making their lunches. She was pleased at how self-reliant they were, which only reminded her that in just a few years' time, they would be all grown up. She was jolted back to reality when she realized they were ready to eat and waiting for her to bring the pitcher to the table. She quickly said a prayer before they ate and looked around the table at her children.
To her left was Felicity, a bright young girl of fifteen who had inherited her dark brown hair and Jack's caring hazel eyes. She was a daddy's girl, and also tried to help Amy around the house when she wasn't dreaming about her newest love interest. Across the table from Felicity was Rhett, who was busy teaching Luke tic tac toe. Rhett, who was now thirteen, had inherited Jack's face and personality, and sometimes Amy even mistook him for his father. She knew how much he aspired to be a man like his father, and sometimes it was hard to remember he was just thirteen years old. Next was Luke, who was trying to beat Rhett at his own game and failing miserably. At six years old, he was the youngest son and loved to explore and make mischief along with messes. He could also be a little bit sensitive and a momma's boy, and his dark brown hair and matching brown eyes contrasted with his brothers, who both resembled their father. By him was Adelaide, barely able to see over the table even though she sat on two dictionaries. At four years old going on twelve, she was the baby of the family and loved to imitate her sister and play with the older children. She was always in a rush to grow up and 'be a big girl' like her sister. She had light brown hair and Amy's dark brown eyes and loved to help around the house, even if her help wasn't needed. To her left was Ty, a ten year old and the very middle child of the family. He was the quiet one of the bunch, and liked to be by himself while his brothers and sisters liked to play games and go on adventures. He, like Rhett, looked like his father with the exception of his dark brown hair he had inherited from his mother.
Amy's thoughts were interrupted once more as Jack pecked her on the cheek and began to make them some lunch. She smiled after him and listened as Adelaide told her siblings about their father being the mud man earlier that day.
"What happened, Dad?" They all asked as he finished making roast beef sandwiches for Amy and himself. He gave Amy her sandwich and sat down as they began to repeat their questions and finally said, "If you'll be quiet for a second I'll tell you."
They immediately quieted, eager for his explanation of the morning's events.
"Y'all know Carrot, the horse I've been trying to train for a few weeks now?" he asked them as he took a bite of his sandwich, to which they all nodded.
"Well he must have gotten spooked by something this morning cause I was going through the normal routine with him, trotting around the arena, when he starts to buck and then he throws me into the mud," Jack told them, receiving a few laughs in the process from his otherwise sympathetic family.
"Daddy, you let Carrot throw you into the mud? He needs a time out," Adelaide concluded as finished her sandwich and smiled at her father. Jack laughed heartily and told her, "if you can find a corner big enough for him to fit in, then I'll think about it."
The rest of the afternoon the children spent their time doing their chores: Felicity mended some clothes, Rhett cleaned the stables, Ty washed the horses, Luke fed the horses and chickens, and Adelaide as usual helped Amy do whatever she had to do, which today was milk the cows and water the plants. Jack rode out along the perimeter of their property and rounded up some stray cattle he found every now and then. By dinner time everyone was tired and looking forward to just sitting around that night. Amy had just set the table for dinner when Jack came in, looking at an envelope in his hands.
"What's that?" she asked as she retrieved seven plates from the cabinet and looked at the letter. Jack shrugged and replied, "Mr. Jackson just rode by and said this came for me. I'll read it later."
By then all of the Kelly children were in the kitchen, asking what Jack was holding. He told them it was just a telegram and that they shouldn't worry about it, and they all seemed to forget about it as Luke and Ty bragged about beating the other team in kickball 9-4. After dinner everyone went about doing their nightly activities and got ready for bed. Felicity, Rhett, and Ty did their homework while Luke and Adelaide played with their toys. Amy cleaned up the kitchen and read a few pages of her book, and Jack told the children a bedtime story in the living room, since it was easier to tell all five than to go to each child and tell them the same story. He and Amy tucked the children into their beds and were getting ready for bed themselves when Jack pulled the telegram out of his pants pocket and began to read it.
"Dear Jack, stop, my family and I have fallen on hard financial times and were wondering if it were possible for us to stay with you all for a few weeks, stop. If this is a problem do not worry, stop. We will manage, stop. Thank you, stop. Spot Conlon and family," Jack read the telegram as he glanced up at Amy who was brushing her hair and smiled at her in the mirror. "What do you think?"
"Well," she began as she put down her brush and removed her robe and began to hang it up, "I think we should help them out. God forbid that if it were us, they would lend us a hand, right?"
She bent down to pick up some clothes that were strewn on the floor and saw the shadows of tiny feet under the doorway and smiled. She motioned to the doorway and loudly said, "Maybe we should ask the kids what they think" as she opened the door to reveal five guilty faces looking back at them. Jack laughed and sighed.
"Okay, family meeting. Get in here," he got up from the bed so that they could sit and took the cup from Ty's hand that had been used to help listen in on their conversation. All of the children gathered on the bed, looking at their parents as if prepared for punishment.
"Alright, obviously y'all want to know what the telegram said, if you haven't heard already," Amy said and read them the telegram. Once she finished she was bombarded with questions like 'Who's Spot Conlon?', 'Why do they want to come here?', and 'When are they coming?' She motioned for them to be quiet as Jack began to answer their questions.
"Spot Conlon is an old friend of mine. Last I heard he was a lawyer and lived in Brooklyn with his family. I don't know how many kids he has now though. Felicity, they spent Christmas here when you were about two and I think your mother just found out she was pregnant with Rhett." The children nodded in understanding and Rhett asked his father, "Dad, if you haven't seen them in so long, why are they writing you to ask for help?"
Jack pondered this for a moment and finally answered his son. "Well Rhett, because they probably need a place to stay and maybe this was the only place they could go." Rhett nodded in understanding.
"This is also your house," Amy added as she looked to each of her children and smiled, "so it's up to you all too, not just your father and I. Will you all be willing to let them come and stay here for awhile?"
She watched her children slowly nod and finally all of them agreed to let the Conlon's come and stay. Jack smiled, nodded in approval, and went to the desk where Amy had set the telegram after she read it to the kids. He copied the address and wrote a telegram back, reading it as he wrote.
"Dear Spot and family, stop. Sure, you all are welcome here, stop. Come whenever you like, stop. We hope to see you soon, The Kelly's" he looked up to see his family nod in approval and stuffed the telegram in an envelope to send the next day.