Chapter 15: Dearest Miss. Miller!
THREE DAYS LATER! 7:45am
Simon and Jeanette started running around the house getting ready to leave. It has been a very crazy week. Both of them are now back in going to collage, part time for the time being. Simon still worked for Nathan, but only a few days a week. The young couple has figured out a schedule so that at least one of them would be with the kids at all times, or at least till they could be dropped off to pre-school in the afternoon. So far the schedule has worked perfectly.
This morning, the children sat at the kitchen table and watched both parents running around. Each of them made sure that the kids are eating their breakfast and they made a lunch for themselves. The odd thing was, it appeared that they didn't seem to pay attention to what the other was doing. Finally, Simon and Jeanette say 'bye' to each other before giving each other a little kiss and both run out the front door.
Tom, Mary and Vincent look at each other questioningly. A smirk creeps up on Vince's face.
"I think they forgot something?" Tom finally spoke breaking the silence that three of them were in.
"You think?" Vince said sarcastically with a big grin. Mary sits quietly and shrugs her tiny shoulders.
"They'll be back..." Mary comments as she scoops another spoonful of cereal.
The front door quickly re-opens, and both Simon and Jeanette come back storming.
"See, I told you." Mary says with pride.
"Why didn't you tell me that you had to work this morning?" Jeanette huffed as she hissed at the same time.
"I did!" Simon responded defending himself. "Why didn't you tell me that you had a class?"
They continue their argument back into the kitchen to where their kids sat and watched the scene with great interest.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Jeanette whined as she rubbed her forehead with her left hand.
"We're just going to have to get someone to come in and look after the kids for a few hours."
"Alright. Who should we get?" Jeanette asked as she crossed her arms and taps her foot, while waiting for her husband to think of a solution.
Vincent starts to stand up in his seat.
"We could take care of each other!" He suggested.
Unfortunately his words fell on deaf ears.
"Forget it Vince, we're only four!" Tom pointed out. "And I doubt Mom and Dad would intentionally leave us home alone." He added with a snobby look as he straightened his glasses on his face.
"Anybody tell you that you look like *dad* when you do that?" Vince said knowing all to well that always get him mad. He grins when he receives a glare and a growl from Tom.
Mary sat quietly as she heard mom and dad suggest a few people that they knew.
"How about Theodore and Eleanor?" Simon asked.
"No. Remember? They started at their new jobs this week... Neither of them will have time to be able to baby-sit for a while." Jeanette said shaking her head. "Oh, I know... What about Mr. And Mrs. Soyer? They just adore our children."
"Renee's parents? Ah, no. They are out of town for a few days. And of course their sons, Jake and Kyle are in high school now."
"Oh, great!" Jeanette complained. She quickly thought of anyone else that could possibly look after the children. That is when the answer came to her. "How about Miss. Miller?"
Mary sat up and slammed her hands on the table. "NO!" She admittedly cried.
"Yeah! We don't want Nana Miller here, she's weird!" Vincent said as he crossed his arms in protest.
"Now cut that out you guys!" Jeanette replied angrily. "Your Nana Miller is a sweet lady."
"She's old!" Tom pointed out.
"She's...experienced!" Jeanette said standing up for Miss. Miller's 'condition'. "And as for you young lady," She continued, looking at Mary. "I'm still angry with you on the comment you made to pour Miss. Miller the other day when we went over for lunch."
"But mom, she *did* look sick!" Mary protested.
"Not another word from you!"
"But..."
"I said, not another word!"
"Dad..." She whined to her father, in hopes he'd understand.
"Listen to your mother!" Simon replied as he started dialling Miss. Miller's number, and began listening on the receiving end for her to answer her phone.
He finally let out a sigh then hung up the phone. "She's not answering. Maybe her hearing aid is off again. I'll go over and see if she's alright!"
"Please hurry!" Jeanette said worryingly as he left the room. She looked down to her daughter and saw her quivering. The look on her face indicated that she knew something was wrong, or going to happen.
-------------------
FIVE MINUTES LATER...
Simon opens the door to Miss. Miller's home with his spare key, and walks in.
"Miss. Miller? Miss. Miller are you home?" He called out as he looks into each room.
There was an eerie feeling as he walked around, and it made him feel very nervous. He found his way upstairs and he carefully checked her bedroom. There he saw a familiar sight that brought him back to when he was fifteen, the time when he ran away to San Francisco with his friends. The image reminded him terribly of Renee when she over-dosed on Heroin, and lied motionless on the bed.
He slowly walks up to Miss. Miller and placed his index and middle finger along her main artery on her neck. "Oh God." He quivers when it confirmed his feeling...there is no pulse.
His whole body trembles with grief and shock. After a moment, Simon pulls the covers on the bed over Miss. Miller's body and heads back home. How is he going to explain this to Jeanette?
------------------
BACK AT THE SEVILLE'S HOME...
Simon walked in through the front door. He was pale beyond words and still was shaking a bit.
"Simon?" Jeanette called out when she heard the front door shut.
"What's wrong? Wasn't Miss. Miller at home?" She asks when she sees Simon entering the kitchen. She at first didn't seem to notice the paleness on his face
When Simon heard her say that, he nearly choked on his breath. He looked at his wife with wide eyes. He looked at his children where they sat at the kitchen table.
"Tom, Vince, Mary, go upstairs to your room. I need to talk to your mom about something." Simon said as calmly as he could.
"Go ahead," Vincent replies in a pose that indicated that he wished not to move from his unfinished breakfast.
"VINCENT!! GO! NOW!!" Simon spat. His mood changed so quickly that it made the triplets jump.
"Argh! Fine!" Vince growled as he slid down from his seat and angrily left the room. Tom and Mary quickly followed their brother up the stairs. Mary gave a worried look of 'knowing' to her dad as she walked by him.
Jeanette looked at her husband with worry. "Simon, what's wrong?"
Simon tried to speak, but nothing came out. His eyes filled with tears as he tried to find the right words to say. All he could do was stand there with his mouth hung open.
A sick feeling swarmed over Jeanette, as she began to understand Simon's emotion. It was like she had a sudden telepathic link with her husband. "Miss. Miller?" She choked quietly with tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry..." Simon managed to squeak. He reached out to Jeanette as she began to cry hysterically.
---------------
"Mom is crying!" Vince concluded after a quick eavesdrop out in the hallway.
"Why would she be crying?" Tom gave a thoughtful look that resembled much like his dad.
"Their both sad because Nana Miller is 'asleep'!" Mary answered as she quivered on her bed.
"Well, if she's asleep, why don't they just go wake her up?" Vincent questioned.
"It's not that easy..." Mary said in a low whisper.
"How do you know?" Vincent asked suspiciously.
"B-b-because she's an angel now, and she is standing over there. She has been there all morning." Mary said as she pointed towards her dresser drawers.
Both boys received a chill down their spins. "Mary, stop making things like that up. Not only it got you in trouble in pre-school, but it's also scary!" Tom said as he hugged himself.
"I'm not making it up!!" Mary spat in defence.
"Let me guess, she's standing over there along with your 'angel friends', right?" Vince asked sarcastically.
Mary looked over again to the dresser then back to her brothers then slowly nods. "Some of them are guiding her into a light right now!"
The boys immediately looked up at the light fixtures on the ceiling with a puzzled look and then quickly brought their attention back to their sister.
"Oooookaaaayyyy, Mary? I'm going to ask you this only once and never again! QUIT IT!!" Vince suggested harshly.
"For once, I agree with Vincent! Your stories are just too scary!" Tom said.
"They're not stories! They're real...Ooh! You never believe me!!" And with that Mary ran down the hall and into the bathroom.
Vince and Tom looked at each other for a moment. Suddenly, Vincent smiles. "You know, I just thought of something..."
"What?" Tom asks.
"We probably won't get to go to pre-school today." Vincent gloats.
Tom groans with a growling tone as he rolls his eyes skyward.
********
40 MINUTES LATER, VANCOUVER B.C., CANADA!
Dave is sitting at the table in the hotel sipping a cup of morning coffee. He looks out the window and thought about on how beautiful the city looked. To their luck Vancouver was receiving a sunny, cloudless day. Yesterday when they arrived it was pouring rain. This worried them, for they wanted to do a bit of sightseeing before their arranged concert the next evening. Dave smiled, as it appeared that the rays of the sun glistened on the Fraser River.
Alvin and Brittany were getting ready to go for a walk in the city's most popular park, Stanley Park. Afterwards, Brittany wants to go shopping in a few of the stores before their concert tonight. Alvin is getting dressed and Brittany is putting on her make-up.
The phone rings, and Dave picks it up. "Hello...?" He says over the phone. "Oh, hi Simon! What a nice surprise!"
Both Alvin and Brittany poked their heads out when they heard Simon's name being called.
"Oh no, that terrible...!" Dave turns pale. "No... No! Don't worry about that...!" There was pause, as Dave listened to Simon. "Will come home right away!"
Brittany and Alvin didn't know what Dave was talking about on the phone, but it was defiantly sounding serious if he planed on cutting their world tour short to go home. Their thoughts immediately went to the kids. Their hearts felt like dropping down to the pit of their stomachs as they worried on what Simon was telling Dave.
"You do the best you can, we should be home in a day or two...!" Another pause. "Yeah...! Ok...bye!" Slowly Dave hung up the phone and looked up at two very confused chipmunks.
Dave sat looking at the phone in disbelief. He could feel both Alvin and Brittany staring at him. After blinking back his tears, Dave raises his head to face the young couple.
"Guys...come and sit down...I have some bad news..."
********
HALF HOUR LATER...
Simon gathered enough strength to be able to make a few phone calls to the morgue, and of course to Dave and their siblings. Jeanette calmed down, and decided to go upstairs to talk to their children about what just happened. She got to the bedroom door of her little ones, and took a deep breath before knocking. When she got no response, Jeanette opened the door and walked in. To her surprise she only noticed Tom and Vincent, but Mary was nowhere to be seen.
"Hi boys, where is your sister?" She asked them.
"She ran into the bathroom, mommy." Tom replied.
"She got mad at us, because we wouldn't believe in her Angels." Vince added.
"Oh." Jeanette simply said with a tired and quiet voice. "You two wait here, I'll go get her."
Both boys let out a growling sigh. It was obvious they were tired of playing this 'waiting' game.
Jeanette reached the bathroom door and knocked on it lightly and waited.
"Mary, are you in there?" She asked softly.
"Yes, mommy..." came a quiet voice from the other side of the door.
Jeanette opened the door and saw her daughter sitting up with her little knees curled up to her chest in the corner of the bathroom beside the tub.
"Mary...?" Jeanette began to ask with a worried tone.
"Did something happen to Nana Miller?" Mary asked her mother.
The words that came from her daughter brought more tears to Jeanette's eyes. "Yes, Mary...Something did happen to Nana Miller."
Jeanette reached up and caught one of the tears that escaped from her eye and blinked back the rest. "Come on, Mary, I need to talk to you and your brothers about this, ok."
"Ok." Mary sighed as she got up from her corner and walked up to her mom. Together they walked out of the bathroom and headed back to the children's bedroom.
Together they walked out of the bathroom and headed back to the children's bedroom.
"Mommy?" Mary said as she looked up to Jeanette.
"Yes, Mary?"
"It's going to be ok." The little Chipette said with reassurance in her eyes.
Tears swelled up in Jeanette's eyes, "I know, Mary. Thank you." She bends down and hugs her.
**************
7:42pm, ACROSS TOWN IN L.A...
Theodore and Eleanor come home to their apartment. Eleanor stretches out some of the tiredness from her body.
"Mmm, what a day...I'm sure glad it's over now." She said as she relaxed by letting her head sway in semicircles to relieve the tension in her neck muscles.
Theodore nodded as he walked by the answering machine and stopped when he noticed the answering machine is blinking.
"Hey, there's a message." He said to Ellie without looking at her and presses the button to play the message. After hearing a few 'beeps' a familiar voice spoke.
"Ah...Hi Theodore, Eleanor...it's Simon...I really hate to be the messenger of bad news, ...Oh, how do I say this...Guys... M-Miss. Miller passed away this morning..." a sniff could be heard from Simon, "a-a-anyway, give me a call when you get this message, I really need to talk to you...bye."
Both Theodore and Eleanor recognized Simon's voice. He sounded so upset and unable to hold back any emotion as he spoke. The young couple stood there with tears running down their face, and standing next to each other. Neither of them could believe what they just heard. Miss Miller...dead? It was impossible, but yet it could be true. They held on to each other for a while before they were able to muster the strength to call Simon back.
THREE DAYS LATER! 7:45am
Simon and Jeanette started running around the house getting ready to leave. It has been a very crazy week. Both of them are now back in going to collage, part time for the time being. Simon still worked for Nathan, but only a few days a week. The young couple has figured out a schedule so that at least one of them would be with the kids at all times, or at least till they could be dropped off to pre-school in the afternoon. So far the schedule has worked perfectly.
This morning, the children sat at the kitchen table and watched both parents running around. Each of them made sure that the kids are eating their breakfast and they made a lunch for themselves. The odd thing was, it appeared that they didn't seem to pay attention to what the other was doing. Finally, Simon and Jeanette say 'bye' to each other before giving each other a little kiss and both run out the front door.
Tom, Mary and Vincent look at each other questioningly. A smirk creeps up on Vince's face.
"I think they forgot something?" Tom finally spoke breaking the silence that three of them were in.
"You think?" Vince said sarcastically with a big grin. Mary sits quietly and shrugs her tiny shoulders.
"They'll be back..." Mary comments as she scoops another spoonful of cereal.
The front door quickly re-opens, and both Simon and Jeanette come back storming.
"See, I told you." Mary says with pride.
"Why didn't you tell me that you had to work this morning?" Jeanette huffed as she hissed at the same time.
"I did!" Simon responded defending himself. "Why didn't you tell me that you had a class?"
They continue their argument back into the kitchen to where their kids sat and watched the scene with great interest.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Jeanette whined as she rubbed her forehead with her left hand.
"We're just going to have to get someone to come in and look after the kids for a few hours."
"Alright. Who should we get?" Jeanette asked as she crossed her arms and taps her foot, while waiting for her husband to think of a solution.
Vincent starts to stand up in his seat.
"We could take care of each other!" He suggested.
Unfortunately his words fell on deaf ears.
"Forget it Vince, we're only four!" Tom pointed out. "And I doubt Mom and Dad would intentionally leave us home alone." He added with a snobby look as he straightened his glasses on his face.
"Anybody tell you that you look like *dad* when you do that?" Vince said knowing all to well that always get him mad. He grins when he receives a glare and a growl from Tom.
Mary sat quietly as she heard mom and dad suggest a few people that they knew.
"How about Theodore and Eleanor?" Simon asked.
"No. Remember? They started at their new jobs this week... Neither of them will have time to be able to baby-sit for a while." Jeanette said shaking her head. "Oh, I know... What about Mr. And Mrs. Soyer? They just adore our children."
"Renee's parents? Ah, no. They are out of town for a few days. And of course their sons, Jake and Kyle are in high school now."
"Oh, great!" Jeanette complained. She quickly thought of anyone else that could possibly look after the children. That is when the answer came to her. "How about Miss. Miller?"
Mary sat up and slammed her hands on the table. "NO!" She admittedly cried.
"Yeah! We don't want Nana Miller here, she's weird!" Vincent said as he crossed his arms in protest.
"Now cut that out you guys!" Jeanette replied angrily. "Your Nana Miller is a sweet lady."
"She's old!" Tom pointed out.
"She's...experienced!" Jeanette said standing up for Miss. Miller's 'condition'. "And as for you young lady," She continued, looking at Mary. "I'm still angry with you on the comment you made to pour Miss. Miller the other day when we went over for lunch."
"But mom, she *did* look sick!" Mary protested.
"Not another word from you!"
"But..."
"I said, not another word!"
"Dad..." She whined to her father, in hopes he'd understand.
"Listen to your mother!" Simon replied as he started dialling Miss. Miller's number, and began listening on the receiving end for her to answer her phone.
He finally let out a sigh then hung up the phone. "She's not answering. Maybe her hearing aid is off again. I'll go over and see if she's alright!"
"Please hurry!" Jeanette said worryingly as he left the room. She looked down to her daughter and saw her quivering. The look on her face indicated that she knew something was wrong, or going to happen.
-------------------
FIVE MINUTES LATER...
Simon opens the door to Miss. Miller's home with his spare key, and walks in.
"Miss. Miller? Miss. Miller are you home?" He called out as he looks into each room.
There was an eerie feeling as he walked around, and it made him feel very nervous. He found his way upstairs and he carefully checked her bedroom. There he saw a familiar sight that brought him back to when he was fifteen, the time when he ran away to San Francisco with his friends. The image reminded him terribly of Renee when she over-dosed on Heroin, and lied motionless on the bed.
He slowly walks up to Miss. Miller and placed his index and middle finger along her main artery on her neck. "Oh God." He quivers when it confirmed his feeling...there is no pulse.
His whole body trembles with grief and shock. After a moment, Simon pulls the covers on the bed over Miss. Miller's body and heads back home. How is he going to explain this to Jeanette?
------------------
BACK AT THE SEVILLE'S HOME...
Simon walked in through the front door. He was pale beyond words and still was shaking a bit.
"Simon?" Jeanette called out when she heard the front door shut.
"What's wrong? Wasn't Miss. Miller at home?" She asks when she sees Simon entering the kitchen. She at first didn't seem to notice the paleness on his face
When Simon heard her say that, he nearly choked on his breath. He looked at his wife with wide eyes. He looked at his children where they sat at the kitchen table.
"Tom, Vince, Mary, go upstairs to your room. I need to talk to your mom about something." Simon said as calmly as he could.
"Go ahead," Vincent replies in a pose that indicated that he wished not to move from his unfinished breakfast.
"VINCENT!! GO! NOW!!" Simon spat. His mood changed so quickly that it made the triplets jump.
"Argh! Fine!" Vince growled as he slid down from his seat and angrily left the room. Tom and Mary quickly followed their brother up the stairs. Mary gave a worried look of 'knowing' to her dad as she walked by him.
Jeanette looked at her husband with worry. "Simon, what's wrong?"
Simon tried to speak, but nothing came out. His eyes filled with tears as he tried to find the right words to say. All he could do was stand there with his mouth hung open.
A sick feeling swarmed over Jeanette, as she began to understand Simon's emotion. It was like she had a sudden telepathic link with her husband. "Miss. Miller?" She choked quietly with tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry..." Simon managed to squeak. He reached out to Jeanette as she began to cry hysterically.
---------------
"Mom is crying!" Vince concluded after a quick eavesdrop out in the hallway.
"Why would she be crying?" Tom gave a thoughtful look that resembled much like his dad.
"Their both sad because Nana Miller is 'asleep'!" Mary answered as she quivered on her bed.
"Well, if she's asleep, why don't they just go wake her up?" Vincent questioned.
"It's not that easy..." Mary said in a low whisper.
"How do you know?" Vincent asked suspiciously.
"B-b-because she's an angel now, and she is standing over there. She has been there all morning." Mary said as she pointed towards her dresser drawers.
Both boys received a chill down their spins. "Mary, stop making things like that up. Not only it got you in trouble in pre-school, but it's also scary!" Tom said as he hugged himself.
"I'm not making it up!!" Mary spat in defence.
"Let me guess, she's standing over there along with your 'angel friends', right?" Vince asked sarcastically.
Mary looked over again to the dresser then back to her brothers then slowly nods. "Some of them are guiding her into a light right now!"
The boys immediately looked up at the light fixtures on the ceiling with a puzzled look and then quickly brought their attention back to their sister.
"Oooookaaaayyyy, Mary? I'm going to ask you this only once and never again! QUIT IT!!" Vince suggested harshly.
"For once, I agree with Vincent! Your stories are just too scary!" Tom said.
"They're not stories! They're real...Ooh! You never believe me!!" And with that Mary ran down the hall and into the bathroom.
Vince and Tom looked at each other for a moment. Suddenly, Vincent smiles. "You know, I just thought of something..."
"What?" Tom asks.
"We probably won't get to go to pre-school today." Vincent gloats.
Tom groans with a growling tone as he rolls his eyes skyward.
********
40 MINUTES LATER, VANCOUVER B.C., CANADA!
Dave is sitting at the table in the hotel sipping a cup of morning coffee. He looks out the window and thought about on how beautiful the city looked. To their luck Vancouver was receiving a sunny, cloudless day. Yesterday when they arrived it was pouring rain. This worried them, for they wanted to do a bit of sightseeing before their arranged concert the next evening. Dave smiled, as it appeared that the rays of the sun glistened on the Fraser River.
Alvin and Brittany were getting ready to go for a walk in the city's most popular park, Stanley Park. Afterwards, Brittany wants to go shopping in a few of the stores before their concert tonight. Alvin is getting dressed and Brittany is putting on her make-up.
The phone rings, and Dave picks it up. "Hello...?" He says over the phone. "Oh, hi Simon! What a nice surprise!"
Both Alvin and Brittany poked their heads out when they heard Simon's name being called.
"Oh no, that terrible...!" Dave turns pale. "No... No! Don't worry about that...!" There was pause, as Dave listened to Simon. "Will come home right away!"
Brittany and Alvin didn't know what Dave was talking about on the phone, but it was defiantly sounding serious if he planed on cutting their world tour short to go home. Their thoughts immediately went to the kids. Their hearts felt like dropping down to the pit of their stomachs as they worried on what Simon was telling Dave.
"You do the best you can, we should be home in a day or two...!" Another pause. "Yeah...! Ok...bye!" Slowly Dave hung up the phone and looked up at two very confused chipmunks.
Dave sat looking at the phone in disbelief. He could feel both Alvin and Brittany staring at him. After blinking back his tears, Dave raises his head to face the young couple.
"Guys...come and sit down...I have some bad news..."
********
HALF HOUR LATER...
Simon gathered enough strength to be able to make a few phone calls to the morgue, and of course to Dave and their siblings. Jeanette calmed down, and decided to go upstairs to talk to their children about what just happened. She got to the bedroom door of her little ones, and took a deep breath before knocking. When she got no response, Jeanette opened the door and walked in. To her surprise she only noticed Tom and Vincent, but Mary was nowhere to be seen.
"Hi boys, where is your sister?" She asked them.
"She ran into the bathroom, mommy." Tom replied.
"She got mad at us, because we wouldn't believe in her Angels." Vince added.
"Oh." Jeanette simply said with a tired and quiet voice. "You two wait here, I'll go get her."
Both boys let out a growling sigh. It was obvious they were tired of playing this 'waiting' game.
Jeanette reached the bathroom door and knocked on it lightly and waited.
"Mary, are you in there?" She asked softly.
"Yes, mommy..." came a quiet voice from the other side of the door.
Jeanette opened the door and saw her daughter sitting up with her little knees curled up to her chest in the corner of the bathroom beside the tub.
"Mary...?" Jeanette began to ask with a worried tone.
"Did something happen to Nana Miller?" Mary asked her mother.
The words that came from her daughter brought more tears to Jeanette's eyes. "Yes, Mary...Something did happen to Nana Miller."
Jeanette reached up and caught one of the tears that escaped from her eye and blinked back the rest. "Come on, Mary, I need to talk to you and your brothers about this, ok."
"Ok." Mary sighed as she got up from her corner and walked up to her mom. Together they walked out of the bathroom and headed back to the children's bedroom.
Together they walked out of the bathroom and headed back to the children's bedroom.
"Mommy?" Mary said as she looked up to Jeanette.
"Yes, Mary?"
"It's going to be ok." The little Chipette said with reassurance in her eyes.
Tears swelled up in Jeanette's eyes, "I know, Mary. Thank you." She bends down and hugs her.
**************
7:42pm, ACROSS TOWN IN L.A...
Theodore and Eleanor come home to their apartment. Eleanor stretches out some of the tiredness from her body.
"Mmm, what a day...I'm sure glad it's over now." She said as she relaxed by letting her head sway in semicircles to relieve the tension in her neck muscles.
Theodore nodded as he walked by the answering machine and stopped when he noticed the answering machine is blinking.
"Hey, there's a message." He said to Ellie without looking at her and presses the button to play the message. After hearing a few 'beeps' a familiar voice spoke.
"Ah...Hi Theodore, Eleanor...it's Simon...I really hate to be the messenger of bad news, ...Oh, how do I say this...Guys... M-Miss. Miller passed away this morning..." a sniff could be heard from Simon, "a-a-anyway, give me a call when you get this message, I really need to talk to you...bye."
Both Theodore and Eleanor recognized Simon's voice. He sounded so upset and unable to hold back any emotion as he spoke. The young couple stood there with tears running down their face, and standing next to each other. Neither of them could believe what they just heard. Miss Miller...dead? It was impossible, but yet it could be true. They held on to each other for a while before they were able to muster the strength to call Simon back.