Challenge-#50 Family Reunion
Rating-Pg
Spoiler-None
"You little brat. Get that out of your nose or I'll put the eye on you!" Grandma Bella reached a bony finger across the dinner table to a small little italian boy.
The little boy quickly pulled the grape out of his nose and stared at the old lady with big pleading eyes, begging for forgiveness. Grandma Bella narrowed her eyebrows, and then lifted her fork to the turkey. The little boy whiped the grape off with the napkin in his lap and ate it.
"Jeremy, that's disgussssting!" Yelled a little girl from across the table.
"No it's not. It my boogers." The boy spat back.
"Both of you. Not at the table." Joe yelled.
"That's icky." The girl whispered to Jeremy from behind her spoon.
"Nuh-uh" Jeremy retorted just as quietly
"Unph-un." The girl chanted back with a spoonfull of mashed potatoes in her mouth.
"Both of you, listen to your father. You're giving me a headache." I told them, and looked at him. Joe looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel.
"But that's nasty. He put the grape up his nose and then he ate it!" The little girl whailed and pointed.
"I whiped it off first." Jeremy said and pulled a frest grape off his plate.
"Casey, come here." Joe pointed to the empty seat next to him that sat her far away from her brother as possible.
She grabbed her plate and obediantly sat next to her daddy. "Duley's got something green on his shirt." She whispered to me as she passed.
Sure enough, her fiveteen week old brother had pea gook on his nice white shirt. It was a miricle that he was eating the peas. Had more of a decent appetite that his mother, huh?
I took my napkin and rubbed off what I could. I refolded the napkin in my lap, and looked over at Jeremy just in time to catch him flick a piece of corn at Casey. I sternly kicked him under the table to catch his attention. I got it, and he smiled innocently when he looked at me. Just like his father.
Joe poured himself another glass of wine, and nudged my shoulder with the bottle. With his sign language, he offered to pour me a glass. I nodded and returned to my dinner, which was lukewarm now. I was going for a third bite of turkey when I was hit on the forehead with a piece of corn. I looked at Jeremy, who no longer had any corn on his plate. He was giggling. I looked past Joe to Casey, who was in a fit of laughter too. "Behave or we're leaving without dessert." I hissed at them.
Joe looked at me pleadingly. "Please Steph, don't make me suffer. I haven't had pumpkin pie in a year."
I sighed. "Then control your childen." I said hoarsly.
"Both of you behave or I'll have your dessert." Joe used the same tone as I had, and ment every word of it.
"BUT DAD!" They both moaned.
"No buts. Now EAT." Joe put his fork down and reached for a roll.
His mother had been watching us for the entire time. She shook her head from time to time, but she was observing us--me in particular. I had turned out to be a decent burg wife. Ok, so I still caught murderers for a living, but as long as I had learned to cook, Joe was happy with that.
Duley spit up mashed potatoes all over the kitchen floor, and Bob was quickly at his feet licking it up. Joe had not trusted to leave Bob at home this year. Last year, he threw up on our bed, our only bed, and both of us had to share the measly couch a cop's paycheck would afford.
Just about the same time, Grandma Bella slammed her hands down on the table. "I have a vision."
For the longest time, that used to scare me. "What is it this time?" Joe asked.
"I see another one. A little girl. She looks rather cuban. But she has her mother's hair. Oh my." Grandma Bella stood on her own two feet and swayed around lika a drunk. "I need a nap."
"Cuban?" Joe turned to me. Grandma Bella had never been wrong predicting the look and gender of each of out children.
"I haven't seen Ranger since after Duley was born." I said honestly.
Grandma Bella hovered over my shoulder. "And if you shall ever sleep with that man, you will be cursed forever."
And with that, she was gone with Bob close at her heels. "Get out of here mutt." We all heard her say, followed by the closing of a door and the wimpering of a dog.
"Poor Bob." Jeremy said, and scooped the last of his potatoes off of his plate.
Joe checked his watch. "Sorry Ma, but we really ought to leave. I have to work early in the morning."
Mrs. Morelli was out of her chair in a heartbeat, and quickly wrapped leftovers for us and put a piece of pie in bowls for the kids. She kissed all three of her grandchildren goodbye, gave Joe a hug, and with a scowel, shoved the leftovers in my arms. She still belived Joe could do better.
Joe started the car. "That wasn't that bad was it?"
And then I woke up. I was lying on my side, faced away from the other side of the bed. It was only a dream. Thank god. Three kids, with another on in the works. One was too much for me already. And that one was screaming for me.
I rolled over, and kissed the naked shoulder of the man next to me. "I escaped all of that."
I got out of bed and sauntered into the baby's room. Upon arrival, she stopped crying and stared up at me. For not being able to sleep for a full night in 4 months, she was worth it. She had my eyes, but she had gotten Daddy's mocha skin. She blinked twice and I lifted her out of her crib.
She had escaped the eye. Some of us weren't as fortunate, but shelucked out. Daddy's gene pool was pretty clean of the crazies, and all I had to worry about was Grandma Mazur. I smiled, and she smiled back. After being fed, burped, changed and wrapped up again, she yawned and fell asleep again, not due to wake up for another four hours.
I crawled back into bed next to Ranger. "You said something about escaping?" He mumbled.
"Nothing. It was just a weird dream I had." He turned so that he could face he, and I spooned myself against his bare chest.
"M'k." He mumbled again and kissed my spine.
"'Night." I cooed, but I was too late, and he was already asleep.
