Chapter 7: The Phone Call

The next morning, Meg woke up in her new room. She yawned and smiled at the setting. Hank had spent so much time preparing the room for her. She thought he was very nice.

"Meg!" Peggy called from downstairs. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," Meg yelled back.

"It's time for breakfast. We're having pancakes," Peggy said.

Meg got excited and got dressed. She then went downstairs to the kitchen, where the family had gathered. Hank was at the grill, flipping the pancakes. "Good morning, Meg. How'd you sleep?" Hank asked.

"Very well. Thanks a lot," Meg said. "I'm very grateful for all you've done."

"It's no trouble at all," Hank said. He walked over to the stove, where bacon was sizzling. "You like bacon?" he asked.

"Oh, I love bacon!" Meg said.

"Great, 'cause I've already taken the liberty to fix some bacon for breakfast," Hank said. "I hope you like the way I cook it. This stove is powered by sweet lady propane."

"It doesn't matter how it's cooked, I'm sure I'll like it," Meg said.

Bobby looked at Meg. "Do you want to see my Barbie collection?"

Meg grimaced, "You have a Barbie collection?"

"Yep. Sure do," Bobby said.

"Bobby, please don't tell Meg about your…effeminate side…" Hank said.

The gang ate breakfast, and then, they left the kitchen to watch TV. Just then, the phone rang. "I'll get it," Hank said. He picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked.

"Hi. This is Lois Griffin. I'm calling random numbers. Sorry. Anyway, I'm wondering if you've seen my daughter."

"What's her name and what does she look like?" Hank asked.

"Well, she's got shoulder-length brown hair, usually wears a pink shirt with white trimmings, and has blue jeans. She also wears glasses," Lois said. Hank looked into the living room at Meg. She fit that exact description. He seemed a bit worried. "Oh, and her name is Meg."

Hank dropped the phone at that moment and looked stunned. "Dear Lord…" he gasped.

"Hello? Hello?" Lois's nasaly voice was heard on the dangling phone.

Hank picked up the phone again and managed to relax for a moment. "I'm sorry there, ma'am. Now what was your question?"

"Have you seen my daughter, Meg?" Lois asked.

"You're not going to believe this, but I think she's in my living room right now!" Hank said. "Just who exactly are you, anyway? She's officially our daughter now. We adopted her.

"Adopted her!" Lois exclaimed. "She's our daughter! What gives you the nerve to say that? Where are you?"

"I'm living in Texas. Listen, ma'am, my wife Peggy and I went to this child services center in Quahog, Rhode Island because we were looking for another child. She was there. We filled out the paperwork, and bam! It's done," Hank said.

Lois was speechless. What was going on? "Listen, why don't you bring Meg and your other family members up here and see if we can straighten this thing out?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Hank said. "I'll talk to you later. Bye, ma'am. See you in a few days."

Hank entered the living room. "What's going on, Hank?" Peggy asked.

"Everyone, we've got to leave to Rhode Island in the truck now," Hank said. "Something's going on here."

"What's going on?" Meg asked.

Hank sighed. "It seems as though this arrangement isn't completely official. Your parents weren't even aware of this matter. We have to straighten it out with them and the child services place." Everyone got in the truck, and Hank drove off to Rhode Island.