The Brady Eight: Just Starting Out
A Welcome Aboard Sequel
Chapter 22
Mid September. The Brady twins are 9 ½ months old.
Kathy Kelly has come over with her seven month-old twins, Kara and Karen. The doorbell rings. Carol is in the nursery, changing the babies' diapers.
Carol: Alice, can you get that?
Alice answers the door to reveal Kathy Kelly and her girls.
Alice: Hi! Come in!
Kathy: Hi Alice! How are you? She guides the stroller into the house. How's married life treating you?
Alice: It's everything I imagined and more!
Kathy: I'm so glad!
Alice: Sam's so wonderful! And I love to have someone to come home to at the end of the day.
Kathy: I'm so happy for you!
Alice peers into the stroller at the sleeping twins.
Alice: They're so beautiful!
Kathy: Beams. Thanks!
Alice: Do the girls look like your baby pictures?
Kathy: Yes, they do. Mother says the resemblance is eerie. Where's Carol?
Carol, carrying the twins, exits the nursery and descends the stairs.
Carol: Hi Kathy!
Kathy: Carol! Hi!
Ryan squirms, wanting down Kathy sees her friend struggling with the babies and reaches for Carolyn.
Kathy: Here, let me.
Carol: Thanks.
Alice spreads out the blanket and places a few toys.
Carol: Thanks, Alice.
Alice: Is there anything else I can do? If not, I'm going to get the laundry started.
Carol: No, but thank you.
Alice starts the laundry as Carol and Kathy get the Brady twins situated on the blanket. Kathy's twins awaken. Kara begins fussing, while Karen babbles.
Kathy: Picks up Kara. Oh, sweetheart. You ready to get up and play?
Carol: Picks up Karen. Hello, baby girl! You wanna play?
Carol gives Karen a musical toy and then gets one for Carolyn. Ryan crawls over to his mother and pats Carolyn's toy.
Ryan: Bah-BAH-bah!
Carol: Yes, ball!
Kathy: Puts Kara on the blanket and gets her a toy. You wanna play too? That's my sweet girl!
Carol smiles.
Kathy: How are you feeling?
Carol: I'm feeling better every day. I still get tired easily, but not like I used to.
Kathy: From what Mike told Ken, that was a pretty bad fall.
Carol: I don't remember the fall. All I remember was the rope swing and slide and the next thing I remember is waking up in the Emergency Room.
Kathy: Horrified. My goodness! How awful!
Carol: The kids really pitched in to help out with the twins. They had the house running like clockwork. So, how are the boys adjusting to these little ones?
Karen crawls to her mother's lap.
Kathy: Putting Karen in her lap. The boys are great. Sometimes they fight over who gets to hold which baby. They still say Ken and I should've had three. Dwayne loves to play peek-a-boo with them, and Matt enjoys making funny faces at them. Karen tries to imitate him. I think they're going to be two peas in a pod. Steve likes to hold Kara while he watches TV.
Carol chuckles.
Kathy: Yeah. I don't think I could handle having triplets.
Carol: I distinctly remember you saying that about having twins.
Kathy: Chuckles. You got me.
Kara and Karen babble back and forth.
Kara: Ba ba ba ba ba ba!
Karen: Ba ba ba ba bllllll! She sticks her tongue out and spits.
Kara: Pats her mother on the knee. Ma ma ma ma ma ma!
Karen: Pats her sister on the cheek. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Kathy: Laughs. Yes, that's your sister. To Carol. They're always babbling back and forth to each other. It's so cute.
Carol swallows a lump forming in her throat.
Kathy: Sometimes I hear them "talking" to each other in their cribs in the morning. Sighs. It's such a nice sound to wake up to. I never thought I'd ever get to experience this.
Carol: Smiles. And you are! I'm really happy for you!
Ryan: Dee-dee-dah! Crawls to another toy. Dee-dee-dah! Dee-dee-dah! Giggles, as he plays with his Happy Apple toy.
Kathy: It's a dream come true!
Carolyn crawls to Carol and stands up, holding onto her mother. The baby smiles.
Carol: I think she's going to walk soon.
Kathy: Oh?
Carol: This past week, she started cruising along the couch and chairs.
Carolyn bounces up and down. Kathy chuckles.
Carol: To Carolyn. You're going to be running around here in no time!
Kathy: I can't believe how fast they grow! The girls have been crawling the last couple weeks. Sometimes they race each other. They're not little babies anymore.
Carol: I hear you! I can't believe how fast my older girls have grown. It seems like yesterday that Marcia was this age. Now, she's in college. Carolyn snuggles against her mother. I wish I could slow down time and keep these two little for just awhile longer.
Kathy: It's already going fast.
Carol: Changes the subject. So, how are the boys liking school this year?
Kathy: They miss being in the same class together.
Carol: Oh?
Kathy: Ken and I decided to put them in separate classes this school year so that they can make their own friends apart from each other.
Carol: So, how do they like their teachers?
Kathy: Dwayne really likes his teacher. He has Mrs. Carver. He says she's tough, but he likes a challenge.
Carol: Smiles. Good for him!
Kathy: She went from teaching high school to teaching third grade, and I think she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it.
Carol: Surprised. Wow!
Kathy: His grades are good, and I think it'll be good for him. Matt's teacher is good too. He has Miss Riddle..
Carol: Cindy had her in fourth grade too.
Kathy: How did she like her?
Carol: Oh, at first she hated her.
Kathy: Nervous. Oh?
Carol: Her grade was very big, so the school hired an additional teacher, Miss Riddle. A few kids from each class were pulled to be in her class. Cindy was pulled from a teacher she loved, and also with her best friend, into this class. But, her friend wasn't. Instead, a girl who still gives Cindy grief...
Kathy: Cassie? You've told me about her trouble with the girl.
Carol: Yes. Well, Cindy thought Miss Riddle was favouring Cassie over her. We struggled for the first couple months trying to help her navigate her relationship with Miss Riddle and Cassie. But, by Thanksgiving, she stood up for Cindy when Cassie was taunting her.
Kathy: That's good.
Carol: Miss Riddle had Cassie in her class at another school and understood how Cassie behaved herself. She gave Cindy great advice on how to handle Cassie and also herself. I think she took Miss Riddle's advice and ran with it.
Kathy: Feeling encouraged. Good for her! I hope Matt learns good academic and other tools from her as well.
Carol: What about Steve?
Kathy: He's not too thrilled with his teacher.
Carol: Who does he have?
Kathy: He has Mr. Fields. He said he really likes the girls and likes to pick on the guys. His grades aren't as good as they were last year, so we're going to have a conference with him and the vice principal to see if we can figure out what's going on. He's a good student, so we're not sure if it's the teacher or the work or what?
Carol: Good luck with getting it sorted out.
That afternoon
Kathy and her twins have returned home. The speech therapist comes over to work with Carolyn. She rings the doorbell. Carol answers. The twins have been playing in the living room; Ryan in the baby jumper, and Carolyn, underneath her favourite baby gym.
Speech therapist: Mrs. Brady?
Carol: Yes.
Speech therapist: I'm Angie, the speech therapist from Early Intervention.
Carol: Oh yes. Come in! She lets her in and guides her to the twins. This is Ryan and this is Carolyn. Calls toward the den. Mike, the speech therapist is here.
Mike comes out of the den.
Carol: This is my husband, Mike.
Angie: Shakes his hand. Good to meet you, Mr. Brady. Greets the babies, then explains her role. It may sound strange for a speech therapist to work with children who are deaf. While I will be working with her in the modes of communication you prefer, I will also be working with you on how to communicate effectively with her. Looks at her notes. I see that you're wanting total communication: sign language and spoken word?
Mike: Yes.
Angie: Great! Gets out a folder with some papers in it. I'm going to give this to you. It's a list of words and signs that you'll want to learn quickly. I'll be working from this list and show you how to teach her. Mike and Carol skim it. Do you have any questions so far?
Carol: I'd like to include Ryan, since he's her twin.
Angie: Although my main focus will be your daughter, yes, he will benefit from these sessions too. Babies learn quickly and they'll learn from each other.
Carol: Smiles. They already do.
Angie: We'll be doing a lot of play, because I believe, and I have a feeling you do too, that children learn best through play. One thing I tell my moms and dads is play with deaf children doesn't have to look any different from that with their hearing peers. We'll talk to Carolyn just like we talk to Ryan. The only thing we'll add is sign.
Carol: I have one question. Carolyn often puts the palm of her hand on our throat or voicebox when we speak.
Angie: Good! That's not uncommon. She's learning where our voice originates. You said she's going to have surgery soon?
Mike: Right after the new year. She'll be thirteen months by then.
They discuss a few more formalities and then get started.
Angie: One thing you need to do is come up with a name sign for Ryan and Carolyn. I assume you have other kids?
Carol: We have six older kids, and they're taking ASL.
Angie: They can come up with a name sign for themselves. It could be something they like, their position in the family; they can be as creative as they'd like. I would make the sign simple and easy to sign. Now, let's begin!
Angie plays peek-a-boo with the babies, instructing Mike and Carol on how to sign "Where's baby?" and "Peek-a-boo!" Carolyn giggles every time one of the adults lowers the blanket. Then, she gets out a bucket of toys, allowing the babies to take the toys out and put them in. With each activity, she instructs Mike and Carol on how to sign. After she plays each game with the kids a couple times, she has Mike and Carol each take a turn. Angie checks her watch and sees her time is up, so she speaks and signs.
Angie: My time is up. Checks her schedule. Looks like you've agreed to twice a week through December, and then we reevaluate in January.
Carol: Yes.
Angie: Go ahead and practice these signs with them as much as you can. It may seem like a lot right now, but you'll be surprised at how much you two and the twins will pick up.
Carol: Thank you.
Carol, with Carolyn on her hip, shows Angie out.
Mike: I need to go into the office this afternoon. I'll be home tonight.
He kisses the kids and his wife goodbye.
That evening
Carol rocks Carolyn in the master bedroom. Ryan is asleep in the nursery.
Carol: Singing, tears running down her cheeks.
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep my little baby.
When you wake you shall have
All the pretty little horses.
Black and bays, dapples, grays,
All the pretty little horses.
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleep my little baby.
Carolyn rests her hand on her mother's neck and falls asleep to the vibrations.
Carol: Carolyn, I know you can't hear me, but please be patient with us. We're trying to get a handle on this. I love you so much! A tear rolls down her cheek, falls and drops onto her daughter's cheek.
Mike enters the room and sees his wife upset.
Mike: I'm sorry I had to work late. Notices her tears and kneels by the rocker. Honey, what's wrong? Is she sick?
Carol: No.
Mike: Reaches up and wipes a tear from her eye. Then, what's wrong?
Carolyn, still asleep, shifts in her mother's arms.
Carol: Dismissing. It's nothing.
Mike: Hey. It's not nothing.
Carol: Kathy.
Mike: Curious. What about Kathy?
Carol: She and her girls came over today. Inhales. The girls would babble back and forth, like they were talking to each other.
Mike: And Ryan and Carolyn don't do that.
Carol: Feeling ashamed. Yeah. Regroups. They don't seem so different until I see other twins interacting with each other.I mean, I know that they're different, but sometimes it's easy to "forget" for a little bit.
Mike: Understanding. And it brings home what our twins can't do.
Carol: Holds her daughter close. Yes. Swallows. I know that she hasn't changed; it's we who have to change, but...
Mike: Embraces his wife and daughter. It still hurts.
Carol: I still feel bad about wishing she could hear. Sometimes it feels like I'm wishing a part of who she is away and I hate that.
Mike: There are times I feel like that too. When I hear Ryan babbling and I remember the other boys when they were this age... He inhales. Angie seems really helpful. Maybe by Christmas we'll be more comfortable with signing.
Carol: I hope so. Looks at their youngest and sees she's still asleep. I need to put her down.
Carol lays Carolyn in her crib in the nursery. She checks on Ryan and sees that he's still asleep, then returns to the master bedroom.
Mike: Envelops his wife in an embrace. I want to take you to a nice dinner and night Friday and Saturday.
Carol: Giggles. What?
Mike: I think we need to get away for a few.
Carol: Protests. But what about...?
Mike: Interrupts and puts his index finger on her lips. No "buts." I've already talked to the kids, and they've volunteered to give up their Friday night and Saturday to help with the twins.
Carol: Oh Mike!
Mike: It's already settled. The kids have agreed and said they're happy to help. They know that we've been through a lot recently and haven't been able to get away.
Carol: But Mike!
Mike: Chuckles. No buts. We need this get away.
Carol: Smiles. We do. When will we go?
Mike: We'll go Friday afternoon, right after lunch. I've made reservations at that bed and breakfast you've wanted to go to.
Carol: Excited. You mean, Absolute Charm Bed and Breakfast? The one two hours away? In that beautiful valley?
Mike: Yes!
Carol: Throws her arms around him. Oh Mike!
Mike: Grins. First, we'll go out to dinner at Bonsai Garden, then we'll check in at the Bed and Breakfast. We've got the honeymoon suite.
Carol's eyes get bigger in anticipation of the weekend.
Mike: Sees she's excited. We'll have breakfast in our bedroom, stroll through the Promenade, and have lunch at Art Six before heading home.
Carol: How did you get all this arranged?
Mike: I've got my ways.
Carol: Inhales. I think we should bring the twins with us.
Mike: Carol, this is a weekend for us to get away.
Carol: But the twins are still nursing.
Mike: Puts his hands on her shoulders. Carol, they also take bottles and we've got plenty of bottles already made up in the freezer. They'll be fine and I think we need this time together. The older four kids are more than capable of taking care of the twins. They did it after the accident, and our parents and Alice can help out if they need help.
Carol looks reluctant.
Mike: Wraps his arms around her. Besides, it's only for one night.
Carol: Smiles and steps further into his embrace. Yes. And I can't wait!
They close the embrace and give each other a passionate kiss.
-End of Chapter 22-