Three days later, Sophia came home with the baby. Forest was happy. Now he could spend some time with his mother. But Sophia was often tending to Evelyn, who seemed to do nothing but cry. In fact, the minute Cedric and Sophia walked through the door, Evelyn started wailing. And she was loud!
"How come she's crying?" Forest asked.
"She's probably hungry," Sophia said.
"I'll go get a bottle ready," Cedric replied, and he and Sophia went into the kitchen. Forest watched them go, and then followed.
Sophia sat down at the table. Forest climbed onto a chair and stood on it, leaning against the table. Cedric prepared a bottle of formula, and gave it to Sophia. In turn, Sophia gave the bottle to Evelyn, and she began sucking on it, practically inhaling the bottle.
"Wow, look at her go!" Cedric shouted.
Evelyn finished her bottle, and Sophia positioned her over her shoulder to burp her. After about ten seconds, Evelyn burped, and loudly as well. Cedric and Sophia were a bit taken aback, and they started laughing.
"My goodness!" Sophia exclaimed, cradling her daughter. "That was such a big burp from such a little girl!"
Forest looked on, surprised. Every time he ever burped like that, Cedric and Sophia would tell him it wasn't polite. And here they were, laughing after Evelyn practically belched. Evelyn yawned then, and settled herself into Sophia's arms. Sophia stood up, and started heading for the stairs.
"What are you gonna do now, Mommy?" Forest asked.
"I'm going to put the baby down for a nap," Sophia answered. "And then, I want you to get a book for me, and I'll read it to you, okay?"
"Yay!" Forest cheered, and he ran up to his room to look for a book.
After Sophia left the nursery, she went into Forest's room. Forest had a book all ready. It was his favorite story, about a little aardvark who was very curious about the world around him, much like Forest. Sophia pulled him into her lap, opened the book, and started to read. She didn't even get through the first sentence when Evelyn started crying.
"Hold on, Forest," she said, putting Forest down. "I have to check the baby, and then I'll be right back."
Forest sighed, and waited. And waited. And waited. Sophia was only gone for five minutes, but five minutes can seem like an eternity to a four-year-old. When she came back, she sat down, picked up the book, and started reading it again. About halfway through the story, Evelyn started crying again. Sophia sighed, and got up to check the baby. This was frustrating Forest. He hated to be interrupted in the middle of a story.
At two in the morning, Evelyn began screaming her head off. Both Cedric and Sophia groaned.
"Here we go again," Cedric moaned, slamming a pillow over his head.
Sophia got up, got the baby out of the nursery, and took her downstairs for the usual Two-In-The-Morning-Feeding. Forest got up as well, and followed her.
"Mommyyyyyyy!" he whined. "Why is she crying noooowwwww?"
"Babies cry a lot, Forest," Sophia said, as she gave Evelyn her bottle.
"Is she gonna cry all night?"
"I don't know. I had to give you a bottle at two in the morning when you were a baby. Your grandfather wasn't happy about that!"
"Then Gampa's not gonna be happy with Evelyn in the morning."
"I guess not. Now, be a good boy, and go back to bed."
Forest yawned, and went back upstairs. By eight o'clock, everyone was up. The Pigs were cooking breakfast. The baby didn't bother them the night before. Much. Cedric and Sophia were practically walking into the walls. Cedric's ears were drooping and his glasses were on lopsided. Sophia's hair was sticking out at odd angles. Forest saw them and began giggling.
"You and Mommy look funny, Daddy," he said.
"I know," Cedric said, yawning. "We didn't get much sleep last night. Evelyn kept crying."
"I hate to think what your father's going to be like this morning," Sophia commented.
And as if that were a cue, Cyril came downstairs into the dining room for breakfast.
"Good morning, good morning," he said, stretching. "What a night. I haven't slept that well in ages!"
"Are you kidding, Pop?" Cedric asked. "You're telling us that the baby didn't wake you up at all last night?"
"Not at all, Cedric."
"Well, she sure kept us up. And when Forest was her age, you complained about him waking you up at two in the morning!"
"How'd you manage this time, boss?" Lloyd asked.
"Ear plugs," Cyril said, holding up a pair of plugs that resembled corks from champagne bottles. Cedric groaned.
"How about some breakfast?" Lloyd said, trying to change the subject.
"Just put on a good, strong pot of black coffee and keep it coming," Cedric said, sleepily.
"Same for me," Sophia said, stifling a yawn. Evelyn began fussing just then. Sophia sighed, and got up.
"I'll go get a bottle," she said, and she slowly made her way to the kitchen.
Breakfast was a quiet event. Sophia was giving Evelyn her bottle, and the baby was happily sucking on it. Cyril was reading the business section of the newspaper, and checking the stock market. Forest and the Pigs were simply eating, and Cedric had fallen asleep right there at the table.
"Wake up, Cedric!" Cyril shouted, swatting his son in the head with the newspaper. "I need you to go over the books today!"
"Sure, Pop," Cedric said with a yawn. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who that is this early?" Floyd asked.
"Only one way to find out," Cyril said. "Go answer the door you lazy good for nothings!"
"Yes sir, yes sir, yes sir!" the Pigs shouted, and they ran for the door. When they opened it, they found Bert, Ralph, and Melissa standing there.
"Well?" Floyd asked. "What are you three doing here?"
"Good morning to you guys, too," Ralph said, sarcastically.
"We just dropped by to see the proud parents," Bert said.
"Oh hi, Bert," Cedric said, as he came into the room. "Hi, Ralph. Hi, Melissa."
"Cedric, you look awful," Melissa said.
"I know," Cedric sighed. "Evelyn was up crying mostly all night. Sophia and I took turns getting up and checking on her."
"She's loud," Forest said, as he came into the room. Sophia was right behind him, carrying Evelyn.
"Most babies are," Bert said. "Don't worry, Forest, the two o' clock feedings won't last very long."
"So what are you guys doing here?" Cedric asked.
"We just came by for some photos of the baby for the paper," Ralph said.
"Yeah, smile!" Bert shouted, and he snapped a photo of Sophia and Evelyn. Evelyn burst into tears.
"Oh Bert!" Sophia shouted. "I hope you don't plan on using that photo for the paper! I'm a mess!"
"Personally, I think it's an improvement," Cyril said, coming into the room. "You've never looked lovelier."
"Very funny," Sophia said, glaring at Cyril. She gave the baby to Cedric and went upstairs to get dressed and fix her hair.
"Well, Cyril, as long as your here," Melissa said, taking the camera from Bert, "how about some photos of you and the kids for the paper?"
"Are you out of your mind?!" Cyril yelled. "If you print photos of me and my grandchildren in the newspaper, everyone will think I'm too old to run my business!"
"Not necessarily, Pop," Cedric replied. "As a matter of fact, it might improve your image."
"That's true, sir," Lloyd said. "A lot of people are turned off by your tough image. They'd be more willing to do business with you if they saw your softer side."
"And what better way to show your softer side than some pictures of you and your grandchildren?" Boyd asked, patting Forest on the head.
"Oh all right," Cyril said, giving in. He took Evelyn from Cedric, and looked at her. "But you'd better keep your sticky little fingers off my nose, missy!"
The others stifled their laughter. They were all remembering four years ago when Melissa had tried to get a photo of Cyril and Forest for the paper, and she ended up with a photo of Forest pulling on Cyril's nose. Of course, Bert had been in charge of the printer that day, and it ended up on the front page.
In anycase, Cyril pulled out a chair and sat down with Evelyn on his lap. Forest tried to get up there as well, pushing Evelyn to make room, but Cyril stopped him.
"Hold your horses, Forest," he said. "There's not enough room for both of you."
"But I wanna sit up on your lap, Gampa!" Forest whined.
"Look, Forest, there's not enough room for both of you on my lap, and I have to hold the baby. You're just going to have to live with it."
Forest pouted, and Melissa got the camera ready, but she didn't take the photo just yet.
"Come on, Forest," Ralph said. "Smile. Auntie Melissa can't take the picture with you pouting like that!"
"I don't wanna smile," Forest pouted. "I wanna sit on Gampa's lap."
"If you're not gonna smile, Forest, you can't have your picture in the paper," Bert said, figuring that would get him to smile. Forest pouted and walked away from the photo scene.
"If that's the way you feel about it, Forest," Melissa sighed, and she took a photo of Cyril and Evelyn.
Melissa took a few photos of Evelyn alone as well. Then she took some of Cedric and Evelyn. When Sophia came back downstairs, Melissa took some photos of her and Evelyn, and then took some photos of both Cedric and Sophia with Evelyn. Forest kept right on pouting throughout the whole thing.
"Forest, don't you want to be in some of these photos?" Sophia asked.
"No!" Forest shouted, pouting.
"I think that'll do it," Melissa said. "Thanks, guys."
"No problem," Cedric replied. "See you later."
The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful. It wasn't until the next day when things began to pick up. Thanks to the photos of Cyril and Evelyn in the Standard, he was getting several calls concerning business proposition.
"Maybe you getting married wasn't such a bad idea, Cedric," Cyril said. "As a matter of fact, these kids are the biggest thing to ever happen to my business!"
"Glad to hear it, Pop," Cedric said, a little absently. He was busy looking through Cyril's books. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the doorbell rang. A few moments later, Floyd came into the office.
"Well?" Cyril asked. "Who's at the door?"
"Lady Baden-Baden and Mr. Knox, chief," he said. "They want to see you right away! And Cedric, too."
"I wonder what this is all about?" Cedric asked, as he and Cyril went into the front hallway. They saw Lady Baden-Baden and Mr. Knox standing there, waiting for them. In front of Mr. Knox was a huge box wrapped in pink paper and tied with a pink ribbon.
"Oohhh, Mr. Sneer!" Lady Baden-Baden shouted. "We've just read the news in the Evergreen Standard, and we just had to come over to give our congratulations and see the new arrival!"
"Oh, thanks, Lady Baden-Baden," Cedric said.
"Daddy!" Forest called out, running down the stairs. "Daddy, will you play with me? Mommy's taking care of the baby and I'm bored!"
"Oh, not right now, Forest," Cedric said. "I'm kind of busy. Uhh, Lady Baden-Baden, you and Mr. Knox remember my son, Forest, don't you? Forest, say hi to Lady Baden-Baden and Mr. Knox."
"Hi," Forest said, eyeing the box. "What's in the box? Is it a present for the baby? She gets all the presents these days. Don't I get a present, too?"
"Forest!" Cedric scolded. "That's not polite!"
"That's perfectly all right," Mr. Knox replied. "It's natural for children to feel a might J-E-A-L-O-U-S of a new baby."
"Well, I'll go get Sophia," Cedric said. "She's upstairs with the baby."
Cedric started up the stairs just then. Forest kept looking at the box. He didn't know what was in it, but he had a pretty good idea who it was for. A few moments later, Cedric and Sophia came down the stairs, with Evelyn.
"Hello, Lady Baden-Baden, Mr. Knox," Sophia said. "What brings you here?"
"Oooohhh, what a perfectly angelic child!" Lady Baden-Baden gushed. "She's adorable! Absolutely adorable! Oh, what a beautiful baby! She looks just like her mommy!"
"Unfortunately," Cyril mumbled. Cedric had heard him, and glared at him.
"Pop!" he hissed.
"Oh, Knoxy, have you ever seen a more beautiful baby?" Lady Baden-Baden went on.
"Never, my dear," Mr. Knox said. "She is a charming little lady."
"The photos in the paper simply do not do her justice," Lady Baden-Baden said. "She's precious, absolutely precious! We have a present for this absolutely precious little thing! Knoxy, be a dear, and unwrap the baby's present."
Mr. Knox started to unwrap the box. Lady Baden-Baden started digging through her purse, and unearthed a smaller box, wrapped in blue paper and tied with a blue ribbon.
"Oh, I almost forgot," she said, handing the box to Forest. "We mustn't forget the new big brother now, mustn't we?"
"Thanks!" Forest shouted, and he ripped the paper off of his present. He took the lid off the box and found a little toy car inside. By that time, Mr. Knox had finished unwrapping the big box. Inside of it was a huge teddy bear. It was bigger than both Forest and Evelyn put together. Cedric and Sophia didn't know what to make of it.
"Oh, uhh, gee, Lady Baden-Baden," Cedric stammered. "Really, you shouldn't have."
"Oh I know," Lady Baden-Baden said. "But I saw her picture in the paper, and I just couldn't resist getting a little something for this absolutely precious little angel!"
"And it's not every day there's a girl born to the Sneer family," Mr. Knox said. "Am I right, Mr. Sneer?"
"Yes, seems that Evelyn is the first girl born to the Sneers in . . . . ." Cyril said, stopping for a moment to think it over. "Hmm. Matter of fact, I don't think there have been any girls born to the Sneers. Evelyn's the first in history!"
"Well, me must be off now," Lady Baden-Baden said. "Really, we must do this again sometime."
And with that, Lady Baden-Baden and Mr. Knox left. Cyril, Cedric, and Sophia merely stared at the giant teddy bear. So did Forest. Then he looked at his new toy car, and made a face. Compared to the bear, it seemed extremely small. Shouldn't the bigger kid get the bigger present? After a few moments, Cyril called in the Pigs.
"All right, you useless hunks of lard," he said. "Get this bear upstairs to the baby's room, now!"
"He's gotta be kidding!" Lloyd said. "That thing's bigger than we are!"
"JUST DO IT!" Cyril screamed.
"Yes sir! Yes sir! Yes sir!" the Pigs shouted, and they started dragging the bear up to the nursery.
Evelyn began to cry just then, and Cedric, Sophia, and Cyril crowded around her to see what the matter was. Forest stood there. Then he went up to his room unnoticed.
"Evelyn gets all the attention," he said, pouting. "Evelyn gets all the presents. Everyone loves Evelyn. I hate Evelyn!"
Forest threw his car at the wall, and then he threw himself on his bed and cried.