Chapter 19
"Thanksgiving already? How did it get to be thanksgiving? It seems like just yesterday it was Halloween" said Soda.
"Time flies" I said, changing Davanee into her new outfit. It was a dress that had pumpkins and fall leaves and anything else that might be considered fall on it. Underneath the dress was a white, long sleeve shirt. And of course, the outfit wouldn't be complete without the white stockings and black shoes. I was going to be one of those parents who dressed their little girls up in cutsy outfits.
"You know she's not gonna stay like that for long, right?"
"I know but at least she'll look this long enough to get some pictures. I'll change her before we eat. So whose comin' over?" I asked, putting Davanee's shoes on.
"The gang, of course, Anya, Hailey, and……………what's that girls name?" asked Soda.
"Maddie. Maddie and Dillon."
"Who's Dillon?"
"Her son. Anybody else comin'?"
"Sandy might try to stop by but I dunno."
"Have you talked to her lately?"
"Yeah. I talked to her yesterday. She stopped by work."
"How's she doin'?" I asked.
"Fine I guess. Her parents still won't let her see me but she stops by work anyways. Her parents think she's spending thanksgiving at a friends house."
Before I could say anything, I heard a knock on the door.
"I'll get it" said Soda. I brushed Davanee's little blonde curls and joined everybody in the living room.
"Who was at the door?" I asked, not noticing Maddie standing in the middle of the living room with Dillon on her hip.
"Oh hey Maddie" I said, smiling slightly.
"Hi" said Maddie, a tired look on her face.
"Didn't sleep?" I asked.
"Well, I got 2 hours of sleep but that was about it."
"Sorry. That's how it goes when you've got a baby" I said, setting Davanee on the floor so she could play with her toys. I laid out a blanket so Maddie could put Dillon down. Davanee seemed a bit confused about Dillon. She hadn't been around another baby before. She started crawling towards him but stopped and gave me a confused look.
"It's ok Davanee. He's not gonna hurt you" I said, as if she understood me.
Davanee started crawling towards Dillon again. I placed a bunch of toys in front of them so they could play. But I'm not really sure Dillon could play just yet. I looked down at the babies then back up at Maddie. She looked like she was about to fall asleep right then and there.
"You know you can sleep if you want before dinner. We'll watch Dillon for you" I said.
"Oh no" said Maddie, yawning, "it's ok. I'm not tired."
"Seriously you should probably get some sleep. There's the couch or the cot in the nursery. Which one?" I asked. I would've offered her my bed but for some reason that didn't sound right to me.
"I'll take the cot" said Maddie, "you sure you don't mind watching him for a little while?"
"Not at all. You go ahead. We'll wake you when dinners' ready" I said.
"Thanks Pony. Where's the nursery?"
"Down the hall, first door on the right. There's blankets and pillows in the closet."
Without saying anything more, Maddie marched down the hall to the nursery.
"Where's she goin'?" asked Soda.
"To take a nap. She says she hasn't slept good in a while so I figured I'd give her a break" I said. Right after I said that, there was another knock on the door.
"I'll get it" I said. I opened the door to reveal Anya and Hailey. Hailey looked really happy to be here but Anya didn't. Hailey looked different to me. The last time I saw her, she looked healthy. This time she had cuts and bruises.
"Hey" I said.
"Hey" said Anya. I opened the door a little wider so they could come in. Hailey went straight to the toys while Anya and I sat on the couch.
"Where's Maddie?" asked Anya.
"She's asleep."
"Good. She probably needs it" said Anya, a bit distant and distraught.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Something's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, ok."
"Please tell me" I begged.
Anya hesitated for a moment, almost as if she was afraid to tell me why. She looked around the room hastily. Then she made eye contact with me. Her eyes began to fill with tears but I could tell she was trying to hold them back.
"It's Hailey" she said in a whisper.
"What's the matter with Hailey?" I asked.
Anya fell quiet again. She tried to fight the tears but it didn't work. She put her face in her hands and cried.
"The state is gonna take her away" said Anya through tears.
"What? Why?"
"They think that Stephen hits her" said Anya.
"Well, does he?"
"Look at her and tell me what you think" said Anya. I looked down at Hailey. She was shaking a rattle in Davanee's face. She had cuts and bruises all along her arms. There was a big bruise on her cheek.
"Anya, I'm so sorry" I said. What else could I say?
"It's ok, it's not your fault" said Anya, "it's just that, she's like a little sister to me. I've known her since the day she was born. I've always babysat her whenever Stephen went out. And she was always at my house whenever my parents where gone. And now she's being taken away from me. I'm not gonna see her again."
"You don't know that. You know, I've heard of people fighting these types of things."
"Yeah, but where would we get the money for a good lawyer?" asked Anya, drying her eyes on the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
"It'll be ok" I said.
"How do you know for sure?"
"I don't but I have a feeling that it will. Who knows? Maybe the court will give her to Stephen's parents since her mother is dead. Or maybe they'll give her to her mother's parents."
"They don't live here" said Anya, "they live in California."
"Oh."
"You know, maybe I shouldn't think about it right now. It's Thanksgiving. We're suppose to be happy."
"Of course we are" I said, smiling slightly, "I'm especially happy."
"Why?"
"Because it's Davanee's first Thanksgiving and because you're here." Anya smiled when I said that. I have a tendency to make people smile after they've been crying for a while. Anya and I talked for a little while longer about different things like school, what was on TV last night, stuff like that. Then I got up to take pictures of Davanee on her first Thanksgiving.
"I'll help" said Anya.
We took a bunch of pictures outside, next to the pumpkins on the front porch.
We were almost done when Anya said "let me take one of the both of you."
I ran a brush through my hair and pulled Davanee up in my lap. At first she was smiling and looking at the camera but right before Anya snapped the picture, she turned and looked up at me. We took another one but it didn't turn out as good as the first.
Once we were done with the pictures, I changed her out of that outfit. It had been bugging her all day and I could tell she was dying to get it off. About three or four hours and 1 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade later, it was time for dinner. Maddie was up by that time. She woke up around half time of the 2nd game.
Since Dillon wasn't old enough to sit in a high chair, Maddie had to hold him all through dinner. We had so many people over for Thanksgiving, we couldn't even fit at the table. Some had to pull a chair up to the kitchen counter. Luckily, I got to sit at the table. Davanee seemed a bit confused as to what was going on. She looked at the turkey and cranberry sauce on her plate and then looked at me.
"It's ok" I said, "see watch. Daddy'll eat it."
"I thought Daddy didn't like cranberry sauce" said Soda, taking a spoonful of mashed potatoes.
"I don't but I'm trying to get her to eat it. I figure that if she sees me eat it she'll eat it too. Monkey see monkey do" I said. When I tasted the cranberries, I made a funny face. I had forgotten how much I hated cranberry sauce.
"Never mind" I said, "you don't have to eat that." I gave her some mashed potatoes to eat instead. She seemed to like those. We finished off the holiday with a pumpkin pie and a chocolate pie. I gave Davanee a small taste of the chocolate pie. Of course, she wanted more after tasting it. I guess you could say the apple didn't fall far from the tree in this case.
I put Davanee to bed while everybody else watched the last football game of the day. Of course, I read Green Eggs and Ham. For awhile, Davanee wouldn't let me read any other book.
"So your 2nd big holiday has come an gone" I said, changing Davanee into her pajamas, "you know what that means, don't ya? That means Christmas is comin'. God, your first Christmas. And I thought today was big, Christmas is gonna be a big deal this year." I smiled at the thought. For some reason, I had always anticipated my baby's first Christmas but I had no idea it would come so soon. I gave her a kiss and turned out the lights, leaving the door cracked.
Everybody went home around midnight, except for Johnny and Dallas, who ended up spending the night.
I walked Maddie and Dillon home that night. It wasn't safe for a 12 year old girl with a baby to be walking home by herself. You never know what might happen. We didn't really talk a lot on the way. We were both pretty tired from the days events.
"Thanks for walking with me" said Maddie once we got to her house.
"No problem" I said, "you sure your dad is home?" Maddie's house looked very, very dark.
"His car is in the driveway so he must be" said Maddie.
"Ok. I'll see you later I guess."
"Bye." Maddie turned and walked into the darkness of her house.