Marti and Dolly
Marti and Dolly
Lizzie and Edwin crept quietly into their youngest sibling's room. Marti was sleeping soundly, a stuffed rabbit in the crook of her arm. It was all planned out. They would steal Dolly and hide it during the night. Then when Marti woke up in the morning to find her favorite stuffed animal missing, the whole house would look for it. It was a stretch of the imagination that this could bring George and Nora back together, but it would sure bring them out of seclusion. Now all they had to do was take Dolly without Marti waking up. Edwin reached out to grab it, but Lizzie grabbed his arm.
"We have to find something to replace it so she doesn't realize it's gone before morning," she whispered.
Creeping to the basket where all of Marti's friends were kept. She picked out a puppy that was around the same size as the precious rabbit they were attempting to steal. Tip-toeing back to the bedside she shook it in her step-brother's face. He rolled his eyes, taking it. Lizzie gently lifted Marti's arm up the slightest bit and slipped Dolly out. Flawlessly Edwin slipped the puppy in just as Lizzie let go of her arm. Smiling triumphantly, they skipped out of the room.
They had already agreed to hide it beneath the kitchen sink. The one place no one would think to look for two reasons. One, Marti didn't like small, dark places. Two, that was the crime scene. Everyone had avoided the kitchen at all costs except for the popcorn last night. And even that was left to Edwin and Lizzie. It was not hard to sneak past the snoring George and Derek. Once the rabbit was safely under the sink, Lizzie and Edwin parted ways to await the morning.
"DOLLY!" George, Derek, and Edwin jerked awake. Upstairs, Marti was screaming and crying. "DOLLY!"
The frantic young girl tore down the stairs in her nightgown. Tears were streaming down her face; a puppy was clutched in her right hand. Seeing her brothers and father spread out across the living room, she rushed to them. Jumping into her father's arms, she continued to cry.
"Marti, what happened?" George asked with sincere concern. He reached for a tissue, wiping her eyes. "Baby, talk to me."
"I woke up this morning and- and...Dolly wa-was was gone! She mu-musta run away!" sniffled Marti. Big brother Derek came to the rescue.
"Marti, you and I both know that Dolly would never run away from you! She loves you."
"THEN SOMEBODY STOLE HER!" Letting out an exasperated screech, she buried her head in George's chest.
Edwin could not believe how well this was working. As if on cue, Nora, Casey, and Lizzie walked sleepily into the room. It was a Sunday, so no one had to be at work. This could not have happened at a more perfect time. Nodding to Lizzie, he went over to play the part of concerned brother. Once Marti caught sight of Nora, she leapt away from George and went straight to her step-mother.
"Nora! Dolly is missing!" The woman lifted Marti into her arms, rubbing her back gently in a circular motion. The little girl sobbed into Nora's robe. Lizzie went and sat next to George and Derek, who Casey was looking at with disgust.
"Which one's Dolly again?" Lizzie asked innocently, deciding to cover her tracks.
"The rabbit," whispered a distracted George. Everyone in the house knew what happened when one of Marti's animals was lost. The whole house looked for it because it not, no one got anything done. If Marti was upset, the whole house was going to be in a wreck until that rabbit was found.
"Edwin, why don't you break out that detective kit?" suggested Derek. He had a queer look on his face. Edwin squirmed.
"I don't know...Weren't you telling me to grow out of that?"
"Yea, Ed, that'd be fun!" exclaimed Lizzie. If the detectives were the ones who stole the rabbit, then how could they get caught? The plan was flawless. "Marti, do you want to help us?" The head that was buried into Nora's shoulder shook. "Well then, Edwin, let's get to work.
The two practically ran upstairs. Once they were safely in Edwin's room, where the kit was kept, they both burst out talking.
"It's working perfectly!"
"Did you see the way Marti is hanging on Nora?"
"Or how concerned everyone is?"
"All we have to do is keep them away from the rabbit and the more time Nora and George have to spend together!" said Lizzie in a rush. Everything was going according to plan. Edwin unearthed his detective kit form under the bed and opened it.
"AH HA!" Both of them jumped. Derek was standing at the doorway.
"How much did you hear?" demanded Edwin.
"Oh, nothing. Just that you two stole Dolly." He said simply and walked away. Lizzie and Edwin exchanged a panicked look and rushed to the door.
"Wait! Come back!" Derek's head popped out from the corner.
"Thought you'd say that. I want in."
"Ok! We'll tell you everything," rushed Lizzie. Smirking, Derek went back to his brother's room.
"Let's hear it. Why did you pick now, of all times, to aggravate Marti?" He plopped down on the bed, surveying the two nervous kids in front of him.
"Well...we knew that Marti would get real upset and make everyone look for Dolly..."
"And we figured that would cause Nora and George to have to work together for Marti..."
"And..."
"That would bring them back together," continued Derek, his eyes widening. "It's brilliant! Genius!"
"You like it?" asked Lizzie skeptically.
"Do you think I want to go through another divorce? Look- Dad loves Nora, but they can't love each other if they are fighting over something so stupid. And plus, I like Lizzie. Casey, I could do without, but you're growing on me." Lizzie rolled her eyes at the should-be compliment. "And plus, if this brings them back together, I want some of the credit, so I can rub it in Casey's face
"Well, it's a whole lot easier when you're on board."
They filled him in on the rest of the plan and where the rabbit was hidden. Edwin and Lizzie dawn their detective gear and headed downstairs. After about an hour of interviewing family members, the search was officially on. They scattered about, searching places Marti had last seen her doll. As much as possible, the three tried to keep Nora and George in the same area. Neither adult said a word to each other and stayed outside an invisible proximity. It was as if they got electrocuted if they got within ten feet of each other.
Nora walked into the kitchen, pausing slightly at the door. She could hardly look at the sink, for the awful memory kept playing through her mind. She could still see her husband pressed up against the sink, another woman's lips pressed against his. She had spent all last night running through an imaginary list in her head. What had happened to send him back to Abby? Was it something she said, something she did? Distracted, she tore through cabinets, not really looking inside of them.
"Mom?" Casey came into the room. The teenager could see her mother was suffering more than she thought. Even though George had cheated on her, she still loved him. Casey knew what she had to do- she had to get them back together. Maybe George was telling the truth, maybe he had nothing to do with it.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Did you find it?" Keep it casual, thought Casey. She knew she could not be blunt about her thoughts of the two getting back together, Nora was still too upset.
"No," sighed Nora. She took a seat in a chair and the table. Casey half-heartedly opened a few more cabinets and drawers. "Do you think she left it at the hockey game?"
"No," Casey shook her head. "She had it at dinner." She continued moving down the line of doors beneath the counter. She opened the one directly beneath the sink and started to close it when Nora cried out.
"There! You found it!" Casey stooped down and sure enough, there was Dolly. She pulled out the rabbit, its button eyes and thread smile mocking them. Both women jumped up in excitement. Casey handed Dolly to her mother, who was already calling Marti. Three hours of searching finally paid off.
Marti came sprinting into the room. "DOLLY! You're okay! Oh, I promise never to let it happen again." She snuggled up to the rabbit, cuddling it. Then she swept Nora up into a big hug and did the same for Casey.
"You found it?" asked George astonished. He, Derek, Edwin, and Lizzie had just entered the kitchen.
"Actually Casey found her." Nora could not help but smile at her step-daughter's joy. This is why she loved being a mother. She watched as George scooped up his giggling daughter into his arms, kissing her. Now that was the man she married. He even gave Casey a hug, who, to Nora's surprise, did not pull away. George set Marti down, letting her thank Edwin and Lizzie.
This would be the moment where they would have hugged. George would have kissed her on the head and they would have smiled down at their happy family. A sad look passed over Nora's face. What was going to happen to them- to the kids? Their two families had grown so close together since they got married. George, still beaming, looked at Nora, but seeing the hurt in her eyes, turned his head.
It would take a while, for scars to heal, but maybe, just maybe they could live the love they had for each other.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to post- I am in the process of writing another Harry Potter fic, and this one find of got pushed away. Sorry for that. More coming up next. I'm predicting 2-3 more chapters till the end.