Chapter 17: Toddlers and a Growing Town
3 years later…
"Mommy!!" Danielle cried. "Justin stole my dolly, again!"
I turned around and saw little Danielle, eyes full of tears, running to me to tell on her little brother… Again…
"Did not! I just picked it up to look at it! I let you look at my dinosaur!" he cried.
Even though Danielle and Justin are twins, Danielle is older by a few minutes.
I don't really remember the birth, and neither does Bo. It all seemed like kind of a blur…
I never even realized that I gave birth twice… I felt really stupid…
"OW! Mom! Justin pulled my braid!" she cried.
"Children!" I yelled. It feels weird to be the parent. I wonder if my mom felt like this?
"You won't get to go into town with Daddy today if you keep fighting." I scolded.
Both of them stopped their bickering. That was what they loved more than anything.
In the past three years, the small little town has grown.
First, a clerk moved in. We finally didn't have to ask Pascal for everything. Though we still do sometimes.
Then, two small families moved in. One opened an Animal Barn, and the other opened a Vegetable Farm.
Next, an Italian baker moved in!
Then an old man, named Joey, moved in. He opened a small candy and toyshop. (It's a half and half.)
Candace's daughter opened a clothing store.
We even have an inn now! And two restaurants!
A priest moved in to, so we make sure to go to church every Sunday.
Yep, our town has grown a lot in the past four years.
A lot of people have moved here without opening any stores too.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Danielle cried when she saw Bo. She's a daddy's girl like me.
Justin ran to me and lifted his arms up, so I picked him up. He's a momma's boy.
Bo came over to me and gave me a kiss.
"Daddy!" Danielle interrupted. "Are we going to town now?"
"I wanna get a lollipop the size of my head!" she exclaimed as she rounded her hands around her head.
Justin's eyes widened. "They make them that big?" he asked.
"Of course silly!" she laughed.
"We aren't going anywhere until you two get your shoes on." I said.
"Okay mommy!" they both said when we put them down. And they ran into the house, faster than a speeding bullet.
"Hehe." Bo said as he gave me a hug. "They sure do have a lot of energy huh?"
"If only we could bottle up that energy and sell it… We'd make millions!" I exclaimed.
"We surely would." he agreed.
A few minutes later, the kids ran outside with their shoes on.
I sighed deeply.
There was one thing this island didn't have… A school.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Justin cried. "Can we go to the candy store first?" he asked with his blue-green eyes twinkling.
"Sure we can." I agreed.
Bo held Danielle's hand, and I held Justin's hand as we walked into town.
Sunshine Town.
"Hey Ariella! Hey Bo!" Joey said when we walked through the door.
"Hey Joe." Bo and I chimed.
"One piece of candy and one toy." I instructed.
"Yes mommy!" they agreed, and they ran around in 'their own little world'.
"So… What's new?" Bo asked.
"You mean you don't know?" Joey asked.
Bo and I both shook our heads in confusion.
"A new teacher is moving in next week!" he said happily.
"Really?!" I asked in shock. Finally!
"That's great!" Bo said. "I'll get started on the school house tomorrow."
Danielle and Justin came back with their arms full.
Danielle had a giant rainbow lollipop and a new dress for her doll.
Justin had a toy car and a bag of gumdrops.
We paid for their things and left.
Bo and I ran a few errands and then went to get dinner.
After we ate, we went home and put the kids to bed.
Bo and I sat on the couch with Jack and relaxed.
"Can you believe it? We're finally going to have a school!" I said as I petted Jack.
Bo snuggled up to me and said, "Yeah. I was worried about that for a while… I'm glad the kids will have a school to go to. Though there aren't many kids here…"
Justin and Danielle were the only real kids on the island.
All of the other kids are 13 or older.
I sighed.
Beggars can't be choosers I suppose.
Before I went to bed, I went to check on the little ones.
They were happily sleeping in their beds.
They looked like little angels…
I pulled their blankets over them and gave them both a second good-night kiss.
As I began to leave, Justin sat up and rubbed his tired little eyes and asked, "Mommy?"
"Yes?" I asked quietly.
"Can I have a glass of water?" he asked.
"Sure dear." I answered.
I went and got him a glass of water and then kissed him on the head.
"Good night mommy… I love you…" he said tiredly as he drifted to sleep.
"I love you too, baby." I said happily.
Parenting sure did have it's ups and downs. But I loved it anyways.