After the Matterhorn - Chapter Six
by Cre8iveWriterX yahoo .com
.
.
.
.
*** REVIEW RESPONSE ***
chipmunksnchipettes:
Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed the 'paint fight' story. I was hoping someone would say they liked it :-)
DiceRox09:
Well Alvin didn't mention anything about the Chipettes being alone, and there was pretty much no way of hiding the reason of Brittany's upset. Who would have guessed the turn of events?
Girl4Christ15:
Thankyou! I did have a good day :-) I'll try to keep the story coherent and interesting. There is nothing worse than a sucky sequal. I'll do my best ;-)
.
.
.
.
*** CHAPTER SIX ***
It was 6:30 that evening when their plane touched down. After another hour or so of going through customs and collecting luggage the gang were in a taxi headed home. The home of Dave and the Chipmunks, that is. The Chipettes explained to Dave that their guardian Olivia was waiting for them at their apartment. They were going to stay in the taxi and take it there after he and the boys disembarked at their own house. When asked by Dave why their guardian wasn't waiting for them at the airport, they gave a confusing reply. A set of replies actually, each one a variation of the other. All the more concerned this made Dave.
"Listen girls, I really don't feel comfortable with leaving you three alone at night when we can simply stop off at your apartment first. I know the boys will agree." Dave said with notable unease.
"Oh no, no it will be fine.... It's not that late.... It's actually very nearby...." they responded in jumbled unison.
"Well if it is so near to our house then it won't take much longer for us to stop there first." Dave wasn't going to give in.
Three pairs of eyes darted around as each sister searched for the perfect rebuttal.
"But Olivia is waiting for us." Brittany tried. A pointless comment she realised, after it left her mouth.
"Then let's not keep her waiting." Dave responded. "I really don't like leaving you three to get home by yourselves. Considering we are in the same taxi."
The boys could see the look of concern on Dave's face. Now that they knew the full truth behind Dave's acceptance of the girls' living arrangements (what he believed to be the girls' living arrangements), they couldn't help but feel guilty. Not through lying to Dave, but by perpetuating this false belief by staying silent. Of course Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette were not dishonest people. They said what they believed they had to say in order to survive. Had they mentioned or let it slip to Dave that they were orphans living alone, Dave would have no doubt – in what he believed to be in the girls' best interest of course - made their situation known to Family Affairs. Or made some other legal attempt involving authorities to 'help' them. The girls had already been in one orphanage, an orphanage that made them move to a new country to escape. Even if another 'children's home' isn't where they would necessarily be sent, they in no way dared to risk entering into that system again. The boys understood this, in fact it was the only reason they stayed quiet – for now.
Meanwhile the girls were still trying to lose Dave, however caring he was being.
"What Brittany means," began Jeanette, "is that Olivia is expecting us but won't be home for another hour."
Dave thought about this for a second.
"Her little ones are coming home from a long international tour and she isn't going to be home to greet them?"
"She had to work late, unexpectedly." cut in Eleanor.
With a deep sigh, Dave accepted this but made one final request - or perhaps a demand – as a responsible parent.
"Well I still want to see you three safely to your door."
Jeanette had the next word.
"Alright then, we'll direct you to our home. It is only a few blocks away from your house."
Eleanor and Brittany jerked their heads toward their big idea sister.
"Jeanette! What are you saying? What are your doing?!" It was all in the look, no words were necessary.
"It's okay, I think I know what to do." whispered Jeanette.
Alvin and Theodore had no idea of what was going on inside Jeanette's head, but Simon had a sneaking premonition.
"That makes me feel so much better." breathed a comforted and relieved Dave, "Why couldn't we have agreed to this before?"
"Sorry." offered a meek Jeanette.
.
FIVE MINUTES LATER....
.
The taxi pulled up to a medium sized block of apartments. It was a fairly old and grubby looking construction. A single medium-rise block of about 20 floors. Access to each dwelling was only from outside doors on long rows of steel verandah walkways. At each end of these walkways, elevators could be seen. Towels could be seen hanging off the walkway in front of the occasional door.
"Uh..." Jeanette stumbled for a second then pointed proudly at a just-opened door on the 12th floor. where an unknown woman stood.
"That one! Hello Olivia, we're home!" Jeanette started waving exuberantly. "She's home earlier than we thought. Hello! Hello!"
Her sisters caught on an began waving and calling out their greetings.
On seeing three seemingly happy girls waving at her, this person did the polite thing and waved back.
"Jeanette's right, we can take it from here." stated an affirming Brittany.
There was an air of confidence among the Chipettes again. Brittany picked up two of her cases and pulled them out of the taxi.
Dave took in a deep breath before conceding to the girls' wishes. After all, they were no longer his girls to look after. Their guardian was sure to come down and help them with their luggage. He saw the girls home, they were now back in someone else's care, there was not much he could do.
It was a more emotional goodbye than usual. All seven had become quite used to each others company. After being together for all those weeks it seemed almost sad that they now had to part. But goodbyes had to be done and after the girls gave their final thanks for the trip, the taxi pulled out and left. As Jeanette watched the taxi drive down the street, with the Chipmunks waving in the back window, her eyes unknowingly began to well up. It wasn't until the cab turned the corner and out of sight that she realised her sight was blurry from uncried tears. She let it out, slowly letting her body fall to the ground until she was crouching against the weight of the suitcases.
"That was so horrible! I feel so horrible for tricking Dave like that!" she made out. "I knew one of us had to do something, but I just feel so terrible and guilty for doing this to Dave." She looked up at her sisters. "He's only being kind."
Feeling an urge to pick up and move on, she quickly stood up and grabbed a case in each hand, wiping her cheek on her shoulder as she walked off.
"Where are you going Jeanette?" asked Eleanor.
Jeanette pointed with her head and said with upset through her voice, "Over there where the telephone is. We have to call a taxi to take us to our real home, don't we?"
Eleanor and Brittany bundled up the rest and followed their sister.
And just like that, life for the Chipettes was back to normal.
.
MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE TAXI...
.
"I worry about those girls sometimes." Dave thought aloud.
He furrowed his brow as he recount the conversation. He wasn't sure why his mind wouldn't let the girls go. There was something that made him uncomfortable - he just could not put his finger on it.
"Maybe it's nothing. It's most likely nothing at all. It just feels like we are missing three members of the family - the girls were with us the entire trip and I could tell the three of them and my boys were enjoying each others company more than usual. But I still must speak to that guardian of theirs. To tell her how upset.... wait, is that...."
From his position in the front passenger seat, Dave's eyes spotted something in the rear view mirror. A hard oval shaped case. A small case, with pretty flowers and horses patterned around it. Not an item that belonged to him or his boys.
"Oh dear, one of the girls must have left that behind. They probably need that tonight - it looks like a toiletries case."
"Theodore, can you reach behind your seat and pass me that case? I think it belongs to one of the girls."
"Uh, here it is Dave, and it has 'The Chipettes' written on the top of it." informed Theodore.
Dave didn't open it but gave it a single, gentle shake. Sounded like a jumble of small, hard objects - lip gloss sticks, toothbrushes and toothpaste.... that sort of thing.
"Hang on boys, we're going back." Announced Dave, "The girls left all their toiletries behind."
A wave of uncertain anxiety swept over the boys. Make up a story to protect the girls? The boys could do that for their good friends the Chipettes. Tell lies straight to Dave? It's hard to lie to someone when they are in the same room. Maybe just avoid the truth. Well that was Alvin's idea anyway.
"Wait! Uh, Dave? Couldn't it wait until tomorrow? I mean they would have gone inside by now and it really is getting late. Well, not late yet.... but it will be.... soon." Not the strongest argument, but Alvin gave it a shot.
"Alvin, the girls will need this tonight, and it has only been two minutes since we left their apartment."
Dave was not about to argue about something this elementary. He put his foot down. Alvin only got as far as opening his mouth for a comeback.
"Not another word Alvin, or any of you three. Just stay in the car, I'll go to their apartment number and hand it back."
Alvin stayed silent. Maybe it was the seriousness of the situation that held him back. That and the futility of his argument. Dave was right. It would take very little effort on their part and the girls would be thankful - if that is where the girls could be found. The boys were not sure of what to expect when Dave started to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but they could imagine a few possible outcomes. They hoped the girls were still where the taxi dropped them off.
The taxi arrived. No chipette was in sight. Only an empty driveway and an empty phone booth. Dave repeated his instruction to the boys to stay put as he hopped out of the car and strode towards the apartment elevators. He obviously remembered the door number that unknown lady lived behind. As they stayed in the car, Alvin, Simon and Theodore were uncomfortably silent. Albeit for some unintelligible utterances. "Oh boy..., What now..., The girls...." The girls indeed. They had already called and boarded another taxi, and instructed the driver to take them to a bus stop on the edge of the park in which their home-sweet-treehouse resided.
Dave knocked on the apartment door. It opened revealing the lady. Perplexed, the boys watched the conversation from the car. They wished the driver would turn off the engine so they could hear. Dave's conversation may be too far away to hear even with hands cupped over ears, but Simon had pulled out his mini parabolic microphone kit - a gadget he bought in one of the airports. Unfortunately it was just a tad useless inside a car with its engine running.
In all truth, one could accurately guess the conversation. The lady stated over and over that she had never seen those three children before, and no - her name was not Olivia. Dave left, looking at his boys through the car window as he made his way down the walkway to the elevator.
All were silent as Dave returned to car. The boys waited for Dave to say something. Anything, apart from instructing the taxi driver to carry on. Simon eventually broke the silence with a single, "Dave?"
We'll talk at home fellas." was Dave's flat response.
What to say.... Dave wouldn't actually 'dob them in' to authorities, would he? The boys trusted Dave. After all, he was their father. And they knew he only had the best interests of the girls at heart. But what would that mean? What would he do?
"And Simon," Dave prompted, "I'll need the girls' telephone number when we get home, okay?"
"Couldn't we just dial it for you?" jutted in Alvin.
What could Dave do with their telephone number? Many things the Chipettes wouldn't want. Giving it to certain agencies for one.
Dave turned his body to look at Alvin, then continued moving his gaze to each of his sons as he said, "If any of you three had any part in this...." Each word said with a climbing tone.
"Why don't we just talk at home Dave? Like you said." Simon quickly tried to diffuse the situation before it escalated any further.
Dave paused for a bit then replied, "Alright, but after I call the girls."
Well, a late night call couldn't do much harm. And the girls would be the best ones to do the explaining. But it was night time already and they had just got home.... Theodore felt he should say something.
"Dave, could it please wait until tomorrow? Calling Eleanor, Brittany and Jeanette I mean, We haven't even unpacked yet and neither will have the Chipettes." he asked. An honest and reasonable question.
Dave agreed. After all, what could be done at this evening hour besides cause stress? If the girls desperately needed their forgotten case, they themselves could call. But Dave still intended to have a family chat tonight. He was still concerned and hoped his boys would be able to tell him something of the girls' living arrangements. Who are they with.... are they with anyone at all?