Chapter Three-Field Trip

It was around ten o'clock the night morning and Mary's day had begun with an event to which she had looked forward with great anticipation. Her little sister was a girl scout and she was accompanying her and the troop on a field trip. Mary's mother, Carolyn, usually went with the troop on their outings, but she had work she needed to catch up on, so she asked Mary if she would go in her sted, and Mary eagerly agreed. She had gone on several of her sister's girls scout outings, so she was familiar with the other children and other adults involved. Their day began at eight o'clock, when all the little girls met at the Mayfield house for breakfast. After everyone had eaten, they boarded a bus they rented for the day and headed into the city. Mary was sitting next to her little sister, watching fondly as the little girl eagerly conversed with her friends.

Jasmine Beatrice Mayfield, or JB as she was affectionately called, was seven and a half, turning eight in November. A Veteran's Day baby, she was the bookend of the Mayfield clan, a happy surprise for her parents. She was a slender little girl at just under four feet in height. At the rate she grew, Mary wouldn't be surprised if the child was taller than her by Christmas, which was a real possibility given the impressive heights possessed by both parents. Jasmine had straight, shoulder length dark brown hair and eyes, and fair skin with a dusting of freckles across her nose. She had a heart shaped face, a chin cleft, and deep-set simples on both cheeks.

Mary watched as her sister engaged in animated conversation with her friends Lily, Sophie, and Chloe, talking with her hands as much as her mouth. Mary twitched her lips in amusement as all four girls gabbled and giggled, trying to see who could talk over whom. She liked to talk as much as anyone when she was with her loved ones, but Mary firmly believed that chatter-queen gene rested squarely with this pint sized cutie. Jasmine suddenly looked over at her sister, as if suddenly realizing her presence.

"Sissy, aren't you just soooooo excited about our field trip?" Jasmine asked, her dark eyes dancing with anticipation.

"I am very excited, jellybean," Mary replied, gently stroking the child's siky smooth locks. "I love spending time with you."

"I have been wanting to come here *forever*! When Sophie's mommy Miss Karen asked where we wanted to go for our next field trip, I raised my hand and said we absolutely *had* to come here! I have wanted to see this place my entire life!"

Mary let out a soft giggle at Jasmine's last sentence, loving how much emphasis a seven and a half year old could put into her voice. "I'm glad Miss Karen agreed to this. Did you thank her for arranging this exciting field trip?"

"Yup! And after I thanked her she said you're welcome and thanked me for my cool idea and then..."

"We're here ladies!" Miss Karen announced from the front of the bus as they parked at the destination.

"Yaaaaaaaay!" all ten of the little girls cheered, the high pitched shrieks causing a slightly ringing in the ears of the adults.

The bus driver opened the doors and everyone exited the bus. The children stood against the bus as Miss Karen looked at her attendance sheet and performed roll call.

"Alright ladies, you know the drill: when I say your name I want you to answer, okay? Hannah Smith?"

"Here!" called Hannah, an adorable seven year old red haired, green eyed girl who was quite good at looking sweet and innocent. She was also quite good at providing evidence to the contrary.

"Rebekkah Harris?"

"Here!" called the eight year old blonde, who promptly whispered something in Hannah's ear' causing both girls to erupt in giggles.

"Girls, please don't speak until after attendance is taken," Karen said, checking off both girls as she continued down the list.

"Leah Anderson?"

"Here!"

"I'm here, Mommy!" Sophie called out, trying to be helpful.

"Thank you sweetie," Karen said, laughing as she checked her off.

"I wanna go inside now!" Lila whined.

"Yeah, me too!" Chloe added, her face in full-on pout mode as she folded her arms in front of her.

"We're boooooooooooored!" Grace and Natalie Goldenberg called out. They were seven year old twins with little tolorance for things they didn't consider enjoyable.

"I'm *hot*!" eight year old Polly Nichols added dramatically.

"Everyone is here, Karen," Mary said, sympathizing with the girls' whining. It was quite warm outside and she was eager to go inside and bask in the air conditioning.

"Alright, let's gather in a single file line and go inside," Karen said, taking her place at the front of the line.

"Sissy, stand next to me!" Jasmine ordered Mary, who readily complied.

Other than Mary and Karen, there were three other adults present: Grace and Natalia's mother, Chloe's grandmother, and Polly's aunt Daisy. The ladies entered the door and the girls looked around with quiet fascination. They were standing in the entrance of the NYPD, a place that held such affinity for young Jasmine because her current obsession was with law enforcement. A police officer was coming to her school once a week for the DARE program and she thought that was the coolest thing ever: almost as cool as Santa. Jasmine's parents had taken her to the local precinct in Scarsdale, but she wanted to see "the real thing."

Much to the Mayfields' amusement, the little girl was quite taken with cop-lated shows, such as Cops and Police women of Broward County. Mary almost died laughing when the little girl tried playing the theme song from cops on her piano. Captain Joseph Hannah walked over and greeted the group warmly.

"Hello, ladies, my name is Captain Joseph Hannah..."

"Hey...your name is Hannah and *her* name is Hannah!" Jasmine exclaimed excitedly, her head moving from the Captain's direction to that of her friend's.

"Wow, you are an observant little girl," Captain Hannah said, kneeling down so he could talk to her. "what is your name?"

"Jasmine Mayfield...and this is my sister Mary Mayfield. She's old so people think she is my mommy, but she's really my sister. My mommy is at work and she is much, much, much older than Mary. I think she's as old as you."

The adults couldn't help but laugh, the women's faces turning quite red. Mary's face was the reddest of all, but she managed to pull it together when the captain extended his hand to her.

"Hello, Mary, it's a pleasure to meet you. I bet this little one really keeps you on your toes."

"Yes she does captain. I have two other sisters, and she is quite good at remaining the center of our attention."

"That doesn't surprise me," Captain Hannah said, looking down at Jasmine with amusement. "Jasmine, how would you and your friends like to be honorary police officers?"

Jasmine nodded eagerly, so the captain reached into his pocket and pulled out plastic gold police badges, one for each girl and each one inscribed with the name of its owner. Jasmine looked so delighted with hers Mary knew it would be a long, long time before she agreed to take it off. The captain led everyone into the station and the adults followed behind the children, remaining silent as the girls, mostly Jasmine, fired off mass amounts of questions.