Anna was lying on the couch. She had come back from the Europe trip last night. She enjoyed herself but she was jetlagged. She plans to relax while watching Golden Girls. She was in black shorts and a pink shirt that said introverted but willing to discuss dogs. A knock on the door made her drag herself over to it while telling Naruto to be quiet. "Sherry?" She was surprised to see her stepmother and half-sister.
"Hey, I'm sorry to drop by unannounced but can you take Gigi? I have to fly back home because I have a family emergency and I can't take her. And your dad is out of town." She pleads.
"For how long? I'm on a break from school, but I got work." She scratched the back of her neck.
"Well, I'm sure you can get your shifts covered and I'll pay for any lost income. Gigi wants to spend time with her sister." She put a hand on the young blonde's head.
"Sure," She looks into the child's blue eyes.
"Thank you. This is her stuff." She pushed a suitcase through the door. "I got to catch my flight, thank you again." She rushed to the elevator.
"Come on." She guides Gigi into the apartment.
"Nice pet, nice pets." She scolds Gigi who seems to like making Sauske hiss at her by pulling on his tail. She picked the cat up and put him in the cat tree so he was out of the child's reach. She was tired of constantly chasing the girl around the small apartment to stop her from doing something naughty.
She gave herself whiplash when she heard the fridge open. "Do not drop that egg."
"But, I like the way it breaks." She giggles.
"No," She took the egg from her to put it back and close the fridge. Gigi screams like a siren. "I need to drain her energy." She stared at her sister. She looked over at Naruto who had the same problem. She perks up when she realizes what she needs to do. "Come on, Gigi." She grabbed the dog leash to put it on Naruto. She puts on a pair of pink rose sneakers. She grabbed her mini backpack and tightly held Gigi's hand. She left the apartment much to Sasuke's relief.
"Where are we going?" Gigi asks from the back seat of the car.
"Somewhere you can run around, but remember only nice pets." She glanced back at her.
"I can do that." She pets Naruto softly. He cuddles with her. Since he would give her attention for good behavior she treated him nicely. Unlike Sauke, who would only run from her even when she was nice to him.
She pulled into the parking lot. "You have to stay in my sight or we will leave immediately." She warns. Gigi nodded after being on time out a few times today, she knew that Anna would do as she said.
She watched with hope as Gigi and Naruto ran around the park. She picked up her phone, not looking at who it was because she wasn't going to take her eyes off her sister. "Hello."
"Hey, where are you? I brought you lunch." Jess asked. She told him she was going to stay home, so he swung by with lunch since he was working nearby.
"Sorry, Sherry dropped by this morning and left me with Gigi." She told him.
"What? Was this planned?" He looked at the whiteboard calendar that was on the fridge.
"No, it wasn't. She said she had a family emergency. I couldn't say no when she said that Gigi wanted to spend time with me." She knew she should have checked with him first, but she didn't have time to do so.
He let out a deep sigh. "For how long?"
"She said for a couple of days. I made a few calls and got my shifts covered for the next three days." She hoped it would only be that long.
"How is she?" Jess paused when he saw the bathroom. "Why is cat litter everywhere?"
"Sorry, I didn't get to clean that up. She gets into everything. Shit... I got to go, Gigi is in the lake." She hangs up to run to get the girl splashing the dogs. Luckily the animals thought it was a fun game. "Gigi, get out. We don't have any towels with us."
"You don't like doing anything fun." She slapped her hands on the water.
"Fine, but we are not going to leave until you dry off." She gave in for the first time today.
"Okay." She plays with the dogs.
Anna threw her shoes on the shelf of the coat rack. Gigi copied her. She got her to play the mime game, where Gigi had to copy everything she did. It was the best idea she came up with today. "Alright, game over." She took off Naruto's harness.
"Okay," She ran into the apartment. "There is a man here."
"That's Jess. I told you about him." She went into the living room to see her boyfriend on the couch.
"Hello, Anna's boyfriend." She sat next to him.
"Hello, Anna's sister." He nods.
"Go take a bath. I'm going to cook mac and cheese. Remember if you get into trouble you'll have to eat broccoli." She reminds her of the deal they made in the car.
"Okay." She ran to the bathroom. Anna follows her to get the water at the right temperature before leaving her to bathe herself. She went into the kitchen to get dinner started.
Jess got up to stand next to her. "So, how was it?"
"I didn't know what to do so I treated her like Naruto." She whispers.
"What?" He raised his eyebrows.
"She had so much energy and when Naruto gets like that I take him for a walk. I didn't think a walk could do it so I took her to the dog park." She boils water.
"You know there are parks for kids." He laughed.
"I remember that when I watched her run around with dogs." She felt like an idiot when she realized that fact.
"Well, did she have fun?" He tried to stop laughing because of how exhausted she looked.
"The time of her life according to her." She got the ingredients ready.
"Well, then that's all that matters." He cups her face to give her a soft kiss.
Gigi came out in pink pajamas. Anna grabs the remote to change it to Cartoon Network. She would pay attention during the show but on commercials she would get into trouble. Tomorrow they were going to stop at a Blockbuster to get DVDs.
"Get up, Sissy! Get up!" Gigi jumps up and down on the bed.
"Anna!" Jess yelled.
She jolted awake. She pulled Gigi to lie down next to her. She giggles and clings to her arm. "Let's go!" She climbs out of bed, leaving her grumpy boyfriend behind. Anna helped her sister get ready for the day. She was trying to not get in a bad mood. She had been looking forward to this day. It was the first day in months that they were able to get a full day together. Now, she was stuck babysitting.
She sat her sister in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal, so that she could get ready. "Sorry, I know today was supposed to be our day." She apologized after closing the bedroom door.
"We'll have another day." He got up not being able to go back to sleep. "Besides, you never got to spend any time with Gigi."
"Today, we're going to the zoo, get some Philly cheese steaks, and go to the video store." She changed into a green shirt and overall shorts. She was planning on using her black Converses.
"The zoo?" He grabs a brush from the nightstand to style his hair.
"I know, they were stolen from their environments to be stuck in cages for human amusement but I don't know what else to do." She brushes her hair before putting it up in a bun. She kept her makeup light.
"I suppose I can pay the prison." He went to the bathroom to get ready.
"Are we going now?" Gigi turns when Anna comes out of the room.
"Not yet, we're waiting for Jess." She grabs the empty bowl to wash it.
"How long is he going to take?" She asks.
"Men need time to gel their hair." She sat next to her on the couch.
Jess came out after ten minutes. "Are you done gelling?" She leaned on the back of the couch to ask.
"You tell me." He put on his jacket.
"Let's go." Anna grabs Gigi's hand.
"All the monkeys in the zoo look like you." Gigi sings to the monkeys.
"Yes, mock them in their prison cell," Jess mutters.
"Gigi, keep your body on this side of the railing." She pulled her so her feet were on the ground.
"You're good at this." Jess watches Gigi hold her hand as they walk to the next exhibit.
"Why, because I know not to let a child lean over the railing at a zoo." She snorted. She had no idea what she was doing. She was trying to keep her out of trouble while entertaining her.
"That and other things." He could tell Gigi was fond of her. Not many people could tame a wild child without losing it.
"Dad's calling," Anna answered the ringing phone.
"Hey, Dad!" Gigi screams.
"Anna, I'm so sorry. I just got off the phone with Sherry. I can't believe she dropped Gigi on you." He was horrified.
"It's fine. I'm on a break so it's no big deal." She enjoyed her time with Gigi even if it could get stressful.
"I'll be flying there tomorrow to get her." He pushed all his meetings up so he could get them all done today.
"Dad, you don't have to cut your trip short." She felt Gigi try to climb her to get to the phone. "I'm talking. I'll give you the phone later. Look at the flamingos." She nudged her towards the bird. Jess went with her.
"Flamingos?" He asks.
"We're at the zoo." She told him.
"She's not running away." He knew she was hard to handle.
"She knows if she runs off we'll go straight home." She watched Jess reluctantly pick her up so she could see better. "It took a few time-outs and making her clean up her messes but we've come to an understanding."
He let out a bitter laugh. "Sounds like you got a better handle on her than I do."
"This is my second day with her. I'd find it hard to follow through with it every day." She had a hard time disciplining Sasuke. He still knocks things over when he gets upset.
"I'm going to wrap everything up today, so I'll be there tomorrow morning." He told her. "Sherry's right, all this could be handled with phone calls and emails but these old men are stuck in their ways."
"I'll see you tomorrow… Gigi, come talk to Dad." She held the phone out for her. Jess put her down for her to run for the phone. "He's coming tomorrow." She told Jess.
"Is he going to stay with her?" He asks.
"Yeah, he's taking Gigi with him." She tilts her head wondering why he thought Gigi would stay with them.
"No, Sherry?" He couldn't stay with someone who abandoned his child.
"She said it was a family emergency." She didn't want her sister to lose a parent.
"I don't think there was one." He whispers.
She hushes him when Gigi hands her the phone. "Can we see the tigers next?" She grabbed her older sister's hand.
"Sure." They went to see the big cats.
"Have you ever watched The Wizard of Oz?" She looks down at her sister.
"No." She pops.
"What about Balto?" She grabbed the cartoon.
"Nope." She shook her head.
"Oh my," She gasps. "I could call child services. You've been deprived."
"You really should," Jess mutters. Anna grabbed the movies she felt made her childhood. "I thought this was for Gigi, not you." He watches the cases pile up in her hand.
"Don't people have kids so they can relive their childhood?" She stopped after six.
"From my knowledge, people have kids because they don't know how to use a condom." He thought of his origin.
Anna stops to think about her origin and then looks down at Gigi. "I want to dispute you but I have no evidence."
"Thank God for accidents." He threw an arm around her.
"Hey Dad," She let him into the apartment.
"Hey Anna, thank you for everything." He hugs her.
"We're eating crepes. You can have some there on the counter." She nods to the breakfast bar.
Naruto ran over to smell him. "Hey." He bent down to pet him.
"Hi, Dad," Gigi waves from her spot on the couch. They were watching Willy Wonka.
"Hey, did you have a fun time?" He filled his crepe with syrup and fruits.
"Yes, we went to the doggy park and the zoo. We watch a lot of fun movies." She told him.
"That's great." He sat on the other side of Gigi. "Oh, Willy Wonka."
"It's a classic." She repeated what Anna told her.
"When do you guys leave?" She asked.
"In the afternoon but we'll get out of your hair earlier." He knew she had a life of her own.
"You guys can hang out here until then." She smiles. He smiles back.
"Yeah, we have to watch Charlotte's Web." Gigi wasn't leaving without watching the pig movie.
"Then it settled." Chris ruffles her hair.
Gigi was taking a nap. "Is Sherry okay?" She watches her dad pack Gigi's things.
"I don't know. She's been overwhelmed with me having to travel for work." He sighs. "It's not like I want to. I missed your and Rory's childhood because I'm an idiot. Now I'm missing Gigi's because of work." He knew he shouldn't unload onto her but he had no one else to turn to.
"Dad, what if Sherry doesn't stay? Who's going to watch Gigi?" She asks.
"Sherry's not leaving her daughter." He was trying to convince himself more than her.
"Dad, she couldn't get out of here fast enough. We both know there was no family emergency. Where did she go?" She asks all the questions that are running through her mind.
It stressed Chris out. "She's adjusting to handling Gigi alone. It wasn't part of the plan."
"Dad, life never goes according to plan. She and I are proof of that." She pointed at her and then herself. "If plans work out then you and mom would be Ivy grads with important jobs in a fancy house." She was getting frustrated with him making it seem like he didn't have a serious problem.
"I know that. I know more about life than you do." His voice raised. They realized that mistake right away, looking at Gigi, and were relieved that she was still sleeping.
"I know you run when life doesn't go according to plan, but it looks like she's going to bolt first. So, you have to deal with the reality that the next time she freaks out she might leave Gigi all alone." She said as calmly as she could.
"I'm not leaving Sherry over one freak out." He shook his head. "I know what it's like to not be able to handle the pressure of parenting. I never got shut out and I'm happy I didn't."
"Yeah, but mom didn't let you stay when you weren't stable… Look, Dad, whatever happens, I'm here if you need someone to watch Gigi. I'm here." She knew it was a long trip for a babysitter but she wanted to keep the door open.
"Thanks, I know you're looking out for Gigi." He hugs her. She had to bite back saying someone had too.
"Bye. I'm going to miss you." She hugs Gigi tightly.
"I'll miss you too. Can I hug Naruto one more time?" She wiggles in her hold.
"Come on, Naruto, hug Gigi." The dog came and put his paws on either side of the child while she wrapped her arms around his neck loosely.
"It's impressive that you taught him that." He watches.
"It wasn't on purpose. I come home and ask for hugs then do it. He picks it up." She shrugged. "I'm going to miss you too." She hugs him.
"Same kid, same." He squeezed her.
