Chapter 4
Stef and Lena woke up together.
"Good morning, love," Stef said, kissing Lena's cheek.
"Morning," Lena replied. She started to get out of bed.
"Where are you going?"
"To check on Callie."
After a minute, Stef heard Lena call her name. She rushed out and down the stairs.
"What's wrong?"
Lena was standing in the middle of the stairs and pointed.
Callie and Mariana were asleep together on the couch.
"Aww. Those two are truly like sisters."
"Yes, yes they are."
Later that morning, Callie woke up, finding Stef watching The Flintstones.
"Morning, love."
"Yo-yo-you watch cartoons?"
"Every Saturday morning when I don't get called in to work."
Callie smiled. "I-I think I u-used to."
Stef immediately moved to help Callie to the couch, handing her the walker the physical therapist had given her. PT and OT would come once a week, and speech therapy three times a week, but Stef and Lena were on their own for everything else.
Callie grasped the walker, taking hesitating, shuffling steps.
"You can do it, honey," Stef said, watching her. "Just be careful."
Callie got comfortable on the couch, laughing at the TV.
"This is one of my favorite episodes. Fred, the guy with the blue tie, promised his wife he'd take her to the movies while at the same time, he has a bowling tournament he needs to participate in," Stef explained. Lena came into the room, finding Stef and Callie bonding over the Flintstones while eating bowls of Fruity Pebbles.
"First The Three Stooges, now The Flintstones. What's next, Bugs Bunny?"
"Aww, what's up, doc?" Stef said, causing Callie to laugh.
Lena shook her head, getting herself a bowl of cereal and joining the other two. Sometimes it seemed like there were six kids in the house.
A half an hour later, Stef turned to Callie. "Should we get you a shower and get you dressed?"
Callie nodded. They walked into the bathroom.
"Can-can I take a bub-bubble bath in…stead?"
"No problem," Stef turned on the water, putting a lot of bubbles in the tub and helping Callie get undressed.
Watching Callie play with the bubbles gave Stef an idea. She added some more bubble bath, got undressed, and joined Callie.
"W-why are you taking a bath with me?"
"Moms need to get clean too," Stef said, playfully splashing Callie.
…
A half-hour later, they got dressed. Stef was helping Callie adjust her walker and walked her downstairs.
"I have to do some paperwork," Stef said. "If you need anything just call."
Stef went into her office. Callie sat down on her bed.
Just then, Jude came in.
"Hi, Callie."
"Hi, J-Jude."
"Lena said to tell you Timothy, the speech therapist, will be here in a few minutes."
"O-o-okay."
There was a knock on the door. Lena answered the door to find her colleague Timothy on the other side.
"Hi," Lena said, "Timothy, thank you for coming."
"No problem."
They walked into the living room.
"Callie, this is Timothy. He'll help you with your speech ."
"But I t-talk fi-fine."
"I'll help you get even better. And I'm also here to help you with remembering words and finding the right words for things."
"Oh. O-Okay."
Timothy sat down. "Let's start by reading one of my favorite books to you." He opened A Tale of Two Cities. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…."
"Callie seems interested in the book." Stef joined Lena, who was watching from the kitchen.
"Yes, she is."
"So, what will reading a book do for her?"
"She'll be picking up on both sounds and vocabulary."
"And Charles Dickens is one of the greatest authors ever," Brandon said, joining his moms.
"How do you know so much about Dickens?" Lena asked, looking at her son.
"You're forgetting Mama, Callie's therapist is also my English teacher."
"Oh, right," Lena said.
"How did you know he did speech therapy?" Brandon asked.
"I asked around."
Listening to Timothy read to Callie gave Brandon an idea. He went to get Jude and the twins.
"Where are you four going?" asked Stef.
"It's a top-secret mission," Jesus said.
An hour later, Brandon, Jesus, Jude and Mariana returned.
"What do you kids have there?" Lena asked, curious.
"We bought every Dickens novel the bookstore had. Listening to Timothy read to Callie made me think we'd want to do the same thing."
"Wow, I'm impressed, B. Where did you get so many good ideas from?"
"Dad."
Stef shook her head, looking at all the books the kids bought.
Lena was looking at the books. "Wow. Some of these I haven't read since I was a senior in high school. Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield…"
Callie came into the room. "What's all this?"
"We bought them for you," Jude said.
"So we could help you with your reading," Brandon explained.
"Wow," Callie said. "Thank-th-thank you."
"You're welcome, you're the best sister," Jude said, hugging Callie.
…
The next afternoon Brandon was practicing his piano. Callie came in.
"Oh, hi. I was practicing the piano."
Callie moved her walker, sitting next to him.
"Did you know any songs before your accident?"
"I-I-I think there's a movie where a princess lives with a mon-mon-monster."
"Beauty and the Beast? It's one of Mariana's favorite movies."
"Yeah."
"What's your favorite song from it?"
"Um…the-the fir-ssst one. The one with the-the-"
"The townspeople?"
Brandon pulled out a piece of music and started to sing a song.
Little town, it's a quiet village
Every day like the one before
Little town, full of little people
Waking up to say
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Callie started to sing
There goes the baker with his tray like always
The same old bread and rolls to sell
Every morning just the same
Since the morning that we came
To this poor provincial town
Good morning, Belle!
Good morning, Monsieur!
Where you off to?
The book shop
I just finished the most wonderful story
About a beanstalk and an ogre and—
That's nice. Marie!
The baguettes! Hurry up!
Look, there she goes
That girl is strange, no question
Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?
Never part of any crowd
'Cause her head's up on some cloud
No denying she's a funny girl, that Belle
Bonjour!
Good day!
How is your family?
Bonjour!
Good day!
How is your wife?
I need six eggs!
That's too expensive!
There must be more than this provincial life!
Ah, Belle
Good morning! I've come to return the book I borrowed
Finished already?
Oh, I couldn't put it down! Have you got anything new?
Aha! Not since yesterday!
That's all right. I'll borrow... this one!
That one? But you've read it twice!
Well, it's my favorite!
Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise—
If you like it all that much, it's yours!
But sir!
I insist!
Well, thank you! Thank you very much!
Mariana came into the room sitting with Brandon and Callie
Look, there she goes
That girl is so peculiar
I wonder if she's feeling well
With a dreamy, far-off look
And her nose stuck in a book
What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle
Oh, isn't this amazing?
It's my favorite part because— you'll see
Here's where she meets Prince Charming
But she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three!
Now, it's no wonder that her name means "Beauty"
Her looks have got no parallel
But behind that fair facade
I'm afraid she's rather odd
Very different from the rest of us
She's nothing like the rest of us
Yes, different from the rest of us is Belle!
Wow! You didn't miss a shot, Gaston!
You're the greatest hunter in the whole world!
I know
No beast alive stands a chance against you!
And no girl, for that matter
It's true, LeFou! And I've got my sights set on that one
The inventor's daughter?
She's the one — the lucky girl I'm going to marry!
But she's—
The most beautiful girl in town
I know, but—
That makes her the best! And don't I deserve the best?
Well of course, I mean you do, but I—
Right from the moment that I met her, saw her
I said, "She's gorgeous, " and I fell
Here in town, there's only she
Who is as beautiful as me
So I'm making plans to woo and marry Belle!
Look, there he goes
Isn't he dreamy?
Monsieur Gaston
Oh, he's so cute!
Be still, my heart, I'm hardly breathing
He's such a tall, dark, strong and handsome brute!
Pardon!
(Good day!)
Mais oui!
(You call this bacon?)
What lovely grapes!
(Some cheese!)
Ten yards!
(One pound!)
'Scuse me!
(I'll get the knife)
Please let me through!
(This bread!)
Those fish!
(It's stale!)
They smell!
(Madame's mistaken)
Well, maybe so!
There must be more than this provincial life!
Just watch, I'm going to make Belle my wife!
Look, there she goes
The girl is strange but special
A most peculiar mademoiselle
It's a pity and a sin
She doesn't quite fit in
'Cause she really is a funny girl
A beauty, but a funny girl
She really is a funny girl
That Belle!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
"Hey Brandon, you should sing one of your favorite songs."
Brandon pulled out two songs. "These are from a movie called The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Brandon started to play the songs Out There and Someday
"My-my mom liked that one."
"We are major Disney fans in this house," Brandon said.
"M-m-me too," Callie said. "My favorite is W-Winnie the Pooh."
Brandon pulled out music and started to sing the Tigger Song.
"Jude used a Pooh song to h-help me to remember."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Would you like to learn how to play?"
"Y-yes."
Brandon and Callie were playing the piano.
"Oh great, we have another Beethoven in the house," Jesus grumbled.
Mariana nudged his arm. "Be nice!"
"Hey, kids," Stef walked in.
"Listen, Mom."
Stef sat next to Mariana and Jesus. When Brandon and Callie were finished, they heard hands clapping.
"It appears we have an audience," said Brandon.
"That was amazing, sweetheart. Okay, kids, dinner time, then Cal, I think we could squeeze in a couple more episodes of the Three Stooges."
"Okay," Callie said, smiling.
…
Dinner time was quiet. Because Callie couldn't yet grasp a fork, Lena had to help feed her.
"I'm n-n-not a b-baby," Callie grumbled.
"I know," Lena said gently. "Would you like to try it yourself?"
Callie nodded. She took the fork and held it awkwardly. She tried to spear the spaghetti, but most of it ended up on her clothes. She started to throw her fork, but Lena caught her hand before she could.
"It's okay," Lena told her calmly. "I know you're frustrated, but you cannot throw things. Especially silverware-someone could get hurt."
Callie looked down. "I'm-I'm sorry."
Lena smiled. "You're fine. Do you want to try again?"
Callie acquiesced and allowed Lena to feed her. This time, Callie willingly took a few bites.
"Yummy, what is this, spaghetti?"
"Yes!" Lena said.
They finished dinner. After watching some more Three Stooges, Callie fell asleep on her bed with Mariana.
That night, Stef and Lena were getting ready for bed.
"Stef," Lena said to her wife, "we're going to have to go back to work soon."
"I know," Stef replied. "We should hire someone to take care of Callie when we're at work."
"What about Rita Hendricks? She did amazing with Jesus when he fell off his skateboard last summer and broke his leg."
"Yes, she did. And she's qualified to do therapy."
"Absolutely."
Stef called Rita Hendricks.
"Hi Rita, this is Stef. We were wondering if you could do us a favor…"
Rita came over. Stef and Lena told her about Callie.
"That poor girl. Yes, I'd love to help."
Callie came into the living room.
"Callie, this is our friend Rita."
"Hi, Callie," Rita said. "It's nice to meet you."
"Hi."
"Honey, Rita is going to be helping to take care of you when Stef and I go back to work next week."
"You-you leaving me?"
"Just for the day," Stef reassured her.
"O-Okay."
"I know it's scary," Stef said, "but you won't be alone. I promise."
…
The following day, Stef was at her dad's house.
"You don't have to keep doing this, you know."
"If I don't stock the fridge, you'll live on sodium-packed TV dinners. It's bad for your heart."
"Come on, you're nuts. Your mother and I raised you on TV dinners."
"And I still have nightmares about frozen peas and Salisbury steak."
Frank laughed. "How's that new kid Callie?"
"She's..got a long road ahead of her, but we're hopeful."
"You told me she'd have to relearn everything."
"Yeah, but she's already making headway."
"That's great to hear. You think I could take her and the rest of you guys to a Padres game?"
"Mariana going to a baseball game? Ha! Have you met your granddaughter?"
"Yeah, I know."
"I'm sure they'd love it, Dad."
"Good."
That evening at dinner, Stef made an announcement.
"Your grandfather is taking us to a Padres game next weekend."
"Who's the Padres?" Callie asked.
Jesus looked at her. "Who's the Padres? Who's the Padres?!"
"Now you did it," Mariana said.
After dinner, Jesus took Callie into the living room, putting in a DVD.
"Behold the San Diego Padres!"
"Wow, they look cool."
"Yeah, and if we win this game, we get to go to the World Series. That's the championship for baseball."
Brandon came into the room. "Umm…don't they need to beat the Cubs first?"
"No problem."
"No problem?"
"Yeah, they have a great team this year."
"Umm…Jesus, I'm not a baseball fan, but even I know they got lucky to get to the playoffs. Now you're telling me they're winning the World Series."
Callie laughed, watching the two brothers debate.
…
On Monday, Stef and Lena came down to see that Rita had already arrived.
"Good, you're here," Stef said. "Let me just go over her routine real quick. Or you may develop one of your own."
"I'm sure we'll be fine with hers," Rita replied.
"Okay. Callie, we'll be back at 6:00. That's when the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 6."
"O-Okay," Callie whispered.
Stef kissed her, then she and Lena left with the kids.
Rita sat next to Callie. "What do you like to do, Callie?"
"Watch The Three Stooges, eat spaghetti, read, and play the piano with my friend B-B-"
"Brandon? Yeah I know him and I even know Jude."
"You know Jude?"
"Yes. I think I met all your siblings last time I was here."
"They-they're not really my siblings except for Jude."
"I see."
"Th-they're my friends, especially Mariana."
"Yes, she's very special."
Rita helped Callie dress and eat lunch. They were working on her PT when Lena came home for the day.
"Hi, how was it?"
"Awesome. That girl loves Dickens."
"Yes, she does."
"How you doing, honey?"
"G-good."
"Stef is coming home with a very special surprise for you later."
Stef came in with Brandon with a huge box
Brandon helped Stef open it.
"W-w-what is that?" Callie asked as she eyed the machine.
"It's a treadmill, sweetheart. It's going to help you walk," Stef explained.
"C-cool."
Stef put the machine on the slowest setting "I found it at Kmart for $60.00 on sale."
"Wow, I might use it myself," Lena said.
…
The next Saturday, Frank, Stef, Lena, Brandon, Jesus, Mariana, Jude, and Callie was at the ballpark.
"What's this thing in my hand?" Callie asked as Stef and Lena helped walk her up the bleachers.
"It's a mitt. It helps you catch the ball if it comes into the audience."
It was the bottom of the first inning. Tommy Layne hit the ball. The ball was hit so far that it landed in Callie's hand. Everyone was cheering.
Why is everyone excited?" Callie asked.
"Because you caught a foul ball," Lena said.
"Wow."
That evening, the family was having hot dogs for dinner
"That was a heck of a game," Brandon said. "Callie caught a foul ball, and the most important thing is the Padres are facing the Colorado Rockies in the World Series!"
The whole family cheered.
"Callie, did you have fun?" Mariana asked.
"Y-yeah. I did."