Not Quite Grown Up

Innocently, Annabelle told him she had seen the cookie disappear. “What are you talking about, Annie? You weren’t even home. And they were my cookies anyway.”

“You could at least say thank you and I wasn’t talking about today. You took a cookie on the day I  finished baking them.” Rusty could be so dumb sometimes. She was glad she was done with the donations for this year. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“You kids sure have been picking at each other more than usual. What’s going on?” Their dad had just come home from work. “Have you forgotten that we’re going out to supper tonight? You’d better get ready. Rusty, you get the bathroom first.”

“Dad, do I have to? Why can’t Annie go first? I’ll just have to sit around in my good clothes and get bored.” He really looked forward to his dad’s office party but didn’t see why he couldn’t wear what he already had on. “Your sister takes longer in the bathroom than you. Your good clothes will do just fine. You and I can have a game of chess while we wait on your mother and your sister.”

Rusty’s face lit up at his dad’s suggestion. His dad had taught him how to play chess. For a long time he lost every game, but now he could beat his dad. “Great! You get ready to be beat, Dad!” He started up the stairs to the bathroom. His dad called after him. “Use soap and make sure to wash everything. Rusty, did you hear me?” But Rusty was gone and all Grant could do was hope. 

“Now, Annabelle. How’s my girl? Where’s your mom?”  He kissed the crown of her head. “You’re getting so tall!” She wrapped her arms around her dad and hugged him tightly. “Mom knew you’d be home and decided we’re old enough to stay by ourselves for a few minutes. She just went to the store for milk and bacon for the morning.” She looked up at her dad. “Can I dance with you tonight, daddy?”

“Of course, sweetie. Now let’s get the chess board out so I’ll be ready when your brother gets down.”

~~~~~

The LightHouse restaurant was closed to the public for the evening. “Look at the gorgeous Christmas tree, Rusty! And all the tables have those poinsettia flowers!” She stood transfixed by the display that this restaurant put on every year. Hand made wreaths on the walls, the servers all dressed like elves, tinkling Christmas music from the grand piano in the corner, the pianist in tuxedo and tails. “It’s like being in a castle.” After the supper, the piano went silent and a dance quartet took their places on a small stage. Annabelle did dance with her father that evening. When you’re 10, it’s hard not to run and play with the little kids, and it’s scary to feel almost grown up. She tried act like she saw her mother acting, but didn’t really know if she was doing it right. Wearing her new Christmas dress, she did feel like a princess. She was also just passing the mark for dressing up in princess clothes, even though she still felt excited when she did. She hoped other people didn’t think she was being too little girlish. Rusty tried to listen to the men, but really didn’t seem any more comfortable that she did. He tried to look all grown up but they were twins so how could he? She was getting so sleepy and the music seemed too loud. “Mom, when can we go home?” 

~~~~~

Those couples with children were starting to round them up. There was more than one tired little one at the end of the evening. At home, neither Rusty nor Madge asked for a bedtime snack. Rusty had his snack in his closet. He was down to three cookies and decided just to go to bed. He started to read his graphic novel, but fell asleep with his light on. Annabelle was practically sleep walking up to her bedroom. Madge helped her into her pyjamas, tucked her in and she was asleep as soon as she snuggled under her covers. Turning her light out, Madge left the door open a crack; she stopped in Rusty’s room, put his book on his bedside table and turned his light out. 

She was tempted to just go to bed, but heard a favourite waltz playing downstairs. Smiling, she put aside her sleepiness to join her husband for a last dance. They would have the dance floor all to themselves.

“Even though you’re growing up, you should never stop having fun.”

~ Nina Dobrev, Canadian actress

Rusty's Mission

Vowing to behave himself, he slipped a cookie into his pocket! Rusty only had four cookies left. He had decided to eat one a day to make them last. He had eaten five of them the day before. Not only could he not eat his supper, but his stomach hurt. He woke up from a dream in the middle of the night of pork chops and mashed potatoes. His favourite. Today it would be only one cookie, but he had never been good at hard and fast rules. 

Counting out all the change he had collected over the year, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get everything wanted, but he’d try. He was on a mission. Lucky school was out for the December Pro D day. This was something he had to do on his own. Despite his mother trying to teach him that there were no separate girl things or boy things, he didn’t always agree with her. He didn’t want any of his friends to catch him buying baking things. Not even Ben. Some of his friends would be ok with it. Frowning, he shook his head. There were those guys that would be teasing him about it for the rest of his life. He didn’t want Ben to have to stick up for him all the time. He had to do this on his own. Besides it wasn’t anyone else’s business.

~~~~~

Rusty’s mother, Madge, worried about her kids. More recently Rusty. He didn’t talk about it, but she had heard about the bullying at school. Mothers do have their own information line. When he left the house that morning, she had asked him where he was off to. He mumbled something about the Mall. “Are you meeting Ben?” Gruffly he said “Maybe, just for Christmas stuff. I’ll be back for lunch.” The door slammed behind him. Madge was relieved. She didn’t like him going off anywhere on his own, especially to the Mall. Ben seemed a responsible young man and she had to trust that they knew what they was doing. Rusty couldn’t tell his mom that he was going on his own, or she wouldn’t have let him. So he knew he’d better be back for lunch.

~~~~~

“Hi mom! I’m back! Is lunch ready, I’m starved.” Rusty came bursting through the front door. “You’re in a good mood. You and Ben must have had a good morning.” Madge had just finished putting sandwiches on the table. “Your dad’s at work and he called to remind me that we’re all going out to supper tonight. It’s his office Christmas party with all the families. What have you got there?” Rusty looked all around. “Where’s Annabelle? She can’t see this.” 

“She and Abby went to the roller rink. She’ll be back soon.” 

Rusty helped himself to the sandwiches and took a big drink of milk. “Ok I got this Christmas ornament for one of her presents. I want to get some baking things but didn’t really know what to get. I couldn’t find a clerk. So maybe you could help me make a list of things I can get at the Dollar store.”

 

“This one is a pretty good start, honey. It’s a cinnamon stick. Not one that Abby could use, but it works with the plan you have.” She paused, a tear in her eye. “You know, Rusty, I am very proud of you.” With his mouth full, her son said. “Why? Cause I got a good present?”

“No, honey. Because you’ve had a tough time at school and you’re just out there getting your sister’s gifts anyway. Hasn’t slowed you down at all.”

“Course not, mom. It’s not going to mess up my Christmas.”

“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, 

but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”

~ Michael J. Fox

Rusty's Christmas Surprises

“I’ve saved some for you, brother dear.” Rusty’s bed was made! And there was a box on the bed. With a note: “I’ve saved some for  you, brother dear.” He noticed the made bed first ~ he never made his bed unless his mother insisted, so she must have done it. He held the box up to his nose and took a deep breath. 10 year old Rusty was happy. He’d had a great weekend at his friend’s house. He came home to his room cleaned up and his bed made. And to top it off - there was a box of cookies on his pillow. Now he’d have to figure out what to do for Annabelle. Their mother had started them on it. Every year in December, they exchanged gifts. Not just on Christmas Day, but every day. Taking a big bite out of the first cookie, he looked in his closet for his change jar. He kept it hidden in the far corner on the floor behind his boxes of soldiers. Holding the half eaten cookie in his mouth he dumped the coins on his bed. Crumbs at the corners of his mouth he mumbled to himself  “What does Annabelle like to do? It’s getting harder every year to get all these things for her.” She had a whole collection of stuffed animals arranged around her bedroom from the last three years. She’d lost interest in them, so that wouldn’t work anymore. “I can’t get her one of her fancy cookbooks. That would take all my money for one gift! Then what will I do?”

Closing his bedroom door tight, and after eating his way through half of his cookies and hiding the rest in his bottom drawer under his T-shirts, he opened his laptop. The Dollar Store! He looked through all their ads. Cake decorating supplies!! “That’s it!! She’s always wanting mom to get her own supply of baking supplies!” Rusty had found exactly what would get him through to Christmas. He didn’t know what most of the stuff was but he’d talk to the clerks to help him. There were funny little plastic things, and things that looked like folded pieces of paper, and red and green sprinkles and special tools for smearing icing. Lots of stuff!” Now all he had to do was try and get something for tomorrow!

“Christmas is doing little something extra for someone.”

~ Charles M. Schulz

Chapter Two, Episode 165 - Christmas Sleepovers - Situationally Theirs

The sad look on Rusty’s face made her feel almost guilty. But Annabelle knew that he would be going to Ben’s for a Christmas sleep over. He was just trying to find out where she was going. He’d find out pretty soon. Her dad called from the front door. “Come on, you two. I’ve got the car out. Have you both got your overnight back packs? Annabelle, Abby’s grandma is expecting you girls for supper.” Rusty’s face went from sad to confused!

“Coming dad!” She grinned at Rusty. “Abby and I are going to her grandma’s. So. There.” Rusty bent over laughing. “I knew that. Dad told me. He’s picking up Ben when he picks up Abby. Fooled you!!” Now it was Annabelle’s turn to have a sad look on her face. “Well, we’ll have more fun. And tomorrow morning Abby’s Auntie Cook will let us decorate her Christmas cookies.”

Abby was younger than Annabelle, but they had become good friends at school. Abby talked about bees and Annabelle talked about baking. Baking and bees led them to Auntie Cook on a cookie baking day. Elizabeth set the girls to work rolling out the dough and making bee shaped cookies. After that they were BFFs. 

Ben and Rusty were not in the same class at school, Ben a couple years older than Rusty. Rusty thought Ben was stuck up. Ben thought Rusty was, well, just weird. One day, Ben saw Rusty being bullied by two of the bigger guys in their class and backed him up. Ben had had his own problem with bullies and hated to see it happen to anyone else. By himself, Rusty was an easy target. With Ben having his back, the two bullies decided that they’d just wind up with bloody noses and took off. The two boys were friends after that. Not BFFs right away, but over a school year, they found they liked the same classes, Rusty played guitar, so did Ben and they both liked hamburgers. To an adult that wouldn't seem like a good basis for a friendship, but for young boys, it was enough.

~~~~~

Two nights. “When was the last time you and I had the house to ourselves for two nights in a row Madge?” The couple had slept all one night, slept in the next morning, spent the afternoon lazing in their pyjamas, went out dining and dancing the next night. “I thought that we wouldn’t know how to romance anymore, Grant. It was beautiful. Thank you.” Grant had surprised Madge with the dining and dancing in a restaurant usually out of their reach. Her only clue was that he insisted that they dress up. Their weekend over, Grant had picked up the kids and brought them home.

“Don’t talk over each other. Annabelle, you go first. What was the most fun with Abby?……..and make it short.” Grant always had to slow his daughter down. She tried to get every detail in all in one breath. “When I got there, her grandma had supper all ready, but needed the Christmas decorations on the table, so Abby and I got out the Christmas candles and the Christmas napkins, after supper, we got our pyjamas on, we watched Elf.” She took a deep breath. “We opened the presents that her Grandpa James had bought, we each got an Elf on the Shelf. Abby’s is dressed in green and mine is dressed in red, the next day we went over to the big kitchen at the Estate, it’s gorgeous and huge, Abby’s Auntie Cook had the cookies and icing and sparkles out…….”

Grant held up his hand. His daughter could tell them more later.  He had doubted that she could put the brakes on. “So you had a good time! Wonderful, honey. Let’s let Rusty talk now.” He hoped he sounded more patient than he felt. “Go ahead, Rusty.” Silence. “Not much to tell, Dad. We had a good time. Ben has all kinds of video games. His mom had hamburgers for us to eat. We didn’t have to go to bed until midnight both nights. We talked about the football game our school team is playing next week. Mainly, just guy talk.” 

~~~~~

“What a great way to start the Christmas season, Grant.” Their twins had been sleeping for a couple of hours. Grant and Madge were settling into bed. “Yes, my darling, it was, and we need to find a way to have our own weekends more often.”

“For in every adult there dwells the child that was, and 

in every child there lies the adult that will be.”

~ John Connolly, The Book of Lost Things

*Authors Note: Chapter One and Chapter Two of Situationally Theirs have 165 episodes each. Tonight’s post is the final episode of Chapter Two. I am suspending this story for the month of December while I determine whether to proceed with future Chapters. Thank you to everyone who has been following the characters of the Beaufort Estate.

Sweet Creativity

Sweet Creativity

Annabelle had worked hard to bake the dozens of cookies and decorate them with sparkles. “When did I make my first cookies, mom?” They were just finished packing them. She fussed over each one she thought wasn’t perfect. “Well, honey, when you were old enough to get up on a chair to help. You didn’t make finished cookies that day, but did a great job of putting the flour in the mixing bowl. You looked so serious!” Madge laughed at the thought. It was a memory that always made her smile. “You wanted to make cookies everyday for the next two weeks, putting on a real pout when I said we had to wait. Your dad and little Rusty didn’t help. They would have loved to have fresh cookies every day.” 

“Let’s go, we’ve got to meet the others at the Senior’s Residence in a half hour.” Madge had been keeping an eye on the clock. “Is that box coming too?” There was one box left on the table with a note on top. “No, mom. That’s the one for Rusty. I’ll take it up and put it on his bed so he’ll find it when he comes home from Mr. Sampson’s.” She put her coat on and looked out the front room window for her brother. “Good. He’s not coming.” She raced up the stairs with his early Christmas gift. “I’ll be right out, mom!” 

Madge was proud of her daughter’s creativity and was amazed at how curious her daughter was about baking. She had read all her mother’s cook books for cookie and cake recipes, loved going to her grandma’s to help with her Christmas baking and was happier browsing in a fancy bake shop than going to a movie. In a library, she could be found in the Cooking Section when other friends were in the Graphic Novel section. Madge tooted the horn. Annabelle locked the front door and ran to the car. As she got in, she glanced in the back to see that her packages were safe. “Ok, mom, I’ve got my seat belt on. I hope my cookies will be all right.” Madge smiled and patted her daughter’s shoulder. “They are beautiful, honey, and delicious.” She backed out of the driveway and drove down their tree lined street to meet with their friends. 

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

~ Maya Angelou

Christmas Special

Everyone had been told the cookies were Christmas presents. Annabelle really hated it when her brother didn’t pay attention to her. He was a really good brother at school, but at home it was like he couldn’t stand her. Twins, they would be 10 years old on Christmas Day. When they were really little, they always had fun together. Annabelle didn’t remember it, but they had shared a crib when they were babies. Then they shared a room with separate beds, but the year before they had to start school, Rusty got his own room. Ever since then, he’d been bossy. A sign on his door said: Girls Keep Out (except mom). Annabelle couldn’t tell anyone, but she missed her good brother at home. At school, she wished he wasn’t so protective of her. She sighed. “I guess he just has to do more growing up.” 

“Hey, Annabelle. Are we still decorating the Christmas tree tonight? I came home early so we could get the decorations out.” 

“Rusty?! You’re home! I didn’t think you’d want to do the decorating.”Annabelle had been certain it would just be her mom and herself. She was so happy. The twins went down to the basement to get all the decorations. Their mom or their dad would help them get out all the Christmas things when they were little. When they were big enough, they were allowed to get the big box by themselves. Now, their parents did more supervising than doing any of the work ~ just what the twins wanted. They both loved Christmas carols, Christmas dinner, opening presents but decorating the tree was an extra special start to the season. 

“Christmas works like glue, it keeps us all sticking together.”

~ Rosie Thomas,  Iris & Ruby

A Work in Progress

 “Rusty, leave those alone, we’re delivering them after lunch.” Annabelle had expected her brother to try to sneak some cookies. So. She outwitted him. She found an old Santa Claus tin and packed them with 11 cookies. Saving him cookies was nice, but she didn’t want him to have a whole dozen! That was the meanest Annabelle would let herself get at Christmas ~ almost. She didn’t believe in Santa anymore but she still feared the Naughty list.

“Where are we delivering them, Annie?” He knew that she hated it when anyone called her Annie, especially her brother. “I told you. We’re taking them to the Seniors residence by the Mall. I baked two dozen, Molly baked two dozen, Samantha baked………..”  

Rusty had a mouth full of cereal and just about choked on it. He swallowed hard and grumbled “I suppose you’re going to tell me every name in your Guide group. Why not just say you all baked two dozen cookies each?” Annabelle just rolled her eyes. “And what are those on the table?”

“I just haven’t packed them up yet. Why do you have to ask so many questions? And are you supposed to be helping out old Mr. Sampson today?” Rusty leapt out of his chair. “Yes! I’m late! He probably won’t pay me and make me work twice as hard.” With that he was gone, leaving his sister to her cookies. He’d almost forgotten about swiping a couple of them, but he could sneak back before lunch and see if he could get one.

Rusty and Annabelle picked at each other almost all the time. But when no one was looking, Rusty helped out his sister, and Annabelle did the same for him. Rusty had built a jewelry box for his sister for Christmas. It was a secret, except for his dad, because he had to use his dad’s workbench. 

Their parents had listened to the bickering and watched their children try to not like each other. Breaking up a serious argument occurred now and then was all that was necessary. They set the limits for the kids, tried to be good role models for them and after that it was the long process of letting go of how their children developed. Cookies or no cookies.

“Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at.”

~ Maya Angelou