I'm Not Crazy (On Hold)

Chapter 1: How It All Started

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February 3, 2009

“Calli, sit down while the car is moving!”                       

 A little six year old pouted as she collapsed on the seat with a huff.

 “But mommy, I want to see where we’re going!”

 Bethany let out a small sigh and answered, “Dear, when we get to the new house we can look around then, but not when daddy’s driving. I don’t want you to distract him.”

 Henry grinned at his wife and whispered, “Be glad the little ones want to move around rather than throw tantrums.”

 Bethany gave him a wry smile and turned to attend to their children. Already they were growing restless, though she had to give them credit. It was Day 2 of their drive to Sacramento, and they were coping pretty well.

 “Calm down, Vivi, we can stop soon if you have to go to the bathroom.”

 Bethany’s oldest child shook her head, close to tears, just like she had been yesterday. Bethany let out an internal sigh. Who knew what Vivi would be like when she became a teenager?

 She crossed her arms and glared at her mother through the rearview mirror.

 “Mom, I don’t see why we have to move. We were perfectly fine in Genoa, we shouldn’t have to go to Sacramento!”

 Vivi looked at Bethany with a heartbroken expression on her tear streaked face, brown hair a little darker than her mother’s sticking out in different directions.

 Bethany pleaded with her daughter, trying to get her to understand.

 “Now, you know daddy has a new job in Sacramento. It’ll be fun, I promise! We’ll live near the beach, the weather will be beautiful, and you can make lots of new friends.”

 After the words came out of Bethany’s mouth, she realized her mistake. More tears gushed down Vivi’s cheeks.

 “I don’t want to make new friends! I want Lisa, Jackie, and Becka! This isn’t fair, I just want to go home!”

 Bethany bit back a heated retort and slowly counted to ten, just like she had every other time her daughter made her want to explode.

 “Vivianne,” she said sternly. “You need to stop complaining. All of your friends were excited for you, and didn’t they say how much each of them would love to be going to California?”

 Vivi sniffled, looking at her mom.

 “Well, yeah, but that’s them. I liked it in Genoa. I want to go home.”

 Bethany tried again to reason with her daughter, fearing that it was a lost cause.     

 “Do you know how many children would absolutely love to be in your position right this minute, Vivi?”

 Her immediate response was, “Well they can take my place. I want to go back home right now.”

 Bethany shook her head sadly at Vivi’s complete refusal to accept the fact that they’re moving.

 She decided not to answer because she knew they would just start another big fight like the one they had when Vivi first found out about Henry’s new job.

 “Get some sleep, there’s still a while to go before we arrive.”

 Calli giggled and whispered, “Caden’s been asleep for forever, mommy!”

 Bethany turned back around to smile at her twins. They still look so much alike, she mused as she studied her babies with their curly white-blonde hair and adorable bright blue eyes, though one pair was closed and oblivious to his surroundings.

 Callie was grinning at her mom while Caden slept quietly beside her. Bethany returned the child’s smile and told her to get some rest, too.

 After a half hour of silence, Bethany turned to check on her young children and found them all, including Vivi, to be sound asleep.

 It worried Bethany about the intensity of Vivi’s protests regarding the new house. She wondered if her daughter would ever be satisfied until they moved back to Nevada, which wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

 She didn’t understand why Vivianne wouldn’t even consider living in Sacramento, just said she already hated it. Bethany decided it probably had something to do with her friends.

 After yawning widely, she reached towards her husband and grabbed his hand. Henry gave her one of his special smiles and quietly said, “I think you need some sleep too, dear Elizabeth.”

 She yawned once more, opened her mouth to protest, then realized Henry was right. Dealing with two six year olds and an eight year old sure had its drawbacks, but Bethany loved every second of it, even the severe exhaustion.

 She drifted off into a peaceful sleep, lulled by the soft breathing of her children and muted noises of the car’s engine and tires on the road.

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Ta-da! Chapter one of this story. What do you think? Don't worry, it'll get crazier later on. I have to have a nice beginning, right?

FIRST order of business is to thank my best friend for the idea for this book. I'm gonna take it and run!! SECOND is that I need to thank you for reading this. So thanks!! Any comments, good or bad, are welcome but be nice please!

What do you think of Bethany and Henry's song? Their kids' names? Vivianne and Calli? No Caden yet because he's sleeping. Cute right? ^_^