Twelve:
Restraints
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"Oh, Maisy!" Eric called up the stairs with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, hiding a special something behind his back.
Maisy sighed, a tad annoyed that her tea party was being interrupted, but grabbed Teddy and went to see her brother nonetheless.
She climbed down the stairs, one at a time. She still doesn't understand how people manage to use only one foot per step.
"I've got a surprise for you!" Eric sang, whatever he was hiding behind his back filling him with glee.
"A surprise?" Maisy's hopes lifted through the roof as she got to the step, but quickly became hesitant when she saw the looks on Beau and Cassidy's faces.
They didn't look excited, they looked exasperated with Eric.
"Eric, she isn't going to—"
"Shh!" Eric snapped at Cassidy, quick to cut her off before she could spoil the surprise. "Come on, Mais,"
He bent down so he was at her level, keeping one hand behind his back as he motioned her forward. It increased Maisy's curiosity, but as they say: Curiosity killed the cat.
"What is it?" Maisy bounced in place, starting to get excited. Surprises are always fun, right?
Wrong.
"Close your eyes," Eric encouraged, then as soon as she did, he placed his hands on her shoulders and spun her around. Then, began to slip on his surprise.
"What is it?" Maisy tried to turn and peak, but Eric stopped her before she could see anything. She could feel the straps on her arms and heard a little click noise as Eric fastened it on her.
"Alright," Eric finished clasping the front of the small lilac backpack and stepped away, allowing Maisy to see what her surprise was.
"Ooh, a backpack? Fancy," Miles came down the stairs, commenting on her fashion statement as soon as he saw everyone crowded around it.
"Backpack?" Maisy, still confused, tried to glance over her shoulder to get a glimpse of it. Wondering what they were speaking of.
"That's not even the best part!" Eric joyfully pulled something off the back of the bag, something that looked awfully similar to a—
"You got her a leash?" Miles asked as soon as he saw the tether, trying not to smile for the sake of the child.
"A leash?" Maisy sounded confused before she realized what the word meant, and she started to struggle with the clasp.
The clip restrained her from getting the bag off, and Maisy grunted as she tried to undo it. For a four-year-old, clasps and buttons are still very new.
She tried to rip the foreign item off of her back and the family merely chuckled at her failed attempts to get out of the tiny kid trap. Which, frustrated her even more. "S' not funny!"
"Aw, we know it's not, sweetheart." Miles bent down and ruffled her hair, but she only stuck her tongue out at him. She was stuck, and he wasn't helping.
"I want out," Maisy tried to yank at it, but her attempts didn't even budge the backpack.
"Calm down, Maisy. This is so you'll quit running off when we're out of the house," Eric tugged on the leash, almost causing Maisy to fall flat on her rear end.
"Hey!" She snapped at him, tugging on the purple leash right back. Of course, it didn't do much.
"What? Maybe you wouldn't have to wear it if you could heal," Eric patted her head and smirked once more, knowing she wasn't enjoying this as much as he was.
"Well . . . jokes on you!" Maisy yelled back at him, although she had nothing to say. Well, without getting in trouble.
"Ah, but I think the joke is on you, love." Miles quietly said, knowing if Maisy heard she wouldn't be very happy with him.
"I know you don't like it, but you're going to have to wear it if you don't learn to stay by us," Beau wearily pitched in, even if he didn't like the leash either.
It's been an issue lately. Maisy will get so excited that she'll dart off without permission, which usually results in unwanted cardio and high blood pressure for the rest of them.
"But, Beauy!" Maisy protested, pulling on the straps. They weren't uncomfortable per se, but they were quite annoying after being forced.
"I know, just—" Beauy pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to go along with this. You see, as much as he would love to find a useful method to help them; This seemed over the top. "Eric—"
But Eric dramatically cut him off and stabbed a finger in his direction. "No—Do not take this away from me, you already said it's okay, and little miss run-away needs to learn!"
Cassidy remained unaffected by Eric and simply rolled her eyes. "Is this about the time she wandered off and you started hyperventilating in that toy store?"
"It doesn't matter!" Eric defensively retorted with a huff, deciding to change the topic. "Anyway,"
"Maisy always runs off, this will save us from losing her." Eric tugged the leash once more as he tried to prove his point, earning a stink eye from Maisy.
"Let's go test it out. If it doesn't work, then we don't have to use it." Eric suggested, although he knew the power of the leashed bag.
"Fine."
•.
"Stop!" Maisy yelled toward Eric as they walked down the sidewalk. He had pulled the leash and she nearly fell over.
"See exhibit A," Eric began to demonstrate, holding up a finger as he showed the other siblings. "Maisy tries to chase a butterfly into the street, leash keeps her from becoming a pancake."
"I wasn't chasing a butterfly!" Maisy tried to protest, but her siblings were already beginning to agree with Eric.
"Observe," Eric winked at the siblings, nodding toward an upcoming toy store.
"She's never going to let you put that on her again, she clearly doesn't like it," Miles muttered at him, watching Maisy drag her feet.
"She doesn't like anything. It'll be fine." Eric was still set on convincing everyone. No matter how stubborn Maisy is.
"I don't see how this proves your point," Cassidy nodded toward the toy store, the only reaction was Maisy grumbling about wanting to go home.
In her head, she was non-stop calling Eric assface.
"Wow, what a nice-looking toy store," Eric loudly observed, waiting for Maisy to give some sort of reaction.
"I wanna go home!" Maisy angrily declared, sassily crossing her arms over her chest. The toy store didn't affect her, not today.
"But I'm not finished with the presentation," Eric tried to protest, similar to Maisy when she whines.
"We'll go home in a little bit, Mais. We have to let Eric finish his point." Cassidy assured Maisy, although at this point she was on the kid's side.
"Thank you." Eric spun around and started to walk again, but Maisy plopped down on the sidewalk.
"No!" Her arms remained crossed and she gave him a daring look, taunting him to try and cross her. She could do this all day. "M' not wearing a leash!"
Maisy's small but loud shriek was enough to draw attention to them, not something they wanted.
"Maisy, settle down–" Beau warned. "—You don't have to wear it home, okay? But you have to stay next to us."
"God, you guys are embarrassing," Miles muttered, distancing himself a little from the family.
"Pwomise?" Maisy waited until she had full confirmation, not sure if they truly were going to take this awful thing off of her.
"Yes, little girl. I promise." Beau squatted down to her level, beginning to unfasten the backpack.
"Okay . . ." Maisy pondered for a second, before deciding to negotiate one final term. "Up?"
Beau smiled at her as he jokingly sighed, almost as if he could pretend she was an inconvenience. "I suppose."
And that was the last time Maisy wore the leash. She did enjoy the backpack—But they ended up recycling the leash into a new purpose . . .
"Come on, doggy!" Maisy pulled at the leash, which was tied to Eric's wrist as he reluctantly crawled after her.
Eric sighed, deciding not to fight this any longer. Unenthusiastically, he played along. "Roof."