- C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N -
A beam on sunlight continued to torture me as I struggled to sleep. I was having a dream about being in a land full of chocolate and all my other favourite things. I never wanted the dream to end but it was highly impossible to sleep with the curtains wide open, allowing the evil rays of the sun to reach my eyes.
I hid under the duvets but now my dream had disappeared and I was no longer in the sleeping mood so I decided to get out of bed. I stretched my arms and found my self back in my bedroom, on my comfy bed. The last thing I remembered was lying down on the grass outside with Eric and we were talking. Eric must have taken me to bed after I had fallen asleep out in the field. I smiled at the thought.
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the awfully, delicious smell the wafted around the whole room. It was a mixture of toast, egg and bacon. I groaned and licked my lips at smell got stronger. Slowly, I followed the oily but mouth watering fragrance down the stairs and into the kitchen. Dad and Celeste stood by the stove and Eric was watching the toast, very carefully. Harry was no where to be seen but then again, he never was anywhere where he was needed for work, except from the farm.
Dad turned his head around and saw me standing and smiled. "Good morning, sweetheart," he said and grabbed to plates from the cupboards.
Celeste and Eric both turned around and smiled cheerfully at me. The greeted me the same way dad had.
"Good morning, everyone," I said, yawning. "I had to come see where this delicious smell was coming from."
Dad laughed. "I know we normally have cereal, but Eric suggested we tried this."
"It was a great idea, wasn't it?" Celeste said, flipping the egg on the pan. "I'm so getting better at this, Tom."
"Yes, you are," Dad said and patted her back. "I might have to crown you 'best egg flipper in the house'."
Celeste laughed. "I'd be honoured."
The toast popped up from the toaster and Eric quickly grabbed both of them, trying not to burn his hand. He placed them on one of the plate dad had brought out and placed in another two buttered breads in the toaster.
"Toast?" Eric asked and shoved one of the toasted breads near my face.
"Let me wash up, first," I said.
After I brushed my teeth, washed my face and changed my clothes, I headed back to the kitchen to see if everything had been ready to eat. Dad took the plates of food to the dining room and Celeste and Eric followed with two plates in their hands. Eric sniffed one of the plates and acted like it was the best thing he ever smelt in his life. I reached out my arms to grab the plate but Eric quickly rushed off so I ran after him.
We all sat by the dinning table. Harry next to me, Eric and Celeste opposite us and Dad on the side.
"Wow, guys, except from Harry," I said, taking the first bite. "This is great."
"Hey, I helped," Harry said, frowning.
"Actually, he did, Rose," Celeste said.
"He did?" I said, shocked. She nodded. "What'd he do?"
"He did nothing," she said.
"How did that help?" I asked, now confused.
"Well, the first time we had him help us..."
"He burnt all the toast and dropped most of the eggs on the floor," Eric finished off for her.
"Yup," Celeste said, taking another bite. "So him doing nothing really helped us. A lot."
"It was an accident," Harry said.
We laughed.
"Rose," Dad said. "Remember Mrs. DeBarge?"
"Of course I remember!" I said. "It's onlt been two month since she left."
"Mrs. DeBarge?" Harry said. "Is she okay?"
"Oh, she's fine." dad said. "But you know how she moved to Kenya? Well, she is coming back here."
"Really?" I exclaimed, excitedly. "That's great! But why?"
"Her kids are driving her crazy," dad explained. "They really miss this place."
"Who's Mrs. DeBarge?" Eric asked.
"Mrs. DeBarge is an old family friend. She lives about ten minutes from here," Celeste said, giving him the basic information.
"Yeah," Harry said. "She's a great person. She's always been there and she's like family."
"We've known her for almost seven years. But because her family lives in Kenya, they've decided to move there permanently two months ago," I said. "It's great knowing that they're coming back! I can't wait to see cute little Tisha, Rita and their baby brother Jamal."
"They came last week but I forgot to tell you," Dad said. "Mrs. DeBarge said that she is looking for someone to look after her kids while she goes out for some emergency meeting with someone."
"We can do it," I quickly insisted.
"Yeah, I'm up for it," Harry said.
"I haven't seen them in ages," Celeste said. "I'd love to do it too."
Dad began to laugh. "Whether you wanted to do it or not, you were going to have to anyway because I told her that you guys would do it."
"Tom, that is so uncool of you," Celeste said, jokingly.
"I'm a very cool, for you information, Cece," dad said, trying to imitate those young kids he see's on TV."
We all burst into laughter.
"So, I expect all four of you to be there at three thirty," dad said. "I'm going to be at work so just give me a call if somethings wrong. And call me only because I don't want you guys to be putting pressure on Mrs. DeBarge. You know how her blood pressure is as the moment."
I nodded my head, understandingly. "Nothing will go wrong so don't worry," I assured him.
"Wait, you said four," Eric pointed out. "That means, I can go too?"
"Sure, why not?" dad said. "And Rose, make sure you finish the farm work."
"Okay dad," I said.
* * *
It was almost three o'clock. I was finishing up my work on the farm. I had to scoop up all the horse poop because no body else wanted to do it. Celeste didn't want to ruin her nails, Harry faked a stomach ache and Eric was busy giving the horses some exercise.
Whilst I finished off getting rid of the last bits of horse droppings, I heard the hooves of the horses, getting louder and louder. I turned around and Eric waved happily.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey," he said. "That was the last horse," he said. "You done?"
"Yup," I said, popping the 'p'.
I put the equipment back in the store room and joined Eric. We walked together back to house.
"Rose...um... can I borrow your phone?" he asked. "To make a quick call."
"Yeah sure," I said. "Who's it you want to talk to?"
"Just someone," he said. "I need to talk to a... friend."
"O...kay," I said. "It's in my room, on top of the drawer."
"Thanks," he said.
When we reached the house, Eric hurried into my room and grabbed my phone. I stared at him strangely as he walked outside. Why was Eric suddenly needing to make a call? Who was he going to call and why didn't he tell me who he was calling?
Grabbing my towel, I threw it over my shoulder and decided to spy on him. I tiptoed behind him and watched him step outside. I opened the door a little so I could hear his conversation. I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping but I couldn't help myself.
"Hey Emily," he said.
So it was a girl.
"No, i'm fine." he said. "How are you? That's good. I promise to see you soon and I know I havent called in ages but that was because I have no phone, remember? ... I miss you too, Em... I'll see you maybe, tonight? How's that sound? Great...I have to go now... I love you too...goodbye."
I quickly stepped away the door and ran to my room and pretended to be preparing myself for a shower. Eric walked right in my room and handed me my phone back.
"Thanks, Rose," he said, looking really happy.
"No problem," I said. "If you ever need to make a call, just call me."
He laughed. "Alright. Anyway, you better have a shower, we need to leave soon."
"You're right," I said and he walk out of the room.
I sat down on the edge of my bed, thinking about the phone call. Emily - the name of the girl he was speaking too. Was she his girlfriend? It must have been his girlfriend. He said he missed her and loves her. Why hadn't Eric told me about his secret girlfriend?
For a weird reason, I hoped it wasn't his girlfriend. I mean, I didn't want anyone breaking his heart or anything. Eric was my friend and I wouldn't want anything happening to him. Emily seemed alright but she might not be the one for him.
"Rose!" A voice called. "Rose!"
"In here," I shouted.
Celeste burst into the room and jumped on the bed. "Eric was talking to a girl just a few minutes ago," she exclaimed. "Did you hear? I did. I was spying on his from behind the tree."
I laughed. "Yes, I heard. Do you... Do you think it's his girlfriend?"
"Could be."
"Oh," I said. "That's awesome."
"You look a little disappointed," Celeste said.
"No, I'm not. I just wished he told me," I said. "I wonder who the lucky girl could be."
"Really now?" She raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Why'd you say lucky?"
"I just meant... like... he's a good guy. You know..." I slapped my forehead, not knowing how to explain. "Ugh, I'm going to have a shower."
"Rose-Mary Bloomwood!" Celeste squealed. "Are you jealous?"
"Ew! Never," I said.
Jealous? Puh-leeze!
"Why would I be jealous?" I said, shaking my head. "I'm happy for him. In fact, I'm going to go congratulate him after I have my shower." I began to walk away. "Jealous? As if!"
"Whatever you say," she shouted.
* * *
"Celeste, hurry up," I said. "Trust me when I say, you can barely see that red bump and your hair looks great."
Harry and Eric were walking in front of us while I stood waiting for my best friend, who was busy staring at her reflection on one of the windows of a parked car. She was obsessing over her hair just because it was a little frizzy and over the visible bump from yesterday. Honestly, it didn't look that bad but Harry had told her that she looks like a coughed up poodle which made her freak out and that the bump looked like a chimpanzee bottom. It was only because she was trying out this new hairstyle by tying small strands of hair into plaits; she thought it would come out wavy but instead the result was frizzy. Her side fringe usually covered her bump but now because of the state of her hair, you could see itt. Now she was constantly having to see herself.
"No, it doesn't." she wailed. "Harry said I look like a stray dog too."
"No, he didn't," I said.
I glanced at Harry and I could see him trying to hold the laughter. So he did say it.
"What he meant was that you look better than a stray dog," I said.
"No, actually I meant-"
I walked towards him and slapped him over the head. "Shut up, you idiot!"
Eric laughed. "Are you sure you're younger than him?" he asked me.
"I know it's hard to believe but it's true," I said.
"She just doesn't know how to have fun." Harry said.
"I do too," I said and glanced at the time on my phone. "Crap, it's past three. Ce!"
I marched up to her and grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the house that was just two minutes away now. The house was so big that you didn't even need to ask directions to it because you could see it from almost a mile away.
Harry went and knocked on the door and we all stood behind him. Seeing as it was already open, I suggested we went in.
"They have a really big house," Eric said, astonished.
"No kidding," Celeste agreed, forgetting about her hair. She had never entered their house; this was her first.
"Mrs. BeBarge," I called out. "You in here?"
I walked up the corridor and waited for a reply. Suddenly, I heard some footsteps which made me jump a little.
"Rose, honey, is that you?" a female voice asked.
A women, about five foot three, walked towards us and smiled cheerfully. She opened her arms and wrapped them around me.
She was wearing a blue, knee length dress that was sleeve less. He dark skin seemed to gone a little darker than a couple of months ago but she still looked great. Her black hair was curled nicely and I noticed that she had her ears pierced. On both ears, she was wearing a beautiful yet simple earring. It was in a shape of a circle and had loads of tiny crystals decorating it. Her nails were painted bright red and I noticed that she had also gotten a new pair of purple glasses that complimented her dark brown eyes.
"Mrs. D!" I said, as I hugged her back. "It's great to see you!"
"You too, honey," she said, letting of me and hugged Harry next. "Harry, your hair always looks great."
"Thanks Mrs. D," he said. "I love your new glasses."
"So you've noticed," she said, smiling. "And Celeste! It's been quite a while."
She leaned and gave her a hug too. "How are you?" Celeste asked.
"I'm great," Mrs. DeBarge replied. "What on earth happened to your head?"
"Shh," Harry and I whispered and gestured our hands to show her that she's supposed to be quiet.
"What?" Celeste, her voice trailing away. She turned to face me. "You said it was gone!"
I laughed nervously. "Well..."
Whilst I was trying to think of something to say, Harry decided to change the subject.
"Where are the kids?" Harry asked.
"Rita's with Jamal, who is sleeping," Mrs. DeBarge explained. "And Tisha's looking for her barbie doll."
Eric nudged me. "Oh, this is Eric," I introduced. "He's a close friend so is it okay if he stays with us?"
"Hello," Eric said, a little shyly.
"Sure it is fine with me," Mrs. DeBarge said. "Eric, you are welcome as long as you help yourself to my homemade muffins."
"You made muffins?" he said, excitedly.
She laughed. "They're in the kitchen," she told him.
"Thank you," he said.
Just before any of us could say another word, a loud shout came from the corridor. A little girl ran towards Mrs. DeBarge, not taking any notice of us. She was dresses in a cute little pink dress and white tights. She wore light pink sandals and on top of her dress, she had a half sleeved white cardigan. Her dark, curly hair was tied up in a pont tail.
"Mummy, Rita hided my barbie doll again," she cried. "That dodo head won't give it back!"
We all laughed at her complaint and her inability to use correct grammar, but then again she was only four.
"Tisha, don't cry," Mrs. DeBarge said in a comforting tone. "I'll get it back but for now, look who's here."
Tisha turned to look at us and jumped with excitement. "Ro-Po, Farty and..." she paused to think when trying to remember Celeste name. She muttered some names such as 'sellotape,' 'skeleton,' and 'see less.'
"I'll give you a clue," Celeste said, bending down to match Tisha's height. "Ce..."
"Celery!" she exclaimed with joy, thinking she got the name right.
"Not celery, Celeste," she corrected.
"I like Celery better," she said and made a cute face
Harry shook his head. "Celery is good but Piggy's better," he whispered.
"Piggy," she said really slowly. "I like it!"
"But, you wouldn't like it if I called you Tissue, now would you?" Celeste said, scowling as Harry
Mrs. DeBarge burst into laughter. "I guess I'll be going," Mrs. DeBarge said. "I'll be back by six, hopefully. If you need anything, the numbers on the fridge."
We waved goodbye to her as she exited the house.
"So, Tisha, how old are you?" Celest asked, trying to make the Tisha forget about her horrible nicknames.
"I'm almost five," she answered. "In Sectembor." I laughed at her attemp to say September.
"Well, aren't you a big girl," Eric said.
"Yes, I am," she said proudly. "Who's this boy?" Tisha asked, pointing at Eric.
"That's Eric," I told her.
"Eric," she echoed. "I like that Eric name. It's cool."
Eric bent down to Tisha. "I know, my parents always pick awesome names."
"Shut up," I said, laughing.
Suddenly a barbie doll flew out of no where. It soared in the air for about two seconds and then it began to descend to the floor like it was about to attack it. I watched it role on the wooden floor and stopped by Eric's shoes.
He picked it up and looked at it as if it were the weirdest thing he's ever seen. He pointed it at me and I realised why he had that look. There was smeared lipstick all over the barbies face and hand drawn eyelashes that was sticking up to her hair. The weirdest thing was that they were coloured from red to violet. Luckily the arms and legs were still there but what really crept me out was when I reached out to touch the doll, the head tumbled off.
Tisha shrieked with horror and began wailing again.
"Barbie!" she cried. "Barbie is dead!"
"Shh," I told her. "Don't cry."
"Tisha, come to Farty," Harry said, trying to make her laugh. He picked her up and wiped her tears. "Do you want a ride?"
"Huh?" she said, confused. "Horsey ride?"
"That's right!" he said and Tisha cheered with joy. "Celeste, get on the floor."
"What no!?" she said, folding her arms. "You're idea so you do it."
"These are my new jeans and your a hot mess anyway," he said. "Do it for Tisha."
"But I want you to do it, Farty" Tisha said to Harry.
"Ha!" Celeste smirked. "While you do that, I'm helping myself to a muffin."
"Tisha, are you sure you want me as a horse? I mean, I'm very slow," he said, trying to make her change her mind.
"I want you," she repeated.
Harry sighed and got on the floor, getting on his hands and knees. Celeste helped Tisha up on his back and Harry slowly trotted out like a horse, Celeste following him so she could make fun of him.
Just as they disappeared, a girl about twelve years old walked into the room. She was wearing blue skinny jeans, a plain purple top and a jeans jacket on top. Her dark brown hair was let out and she had the prettiest little bow on her clip. Her pink converses matched perfectly with the bow and her little heart earrings.
"Rita!" I said, excitedly and leaned down to give her a hug.
"Rose, it's been ages," she said, happily. "I'm so happy to see you."
"Me too," I said. "You look taller."
"That means the milk is working," she said and we laughed. "Who's this?" She leaned towards me and whispered, "Boyfriend?"
"Puh-leese," I said, scoffing. "He's just a friend."
"Mm-hmm, that's what they all say," she said.
I tapped the back of her head, softly.
"She wishes she was mine," Eric said. "I'm irresistible."
"Shut up," I said.
"Baby, you know you'll always be mine," he teased.
"Ignore him," I advised Rita. "He want's you to get the wrong idea."
"And he's doing a really good job at it," she giggled. "Just kidding," she quickly added before I hit her again. "I'm Rita."
"I figured," he said, smiling.
"I don't get why we need four baby sitters," she said. "We're pretty calm and sensible."
Just then we heard Tisha screaming and shouting along with Harry. We stared at the door and decided to ignore it.
"So 'miss pretty calm and sensible', can you explain this?" I said, pointing the headless barbie doll at her.
She laughed nervously. "It was an accident."
"Really?" I said, raiding an eyebrow.
"Well, I think she did a great job!" Eric said, reaching his hand up to high five Rita. "Barbie is so annoying."
"I know, right? I hate it when people think they're so amazing." They walked to the next room, the living room and say down on the sofa.
"Me too," Eric said and then lowered his tone, "you know, Rose-Mary here still wears these hideous pair of barbie pyjamas."
"Really? I thought she'd grow out of them by now," Rita said.
The carried on with their conversation about how much the hate barbie. I stared at them, waiting for their boring conversation to end. Whilst they had their meaningless chat, I went to check on Jamal, who was sleeping cozily in his little blue, stroller. He was wearing a pair of beige shorts and a grey, short sleeved, grey shirt. I noticed that his hair was made shorter and that the rash on his cheeks, which he had when I last saw him, had disappeared. He had grown a lot from the last two months. He may be just one the cutest three year old I've ever seen.
"Hey there, Jamal," I whispered and touched his left cheek.
Babies were so cute when they were asleep but honestly, I preferred them awake. I hated it when they were sleeping because it felt too quiet without them. I double checked to see if anybody was behind me; luckily nobody was so I gently pinched his cheeks until he woke up.
"Jamal, wake up," I said, quietly.
Suddenly he began to move left to right. I quickly ran out of the room and bumped into Harry, who was still playing the horsey game. I laughed at his tiredness.
"Enjoying yourself, I see," I said.
"Celeste's too busy feeding herself on her third muffin," Harry explained. "And Tisha really like's me as a horse."
"Giddy up!" Tisha ordered, giggling. "Come on, horsey! Rosie, join me."
"I'm good," I said, laughing.
I stopped laughing when I heard a baby crying. I turned around and rushed into the room and smiled as I saw Jamal awake. I bent down and pulled him out of the blue buggy. I kissed his cheek and cradled him until he stopped weeping.
"Hello Jamal," I said.
"Ro," he said, pointing at my nose.
"Yes, it's Ro," I smiled and entered the living room again with Jamal in my hands.
"You know, people who wear barbie are so stupid," Eric said and Rita giggled.
So they were still talking about it.
I ignored him and faced Rita. "Rita, are you ready to have fun?"
"We're having fun right now," she said. "We're talking about how much we hate bar-"
"I don't care," I snapped. "You still have the pool right?"
"You have a pool?" Eric said, gobsmacked.
Rita nodded. "Are you guys going to swim?" she asked excitedly.
"That's right," I said, grinning. "Get your swimming costumes on."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Hello my dear Fans! :D So four new characters - well, five... including Emily. I just wants you to know again that I really do love reading the comments you write. They make me want to jump over the moon sometimes. There's a picture of Rita on the side ->
1) Have you ever had to babysit? How was it like - good/bad?
2) Emily - Wonder who's that mystery girl?
VOTE, COMMENT, FAN, LIKE, TWEET, do what you gotta go.