Better Late Than Never

[WBDaddy]

After I completed "Jealous Alli", I had a bit of inspiration to write a new branch off that tree. If you have not read that story, I strongly suggest you do so, because there are some components later in this story that will not make a hell of a lot of sense if you don't.

1

I'm so excited today. Well, I've been excited for a while. Today is Thursday, and Sunday is my birthday. I'm going to be 6 years old! I hope Mommy gets me a doll for my birthday. I really, really want a Fancy Nancy doll. I tell Mommy about it all the time, well, except when she's sleeping. Mommy sleeps a lot. She didn't get me anything at all last year on my birthday because she was sleeping. I don't know why she's so tired all the time.

Every day, when I wake up in the morning, I go downstairs to the kitchen and make my own breakfast, 'cause Mommy is never awake when I get up. I climb up onto the counter and look in the cabinet to see if there is any cereal. Sometimes there isn't any, and I don't get to have any breakfast at all. I don't like those days, 'cause my tummy hurts all morning. Sometimes there's cereal, but no milk, so I eat it plain, and have a glass of water. That happens a lot. Mommy usually keeps lots of what she says is "grownup juice" in the refrigerator, but not much kid juice or milk. I think she just forgets to buy it.

This morning, when I got up, I was really itchy in my girl spot - that's what Mommy calls it - and my diaper was very wet. When I went downstairs, there was some Cheerios, but Mommy forgot to buy milk again. There was cranberry juice, though, which I don't like very much, but it's better than water. I ate my cereal in front of the TV in the living room in my soggy diaper, and hoped Mommy woke up soon so she could change me. Sometimes Mommy doesn't wake up until lunch time, and my bottom and girl area get very sore.

Today was better. Mommy came down when I finished my Cheerios. She was in a bad mood, though. I asked her if she could change my diaper, and she yelled at me "WHY ARE YOU SUCH A BABY?". She still changed my diaper, but she slapped my leg after she put the new one on, which hurt a lot, and I cried. She said "Quit crying, you baby! If you'd quit pissing all over yourself, you wouldn't have to get your diaper changed, would you?" I was so confused. Mommy always put diapers on me - how else was I supposed to go pee-pee? I tried to take my diaper off one day, and I pee-peed on the floor. Mommy spanked me until I screamed and then put me in the closet that day, and didn't let me out until bedtime.

Mommy went to the kitchen and got herself a glass of the "grownup juice". I went back to watching TV, trying not to cry. Mommy always got mad at me when I cried, so I tried to think about my birthday and the Fancy Nancy doll I hoped Mommy would buy me, and not think about my leg hurting.

Later on this morning, someone knocked on the door. Mommy answered the door, and it was a man I had never seen before. He had lots of little hairs on his face, and he looked like he had been playing in the dirt outside. I play outside sometimes, on the old swing set in back of the building we live in, when Mommy sends me out there because she has "work" to do. I like swinging on the swings, except when some of the older kids come around and make fun of me because I wear diapers. Then I cry a lot, and I wish I could go back inside, but Mommy never lets me. Today, the man who came to the door just gave Mommy a little bag, and Mommy gave him some money. She told me to stay in the house after he left and don't come upstairs, and then she went up to her room. A little while later, I felt my tummy gurgle, and I started pooping. Mommy didn't come down the stairs for a long time after that, and my bottom got very itchy and sore. I kept hoping she'd come down, but she must have been sleeping again. Then, someone started knocking on the door very hard. I was afraid to answer the door, because Mommy always got very, very mad at me when I opened the door. They knocked louder and louder, and suddenly Mommy came down the stairs, looking sleepy. She yelled "WHO IS IT?!". The voice outside said "IT'S THE POLICE. OPEN UP, MISS ABERGENE!" - that's my mommy's name.

Mommy woke up very fast then. She opened the door and a man showed her a piece of paper and said a lot of things about Mommy not talking and stuff about an uh-toy-knee - I didn't know what that was, but it didn't sound good. A man grabbed Mommy's hands and put some shiny bracelets on them behind her back. They looked pretty. Then one of them saw me. He started talking into a box he had on his belt. He said "We need to get SS down here to pick up a kid." Then the other men and Mommy started walking out the door.

I got very scared. I stood up and yelled "MOMMY WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" and started to cry.

The man who was talking to the box came over to me and said "Don't worry, little girl. Mommy's going for a ride. One of Mommy's friends is going to come and pick you up in a minute, and I'll stay here with you and wait for them, okay?"

He made a funny face - I think he smelled my poopy diaper. Then he said "How old are you, little girl? You look a little big to be wearing diapers."

I said "I'm gonna be 6 on Sunday! Mommy's gonna buy me a Fancy Nancy doll for my birthday!"

He smiled and said "She is? Well, we'll have to see about that."

Soon, a lady came into the house. The man who was talking to me earlier said some stuff I couldn't hear, and then the lady came over to me. She leaned down and said "Hello there, pretty girl. My name is Carol. What's your name?"

I was still a little nervous. I looked down and said "Christie".

"Christie? That's a very pretty name." she said. "Christie, why don't you come upstairs and show me your bedroom?"

"Mommy doesn't like anyone coming upstairs except me and her." I said, still looking down.

"Christie, your mommy is very sick, and these nice policemen have taken her somewhere she can get better. I'm going to be taking you to stay with some friends of your mommy while she gets better, and we need to get some clothes for you to wear while you're staying there. Could you show me where your clothes are in your room?" she said.

I started to cry again. "How long is Mommy going to be gone?" I sniffled.

The lady said "I'm not sure, Christie. Hopefully it won't take too long."

"Will she still be coming for my birthday?" I asked.

"I don't think so, sweetheart, but hopefully you'll get to see her some while she's getting better." she said. "Now, can you show me where Mommy keeps your clothes so we can get going?"

I nodded and slowly walked up the steps. I opened my door and pointed to the closet. My clothes were all piled up in the bottom.

I don't think the lady liked my clothes very much. She frowned when she saw them. "Can you show me where Mommy keeps your diapers? I think we need to get you changed before we leave."

I said "I'm not really sure. I think there's some downstairs by the TV."

The lady said "Okay, Christie. You stay here for a minute, and I'll go look, okay?" I nodded my head.

Two men walked by my bedroom and went into Mommy's room when the lady went downstairs. After a while, the lady came back up and said "Well, I can't find any diapers anywhere, Christie, but we'll get you changed soon, I promise." She reached out her hand and said "Come with me for a car ride?"

I held her hand and we walked out of our house. There were a bunch of other people who lived in our building standing around looking at our house, and there were 3 cars with lights flashing on top. The lady walked me past those cars and took me to a blue car. She helped me into a booster seat, and buckled me in. She got in the car, and we started to drive away.

[WBDaddy]

2

The lady stopped the car in front of a big building and started to unbuckle me out of my booster seat.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Well" she said, then made a silly face. "We're going to get you into some clean britches!"

"What's 'britches'?" I asked as I giggled.

"That's another name for pants, silly girl. You don't want to sit around in that stinky thing all day, do you?" Her voice sounded silly too, and I giggled louder. "Now, shall we go?" she asked. I nodded. She came around and opened my door and took my hand.

I looked up and read "C-U-S" out loud from over the door.

The lady kneeled down next to me and pointed at the sign "C-V-S, Christie. See how that middle one is all pointy? That's a 'V', not a U." she said.

I looked down at my shoes and said "I'm sorry, I'm not real good with letters."

The lady seemed surprised. She asked "You didn't learn your ABC's in kindergarten this year?"

"I didn't go to kindergarten. Mommy said I couldn't go to kindergarten 'cause they don't take babies who still wear diapers." I said, pushing a rock around on the ground with my toe.

"Well we'll just have to fix that. I know exactly the friends who can help you with both those problems." she said as she lifted up my chin. "But first, let's get some clean britches for you!" and made the silly voice again. I laughed, and she picked me up and carried me into the building.

We walked down an aisle full of baby stuff - there were bottles and binkies and all kinds of stuff. She picked up a small box and handed it to me. It looked like the wipes Mommy used to clean me up. "Please hold that for me, Christie." Then she picked up a bag with a picture of a baby on it and walked toward the counter. She put the bag on the counter and then took the box from me and put that there too. She put me on the floor and reached into a bag she had on her shoulder and pulled out a card.

The person behind the counter had a little gun that he pointed at the bag and the box. I had never seen anything like that, and it looked like fun. Mommy never took me to the store; she usually just made me stay in a neighbor's house, or sometimes she left me at home alone. His computer beeped each time. Then he took the card and pushed it into the computer, and handed it back to the lady. The computer beeped again and a piece of paper came out. He said "Sign please, ma'am" and handed the lady a pen. Then he put the box and the bag into another bag.

She scribbled on it and gave it and the pen back to him, then asked "Where are your restrooms?" He pointed to the back of the store. She picked up the new bag and then picked me up and carried me the direction he pointed. "Alrighty then, let's get a clean diaper on you so we can take you to see our friends."

We came to a door that had a funny looking picture of a lady on it, and she took me inside. She took me over to a wall that had a box on it with a teddy bear wearing a diaper, which I thought was very silly. She pushed a button and suddenly a table fell out of the wall! Then she laid me down on the table and buckled me down. "Oh my, what a mess!" she said in a silly voice as she took my diaper off. I laughed. "Okay, hold on to these for me!" she said, and she stretched my feet toward my chest. I grabbed on and she wiped up my bottom and my girl spot. Then she started to look sad, and said "Oh, Christie, you poor thing. I've never seen such a diaper rash! I knew I should have bought some cream!" She opened up the bag, took out a diaper, and put it under my bottom. She said "Okay, can I have those back?" and reached for my legs. I let go, and she taped me up. "I'll bet that feels better, doesn't it?" she said as she unbuckled me and sat me up. She threw away all the wipes and the dirty diaper, then picked up the bag. She picked me up on her hip and said "Ready to go meet some new friends?" I nodded, and we walked out of the room, back through the store, and then back out to the car.

She strapped me back into the booster seat and closed my door, then got in on the other side. She took phone a phone out of her bag - it looked just like Mommy's phone - a little box with numbers on it. She put it to her ear and said "Yeah, this is Carol. Do we have an opening? Okay, who is it? In Napa? Alright, I'll bring her up to their office. Call ahead for me and tell them to have some Desitin on hand, this one's pretty chapped up. No, she's not. I was surprised too. I'll be back to get the paperwork done this evening. No, it's fine, I didn't have plans tonight anyway. See you later."

She put the phone back in her bag and turned the car on. She looked at me and said "Get comfy, Christie, we're going on a longer ride than I expected."

[dldad]

good start and hope that it will be as good as your last story.

[lonewolf]

love it

[WBDaddy]

3

We drove past a lot of buildings, then went onto a road that had trees on both sides, as far as I could see. I had never seen so many trees before, and as I watched them go by, my head started feeling heavy, and I leaned up against the door. I put my thumb in my mouth and started sucking on it. That always made me feel better when I was afraid, even though Mommy yelled at me whenever she saw me doing it. Once she even put pepper on my thumbs. That tasted yucky. My eyes started getting heavy too, and I closed them.

When I opened them again, the lady was stopping the car in front of another building. My diaper was wet, and my bottom and girl spot hurt a lot, and were very, very itchy. I tried to rub my girl spot through my diaper, but it made it hurt worse, and I started to cry. The lady looked down at me and said "What's wrong, Christie? Why are you crying?"

I sniffled "My bottom hurts and my girl spot hurts and it itches and... and... I'm scared and..."

"Oh, sweetie, I know it hurts, and I know you're scared." she said as she turned off the car and unbuckled my seatbelt. "If you come with me into this place, we can get that nasty rash taken care of so it doesn't hurt so much, okay? There are very nice people here waiting for us, and they're not scary at all, I promise. Will you come with me?" I put my thumb back in my mouth and nodded.

The lady got out of the car, opened my door, and picked me up. "You are such a brave little girl, Christie!" she said as she hugged me and carried me into the building. I lay my head on her shoulder and kept sucking my thumb. There was a lady sitting behind a tall counter. She had dark skin, like the lady Mommy used to leave me with sometimes when she went shopping, only this lady was smiling, and she seemed much nicer. The lady at my house was mad all the time, and she used to make me sit in a playpen the whole time Mommy was gone. I didn't like it there, but it wasn't as bad as sitting home by myself. That was scary.

The lady behind the counter said "Carol, we've been waiting for this little one. Her foster is back in Susan's office already."

Carol said "Good. Did we pick up the Desitin? She's pretty uncomfortable right now. She was in tears when we got here."

The lady said "Yes ma'am, if you go down to your left, we've got a place to get her changed all set up."

Carol said "Thank you so much." and carried me down the hall. The lady waved at me and smiled as we walked.

Carol took me into a room with a big table, and a blanket covering part of it. The blanket had little animals on it, and there was a diaper, a box of wipes, a bottle of baby powder, and a tube of something laying there. Carol laid me down on the blanket and took my diaper off. She took a wipe and rubbed my girl spot, then lifted my legs and wiped my bottom. Then she took the cap off the tube and squirted out some white stuff that looked like toothpaste onto her fingers. It didn't smell like toothpaste, though. It smelled funny, and I wrinkled my nose at it. Carol said "Don't worry, Christie, this will make your bottom feel better." Then she rubbed it on my bottom and all over my girl spot.

She was right, it didn't hurt or itch so bad after she put that stuff on me. She sprinkled baby powder all over my front and back, then taped the new diaper on me. It felt really good, like I had just taken a bath. Then Carol said "Are you ready to meet our new friends?" I nodded, and she picked me up and carried me out of the room. She walked to a door and knocked on it. Someone said "Carol? Come on in!"

She opened the door and there were lots of people inside. There was a lady with dark hair and glasses sitting at a desk with all kinds of papers on it. There was a man there, too. His hair was white in some places. There were two girls and a boy sitting at a table behind the lady. They were coloring. Everyone looked up at me when we came in, and I hid my face in Carol's shirt. The lady behind the desk said "My, I think this is Christie, but I can't tell for sure!" The grownups laughed.

Carol said "Well, yes it is, and she's had a pretty tough day today." She looked down at me and said "Christie, these are the friends that are going to take you home with them while your mommy is getting better. Wouldn't you like to meet them?"

I was scared, but I didn't know why. I shook my head. Carol whispered "I know you're scared, Christie. Meeting new people is scary, isn't it?" I nodded. "You've been so brave, Christie, can you be a brave girl for me one more time and come meet your new friends?"

I didn't really want to, but I nodded. "Good girl" she said, and stood me on the floor. I held on to her pants leg and sucked my thumb even harder.

The lady behind the desk said "Christie, my name is Susan. This nice man is Abba, and you'll be staying with him and his children for a while."

The man smiled and said "Hello, Christie. You are a very pretty little girl, you know that?"

I smiled a little and my face got warm.

He laughed. "You're definitely not the first shy girl I've ever met." He turned and looked at the other kids and said "Alli, would you come introduce Christie to everybody while we chat?"

The biggest girl sitting at the table said "Yes Abba" and came over. She kneeled down to where she was smaller than me, and looked up and said "Hi Christie! My name is Alli! Would you like to come color with Derek and Angie and me?"

I nodded. She took my hand, and we walked over to the table. I heard the man say to Carol "I'm guessing, by her attire, that we don't have any clothes for her?" I forgot I was still wearing my sleep shirt, which is actually one of Mommy's old T-shirts that hangs down to my knees.

Carol said "Trust me, if you saw what I saw, you'd have left the clothes there too."

We walked to the table and Alli said "Hey guys, this is Christie. She's going to be staying with us for a while."

The boy looked at me and said "Hi! I'm Derek. I'm 4 years old."

The girl looked at him and said "No you're not! You won't be 4 until next month, silly."

He said "Well, I'm ALMOST 4!" and stuck his tongue out at her.

She said "Well that doesn't count." She looked at me and said "I'm Angie, and I'm 5 - for REAL." She stuck her tongue out at Derek.

Alli said "Well, I'm 12. How old are you, Christie?"

I said "I'm almost 6! My birthday is on Sunday. Mommy's gonna get me a Fancy Nancy doll for my birthday!"

Alli said "She is? Wow. I bet you're excited!"

"Yeah, I would be, except Carol said Mommy won't be able to come to my party, because she was sick, and the policemen had to take her someplace she could get better." I said.

Alli said "I know how you feel, Christie. My mommy got sick like that too, that's why I came to live with Abba."

I looked up and asked "Did your mommy sleep all the time? My mommy was always either really tired or really mad."

Alli said "Well, I didn't know my mommy very well, cause I was really little when she got sick."

Derek piped up and said "How come you're still wearing your pajamas?"

I looked down at my shirt and wiggled a little in my seat and said "Cause Mommy forgot to dress me this morning when she got up. She was mad this morning, until a man came and gave her something, then she went back to sleep again. Then the policemen came and woke her up and took her to the place they make sick people better, and Carol took me here."

We colored for a while, then Carol looked up at me and said "Christie, it was very nice spending the day with you. I have to go back to LA now, okay? Have fun with your new friends!"

I turned around and said "No, don't go!" and ran over to her and hugged her legs.

Carol bend down and said "Now, Christie, all these nice people are your friends, and they are going to take good care of you. I'd love to stay, but I have to go and help other children find new friends too."

I said "Will I ever see you again?"

She smiled and hugged me and said "Maybe, Christie. Maybe someday soon. Goodbye, sweet girl."

She stood up and waved to me. I waved back, and she went out the door. Alli came over and said "It's okay, Christie. You'll like staying at Abba's house. We'll have lots of fun together, I promise!"

Abba stood up and said "Speaking of which, it's about time we rounded you all up and got you home! Growing boys and girls need their dinner, and we need to find some clothes for you, Christie."

Derek and Angie got up and ran over. Derek said "Can we go out for Tie-knees, Abba?" Angie said "YEAH! Can we please Abba?"

Abba said "Well, Christie here needs to have something on other than just a t-shirt if we want to go out for Chinese. We'll see how late it is after that, okay?"

Derek and Angie each grabbed one of my hands and said "Come on! Let's go!" and started pulling me toward the door.

Alli said "Hold on there, you two. Let's wait for Abba."

Abba said "Besides, poor Christie doesn't even have shoes on. I'm sure she'd like a ride to the truck, instead of having to walk on that hot pavement." He bent down and looked at me and said "Would you?" I walked over and he picked me up and put me on his hip. He kissed me on the top of my head, which felt really good, and I laid my head down on his shoulder and put my thumb in my mouth.

"I think you're going to fit in just fine with us, sweetie" he said. "We definitely need to do something about that, though" and he tapped my hand with his finger. He turned to the lady at the desk and said "Alright, I guess we're off."

The lady stood up and shook his hand. "Jason, I just can't thank you enough. If only we could clone you a few hundred times, we'd never have placement issues."

He laughed and said "You know I love the kids, Susan, and I just can't stand a big empty house. Unfortunately, the state says this one puts me at my legal limit, so I guess I'm out of the loop for a while."

"Yes, that you are, Jason. Well, enjoy them. As soon as I can get a placement done, I'll be in touch." she said. She looked at me and said "Bye bye, Christie. Have fun with Abba, okay?" She waved at me. I took my thumb out of my mouth and waved back, then put it back in quickly.

Abba carried me back down the hall and out the front door, with the other three kids running ahead. We got outside, and Abba took some keys out of his pocket and pushed a button. A big blue truck beeped and its lights flashed, and Alli opened the back door. Derek and Angie piled into the back seat, and Abba stood me up back there as well. "Alli, help them get situated?" he said.

"Yes Abba" she said. She opened up three of the seats and they turned into car seats! She buckled Derek into that one, while Angie climbed in and buckled herself up. Alli picked me up and said "Here you go, Christie!" and buckled me into the third one, which faced the other two from the front. She checked Angie's seatbelt, then closed the door. She got into the front and put her seatbelt on, and Abba turned the truck on. I had never been in such a big truck before. It was kind of scary, and I sucked my thumb harder.

Derek, who was sitting right across from me, looked at my legs, then twisted his head. He said "Are you wearing diapers?" He and Angie both giggled.

I nodded. I was confused. "Well, where else am I supposed to go pee and poop?" I asked.

They both laughed, and I felt my face get hot. Angie said "In the potty, silly! Babies pee and poop in their pants!"

Derek said "I'm not a baby! I go to the potty!" and they both laughed.

I started to cry. "I don't know what a potty is! And I'm not a baby! Mommy never let me take my diaper off!" I was starting not to like Derek or Angie very much. I put my thumb back in my mouth and looked out the window.

Abba called from the front "Christie is not a baby, and if you two still want to go out for dinner, I suggest you stop being mean to her. Mean little boys and girls go to bed early with no dinner at all."

"Sorry, Abba!" they both called out.

"I'm not the one you need to be sorry to..." he called back.

"Sorry, Christie!" they said. I didn't say anything. I was still mad, and I didn't want to talk to them anymore. I wanted to go home and be with my Mommy.

[tiggerboy]

Good story. Alli has definitely matured well.

[pampywamp]

CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT TRY NOT 2 BE TOO LONG PLEASE

[WBDaddy]

Your wish is my command.

4

I didn't say anything at all the rest of the trip, until Abba started to slow the truck down and drive it into a house. I definitely never saw anything like this before. I said "Why are you putting the truck in your house, Abba?"

Everybody laughed then, and I felt embarrassed. Abba said "Christie, this isn't my house, this is my garage, where I keep my cars when I'm not driving them."

"But why would you have a house just for your cars?" I asked.

He turned the truck off, and I watched the door close behind us. He said "Well, there are lots of reasons. It keeps them nice and clean and shiny when I'm not driving them, and people can't just come along and take them without asking."

"Oh." I said. "One of my mommy's friends borrowed peoples cars a lot. He never asked them, though."

Abba laughed. "Well, hopefully your mommy's friend doesn't come around here. I wouldn't be very happy if he 'borrowed' one of my cars. Anyway, what say we get you some clean clothes on so we can go out for dinner?"

I nodded. Alli had already opened the back door and was unbuckling Derek and Angie, and Abba got out of his side and came around to the door. Abba said "Alli, would you see if you can find me some of your old clothes we can put on this munchkin?"

Alli said "Yes Abba! I think I know just what would fit her!" She led the other kids into the house, and Abba unbuckled me, picked me up, and carried me in. As we were walking, he asked "Do you need a change before we go to dinner?" I shook my head. He pinched the front of my diaper and said "Well, you're a little wet, and from what I hear, you're pretty sore down there. Maybe we'll just be play it safe, okay?" I nodded.

Abba's house was the biggest I had ever seen. We walked down a long hall, and into a big room with a big soft bed and a dresser and a big closet. It was as big as the whole downstairs at Mommy's house. Abba smiled at me and said "So, do you like your new room?"

My eyes got big. "This is my room?" I put my thumb back in my mouth and sucked on it hard.

"Yes it is, sweetie. And tomorrow we'll get you some brand new clothes, and you can pick out some sheet sets for your bed, and maybe a teddy bear to keep you company." He set me down on the bed and looked at my thumb. "Christie, I know you feel a bit nervous, and I can see you do that quite a bit, but sucking your thumb hurts your teeth, sweetie. If you want to suck on something, I'll get you a pacifier, it's okay, but I don't want you to hurt your teeth."

I took my thumb out of my mouth and looked down. "But those are for babies. I'm not a baby."

"No, sweetie, sucking on a pacifier doesn't make you a baby, and if anyone tells you different, you let me know about it, and I'll make sure they stop. Now, let's get that diaper changed. Sit here for a minute please?"

I nodded and sat on my hands. I looked around the big room for a while and bounced a little on the big bed. It was very soft, much nicer than my little bed at Mommy's house. There were 4 big pillows, and I crawled over and laid my head down on one. It was so soft, like a big marshmallow. I snuggled up onto it and then Abba came back in with a big box with a picture of a baby on it, and a shopping bag with some other things in it I couldn't see. He put took a diaper out of the box and put it on the bed, then opened a drawer in the dresser and put a whole bunch more in there. Then he put the box into the top of the closet. He said "You like your new pillows, Christie?"

I nodded. "They're like big mushmellows!" I said.

He laughed. "Well, I'm glad you find them comfortable, sweetie." He unfolded what looked like a big blanket and laid it on the bed. "Come down here so we can get you changed, okay?" I scrambled back down and sat down on the blanket. It was crinkly, not at all like a blanket after all. "Arms up, please!" he said. I lifted my arms up, and he took my shirt off. "Lie down, please!" I laid down, and he untaped my diaper.

Just then, Alli came into the room. "Found an outfit for her, Abba!" she said.

"Good job, Alli. Shoes too?" Abba asked.

"Yep. I couldn't find any socks, but I found an old pair of my sandals that should fit her, so she won't need them." Alli said.

"Thank you, Alli." he said. Then he motioned for her to come closer, and whispered something in her ear. She nodded. Then he said "We'll be ready in a minute here. Would you get the other two situated in the Mercedes?" he said, and handed her a set of keys.

"Yes Abba." she said, and ran back out.

"Abba?" I said.

"Yes Christie?" he said as he squeezed more of that smelly stuff like Carol put on me out of a tube.

"Am I a baby for wearing diapers and sucking my thumb?" I asked, a little scared.

"No, Christie, you're not a baby." he said as he put powder on my girl spot.

"But, there's a baby on the box of diapers, and a baby on the box of wipes, and you're putting baby powder on me, and..."

"Oh, sweetie." he said as he taped me up. He sat me up and hugged me and said "Christie, you're not a baby. You just haven't had much help learning how to grow up, so you've had to do it on your own. It takes a lot longer to learn how to do important stuff when no one is helping you. I promise you, though, that we will all help you along here, so you can get caught up on some of the big girl stuff you haven't figured out yet, okay?"

I nodded. He said "Okay, then. Arms up, please!" I lifted my arms, and he pulled down a pretty pink shirt with ruffles on the bottom and a flower on the front. "Thank you! Lie back please!" I laid back down, and he pulled a pair of blue pants up my legs. "Thank you! Stand up please!" I stood up on the bed, and held on to his shoulder as he pulled the pants up over my diaper. "Thank you! Sit down please!" I sat back down and he put a pair of white sandals on my feet. He picked me up and stood me up on the floor. "Now don't you just look the cutest ever?" he said with a big smile. The new clothes felt good. They were much nicer than my old clothes. There were no rips or stains or anything.

Abba said "Now, would you like a binky? I have one here for you if you want it." I shook my head. He said "Alright, I'm going to take it with us just in case, though. If you start sucking your thumb, then I'm going to give you the binky."

He picked me up and gave me a hug. "Christie, I said we were going to help you catch up, but we can take as long as you need. You don't have to be in a big hurry here. No one will make fun of you or laugh at you for being a little behind."

I started to raise my thumb, then stopped. "Abba?" I asked.

"Yes Christie?"

"I think I would like the binky."

"Good girl."

He set me down on the bed, then unwrapped a package from out of his bag. There was a bright pink binky inside. He tied a ribbon to the ring, and attached a safety pin to the other end. He attached the ribbon to my shoulder and tucked the binky into my mouth, then picked me back up. "Feel better, sweetie?" he asked. I nodded my head and then put my arms around his neck. He laughed and said "I guess you'd like a ride back to the car, then." I nodded, and he carried me back out to the garage.

Alli was already sitting in the front seat of a black car, much smaller than the big truck we rode home in, and Derek and Angie were buckled into the back. Abba opened the back door and sat me down and buckled me in next to Angie. He closed the door, then got in the front and turned the car on. Alli looked back at Angie as the car started to move, and Angie looked over at me and said "I'm really sorry, Christie. I don't think you're a baby." and gave me a hug.

As I sucked away on the binky Abba gave me and watched out the window at all the trees going by, I didn't mind so much not being at home with Mommy.

[dldad]

Great start and will be anxiously waiting for further adventures in learning how to be a big kid.

[WBDaddy]

I seem to be on a roll today (unfortunately, at the expense of my work output, but hey, work will always be there, right?)

5

Abba stopped the car in front of a very strange looking building. It was white, with a red roof, but the roof was funny shaped - it had points all over the place, and it looked like a little house was stuck on the very top, with a funny pointy roof of its own. I started to giggle. Angie looked at me and said "What are you laughing at?"

I said "That's a silly house!" and kept giggling.

Derek said "It is a silly house, isn't it!" and started laughing.

Alli said "Listen to you two sillies! This is called the Panda House, and it's shaped like an old Chinese building, because they serve Chinese food here."

I was surprised. "You mean people live in houses like this?"

"Well, not anymore, they don't, but a long time ago they did." Abba said. "So, are we going to sit out here and discuss architecture, or are we going to go eat?"

Alli quickly unbuckled herself, got out, opened the back door, and unbuckled Derek and Angie. Abba got out and unbuckled my belt, and offered his hand. I took it and we walked toward the building. Derek and Angie ran for the door, with Alli right behind, trying to slow them down. We got to the door and opened it. The inside of the building was even stranger than the outside. There were two huge plants in the doorway, with pointy leaves and diamond shapes on the trunk. "What kind of tree is that?" I asked Abba.

"That, Christie, is a palm tree. It grows on islands far out in the ocean." said Abba. We went into another set of doors, into a room that was very dark. I could see other people sitting at tables and eating. The rest of the kids were sitting on a bench waiting for us when we came in. A woman with funny-shaped eyes came up to Abba and said "How many, please?"

Abba said "Five, and we need three boosters, please."

The lady led us to a table, then she came back with three wooden chairs that were tall, and looked like they were made just for little kids. When she came back, I asked her "Are you Koh-wee-un?"

Everybody laughed, including the lady. She said "Well no, I'm not. I'm Filipino!"

I said "Oh, cause my mommy once took me to the store to get her grownup juice, and the man in the store had eyes like yours, and I asked him what was wrong with his eyes and he said he was Koh-wee-un." I had a hard time with that word. "I thought he meant that was what was wrong with his eyes."

She smiled and said "Oh no. He said he was Korean because he came from a place called Korea."

"Ko-ree-uh" I said. Where is that?

She looked at Abba and said "May I?" Abba smiled and nodded. She offered her hand. I took it a little nervously, and she led me off to another part of the building, to a wall with a great big picture of all these funny shapes and letters all over it with pictures of strange animals.

I said "This is a funny looking picture."

She laughed and said "This is a picture of the world - it's called a map." She picked me up and pointed to one of the really big shapes and said "This is America," she dragged her finger to one edge of the shape and said "and this is Napa, California, where we are right now." Then she pointed to another part of the picture, on the edge of a very big shape. "This is Korea, where the man you met was from." She dragged her finger again down to a tiny little shape not far away from the other place. "This is the Phillipines, where I am from. Lots of people who live in places in this area of the world, called Asia..." she circled this big shape "...have eyes shaped similar to mine. There is nothing wrong with our eyes, though." She smiled at me and tapped my nose with her finger. "I can see you just fine, munti."

I giggled and said "My name isn't Moon-tee, it's Christie!"

She said "Well, I didn't know your name was Christie, but in Tagalog, which is the language I spoke when I was growing up, 'munti' means 'little one'."

She smiled and carried me back to the table, then helped me into the booster seat next to Abba.

Everyone at the table was looking at me, and I felt my face get warm and giggled. Derek said "So where did you go? What did she say?"

I said "She took me to a great big map and showed me Nap-oh-cal-for-nuh and Koh-ree-uh and Fil-peens, where she said she used to live, and she said that all the people in Ay-zee-uh have eyes shaped like hers. I think her eyes are pretty. Oh, and I learned that people in fil-peens speak Tag-log and that 'Moon-tee' is the Tag-log word for 'little one'."

Everyone laughed. The lady, who was still standing behind me, pinched my cheek and said "You are such a very good listener, munti!" She folded her hands in front of her and said "Your server will be with you shortly." She walked back to the counter near the door, and waved to me on the way by. I smiled and waved back.

Abba said "Wow, Christie. Sounds like you learned a lot about people and places tonight! Have you ever had Chinese food before?"

I shook my head. He said "Well, what we call Chinese food is different kinds of foods that come from Asia, and it's very different than what we normally eat here in America. This is going to be a very big adventure for you today!"

Derek piped up "Ty-nees is YUMMY! Can we get Tay-Yah-kee chicken, Abba?" Alli and Angie laughed, and Alli said "That's Tear-ee-yah-kee, Derek."

Derek said "That's too hard to say. Can we get some, Abba?"

Abba smiled and said "Only if you try to say it the right way, Derek. We can't order it if we can't say it correctly."

Derek frowned and stared at the table. He very slowly said "Tare..ree...yah-kee!" and looked up at Abba.

"Very good, Derek! Absolutely, we will get some teriyaki. I think we're going to get lots of different things for everyone to try tonight!"

Alli looked up at Abba and said "Oh, Abba, can we get sushi too?"

Abba laughed and said "Of course, pumpkin." Then he looked over to me and said "We only have one rule about meal times, Christie, and that is you must try something before you decide you don't like it. It's okay if it doesn't taste good, but you'll never know if it never gets into your mouth, okay?"

I nodded my head, but I was a little scared. A man came over and said "May I take your order?"

Abba started talking, but nothing he said made any sense. It sounded like a lot of strange noises. The man seemed to understand, and he made the same kind of noises back. The man was writing in his book while they talked, and when they were finished, he bowed and left the table.

I looked at Abba, wide eyed. He saw me looking at him and laughed. "Christie looks a little confused."

Alli said "Abba was just showing off. He was speaking Cantonese to the waiter. How he knew the waiter could speak Cantonese, I'll never know."

Abba laughed again. "Alli, if you listen very carefully to how people speak English, you can usually tell what part of the world they are from. Did you not notice that his accent was very different from our Filipino host?"

Just then, the man came back with a tray. He had five glasses of water with ice, two shiny metal pots, and five little white cups with pictures on them. He put a glass and a cup in front of each of us, and poured some hot, green stuff into each of the cups from one of the pots, then set them both on the table. Abba said "Mmm-goy", and the man bowed again and left. Alli took another bottle that was sitting on the table and squirted some thick yellow stuff into her cup and Derek and Angie's cups and stirred them with a spoon. They all started sipping out of the cups. Abba just smiled and said "Christie, this is green tea. It's very hot and very tasty by itself, though you can see everyone else at the table likes it with a little bit of honey. Would you like some honey in yours? Or would you like to try it by itself first?"

I was a little scared. "It looks hot. I don't want to burn my tongue, Abba." I said.

"Well, you can blow on it to cool it off, or I can put an ice cube in it for you instead. Would you like that?"

I nodded. "Alright then, ice cube it is." He fished one out of his water glass and stirred it into my cup. "Go ahead, sweetie, take a sip." he said.

I picked the cup up and sipped it. It tasted weird. I didn't like it very much. I made a face. Alli laughed and said "Try it with the honey, it will taste much better!"

Abba said "Would you like to try it with some honey in it?" I wasn't really sure. I nodded, and he squirted some of the thick yellow stuff into my cup and stirred it in.

I picked the cup back up and took a sip. It did taste better, much better. I drank the rest of the cup and put it down on the table. I said "Can I have some more?"

Abba laughed and said "After dinner, Christie. We don't want to fill up on green tea now. There are lots of new things for you to try coming very soon, okay?" I nodded and swung my legs up and down in the chair.

A few minutes later, the man returned with a big tray. There were two plates on the tray, and in the middle of each plate was a pot that had blue fire coming out of it. The man put the two plates on the table. There were long thin sticks on the plates, with brown and tan stuff stuck on them, and a couple of tan things that looked like rolled-up socks, and some other tan things that had funny colored stuff coming out of them, and then some little red things sitting by themselves.

The other kids started grabbing stuff off one of the plates. Derek grabbed one of the sticks with the tan stuff on it and started to reach out and try to hold it over the fire. Alli took the stick from him and said "I'll do that for you, Derek. No one gets burned tonight, okay?" Derek pouted and folded his arms while Ali held the stick over the fire and twisted it around. Then she put it on his plate. He picked it up and started biting the tan stuff off it.

Abba said "Here, Christie, let's just put a few things on your plate and you can try a little bit at a time, okay?" I nodded. All this food was very strange and a little scary, but everyone else seemed to like it. Abba put a piece of the red stuff on my plate and said "This is pork sparerib". I picked up my fork and stabbed it, then put it in my mouth. It tasted sweet, but was very chewy. Next, he cut one of the rolled-up-sock things, cut a small piece off, and put it on my plate. "This is an egg roll." he said.

I looked at it hard. "Abba, there's no eggs in it!"

Everyone laughed, and Abba said "No, there isn't, not that you can see. It's called an 'egg roll' because it's dipped in egg before it is cooked, which makes the outside crispy! You can pick that up with your hand, sweetie, no need for a fork."

I picked up the piece of the egg roll and took a bite. It was crunchy on the outside, and I liked that part, but I didn't like the inside very much. I frowned as I swallowed it. Abba chuckled and said "Didn't like that very much, huh?" I shook my head.

He picked up two of the sticks and twisted them over the fire. He took his fork and pushed some of the stuff off onto my plate. "This is teriyaki chicken" he said as he pointed to the tan stuff, "and this is teriyaki beef." I liked both of those a lot. They were chewy, like the red stuff, but sweet and salty.

The man came back with another big tray with all sorts of colorful things on it. Some were orange, or red, or green, and some were all three, but they all had white stuff in them or around the outside. Some had black stuff and then the white stuff and then other colors inside. There was a green ball sitting on one side of the plate, and some big orange strips on the other side. It was very pretty to look at. The man put down a stack of little bowls next to the tray.

Alli picked up a long piece of paper and pulled two sticks out of it. She took a bottle of brown stuff off the table and filled each of the bowls with it, and put the bowls in front of everyone. Then she took the sticks and picked up one of the pieces off the tray. She dipped it into the bowl she put in front of herself and put the whole thing in her mouth. The other kids took pieces with their forks and did the same. I said "Alli, why are you eating with those sticks instead of your fork?"

Alli laughed and said "These are chopsticks, Christie. People all over Asia use these to eat with instead of forks."

I was confused. I said "But how do they eat cereal with chopsticks?"

Everyone laughed. Alli said "They don't eat cereal like we do. They eat lots of rice - that's what that white stuff is."

Abba smiled and said "Christie, would you like to try some sushi?"

I was very nervous, but I nodded my head anyway. He took his chopsticks and picked out a piece that was red and green in the middle with the rice on the outside and orange stuff on top. He held it in front of me and pointed to the middle and said "this is tuna, and that is avocado, and this is a spicy sauce. Now we dip it in the soy sauce" - he dunked it into his bowl - "and then we eat it!" I opened my mouth and he dropped it in. It was very salty, and it tingled on my tongue as I chewed it.

Abba smiled and said "What do you think?"

I said "I like the way it feels on my tongue!"

He laughed and said "Look out Alli, someone else here likes the spicy stuff!"

The man brought more food, and I tried lots of different things. I found out that I liked Chinese food a lot, but I didn't like "baby corn" or "pea pods". When dinner was finally over, the man brought back a bunch of boxes and some little tan things in plastic wrappers, and put one in front of each of us. Then he handed Abba a black thing. The man started to put all the food that was left into the boxes. Abba opened up the black thing and put a card in it, then handed it back to the man. Once he finished closing all the little boxes, he took the black thing away, then came back and handed it back to Abba. He wrote some numbers down in it, scribbled on it, and handed it back. He took his card and put it back in his pocket. The man put all the little boxes into two big bags, then picked up the black thing and bowed to Abba and said "Doh Jay". Abba said something back that I couldn't understand and then smiled. The other kids opened up their wrappers and broke the tan things in half. There were little pieces of paper inside. Alli looked at her piece of paper and said "You will be successful in all your ventures... in the bathroom!" The other kids started giggling.

Derek said "Do mine Alli! Do mine!" and handed her his piece of paper. She looked at it and said "You will be rewarded for your patience... in the bathroom!" They all started laughing. I didn't understand what was so funny, but I laughed anyway.

"Alright, are we about ready to head home, ladies and gents?" said Abba. Alli stood up and helped Derek and Angie out of their seats, then picked up the two bags. Abba lifted me out of mine. I held his hand as we walked out. The lady that showed me the map was standing behind the counter when we went by, and she said "Bye bye, munti!" I grinned and my face got warm, and I waved back as we went out the door.

[WBDaddy]

*edit* didn't realize my italics didn't make it into my copy-paste. Big, big issue there, sorry for the confusion...

6

Abba and Alli helped us all into the car. As Abba was buckling me, he said "Munti. I like that name for you. Do you like it?" I nodded. "Good, then just as Alli is my pumpkin, you shall be my munti!" I giggled and he kissed my forehead.

Abba started up the car and we drove away. Abba called back "So, Christie, what do you think of Chinese food?"

I said "I like it a lot! Can we go there again tomorrow?"

Abba laughed and said "No, sweetie. We certainly have enough leftovers to have it again for lunch, though!"

I said "Okay", and stared out the window. I started to put my thumb in my mouth, then remembered I had the binky Abba gave me, and put that in there instead. I watched as the sky started to change colors from blue to yellow, and barely noticed my tummy gurgle as I started to poop in my diaper. We were just pulling into the garage when Angie said "Someone's got a stinky, and I bet I know who it is!" Derek and Angie both giggled.

I wiggled a bit and felt very ashamed. Abba said "Now, now, Angie, be nice" as he shut the car off. He said "Alli, would you get these two ready for bath while I take care of Christie?"

Alli said "Yes Abba." I felt my face get very hot, and I curled up against the door as Alli let the other kids out of their seatbelts and chased them into the house.

Abba opened the door and said "What's wrong, Christie?"

I sniffled and said "I'm sorry, Abba. I didn't mean to poop. It just happened."

He unbuckled me and picked me up and said "It's okay, Christie, that's what your diaper is for. We'll get you cleaned up and then you can take a bath with Derek and Angie, okay?" I nodded and put the binky back in my mouth and sucked hard on it while Abba carried me to my room.

Abba took my shoes and my pants and my diaper off and cleaned me all up. He unpinned my binky from my shirt and gently tugged on it. "May I have this please?" he asked. I shook my head. "You don't want to drop it in the tub and get it all soapy, do you? That wouldn't taste very good, would it?" I shook my head and let him take it. "Good girl" he said.

He took me to the bathroom. Angie and Derek were already sitting in the biggest tub I had ever seen. Alli was sitting at the tub washing Derek's ears with a washcloth, and he was squealing and trying to get away. She looked up and said "There's the other one!"

Abba placed me gently into the tub and said "Alli, are three of them too much for you, or should I stay and help?"

She said "No, Abba, I can take care of them, at least if THIS one would quit squirming!"

Abba laughed and said "Alright, then, I'll go put the food away and get their bedclothes all laid out." He left, and Alli scrubbed us all down and washed our hair, and we splashed water on her and each other and blew bubbles around. It was so much fun.

My hands were all wrinkly when Alli said "Alright, everybody out of the tub!" We all got out, and Alli wrapped huge fuzzy towels around each of us. I had never seen such a big towel - it was as big as my blanket at home. Alli dried each of us off and sent us to our bedrooms.

Abba was waiting for me in my room. He looked down at my legs and said "Well, that rash is looking much better. Does it itch at all?" I shook my head. "Well, then, maybe after another dose of the stinky stuff it'll be all gone in the morning." He helped me up onto the bed and put the cream all over my bottom and my girl spot along with some baby powder, then taped a diaper on me. He sat me up and said "Arms up, please!" I raised my arms, and he pulled a long yellow nighty with white lace on the arms and the bottom. He pinned my binky back onto my shoulder and popped it into my mouth. Then he stood me up on the floor and said "Would you like to watch a movie before bed?" I nodded. "Well come on then, let's go to the family room and wait for everyone else!"

Abba sat me down on the couch and then sat down. I looked up at him and tugged his shirt. He seemed to know. "Would you like to sit on my lap, Christie?" I nodded and crawled onto him. He put his arm around me and I snuggled my head into his shoulder.

Before long, Angie came in and sat down, then Derek, and finally Alli, who looked at me and Abba and said "My, my, someone has definitely gotten comfortable!" She and Abba laughed. Alli said "Derek, I think it's your turn to pick a movie!"

Derek jumped off the couch and opened up this huge cabinet, filled with movies. I had never seen so many all in one place. I only had a couple at Mommy's house, and they were old baby movies that I didn't even watch anymore. Derek looked at covers and pulled one out. "I wanna watch this!" he shouted. Alli took it from him and put the disc in the machine under the big TV. It was a movie about a bunch of babies running around all over someplace called Paris. It was a very silly movie. Before long, my eyes got very heavy, and I closed them and nestled my head into Abba's arm. I felt myself floating a little while later, and opened my eyes just enough to see that Abba was carrying me to my bed. He tucked me in and kissed me on the forehead and said "Good night, munti." He turned my light off and I closed my eyes again.

Mommy pushed me into the door and said "YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL!" and closed it behind me. I turned around and said "NO MOMMY!" as she walked away. I turned back around and everyone was staring at me and pointing and laughing. I looked down. I had nothing on but my diaper, and it was very wet. I started to cry.

The teacher walked over and grabbed me by the arm and said "Oh no, babies don't go to school, babies go to the nursery!" I cried and tried to pull away from her, but she dragged me out a different door and down a hall while the other children kept laughing. There were kids everywhere in the hall and they were all laughing and shouting "WHAT A BABY!"

The teacher dragged me into another room where there were babies everywhere on the floor. The teacher dragged me over to a huge crib and picked me up and put me in it while I kicked and screamed. The teacher said "There, now you can stay with the babies!" and walked out of the room. The crib was so tall I couldn't even reach the top of the bars.

I cried and cried and then I saw Mommy in the corner. She looked up and smiled and said "Oh how cute, my baby girl in a crib". Then she poked her arm with the stick again, and fell asleep. Then policemen came and dragged her away, and I started to scream...

"NOOOO MOMMYYYYYYY WAKE UUUUUUUUUP!!!!!!"

I opened my eyes and looked around but it was dark. I wailed in the darkness. I heard footsteps, and a light turned on. It was Alli, and she rushed over to my bed and held me and said "Christie it's okay, you're safe now!"

Abba appeared at the door, came over, and sat down on the other side of my bed. I reached for him, and Alli let me go. He held me in his lap and rocked me gently while I cried. "Christie, Abba's here, Alli's here, there's no need to cry. Tell me about your dream, munti." I sniffled while I told him about the horrible children and the horrible teacher and all the other terrible things that happened. Abba just kept hugging me and rocking me back and forth. I put my thumb in my mouth, and Abba gently pulled it away and put the binky in there instead.

After I told him about Mommy being taken away, he finally said "Oh my sweet munti, that was a terrible, terrible dream. That must have been very, very scary for you. But you don't need to be afraid of those things, because none of those things will ever happen to you while you are here."

I snuffled and looked up at him and said "How do you know, Abba?"

He smiled and said "Well, first of all, everyone who stays here in this house has the same teacher, and it's me. And you know I would never do something mean to you like that, would I?" I shook my head and sniffled. "Secondly, since everyone here has me as a teacher, you already know no one here will ever be mean to you, right?" I nodded. "And finally, while your mommy is very sick, and she is someplace where we all hope she is getting better, I am going to be taking care of you, and I would never leave you alone like that in a room full of strange people that were mean and hateful." After he said that, I snuggled up to him even closer. "So you see, munti, as scary as that dream was, you don't have to be afraid of it anymore, because it's just a dream, okay?" I nodded.

"Alright then" he said softly. He pinched the front of my diaper. "Just as I suspected. While we're already awake, what say we get you out of that wet diaper so we can get you back to bed and you can dream happy dreams about Chinese food and all the new clothes we're going to get for you tomorrow, and all the fun you're going to have living here?" I sniffled again and nodded my head. He gently laid me back down on the bed and stood up. He walked over to my dresser and took out a diaper, then picked up the wipes, powder, and the tube of smelly stuff off the top. As he was laying it all out on the bed, Alli came over and whispered something in his ear. He turned and looked surprised, then said "Let's talk about that after I get her tucked in, okay? Meet me in the study."

Alli nodded and came back over to the bed and gave me a big hug. "Good night, Christie. I'll see you in the morning!" she said, and kissed my cheek. Then she got up and left the room.

Abba changed my diaper and tucked me back in and said "All better now, munti?" I nodded. He kissed me on the forehead and said "Good night, sweet girl. No more bad dreams tonight." He got up, turned the light off, and started to close the door.

"Abba" I called out.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Could you leave the door open a little?"

"I sure can. I love you, Christie. Goodnight."

My eyes got heavy again, and I went back to sleep.

[tiggerboy]

I love these chapters, but I was confused about the Chinese restaurant. Aren't teriyaki and sushi both Japanese foods and unlikely to be found at a Chinese restaurant?

Keep up the good work with the story. I really want to know what Alli whispered to Abba though.

[WBDaddy]

I love these chapters, but I was confused about the Chinese restaurant. Aren't teriyaki and sushi both Japanese foods and unlikely to be found at a Chinese restaurant?

Keep up the good work with the story. I really want to know what Alli whispered to Abba though.

To answer your first question, yes, they are Japanese foods, but I admittedly borrowed from my experience of Polynesian/Oriental restaurants here on the East coast, which call themselves "Chinese" but feature Hawaiian cuisine (Pu-pu platter, which features teriyaki chicken and beef served on skewers) and also have sushi bars in-house. I figured the Polynesian fusion thing would be even more prevalent on the West coast, since that was its launch point, from the surf-heads who brought it back from Hawaii back in the 40's and 50's.

(edit) Just realized you are an Aussie. Now I totally understand your confusion. People call any kind of Asian cuisine "Chinese" over here, because of what I just described regarding Poly/Jap/Korean/Thai/Chinese all being whirled together in a blender and served up as "Oriental" cuisine here in the States.

In a nutshell, I've never been to a "Chinese" restaurant that actually served authentic "Chinese" (which includes some INCREDIBLE regional fare from around that country) cuisine...

As to your second question, well, you'll just have to keep reading. If it makes you feel any better, Christie doesn't know either.

[tiggerboy]

To answer your first question, yes, they are Japanese foods, but I admittedly borrowed from my experience of Polynesian/Oriental restaurants here on the East coast, which call themselves "Chinese" but feature Hawaiian cuisine (Pu-pu platter, which features teriyaki chicken and beef served on skewers) and also have sushi bars in-house. I figured the Polynesian fusion thing would be even more prevalent on the West coast, since that was its launch point, from the surf-heads who brought it back from Hawaii back in the 40's and 50's.

(edit) Just realized you are an Aussie. Now I totally understand your confusion. People call any kind of Asian cuisine "Chinese" over here, because of what I just described regarding Poly/Jap/Korean/Thai/Chinese all being whirled together in a blender and served up as "Oriental" cuisine here in the States.

In a nutshell, I've never been to a "Chinese" restaurant that actually served authentic "Chinese" (which includes some INCREDIBLE regional fare from around that country) cuisine...

As to your second question, well, you'll just have to keep reading. If it makes you feel any better, Christie doesn't know either.

WBDaddy,

Thanks for the clarification, it makes sense now.

If you want some great Asian food, come to Melbourne. Whilst I have never seen Polynesian food here, we have great Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malaysian, Indonesian and different regional Chinese restaurants (all distinct restaurants). The food is great and the differences between the Asian cuisines is quite marked.

[WBDaddy]

WBDaddy,

Thanks for the clarification, it makes sense now.

If you want some great Asian food, come to Melbourne. Whilst I have never seen Polynesian food here, we have great Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malaysian, Indonesian and different regional Chinese restaurants (all distinct restaurants). The food is great and the differences between the Asian cuisines is quite marked.

No question of that. I own several woks and have spent a great deal of time learning REAL Cantonese, Hunan, Szechuan, Thai, and Viet cooking techniques and the "Zen" of balanced seasonings they all embrace. I'm still trying to wrap my head around Japanese cuisine, which is EXTREMELY erratic compared to the continent.

[WBDaddy]

7

The next time I opened my eyes, the sun was bright in my room. I rubbed my eyes and looked around. It still seemed strange to be in such a big bed, in such a big room. I still had my binky in my mouth, and I stretched my arms. I got out of the bed and walked out into the hall. Abba came out of the bathroom just as I was walking by, and he said "Well good morning, munti! Where are you going with that soggy diaper on?" I looked down. My diaper was just barely hanging on me, and it was full. Before I could say anything, Abba picked me up and said "Let's get that wet old thing off and get you dressed. We've got a big day today!" as he carried me back to my bedroom.

He laid me down on the bed and changed me, then put a knee-length yellow dress on me, with white ruffles on the arms and across the bottom. He pinned the ribbon on my binky to my shoulder and said "There we go. How about some breakfast?" I nodded. He said "Well Derek and Angie are already at the table, if you'd like to join them. I need to get Alli up, though, so we'll be along in a minute." I got up and ran down the hall.

Sure enough, Derek and Angie were sitting at the table munching on cereal. There was a glass of juice sitting at one seat, and a booster already in the chair, so I climbed up and sat down. I took my binky out and took a sip of juice, and Derek said "Good morning, Christie!"

I said "Hi Derek!" Angie waved at me with a mouthful of cereal. I laughed and waved back. We all started to giggle. I sat and kicked my legs and drank the juice, and before long I heard footsteps down the hall. Abba came out and went into the kitchen. Then I saw Alli, and I was so surprised! She had on a T-shirt, and had a binky in her mouth. I looked again, and I could see something big and pink peeking out under her T-shirt! She looked very sleepy, and she crinkled very loudly when she walked by chair and sat down next to me. I couldn't think of anything to say, and I just stared at her, as Derek and Angie started laughing all over themselves.

Finally, Alli said "Good morning, Christie. Good morning gigglepusses over there! What's so funny?"

Angie said "You're wearing a diaper!"

Derek said "And you have a binky!" They both laughed even harder.

Alli said "And?"

Angie said "Well, it looks silly!"

I giggled a little bit and said "You don't wear diapers, Alli!"

Alli looked at me and said "Well yes I do, you just never saw them before, and apparently neither did the giggle-pusses over there either." Derek and Angie both laughed even harder.

Abba came in from the kitchen, chuckling, and set bowls of cereal in front of me and Alli, and poured milk into them. "Well, my goodness, am I going to be chasing giggle monsters all over the mall today?" he asked. We all laughed, and Alli and I started eating. Derek and Angie finished their cereal, and Abba said "You early-birds can wait for the rest of us." They sat and watched us eat, but before long they were giggling again. It was hard to keep eating and not laugh too. Abba stood up and said "Alright you two, let's go get you dressed." Derek and Angie got out of their seats and ran down the hall, giggling the whole way, and Abba followed.

When everyone else had left, Alli put her arm around me and whispered "See? You're not the only diaper girl in the house." We both laughed. Alli finished her cereal just as Derek came out of his room in tan pants and a blue t-shirt. Alli stood up, and Derek started laughing all over again. She said "Well, I guess I shouldn't go to the mall looking like this, huh?" She put her binky in her mouth and winked at me, then walked down toward her room past Derek, who laughed even harder as she crinkled by.

I finally finished my cereal and juice. Abba and Angie came out of her room. She had a white ruffly shirt on, and blue pants. Alli came out of her room in a pretty purple dress that came to her knees, and purple shoes. She had a new binky in her mouth too, and it was white with a purple flower in the middle, with a ribbon that pinned to her shoulder, just like mine. She looked so pretty, but I couldn't help but giggle at the binky. She walked over to the table and put mine back in my mouth and said "And WHAT is so funny?" in a silly voice. She started tickling me all over the place, shouting "What's so funny, huh? What's so funny, giggle-puss?"

I shrieked and squirmed and laughed, and she kept right on until Abba finally said "Alright, now. We'll never get out of the house at this rate!" He came over and said "I'll bet someone needs a change after all that." He was right. I could feel my diaper was very, very wet. He handed Alli some keys and said "Would you get these other two monsters into the Escalade while we make a pit stop?"

Alli took the keys and said "Yes Abba." Then she turned around and gave me another tickle, as she put her face right up to mine and said "Pit stop for giggle puss!" I squealed again and everyone laughed.

Abba led me back to my room and changed me, then he picked me up and carried me out to the garage. He opened the back door of the big truck, and Alli was sitting across from Derek and Angie in the back seat with her binky in her mouth. Abba buckled me in next to her, and she put her arm around me and snuggled me with her head. Abba got in the front and turned the truck on. "Alright, off we go!" he said as the truck began to move. I laid my head on Alli's shoulder and played with my binky with my tongue. I didn't know where we were going, but somehow I knew it was going to be a lot of fun.

[WBDaddy]

8

After a long time in the car, we arrived at a huge building, bigger than the whole place I used to live. There were lots of doors in different places around the building, and there were different shaped letters above each of the doors. Abba and Alli unbuckled everyone, and Abba said "Ladies, if you don't mind, can we put the binkies away while we're here?"

Alli laughed and unpinned both mine and her ribbons from our shoulders and and whispered in my ear "I'll keep them safe, okay?" Then she put them in her pocket and we started to walk toward a whole bunch of doors and went inside. The building seemed even bigger inside. The ceiling was so high, I thought it might be touching the sun, and there were stairs that moved all by themselves, going up and down to a whole other place below where we were standing. I peeked down. It was so far to the floor I got a little scared, and ran over and hugged Abba's legs.

Abba looked at me and smiled. "Pretty big, isn't it?" I nodded. "A little scary?" I nodded again. He pointed at the stairs and said "That, Christie, is called an escalator."

I stumbled through the word. "Eks-ka-lay-ter".

Abba laughed and said "Almost. Very good try, though." He continued "It's a staircase that walks for you, all you have to do is step on at the top and step off at the bottom. Would you like to try it?"

I was very afraid of the escalator, and I shook my head. He smiled and said "I understand, it's a little scary-looking. Would it be less scary if I carried you?" I nodded. "Alright then, up we go!" he said as he picked me up and put me on his hip. I started to put my thumb in my mouth, and he pulled my hand down and said "No thumbs, please." He turned around and said "C'mon kids, let's do some exploring!" He stepped onto the escalator, and everyone else followed.

It felt very strange, Abba just standing there and us moving down. He stepped off at the bottom, and I saw the place we were standing disappear. I said "Abba, where do the stairs go?" He laughed as he put me down and said "An escalator is like a big belt of stairs. When you see it go into the floor like that, it's actually on its way back up to the top to pick someone else up!"

Abba gave Alli something that looked like folded up paper, then let her take Derek and Angie off by themselves, and he and I went into some of the little buildings that were along the walls. There were lots and lots of clothes, and they were all clean, with no holes in them or stains or anything. Mommy always brought me home clothes, she never took me to a place like this to buy them. The clothes she brought home always looked like someone else had been wearing them for a long time. Abba put me in lots of pretty dresses and pants and shirts, and we took them with us in big bags. I felt like a princess, playing dress-up with Abba. After a while, we had lots of big bags full of pretty clothes, which Abba had piled into a big cart. We walked a little farther, and I started to smell food - all kinds of different food all jumbled up together. We came to a big open place where there were people cooking in all the little opening along the walls. I saw Alli and Derek and Angie sitting at a table drinking out of paper cups with straws in them. They had some bags too, but not as many as we did. Abba saw them too, and we walked toward them.

Abba said "Did you three already eat without us?"

Alli said "No, Abba, we were just having a drink."

He said "Good. I was just going to make a pit stop with Christie here. You need one too, Alli?" She shook her head.

I tugged on Abba's pant leg and said "What's a pit stop?"

He bent down and whispered in my ear "It's our special word for a diaper change when we're out like this. But it's a secret, so don't tell anyone!" I realized my diaper was very wet, and I giggled.

I giggled. He picked me up and a bag he had carried into the building, and said "Alright, then, you three keep an eye on Christie's new wardrobe for a minute, and we'll have lunch when we get back."

Abba took me down a long hall, much smaller than the rest of the building, and through a door. It looked a lot like the room Carol took me into when we went to CVS, and this place had the walls that folded out too - but lots more of them. He pulled the wall down and laid me down on the board and changed my diaper. He carried me back out to the place with all the food, back to the table where the others were waiting for us.

He put me down in a chair and said "Alright, folks. Everyone okay with chicken and waffle fries?"

"YAY!" we all yelled, and Abba walked over to one of the windows. After a few minutes, he came back with a tray with five boxes and two more paper cups with straws in them. He set one cup in front of me and then took the other one and sat down. Alli put boxes in front of Derek and Angie, then took one for herself. I took a sip out of the straw. It was pink, and it tasted sour and sweet at the same time. I liked it a lot.

Abba said "You like your pink lemonade?" I nodded and sipped again. He took the cup and said "I'm glad you like it, but let's get some lunch in you before you drink it all." He set a box in front of me and opened it. I saw chicken nuggets and some very strange looking things with holes in them. I picked one up and looked at it.

Alli laughed and said "It's like a french fry, Christie, just funny shaped. They're called waffle fries - try one!"

I took a bite - it did taste just like a french fry. Mommy didn't get me french fries very often, but I liked it a lot when she did. We all ate our chicken and waffle fries and drank our drinks, and when we were done, Alli gathered up all the empty boxes and threw them in the trash. We walked back through the building and got to the escalator. Abba looked down and said "Want a ride again?"

I looked at it. It still looked pretty scary, but I decided to try to ride it myself. I shook my head. He smiled and said "That's a brave girl. All you have to do is step on a step, and then when you're close enough to the top, step back off it. Ready?" He put his hand out. I took it, and we stepped onto the stair together. The others followed us. I was still scared, but it was kind of fun too, riding up the escalator. We got close to the end and Abba said "Ready? Set? STEP!" and we got back off. I breathed out hard, and looked back.

"Wonderful!" Abba said. "That wasn't so scary, was it?"

"A little bit, but it was fun!" I said.

"You did a good job, Munti." he said and gave me a hug. "Alright, then, let's get your clothes home and into your closet."

We went back out to the truck and everyone piled in. Abba put all the bags into the back of the truck. Alli helped us all buckle up, then pulled my binky out of her pocket. I shook my head. She messed up my hair and put the binky away.

We rode home, and when we got into the garage, Abba said "Okay, it's nap time for three of you."

Angie and Derek said "Awwwww!"

Abba said "No noise back there. We had a busy morning, and everyone could use a little rest time. Now I want to see 3 little ones heading to their bedrooms quickly."

Alli unbuckled each of us, and Abba unlocked the door. Derek and Angie ran off down the hall and into their rooms, and I walked to mine. I was sitting on my bed when Alli came in a minute later, and she had one of her big pink diapers in her hand, and a t-shirt. I said "What are you doing in here?"

She put her things on the bed, sat down, and said "Well, when big girls still wear diapers, the big girl thing for them to do is to get everything ready for Abba to change them when they need it. Can you think of what Abba needs to change you?"

I said "A diaper!"

She laughed and said "Well of course, silly, but what else?"

I thought for a minute and said "Wipes!"

"Yes, and what else?"

"Baby powder!"

"Very good. You know where those things are in your room, don't you?" she asked.

I got up and got one of my diapers out of the drawer Abba put them in, and the powder and wipes off the top of the dresser, and put them on the bed.

Alli said "Great job, Christie! That's the big girl way to get ready for a diaper change. Now since it's naptime, you also need to change into a t-shirt, but Abba will bring that for you this time, since he bought you all those nice new clothes."

Abba walked in a little later and said "Well, I didn't expect Alli here, but since everything's all set, I suppose I can change you both in here."

Alli smiled and said "Christie did a good job of getting everything ready for you, Abba."

Abba laughed as he laid me back on the bed and said "She did?"

I smiled up at him and said "Yes Abba! I got the wipes and the powder and my diaper out, just like a big girl!"

He laughed again as he changed me and said "Well yes, I can see that everything was ready for me. That was a very big girl thing to do, Munti, and I thank you." He taped me up and kissed my forehead, then took my dress off and put a blue shirt with a big butterfly on the front on me and said "Alright, you, under the covers!"

I crawled over to the other side of the bed and got under my covers as Abba changed Alli. After he finished, he looked at the shirt she put on the bed and said "Nap for you too?" She smiled and nodded. "Alright then, pumpkin." He took her dress off and put the pink shirt on her.

Alli said "Oops - almost forgot!" and reached into the pocket of her dress. She pulled out the two binkies, and handed hers to Abba. He laughed and pinned it on her shirt. She looked at me and said "Naptime or bedtime, anyone who might suck their thumb gets a binky, so they don't hurt their teeth while they're sleeping." Abba popped hers into her mouth, then came over to the head of the bed and pinned mine on and put it in my mouth. Alli crawled up under the covers, snuggled up next to me, and put her arm around me. Abba laughed and closed the door as he left the room. I felt very warm and safe snuggled up with Alli, and I quickly fell asleep.

[tiggerboy]

Please continue with this story. I hope it is not finished yet.

I saw that you said that you would continue the Naomi story when you finished this one, and I see that you have started that one...

[WBDaddy]

Please continue with this story. I hope it is not finished yet.

I saw that you said that you would continue the Naomi story when you finished this one, and I see that you have started that one...

Nope, it's not finished. In fact, I have a partial chapter to add to this one.

I decided I'd try and tackle all three (including the yet-unfinished The Funeral) at once, and just add bits to each one as I went along. That way whoever is following any given story still gets an update here and there, instead of one or more falling by the wayside.

[WBDaddy]

9

It seemed like just a minute after I laid my head down in my pillow that I felt Alli pull her arm away, and I opened my eyes. Alli yawned a big yawn and stretched, then got up. I rolled over and watched her walk toward the door. I said "Alli, why are you getting up already?"

She smiled and said "We've been sleeping all afternoon, silly. Don't you want to get up and have fun for a while before dinner?"

I jumped up out of the bed all at once and said "Wait for me!" I grabbed her hand and we walked down the hall. Alli stopped in front of the bathroom and said "Hey, you want me to show you something cool?" I nodded, and she pulled me in. She squatted on her knees, pointed to the big white thing sitting next to the sink, and said "This is what Derek and Angie were calling the potty. Grownups call it a toilet." She lifted up part of it, and there was a hole, with water in it. I had seen lots of potties before, but I had never seen the inside before.

"How does it work?" I asked.

"Well," Alli said, as she picked me up and sat me down over the hole, "You sit here when you feel like you have to pee or poop."

"That's silly!" I said. "It still goes in my diaper!"

Alli laughed. "Well that would be silly, wouldn't it. Except you take your diaper off, so it all goes into the water. Then you take a little of the toilet paper," she said as she pulled on this roll sitting next to me, hanging from the wall. It looked funny when she pulled on the paper and the roll started to spin. "and you dab on your girl spot, or if you pooped, you wipe your bottom, front to back, until you're nice and clean!" She took a piece of the paper and rubbed it all over my face as she said that. I giggled, and she picked me back up and off the potty. "Then," she said, "you pull this little handle," as she pushed down on a shiny part on the top of the potty "and all the poop and pee and the toilet paper go down the hole with the water!" I watched as the water swirled like it does in the bathtub when bath time is over, except it filled back up like magic!

She laughed and said "Pretty cool, huh?"

I nodded. Then I thought a minute, and asked "Well what if you're not in here when you have to pee?"

"Well," she said, smiling, "that's the part you have to practice, learning how to hold it until you get here."

It was all very strange and a little scary to me. I frowned and said "I think I like just wearing diapers better."

She laughed and hugged me and said "That's okay, Christie. You can try it any time you feel like you're ready. C'mon! Let's go see what everyone else is doing!"

[WBDaddy]

I felt guilty for neglecting this one while I was working on A Change for Naomi, so I put some extra effort in tonight. Hope you enjoy the rest of this chapter.

-----------------------------------------

Alli and I came down the hall, through the kitchen, and into the family room, where Abba was putting a movie on and Derek and Angie were patiently waiting. Derek looked up at us in our t-shirts and diapers and said "It's the diaper twins!" They both started giggling all over each other.

We ran over and plopped onto the couch together with a great big crinkle, which made Derek laugh even harder. Alli tickled him and said "You're just jealous 'cause you have to wear underpants and take bathroom breaks!" and stuck her tongue out at him. I looked up at her and started giggling.

Abba laughed and said "Alright, I'm going to go make dinner. You think the four of you can keep it together while watching Snow White, or should I put something sad and miserable on to keep you quiet?"

We all sang "Yes Abba!" together, and everyone started laughing. Abba shook his head and went into the kitchen.

I liked the movie a lot, especially the funny little fat men and their dirty, messy house. One of our neighbors had a very messy house like that, but he didn't have any pretty girls around to clean it. I remember my mommy taking me there with her so she could buy one of those little packages she liked so much from him.

The movie had just ended when Abba came in and said "Alright kids, dinner is ready! Let's set the table, please!"

Alli and Derek and Angie all said "Yes Abba!" Derek and Angie got off the couch and ran through the kitchen. Alli turned and held her hand out and said "Come on, I'll show you what to do!"

I took her hand and we went into the dining room. Alli showed me where the silverware was and told me to put a fork and a knife at each place at the table. Derek was already putting glasses at one side of the table, and Angie at the other. Alli took plates off a shelf that was much higher than I could reach and started placing them at the table. I followed her with the forks and knives, and started putting one of each next to the plates. Angie came behind me and said "No, silly, fork on the left, knives on the right!"

I was a little confused, and I watched her put a fork on one side and a knife on the other side of the plate. I tried to do the same at the next plate, but she said "No, that's backwards!"

I frowned and said "Mommy and me never sat at the table to eat! I don't know how to do it!"

Alli put the last plate down and came over behind me. She said "It's okay Christie. Here is your left hand" and she wiggled one arm "and here is your right!" wiggling the other. "We put the forks on this side" as she wiggled the first one again "and the knives on this side!" as she wiggled the other. "Would you like to try again?"

I walked to the next plate and started to put the fork on one side. It didn't look right, so I moved it, then put the knife on the other side. "Very good!" Alli said. "Go ahead and do the last one!"

I looked again at where I put them the last time, and said "Fork on the left and knife on the right!" and placed them, looking up to Alli.

"Great job!" she said, clapping her hands. She helped me up into the chair where I had just put the fork and knife down, then sat next to me.

Abba brought out a great big bowl with spaghetti in it, except it didn't have any of the red stuff like the spaghetti Mommy used to give me out of the can. It had white stuff all over it and some brown and green bits in it, and it smelled a little weird. I was a little scared of it. Abba looked at me and laughed. "Don't be afraid, Christie. It's called 'car-bo-nar-uh'." He said that last word very slowly. "Can you say that?"

"Car...bin...nar...uh?" I said, unsure.

"Close enough." he said, laughing. "It's very good. It's like spaghetti with breakfast in it!"

I was very confused. "You mean there's cereal and milk in there?"

Everyone else laughed. Alli said "No, but there's bacon and eggs in it, and lots of cheese. It's YUMMY!"

Abba put some on everyone's plate, then went out to the kitchen and brought back a big lump of something sort of white-colored, and a piece of shiny metal. He scrubbed the big lump against the metal thing over each person's plate, and it looked like snow falling onto their spaghetti. My eyes got very big.

"This is par-muh-zan cheese, Christie. It makes the dish extra yummy!" Abba said, smiling. Derek and Angie and Alli started eating right away. I stared at my plate, still a little scared of it.

Abba said "Go ahead, Munti. Try some!"

When he called me that, I remembered how scared I was at the Chinese place, and how yummy all the food was there, and I stuck my fork into it. It was hard to pull the spaghetti out of it, and I dropped some on the table. Alli reached over and put the spaghetti back on my plate, took my fork, and said "Here, Christie. Pull a little bit out, then twirl it on your fork like this!" She spun my fork around, and all the spaghetti rolled up on it. "Now you can eat it!" she said, and offered me the fork. I took it and put it into my mouth. It was a little salty, but as I chewed it up, all kinds of different flavors happened in my mouth.

Abba said "What do you think, Munti?"

I smiled and said "I LIKE car-bor-a-nuh.... car-buh-nor-uh..." I stopped, frustrated.

"Car-buh-nah-ra" Abba said, smiling.

"Yeah, that stuff!" I said. Everyone laughed.

After dinner, Abba gave me and Derek and Angie a bath, which was a lot of fun, except I got soap in my eye when Abba was washing my hair, which made me cry. That wasn't fun at all. Abba rinsed it out with a tiny squirt bottle, which made it stop hurting, and then he got us all out and wrapped us up in towels and helped us dry off. He sent us all to our rooms to get dressed for bed. I got to my room and laid out on the bed - then I remembered what Alli told me.

I ran over to the dresser and got a diaper and the baby powder and laid them on the bed, then found a long nightie that Abba got me that morning and laid it on the bed. It was soft and yellow and fuzzy with a big teddy bear on the front. It was very pretty. I laid back on my bed wrapped in my towel and waited for Abba. When he came in, he looked around and smiled and said "Very good job, Munti! Thank you for getting all your things ready, my big girl!" It felt good to have Abba call me that.

He powdered me and put my diaper on, then slipped the nightie on me. It was very soft and warm, and felt good on my skin. Abba helped me off the bed and I hugged him as tight as I could and said "Thank you for all the pretty clothes, Abba!"

He picked me up and gave me a kiss and a hug and said "You are very welcome, Munti. I'm glad you like your new clothes. Would you like to join us for story time before bed?"

I nodded, and he carried me back out to the family room. Alli and Derek and Angie were all sitting on the couch, with a space in the middle. Abba sat down with me in his lap and said "Alright, Alli, what book are we reading tonight?"

Alli handed him a book and said "We finished The Silver Chair Wednesday, so it's time to start The Horse and His Boy!"

Abba opened the book and started reading: "This is the story of an adventure that happened in Narnia and Calormen and the lands between, in the Golden Age when Peter was High King in Narnia and his brother and his two sisters were King and Queens under him. In those days, far south in Calormen on a little creek of the sea...."

I rested my head on Abba's chest and closed my eyes as he read on, imagining a little house next to a lake. I had only seen lakes on TV, and wished I could go to what sounded like such a pretty place. Abba's voice made me feel very safe and warm inside as he read. I imagined myself floating around on a boat in the water, listening to the waves. Suddenly, I realized I really was floating, except I was in Abba's arms, and he was carrying me to my bedroom. I nuzzled into his chest, and he stroked my hair as he walked. I heard footsteps and giggling behind us, and doors open and close. He pulled back the covers and laid me on the bed. He pinned the ribbon onto my shoulder.

I looked up and said "Abba?"

"Yes Munti?" he said.

"Is Alli going to come sleep in my bed tonight?" I asked hopefully.

He put my binky into my mouth and kissed me as I heard Alli's voice behind him: "Well of course I am, silly. No bad dreams for Christie tonight."

Abba laughed as she crawled under the covers. Abba gave her a binky too, and she snuggled up next to me again. Abba said "Goodnight pumpkin. Goodnight munti." and turned out the light.

I felt so happy and safe with Alli's arm around me. The only part that made me sad was that Mommy couldn't be here in this beautiful house with all these nice people, but I was glad to be here while she was getting better. Before long, I fell asleep.

[tiggerboy]

Thanks WBDaddy. Sweet chapter.

[baby frost]

lol another great story dies today

[WBDaddy]

How do you figure it dies?

I haven't abandoned this by any stretch. I've just got a lot of projects on my plate.

I could see that sort of post if it had been a month or more since I added a chapter.

[baby frost]

:[ lol u added so much new stuff i thought u ended this my bad lol