Not Enough Time For Three

[justagirl4fun]

"Nice job, Tessa," Addie said, smiling at her middle daughter. "So Connie, what grade are you in?" she asked.

[Ishigreensa]

"I'm in third grade," Connie said.

[justagirl4fun]

Addie couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. "That stuff does terrible things to people."

Colleen sat in class, her stomach already grumbling after eating just a banana for breakfast. She hoped there was something good in her lunchbox.

[Ishigreensa]

Connie nodded.

"Daddy, or Mike, or I mean daddy," she wasn't sure what to call him around Addie because Mike had seemed nervous around her, and though she loved Mike as a father, she didn't want the woman to think he was lying to her.

[justagirl4fun]

"But honey, when you hit people for saying that stuff, you're no better than they are. You need to ignore them. You know you and your daddy don't do drugs, and that your mom is trying to get better, and that's all that matters."

[Ishigreensa]

"That's what the teachers always say," she pouted.

[justagirl4fun]

Addie sighed. She had more than enough on her plate already without playing shrink to this kid she barely knew. "Have you told your dad all this? If the teachers aren't doing anything, he needs to talk to the principal about it. If that doesn't work, maybe he can switch you to the other elementary school. But regardless, you can't just hit people because they say mean things, especially if these kids are bigger than you. If they fight back, you could get hurt bad." As she spoke, she got up and set Elise in the playpen with some toys. "Now, I need to get some laundry done. Do you want to help me, or stay here and make some more leaves with Tessa?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Elise sat happily for a whole

[justagirl4fun]

"Connie, why don't you try reading to Elise for a few minutes? Some of her books are over there," Addie said, pointing to the bookshelf in the corner. "She likes the hungry caterpillar one." She waited for Tessa to steer her chair to the doorway of the small bathroom, then picked her up and carried her to the toilet as there wasn't room to maneuver the power chair in the bathroom. She and Brendan always talked about renovating the bathrooms to make them more accessible to Tessa, but the money wasn't there.

[Ishigreensa]

Connie nodded and went to get a book.

All the adults say the same thing, and she can't tell her daddy because then the big kids would beat her up for tattle-telling.

[Shy-Diapers]

Tessa manuevered herself to the bathroom door and waited to be placed on the toilet. She started peeing after a few seconds. She kept thinking back to Connie acting like she wasn't capable of using the bathroom. "I'm finished Mommy." She said after wiping.

[justagirl4fun]

Addie knelt down and pulled Tessa off the toilet, standing the girl

[Ishigreensa]

Connie smiled when the baby patted the book with her hand, and she did the same thing.

"Can you point to the strawberries?" Connie asked her trying to use the book to play with the baby.

She loved doing this.

[Shy-Diapers]

Tess washed her hands and settled back into her familiar chair. "Can we hang the leaves now Mommy?"

Elise giggled and just patted the book, not really able to identify things like strawberries yet. She reached out and tried to grab a chunk of Connies hair again though

[justagirl4fun]

"Of course. Where should we put them?"

[Shy-Diapers]

"In the living room!" Tessa said happily, since her room was already full of them.

[justagirl4fun]

"Should we hang them up individually, or do you want to staple them together to make a chain?"

[Shy-Diapers]

"Let's make a chain Mommy!" Tessa said excitedly.

[justagirl4fun]

Addie found the stapler and sat next to Tessa. "Okay, you lay them out in the order you want them, and I'll staple them together."

[Shy-Diapers]

Tessa smiled and arranged all the leaves in a brown-brown-orange-orange pattern and then let her mother do the stapling.

[justagirl4fun]

"All done. Where should we hang it?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Tessa looked around the room and pointed above he television. "There! So we can see whenever we watch tv."

[justagirl4fun]

Addie got some tape and hung the leaves. "Is that good?"

[Shy-Diapers]

"Yeah! I love it Mommy!" Tessa said happily.

[justagirl4fun]

"It's beautiful!" Addie said as she stood back to admire it. "What do you think, Connie?"