A Family Back Together

[Shy-Diapers]

Rick and Mary Stafford were both 35 years old. They had been married for 16 years after meeting in dating in high school. After being married for four years, they had their daughter, April. April looked almost exactly like her father, having his green eyes and red hair, along with his freckles. She had Mary’s facial structure though. The three of them were always very close, but Mary and Rick never wanted only one child. Mary was an only child and Rick came from a large family of siblings. They both wanted their child to have at least one sibling. Try as they might though, they could never conceive again. 

When April was 9, the Staffords decided to adopt. At first, they considered fostering, but both agreed they would become too attached to a child to foster properly. They were on many waitlists, both domestic and international. Eventually, two years later, they had been approved to adopt a little girl from Thailand. 

Malee was born in a small, impoverished, rural town in Thailand. She was abandoned and put up for adoption by her single mother, due to the stigma in the country of single parenting. She was happy and healthy and should’ve been a prime candidate for adoption immediately. However, shortly after she was put up for adoption, a tsunami wrecked havoc on her small town. Many people, including her orphanage, were displaced and put into an even more impoverished setting. As the town recovered and Malee grew older, she still wasn’t adopted. While she was healthy, she was small and sickly looking, making her undesirable for most couples. Eventually though, when she was seven years old, Malee was adopted by an American family with the last name Stafford. 

The couple left April at home in Ohio with her paternal grandfather whom April loved dearly, while they flew to Thailand to finish the paperwork and meet their new daughter. They were gone for a few months and when they returned, everyone was thrilled. But things wouldn’t be celebratory for long. 

A few weeks after coming home, the couple noticed bruises on their new daughter and the small girl’s stomach looked swollen and was getting frequent nosebleeds. In addition Malee never had any energy, even though she used to have at least average levels of energy. One night when they noticed the 7 year old’s lymph nodes were very swollen and her nose continued to bleed, they rushed her to the hospital. That night the little girl was diagnosed with Leukemia. 

Malee had to stay in the hospital and undergo intense treatment in hopes of recovery.  The little girl was very confused most of the time, having not even had enough time to settle into her new surroundings before being taken to this even newer and scarier place. Rick and Mary took turns spending the night with Malee at the hospital an hour away. After almost a year of treatment and medications, Malee was in remission and soon able to return home. 

Mary took Malee home the first night they could. She was thrilled to have their little girl healthy again. Malee was sleeping for most of the day until around noon the next day. The treatments, medications, and adjustments were tiring for the small girl. When she woke up, Mary took her downstairs and gathered her husband and older daughter. 

While April had of course visited Malee in the hospital, the two never got to bond much and Malee still knew very little English and even less about America. 

Malee had grown attached especially to Rick. She had always preferred him to Mary for some reason, and always wanted to be next to him. That’s where she was right now, in Rick’s lap, wearing a pale blue nightgown with little white spots and a fresh pull-up. The leukemia and it’s treatments had made her very weak. Malee had already had some potty trouble while adjusting to leaving Thailand, but now she has regressed almost completely. Her brown skin was closer to her original color now, and her stringy dark hair had grown back enough after chemotherapy to be at her shoulders.  

“I’m so glad we’re all together again.” Mary said with a smile, looking at her beloved family.

[Ishigreensa]

Rick smiled and nodded in agreement with Mary.

"And about time, too.  Our family is long overdue for some real bonding time.  Now, little Malee,"  he often called her Mah LEE because he wasn't really sure of the pronunciation of her name, but it seemed to be spelled that way to him, "is not really up to doing a lot yet, but I think we can press her to have a little family time today, and I'm hoping in a month or two, we can take our usually yearly summer trip somewhere."

"DisneyLand!" April said almost at once.

Rick smiled at her and waved his hands to calm her down.

"Now, now, we don't know how much excitement she'll be up for at that time.  We will plan something when it comes clear exactly how much energy she'll have that we can all enjoy together,  April.  I promise, you will like whatever we do."

April folded her arms and sat down.

Rick patted her little lap where she sat in his and he looked over at April.

"Come on, honey, say hello to your little sister.  She's waited a long time to be able to talk to you.  And I'm sure you've wanted to get closer to her, too."

"Well, does she speak English yet?" April asked.  "Because if she doesn't, I don't see how I'm going to be able to talk to her."

Rick sighed.  "April, just start simple.  Tell her your name again and ask her if she likes some things that you like.  Surely, you'll hit on some things that she knows."

April frowned and looked to her mother for help.  She had no idea of what to talk to her about.  This girl was only about seven or so.  She was twelve.  What could she have in common with her?

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee had picked up some English and her parents had tried to teach her some while she was in the hospital. She had learned the names of some foods and basic needs and some simple words, but not enough to carry on a conversation for very long, and certainly not in more than broken English. 

She turned her head around when she heard Rick talking about her. She recognized her name, even the funny way he pronounced it. She tried to understand what he was saying but didn’t understand more than the general idea. She could definitely tell he was happy though. 

Mary smiled and tried to calm April down. “I know you’re excited honey, but Malee isn’t used to lord of excitement remember? She’s used to the hospital for so long.” She said gently, rubbing her daughter’s back. 

Malee watched the conversation between Rick and April. She tried to smile at her sister and waved a bit. Malee was still pretty shy, but she had come out of her shell more after getting used to her parents. She had been excited to get to know April before she got sick, and was always excited when her big sister would come visit her. She frowned a bit when it seemed April wasn’t interested in her. 

“See April, she wants to be friendly with you. She knows a little English. She understands more than you think.” Mary encouraged, hoping the girls would get along. 

Malee looked up at Rick with her small frown. Her cheeks were finally starting to get their plump and chubby shape back. “April, don’t want?” She asked. One of the phrases she had mastered was ‘don’t want’. Her parents figured teaching the little girl phrases she’d use a lot would be the best way to start. 

[Ishigreensa]

"Honey, April is just not used to seeing you at home.  I'm sure she wants," he said to Malee hoping that April would agree.

April looked from her little sister who had just asked if she wanted something, to her mom who seemed to be trying to encourage her even harder than she had in the past before, and then to her dad who was trying to encourage Malee.

"What does she mean, I don't want?" April asked a little bit unsure of what they were saying, exactly.  "I... I want my little sister," she said sheepishly.  "I just don't know what to talk about with her.  I mean, I guess... um... what color do you like?  Um... Do you like red?"

She smiled at Malee.

"Malee, right?  Malee?  Um... do you want to meet friends?"

She hoped that her little sister might want to meet her friends later.  

"That's a good idea, April.  I bet she'd get a lot more used to you if she hung out with you and your friends, later.  I wouldn't have her go with you alone just yet, but maybe in a couple of weeks after we are sure she is good, and you understand how much care she needs with her condition."

"Her condition?  Isn't she cured?"

"Not exactly, honey.  The disease is out of her, but it has left some problems that will take a little longer for her to get over."

"Oh, okay.  I guess that's okay."

She turned back to Malee.

"So, what color do you like?  Me?  I like blue and green."

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee hoped her dad was right. She wondered if April didn’t want to talk to her or be near her. She turned back to her big sister and gave a soft smile. She held one of her stuffed toys to her chest. She had received quite a few toys and games while in the hospital from relatives and family friends. Rick and Mary had decided it would be best if as few relatives as possible visited her while in the hospital. The toy she had right now was a stuffed mermaid, with orange hair and a blue tail. 

She smiled more at April as she opened up to her. She was interested in her sister. She didn’t really understand the concept of friends that she talked about, but understood colors really well. “Do like led.” She smiling, mispronouncing her Rs as usual.

Mary smiled. She was happy the girls were starting to open up and talk to each other. She had been nervous there would be tension between them. 

Malee nodded at the mention of her name. “I am Malee.” She said with a big smile. She liked being able to say that because it was one of the first English phrases she learned. She thought for a moment, trying to think of her favorite color. “I like pi-k.” She said with a smile, dropping the n in the middle of the word. 

Her stomach growled and Malee looked at both her parents. “I am...” She started, trying to think of the English word for what she wanted. She didn’t use the word hungry much in the hospital because her appetite had been so decreased. Her appetite had started to grow again, much to the relief of her new family. They wanted her to hopefully continue to gain some weight. “I am....hungly.” She said smiling, proud of herself for her English.  

[Ishigreensa]

April smiled.

"I think it is time to eat, isn't it, dad?"

She looked towards the clock.

"Can we have pizza or something for dinner?" she asked her parents and then looked at Malee.  "I bet Malee would like that."

She thought the way she said pink was really cute.

What colors do you know in English?" she turned to start talking to Malee again.

Rick turned to Mary.

"What do you think?  Do you think we should keep feeding the girl her culturally accepted foods, or do you think it's okay to start getting her used to the food here in America?" he asked her.  The couple had a list of foods that were common in her country, and it also gave them a short of list of foods that Hindu people didn't eat because her birth mother was Hindu.  On that list, was beef because of the holy connection to their religion.

The hospital had promised to stick to the girls' known habits for the time she was in the hospital in order to not cause the fight to get healthier to be harder on her.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee smiled and thought for a minute. “Know led, blue, gleen, pi’k, olanj.” She listed off. She knew a few others, but they were harder for her to say. She smiled up at her sister, proud of her English skills. “Know ingish good.”

Mary sighed. “We need to help her adjust eventually, but I don’t know. I certainly don’t think she can handle the grease yet. Her stomach is still pretty sensitive to things like that. She does like noodles and butter though. She tried that and always eats lots of it. I just don’t want to upset her or risk giving her a stomach ache.” 

Malee smiled. She felt proud that she was starting to fit in with her family by speaking English, even if it wasn’t as good as she thought. 

[Ishigreensa]

April smiled and moved closer to her sister and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Malee?  Is Mah LEE, right?  um..., can you eat pizza?"

Rick sighed and shook his head.

"April, honey, we can order a pizza for you if you want, but your mom and I don't think she's ready for that kind of food yet.  It might give her a lot of tummy problems."

"Noodles and butter?" April asked shaking her head.  "That doesn't sound good at all."

"It's all she can really handle right now, honey.  I'm sorry."

April sighed.  "I'll try to eat what she's having then.  It wouldn't be fair for me to eat something like pizza and she has to eat just noodles.  Maybe we can put something in my noodles to make them taste a little more American?"

Rick nodded.

"We could just make some spaghetti and then put butter on Malee's noodles and put sauce over April's noodles," he offered a solution to Mary.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Malee.” The little girl said pointing to herself. She pronounced it similar to the American name Molly, but with a bit of a softer A than a flat O. 

“Mmm noodles!” She said happily. If it was up to her she would eat noodles and butter all the time. It was one of the few American foods she had really latched onto. 

“Spaghetti it is then. I’ll just make a separate batch with no sauce for Malee.” Mary said with a smile. She headed to the kitchen to start making lunch. 

“Honey why don’t you get her dressed now that she’s more awake.” Mary called to her husband from the kitchen. Malee was still wearing her nightgown since she’d slept for such a long time. 

[Ishigreensa]

Rick nodded.

"Okay, sure.  April, why don't you come with us to choose something for your sister to wear?"

April smiled.  She was being included.  Thought it shouldn't have mattered that much, to April, it sort of did.  Her parents had taken such good care of Malee while she was in the hospital, that while April loved her grandfather, it felt like her parents had had little time for her at all until now.  And now, she was getting ot be a part of the center of attention with her little sister.

April ran up ahead of them  to beat them to her little sister's room so she could look through the clothes.

Rick smiled at his older daughter's willingness to a part of this.

"Your big sister and you are going to be such good friends," he told Malee patting her on the bottom.  As he pat her, he thought her diaper felt a little heavy, but he wasn't sure.

"Honey, are you wet?" he asked her.  It was one thing he had made sure she learned, to say 'I'm wet' so that he or Mary would know to change her as soon as possible when she was wet.  Of course, he hoped she'd potty train sooner than later because she was already eight now, and that was a bit old to need diapers and to wet herself, but he also knew that it would take some patience because she had had a hard time since just before potty training where she came from.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee was amazed by how fast her big sister could move. She wanted to do that too! “Malee!” She said to Rick, wanting to try running up the stairs like April. She didn’t know how to say things such as ‘run’ or ‘jump’. She had been so weak for so long that she was in bed for most of the day, only occasionally getting up to make sure her legs would still work. But, she couldn’t realistically run or even make it up the stairs by herself yet. 

Malee nodded a little. Her pull-up had gotten a little soggy, but she also realized she had to go to the bathroom still. She did her best to hold it now that she realized. “Am wet.” She said with a nod. “Need potty.” She said to Rick. She could communicate her basic needs easily, though she did prefer to just speak Thai and have people try and figure it out, she was coming around to English. 

Malee was doing her best to not wet her pull-up even more. The girl had been potty trained at 3 1/2, so she was only a year or so into being potty trained when she got put in a foster home while the adoption was being sorted out. Then she started to wet the bed and have a few daytime accidents when they met and then arrived in America, and now had regressed much more after being weak for so long. In the hospital diapers were easier and more accessible, but it was hard to find diapers for even a small eight year old at a regular store, so they had to settle with pull-ups, and hope she’d relearn quickly. 

[Ishigreensa]

Rick smiled at Malee when she said her name in a shout, and then when she seemed to feebly kick to get down and run up the stairs too.

"Honey, you will be able to run soon enough," he told her.  "But for now, you need help up and down the stairs."

He took her into the bathroom when she said that she needed the potty and he put her down by the toilet and helped her get her pull up down.

"Remember?  We have to pull up the gown first," he reminded her.  "Then we pull your diaper down your legs, and then being careful of the gown, we sit on the potty to let the pee pee out."

He waited for her to pee.

April realized they had not gone straight into the room, and she came back looking for her sister when she saw the bathroom door open, and daddy trying to help her use the potty.

"Why are you watching sissy pee?" April asked.

"Honey, we told you before," he told her.  "Malee had a lot of interruptions in her youth and hasn't mastered a few skills that other children her age have yet because of things happening to her hometown and then her getting sick."

"Oh."

"One of those, is she still needs help getting to the potty, but we are hoping that it's just temporary.  She's a smart girl, and there's not really anything wrong with her that way other than she was just too weak to go on her own before."

"Okay."

Once she was done using the potty, Rick made sure she washed her hands and then took her hand to see if she would walk to the bedroom with him and April.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee frowned. She wanted to run up after her big sister. It looked so fun!

She was relieved when Rick took her to the bathroom and she quickly emptied the rest of her bladder. She nodded as her dad explained to her the steps again. She knew how to use the bathroom, she just had trouble knowing when she had to go. She washed her hands and dried them with some help. 

Malee was thrilled to be able to walk. She was a little slow, but other than that she was fine. It was easy to tell that she wanted to go faster though, but her body was still weak from recovering. 

“Close?” She asked, hoping she understood right. Her Thai accent made it hard to pronounce th especially in the middle of a word. She heard about dressing and clothes, and wanted to confirm she was right. 

[Ishigreensa]

Rick, used to her pronunciation as well as having been around his sister's kids and their inability to say the th correctly when they were little, knew what she meant and he nodded.

"That's right, honey.  Clothes."

"Malee, Do you want to wear a skirt and a top like me?" April asked.  "Then people will think look just like sisters?"

Rick chuckled.  

"April, you're talking a little too fast, honey.  Slow down.  She's still learning English."

"Sorry."

They got into the room, and then April showed her a skirt and a t-shirt.

"See?" April said.  "Skirt!  Like me!"

She held her skirt up just enough to show what she was talking about, but not enough that her panties were shown.

"Malee wear skirt?"

Rick had to get her a pull up out though t put on her first.  Her first one was a little wet after all from earlier.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee was a little confused at first. She didn’t understand April when she was talking so fast. 

When she finally slowed down and Malee listened, she nodded. She tried a few times to say skirt, but because of her accent making the letter R difficult, she couldn’t really say it at all. “Sklt.” She eventually got out. 

She recognized the bed she slept in the night before and tried to climb into it. It took some extra effort, but she was able to eventually. She wanted to be able to do things her big sister did. 

Malee smiled at Rick and April. “Aplil sklt.” She said, liking the idea of matching her sister. “Led!” She said seeing a red skirt in her sister’s hand. She knew her colors well in English and liked to show that she did. 

[Ishigreensa]

April smiled when her sister called her Aplil.  She really thought that was a cute nick name for her little sister to use for her regardless of how big she got and eventually if she learned to say it right or not.

"Sk...oa... t," April tried to play with the work skirt trying to make it sound more like skirt than skit because the two words could be confused if she talked to someone one else.  "Say Sk... are... t." she said.  She kept trying everything she could think of to get her sister to say it to what she thought was closer.  Scah...t?"

Meanwhile, Rick pulled down her wet pull up and took it off of her and then handed her a clean one to try to put on by herself. April hugged her when daddy gave Malee the pull up to put on.

"Put on your panties," she said avoiding calling it a diaper even though that's what she felt it was.  She figured if she was going to get her little sister to like her, the best thing was to avoid embarrassing her as much as she could.  Maybe she didn't know the word diaper or pull up yet, but eventually, she would learn those words, and the last thing she wanted, was for her to get mad because April had been calling it a diaper all that time when she realized what it meant and that making their relationship worse.  It was bad enough that the little girl didn't understand her very well yet.

April watched her curiously to see if she would get her pull up on by herself or not.

"You know," she said to Malee.  "One thing that big sisters do, is they look out for little sisters.  They help them dress when something is too hard to do, or they do their hair... or...."

"Honey," Rick reminded April.  "You're talking too fast again."

"Sorry."

She smiled at Malee.

"I'm sorry.  I.  talk.  fast."

She reached an arm around her and hugged her.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee tried and tried to repeat the word skirt to her sister, but couldn’t seem to get it good enough. Eventually, she got too frustrated and shook her head. “No mole.” She said, not wanting to continue. English was a hard language, and she couldn’t tell the difference between how she said something and how everyone else did. 

She pulled the pull-up on, feeling proud that she was helping to be independent. She liked doing things alone, especially since she couldn’t for so long in the hospital. She looked up and blinked when her sister started to ramble. She couldn’t keep up. 

“Hael!” Malee said with a smile, she was able to catch onto her sister mentioning doing her hair. Though, when she said it, it came out more as a combination of ‘hwil’ and ‘he’ll’. She smiled and grabbed her hair, smiling again. She was happy to have her hair finally grow back. She had cried and cried when her hair started to fall out. When it started to grow back the little girl was thrilled. 

“Aplil fasht.” She said with a laugh. She thought it was funny that her sister got excited sometimes. She smiled and gave her sister a hug when her arm was wrapped around her. 

[Ishigreensa]

April smiled and gave up on skirt for the time being and patted her back.

"You got your panties on?  Can you put on your skirt?"

She handed her the skirt.

Rick just watched happily as the girls got the younger one dressed.

"If you need help...," she sighed and waited a minute.  "Help?" she said.  Then she pointed at her self.  "I help you."

April got her to stand on the bed, and April stood up on the bed on her knees, and pulled at the skirt until it was straight and even all the way around.

"There, skirt is perfect," she said.  "Now shirt?"

She took the shirt from her dad and gave it to her to start, but she made sure the front was in the right place, ready to make her take her arms out and restart them if it looked like the shirt was going to go on backwards.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee nodded and pulled the skirt up over her pull-up and to her hips. She took her T-shirt and with a little struggle, got it on the right way. “Dlessed!” She said proudly. She sat back down on the bed and held her stuffed mermaid again. 

She felt her stomach growl again and was really getting hungry. “Hungly. Eat?” She asked Robert. She hoped it would be time to eat soon. She was starting to get her appetite back and was frequently hungry. Especially since things took a lot of energy out of her. 

Downstairs, Mary had just finished the second batch of pasta. She poured the sauce on one batch and left the other one plain, just adding some butter and mixing it around. She figured whatever the girl didn’t eat they could put in the fridge and microwave for later. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert smiled at Malee when she said she was hungry.

"April, would you take your sister's hand and walk her to the steps?  I don't want her walking up and down them yet because she doesn't have much strength yet, and might fall.  I'll carry her down the stairs, and then you can hold her hand again to take her to the table."

April nodded and watched Robert pick her little sister up and set her on the floor while April climbed off of the bed.

April reached out her hand to her little sister.

"Take my hand?" she asked her.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee climbed down off the bed and held April’s hand. She was a little unsteady, but didn’t have any issues just walking to the stairs. When they got to the stairs, she tried to start going down like she had seen April go up, though she didn’t even get her feet on a step before being seen by Rick. 

She was a little upset that she had to be carried, but when she smelled the noodles, her mind quickly changed focused. She held her sister’s hand once again and climbed into a seat, the one with a small coushin on it. She recognized it was for her because she had used a similar coushin in the hospital. It helped her bottom and back, since she was still so thin and bony. 

Mary smiled and fished up everyone some noodles and gave them each some milk, Malee having hers in a cup with a lid and a straw. “Eat up.” She said once she gave silverware to everyone. 

Malee smiled and started to eat her noodles with her fingers. She wasn’t taught how to use silverware back in Thailand, and Rick and Mary figured they’d let her use her fingers for things like noodles for now. It was better to have the girl eating something than trying to teach her something new while she was sick and then in recovery. 

[Ishigreensa]

April was  a little taken aback at first when her little sister used her fingers to eat.  She understood not having the ability to use the bathroom on her own for a long time, but this girl was eight, wasn't she?  Why was she eating noodles with her fingers?  Did her parents pick this particular girl because she was still acting like a baby in a lot of ways?  Maybe they wanted a second child because April wasn't being a baby enough for them?  She wasn't sure, and didn't want to start acting like a baby unless, in her mind, she had more proof that that's what they wanted.

Of course, the more she watched and talked to her little sister, the more she started to like her, so it wasn't really a problem that her parents wanted her.  What was on her mind, that she was afraid of, was that they would want a second child if April didn't act the way they wanted her to.  And eventually, if they had enough babies around them, then maybe... they wouldn't need April anymore.

April shook the thought out of her head.

Surely that couldn't be what was going on!  That didn't make any sense!  They taught April not to be a baby.  The applauded her when she was potty trained, or at least she thinks they did.  She didn't remember it really since it was a long time ago.  But then, when she did other childish things, they talked to her and made her realize that she wanted to be a big kid and not a baby.  They encouraged her to be a big kid.  They surely didn't want her to be a baby.  

She sighed and picked up a fork even though Malee was eating with her fingers, and she started to eat her spaghetti.

Even as she tried to be a big girl about it, there was just something about being ten and eating spaghetti, that no matter how hard she tried to be big about it, spaghetti sauce always found its way on her chin, her hands, and sometimes, like this afternoon, even on the lap of her skirt and on the tummy of her shirt.

"Do you really like just noodles like that?" April asked Malee.  When her parents were looking, she put a tiny bit of sauce on the girl's plate to see what she'd do with it.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee was happily scarfing down her noodles, smiling the whole time. 

“Slooww.” Mary said at one point. She knew Malee knew that word and she didn’t want the girl to choke or get a tummy ache. While she was eating with her fingers, that didn’t cause any harm, but eating too fast could, and Mary wanted to avoid that. 

Eventually, Mary got up to give Malee some more milk. She actually had chocolate milk in her cup, but that was because it was pediasure. It was a special drink that had lots of nutrients to help kids grow and gain weight. It was during that time that April had put the sauce on. 

Malee looked at the sauce curiously. “Buttle noodles!” She said happily when asked if that’s what she liked. “Malee like! Yum yum.” She smiled. She tried some of the sauce and didn’t seem bothered by it tell she swallowed some more. The sauce hurt her stomach from being so acidic. Her little belly wasn’t used to having tomatoes or anything made from it. The hospital gave her low acid foods to help her stomach, so Malee never had things with acid like spaghetti sauce. 

Malee whined and wipes her hands. She reached over to Rick and pointed to her stomach. While it was of course a very minor stomach ache, Malee didn’t realize that she wasn’t gonna get sick. In her mind, stomach aches were always associated with throwing up, since she could only remember her stomach aches from when she was in the hospital. 

[Ishigreensa]

Rick sighed when he saw her whimpering and holding her stomach, and then when he picked her up to comfort her, he saw that red sauce on her plate.  He shook his head and pulled her plate towards him.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said to Malee.  "April didn't now you can't have harsh foods like tomatoes yet, honey."

"But daddy, only put that much on her plate, and she didn't even get it all," she said using her fingers to measure how much in a spoon she put on the plate.

"Yeah, well, her native foods are quite different from what we have, and on top of it, she's been sick honey.  it is surprising how little of something that can really change things on our bodies, sweetie."

He smiled at April and then he patted Malee's tummy.

"It's okay.  It's not that harsh, honey.  It's just going to be upset for a little while, but it will calm down, honey."

He looked over at his wife.

"Do you think the Ensure will help her stomach, or maybe some regular milk might help it more?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee cuddled into Rick’s chest. Her stomach didn’t hurt a lot, but it was her first stomach ache since chemotherapy. She relaxed a little as Rick comforted her. She tried to not think of her stomach. She ate a few more noodles that were on her plate before finishing it, aside from the ones touching the sauce. 

Mary sighed. She finished shaking the pediasure and put it in the fridge. She poured some normal milk for Malee and handed it to Robert. “You should hold it for her. We need to buy some more of her cups.” She said since the cup she gave Robert had a straw but no lid. 

She sat next to April and looked at her. “Honey, your sister has been really sick for a long time. Her tummy can’t handle a lot of American food. She’ll be able to eat more things as she adjusts. I know you didn’t mean any harm, but you have to remember that she’s still getting better. She’s still weak from the leukemia and all the medicine. I promise she’ll be able to eat regular American food before too long. We just don’t want to rush her.”