Train Orphans: 2nd Family restart for Robehouse

[Ishigreensa]

Tom finally decided.

"Yeah, Ice cream and caramel on it," he said with a smile licking his lips.

Ted smiled and laughed.

"Okay, kids."  And he ordered what they wanted along with four orange juices and a stack of regular ones for himself with just some maple syrup and eggs.

"So, what do you want me to know about you first?" he asked Penny thinking it best to start with the eldest of them.

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Penny smiled as well at Tom.

Penny frowned as her uncle put her on the spot. She didn't know what to tell him.

"Well, I'm in the seventh grade. I like reading but don't like math." Penny started, then couldn't think of anything else.

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Ted smiled and nodded.

"That's the first thing?" he asked her with a wink.  "I guess you're just sort of nervous, huh?"

He looked over at Tommy.

"I'm the man of our family, now, so I take all responsibility for anything bad that happens.  You have to punish me if you think my little sister did something bad, and you have to talk to me and Penny together if you think Penny did something bad.  You can't just punish them without me knowing why."

Ted frowned.  "Really?"

"Really," Tom looked up at him sincerely.  "They are my sisters.  I don't always love them, but they are my sisters.  No one gets to tell them off except me."

Ted sighed.  "Well, how about you tell me something happy about yourself."

Tom thought a moment.

"I like to play soccer and video games."

Ted then looked over at Erica....

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Erica blushed as her uncle looked at her.

"Well, I'm in third grade, and my best friend is Mr. Bear." Erica said.

 

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Ted smiled.

"Your best friend is Mr. Bear?  I'm so sorry," he said thinking that meant she wasn't very popular at school.  "Is Mr. Bear at least a good listener?" he asked her as if to play along.

Penny #1 o

Lacey #2 o

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"Yes, most of the time. Mostly he just sleeps with me." Erica said.

Penny started to feel like she needed to pee but didn't wnt to interrupt her uncle.

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Ted looked back Penny.

"Well, let's see.  There is a lot to me, of course.  I'll have rules, but we'll go over that at home.  NO point in bogging down our first meeting with the necessary especially since that can be taken care of later...."

He smiled.

"I play a game with a group of people on Friday nights," he told them.  "I don't know if you'll like the game, but there are lots of kids your ages, so you will definitely like Friday nights.  You even get to stay up as long as you can stay awake because we always meet at one person's house, and of course, you can't go completely to bed until you get home to your own beds, right?"

He smiled and thought a minute.

"I work in construction, a 7 to 4 job.  That means I'll probably be able to take you to school, if a little early, and I can be home, just a little after you usually get out of school."

He looked at Penny again.

"I'll trust YOU with a key so you can let your brother and sister in the house.  I wouldn't want to keep you kids out of your own home."

He paused a moment there, and waited to see if they understood what he said.

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Penny and Erica listened to Ted. They knew there would be rules and wasn't bothered too much.

Penny was interested in the Friday night game thing. It meant there would be children they could play with.

Penny nodded as her uncle said he would be giving her a key to the house for when they came home from school.

 

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Ted was really pleased with the children's attitude.

"Uncle Ted?" Tommy wondered.  "You do know school, well, elementary school doesn't start until 8:30, don't you?"

Ted's mouth dropped and he looked at Penny to confirm what her brother said.

"If you drop us off before seven, the gates to the school grounds might not even be open."

He did a double take as Tommy continued to talk, and then he sighed.

"Well, Tommy.  If I gave you the key instead of your sister, are you sure you wouldn't lose it?"

He looked to Penny.

"I'm not sure what to do about the key, Penny.  If what he says is true, and I only have one extra key right now, either they are going to have trouble waiting for school, or you are going to have trouble waiting for them to get home.  I'm pretty sure the junior high gets out at two and the elementary gets out at 3:30."

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Penny nodded her head in confirmation.

She listened to Ted and Tom talk

"Whatever you decide will be okay. I'll only be home for a couple of hours until their school let's out. I can work on my homework or something." Penny answered.

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Ted sighed.

"Well, it is more dangerous for little kids to be out when there are so few people out in the wee mornings.  I guess I'll trust Tom with the key.  You younger ones will take a bus to and from school then."

He looked over at Penny.

"The junior high is only about a block or so from the house, so you can basically leave about ten or fifteen minutes before your first class, and you should make it to class on time."  

He sighed.

"The junior high opens its doors at seven.  I've seen it when I was running late to work before."

He continued to eat and thought about what else to talk about with the kids....

Tommy smiled.

"I promise, I won't lose the key," he said.  

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Penny nodded. She was glad the school was that close. 

"That's pretty early." Penny said.

Erica just kept eating her breakfast.

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Ted nodded.

"We'll check out the schools tomorrow, so I'll take a day off both today and tomorrow.  Today, I just want to get to know you kids."

He sighed and ate a little of his breakfast.

"You know, they didn't even tell me you were coming until last night.  I was so surprised that you were coming to my house."

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Penny nodded.

"I guess we have to be enrolled?" Penny asked.

"Well I guess it all was sort of last minute. They had to find you. I don't think we had any other relatives that would take us. Thank you for letting us come." Erica said.

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Scott frowned when he heard that no one else would take them.

"Are you sure, or is that just what the people told you?" he asked Penny.  He never much cared for the other relatives, but this was a low he would not have expected from them!  At least he was there.

He smiled at Erica.

"No problem at all, baby.  We are family, sweetheart, and family should take care of one another, you know?"

He looked at Tommy.

"Just like Tommy said he wanted to be there for you two and he seemed to be afraid of me spanking you for no reason or something."

Tommy blushed but nodded.

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"I just heard people talking. I don't know if it's true, but I think it is." Erica said.

Erica finished her pancakes and Penny handed her a napkin to wipe her face and hands.

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"Well, I don't think you should worry about what people are talking about if they didn't say it to you, honey.  You shouldn't think badly of your relatives unless you know first hand, all the details, okay?"

He smiled at her.

"I'm going to take Lacey and get her hands and face washed up," he told Penny.  "I know she's a girl, but I want to make sure it is done right.  It probably wouldn't be  a bad idea for me to make sure you get yours clean, too, but as you are a teenager, I'll just check you over after you come out of the bathroom, okay?"

He then looked at Tommy.

"Take your little sister's hand, son.  We need to make sure you kids get cleaned up after that pancake breakfast."

He patted Tom's back.

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"Yes sir." Erica said.

Penny nodded and stood up. Erica took Tom's hand and they went to the bathroom.

Penny went into the girls room and washed her face and hands, checking to make sure they were clean. While she was in the bathroom she went into a stall and tried to pee.

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Ted picked Lacey up and sat her on the sink and then he started to wash her hands.

"Can you wash your hands?" he asked Tom.

Tom went to the sink to show him that he could.

Ted got Lacey's hands nice and clean and then he tickled her under her arms.

"That's a good girl."

He then picked her up and put her on her feet and then reached for both kids' hands.

Tom decided he wasn't hurting his sister, so other than keeping a close eye on him, he didn't say anything about him picking up Lacey.

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Erica held her hands out and let her uncle wash them. She giggled as he tickled under her arms.

Erica took Ted's hand as they left the bathroom.

Penny peed a little then wiped and flushed. She washed her hands again and came out of the bathroom.

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When they were all assembled, Uncle Ted did check Penny's hands, pulling them up and looking them over, and then he smiled.

"You kids have any toys with you?" he asked Penny.  "I can't imagine you brought that many with you given what little luggage you had."

He led them to his car, and after putting the two younger ones in back, he closed the door and looked around at the children after getting in.

"Does anyone want to shop for toys?" he asked them.

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"Not really. Erica has Mr. Bear and Tom had some kind of cards." Penny said. "I have a tablet."

Erica nodded when he asked if they wanted to shop for toys, since they had to leave everything behind, except for Mr. Bear.

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"You probably need clothes, too, but I'll sort that after I see what you've brought."

Tommy knew that meant he'd see the dirty clothes.

"Can I explain something?" Tommy asked.

"What is it?" Ted looked at Tom.

"My sisters....  It's not their fault.  Um...."

Scott frowned.

"I felt the wet bag earlier.  It's okay.  I'm not going to spank Erica for peeing her pants.  I'm sure she didn't mean to."

"But... it's... both of them... they... they wet the bed, Uncle Ted."

Ted looked at Penny.

"Is that true, sweetheart?"

He didn't sound upset at his news at all.

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Penny blushed and gave Tom a dirty look. 

"Yes sir." Penny answered, blushing.

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Tom shrugged.

He was sure that Uncle Ted would figure it out on his own, so he wanted to let him know about Penny before he found out by accident.

"They aren't doing on purpose," he tried to keep talking.

"It's alright, Tom.  What about you?"

"Not... not yet... but Penny didn't do it either until we were on the train, so I don't know."

Ted smiled and pulled Penny into a hug.

"Losing your family can be really stressful, sweetheart.  Don't worry.  You're not in trouble, and I'm only ever going to help you if you need it, honey."

He hugged her again.

"It's okay."