Richard and Katherine Grow a Family

[Ishigreensa]

Richard walked up behind her and picked her up.

"Honey, no one said you had to go up to your room alone."

He kissed her on the head as he climbed the stairs with her.  "Why are you having such a hard day today, sweetheart?  I was hoping you'd enjoy today, baby."

He hugged her and he walked by the bathroom to see Samantha still trying to clean the tub, completely naked and the door open.  He shook his head and took the little one to her room and sat on her bed and then pulled her into his lap.

"Sweetheart, what is going on today?" he asked.  "Are you scared of sleeping in front of me, or is there a reason you didn't want to rest in the rocker?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Alice frowned and looked down at her lap. She felt like she was in trouble all of a sudden. She wasn’t trying to have a hard day, she didn’t know why either. She was trying her best to be good and well behaved, but it just wasn’t happening and she couldn’t explain why.

She shrugged and kept quiet, not knowing how to respond to Richard’s question. She didn’t know why and didn’t want to make him mad.

When he asked about sleeping in the rocking chair she felt her cheeks get a little warm. She was embarrassed. “I don’t wanna feel icky.” She mumbled quietly, too shy and embarrassed to say that she was scared of having an accident in front of everyone, especially while she slept.

”And I only like sleeping in bed.” She added afterwards. She couldn’t explain why she felt this way, she just felt most comfortable sleeping in a bed rather than everywhere else. It was the only place that made sense to her. 

[Ishigreensa]

Robert smiled and held her.  She looked a little bit scared like she was in trouble, so he pulled her closer to him, and he whispered to her.

"We all have hard days sometimes.  You don't have to be ashamed or scared of having a hard day here.  It's not the kind of day that a person has that you are responsible for, but just how you react to it, sweetheart, and honestly, you are only eight years old, and I think you handed a tough day very well today."

He pulled her back into his lap.

"I don't know why you'd feel icky sleeping in my lap in a rocker, sweetheart, but if you do, then it's okay.  You don't have to sleep in my lap, baby.  People have their own quirks, and just because most people do something doesn't mean everyone must or does it the same way, okay?"

He hugged her.

"But how about we put some night undies on you and your sleeping clothes?  You don't have to sleep right now if you are not tired, but you seem a little cranky, and I think if you fall asleep and have a little accident in your sleep, it will feel a lot better in your nighttime panties than all over you clothes, okay?"

He patted her back as he waited for her to respond.

[Shy-Diapers]

Alice nodded. She was having such a hard day and it didn’t seem to get better no matter what she did. She was reliant on the people around her, and she wasn’t used to that. It was different and hard. “Doing my best.” She mumbled as she rubbed her tired and teary eyes.

She looked up and nodded quickly. He didn’t seem to get her hint but came to a solution nonetheless. She was scared she’d have an accident if she took a nap, just like she did every night in bed. Even if she felt like she was too old to be napping, she was worried she’d fall asleep and she didn’t want to have an accident in the nice clothes Richard got her. 

[Ishigreensa]

He patted her back and whispered.

"We all have bad days sometimes, sweetheart.  Even Samantha.  You saw her throw a tantrum at the beginning of the week, remember?  She was having a hard time, then.  She reacted badly to it though, which is my her mommy told her that that was not the right way to handle it.  But she wasn't in trouble for having a bad day in of itself.  okay?"

He started to change the little one out of her clothes and to change her pull up even though she had not said she was wet, he wanted to make sure she was comfortable.

Once he had her back in clothes that she would use for sleeping in, he picked her back up and hugged her.

"You don't have to take a nap if you don't want to," he whispered to her but could see tiredness all over her body.  "But how about this?  I'll get your stuffy-buddies from around the bed, and you can sit here a while, and play."

He figured a little quiet playing would maybe put her to sleep.

He stayed there on the bed with her, trying to encourage her to relax, hoping she would sleep on her own without him having to tell her to sleep.

[Shy-Diapers]

Alice looked up at Richard with teary eyes. She’d never been told it was okay to have bad days. Even before her mom got mean she was strict and not the most affectionate person once she grew out of toddlerhood. She sniffled and tried to wipe her tears away as she nodded. She was used to being told that bad days were her fault.

She nodded when Richard had changed her and put her on the bed. “Too old to nap.” She mumbled as she picked her dinosaur back up and clung to her blanket.

She leaned against him and in under five minutes she was fast asleep. It only took a few long blinks now that she was more comfortable before her body gave in and the little girl’s body relaxed. 

[Ishigreensa]

Richard thought all kids would think that they were too old for naps.  Samantha certainly said the same thing when she was first comfortable with them, but her reasons were definitely different.  

Only once he was sure she was a sleep, did he slip her feet under the sheets in her bed, but pulled the blanket away because it was too hot for too much, especially during the late afternoon or early evening as it was.

Sleep some of your troubles away," he whispered to her.

Then he walked out and bumped into Samantha in the hall headed for her room after cleaning the bathtub, still fully naked.

"Samantha?" he whispered to her.

She turned and her face got red.

"Honey, you're kind of big to leave the bathroom, even wrapped in a towel, sweetheart.  Can we go to your room and talk a minute?"

She nodded and they walked into her room, and he started to hand her stuff to put on while he started to talk to her.

"I appreciate you cleaning the tub.  I saw you doing that, but baby?  We normally have clothes on.  If you don't want to get your nicer things wet, you can always wear your old things, but you should have clothes on unless you are actively using the toilet or taking a bath."

Samantha pulled on her panties as he lightly scolded her.

"I know I usually treat you like a baby, but your mom is right, sweetheart.  It's about time you learned a little bit about being a big kid.  You are going into Junior High in a couple of months, so it's probably time you started to show a little more modesty, okay?"

Samantha pulled on her undershirt.  "I'm sorry.  It's just...," and she looked down.

"Just?" he asked her.

"Just I made the tub gross and didn't want anyone to see it."

He shook his head.  "Baby, we've seen you wet yourself before.  I'd rather there be a little pee spot in the tub than for you to go around naked, okay?"

She looked down and blushed.  "It... it wasn't pee."

"You didn't poop yourself, honey?" he looked concerned.  She hadn't done that kind of thing since they first got her.

"No," she looked horrified at his conclusion. "I would never!"

He sighed.  "Honey, I don't care even if you did that, or whatever else embarrassed you, you need to put on clothes before you open the bathroom door from now on, okay?"

She nodded.

"I'm just trying to help you grow up healthy," he told her.  "Believe me, I'd do anything I could to turn the clock back a couple of years and not have to worry about you growing up yet, but honestly, we can't do that, and you are getting big.  You need to be healthy first."

Samantha nodded as she zipped up her pants he handed her.

"Okay, you go ahead and relax, and mommy and daddy will be downstairs.  If you hear Alice cry out, will you do me a favor?"

Samantha nodded.

"Don't go in her room.  That will just make her upset.  Come and find me first, but if you can't find me, then get mommy."

Samantha nodded.

 

Richard then went down to talk to Katherine.

"The poor little one was tuckered out, and seemed a little scared to sleep in my lap in the rocker.  She's asleep now."

[Shy-Diapers]

Alice didn’t stir when Richard tucked her in. She was so exhausted from the day she’d had. She curled up with her blanket and dinosaur in her arms and slept peacefully.

 

Katherine frowned sympathetically. “Poor thing.” She shook her head. “Why was she so upset earlier anyway? You said she needed clean clothes so I assume something happened, but did something else happen?”

[Ishigreensa]

"I'm not really sure what else happened," Richard tried to remember everything that happened.  "She did have an accident, so I took her to the car to change her.  I just didn't want to tell you where I'd have to explain at the time because she reads better than Samantha, and I didn't want her to catch what I was writing and get upset more so."

He sighed and looked down.

"Oh, there was more to it.  She was dressed, and I thought she was ready to go back, but then she said she didn't want to go back, and she actively ran away from me in the car as far as she could get from me.  I don't know what did it, but she was scared of the zoo."

Richard sighed.

"I don't know if she was embarrassed that people would know she peed her pants, or if she was scared of something else, but you do remember, the only place she wasn't on edge at, was looking at the bats, right?"

Richard looked up at Katherine wondering if that would help her figure out Alice.  He was lost.

"Samantha was naked when I saw her cleaning the tub, and then she walked into the hall naked.  I tried to explain things the best I could, but I don't know if she understood what I was trying to say."

He paused.  "I'm telling you one thing, though, Kat.  Alice is not acting like any of the so called normal kids we've had before.  I know there is nothing in her file, and I know she has no bruises, but there is something weird going on.  I just don't know what it is.  And I'm afraid Samantha is starting to slip, too.  I'm worried that whatever energy Alice is giving off, might be affecting Samantha."

[Shy-Diapers]

Katherine frowned. “You know I don’t have too much knowledge on little kids.” She reminded her husband.

She did her best to try to think about why Alice would be so anxious. “It was really busy.” She thought aloud, wondering if that was the reason. “She did say she’d never been to the zoo. Maybe there were just too many people. The bat exhibit was pretty empty.”

”Why was she cleaning the tub?” She asked with a sigh. “I honestly don’t know what’s going on in her mind anymore.”

“Richard relax.” She insisted with a sigh. “You haven’t been around the kids that much before now. She’s been here less than a week, of course she’s having a hard time.” She didn’t think any of the behaviors she saw in Alice were harmful or concerning, though she hadn’t spent much time with her yet.

”What's Samantha doing that makes you think she’s slipping? I thought she was actually improving.” She asked in confusion. “What do you suggest we do? Send Alice back?”

[Ishigreensa]

"No," Richard said when she said about sending Alice back.  "I don't know if that will solve Samantha's problems, and we both heard what could happen if we did that.  Neither of us wants that for the little munchkin, do we?"

He shook his head.

"Look, she just says things very strangely.  I know I'm not good at communicating exactly what I'm talking about.  It's not the words themselves that she says, but just, how and when she says stuff.  It feels like... almost as if... she is trying to be twelve years old or older, and yet, doesn't quite have the capacity to understand how to be as mature as she is trying to be."

He shook his head.  "I know that came out as clumsy as every other red flag I'm seeing.  I just can't put my finger on it, but I know something is wrong.  She's not normal."

He thought about how she had said that the bat place was quiet, and the zoo was really busy.  "You know what, the commotion and maybe the noisiness of the place had something to do with it.  I remember, she wouldn't even let me change her in the bathrooms, and there were a lot of people there, but even though the car was more exposed, and anyone could have looked in, she was a lot calmer being changed there, and there was a significant lack of people there."

He thought how he meant that Samantha was slipping.

"Well, I don't know for sure, really.  It's just, she seems less trustful of what you tell her in the last week than I thought she was.  Like I think, she was trying to talk to you more than three months ago, and then we get Alice, and all the sudden, she's wetting her pants in the day again?"

He frowned.  "And she might not have realized she was growing up, but I don't remember her leaving the bathroom naked in the last nearly six months like today, and the way she was scrubbing the tub, as if she didn't think she'd get it clean enough.  She must have been cleaning it for at least twenty minutes from the time I saw her scrubbing with the door open, to when I finally got Alice to sleep and bumped into her finally being finished.  And I think she peed her pants again because there were clothes in the bathroom, but she left the bathroom naked, so she must have wet herself again or something.  I hope she put them in the hamper like you are teaching her to do."

He scratched his head a minute.

"And then, it was like she was jealous when Alice sat next to me at the restaurant.  I thought she was over that, and okay with sitting by either of us.  I just don't know, Katherine."

He put an arm around Katherine.  "How about we ask about Alice seeing a counselor, too?  I mean, sure, what I think I'm seeing might not be anything, but it can't be hard to be ripped from your home, go to multiple homes that don't want you, and then be told this is your last chance and then you won't see your mommy again.  That seems to be what she's been saying to me.  She's afraid if we give up on her, she won't ever see her mother again.  That can't be easy on a person's mind, right?"