|
Chapter Thirteen
A Day In The Life Of
A Not So Normal Family
Part One
(Not The Center Of Attention Anymore)
*****Hailie’s POV*****
March 1st 2003
**8:00am**
Hailie groaned as the light filtered into he room.
“Come on Hai, lets get a move on, we are going shopping for the nursery today remember.” Said Marshall going through Hailie’s dressers.
She sat up in bed rubbing her eyes. “I can get dressed myself daddy.” She said trying to hide her yawn.
Marshall laughed and shut the drawer. “Ok then, just get dressed and come down stairs for breakfast, papa and I want to get going before it’s to late.”
Hailie nodded and got out of bed.
*****@****
**10:20am**
Hailie looked around the brightly colored store in complete amazement. Why hadn’t her daddy brought her to some place like this before? This was incredible.
“Hailie, come on sweetheart, I thought you wanted to help us pick out the furniture for the baby’s room.” Called Marshall.
She quickly looked around the room one more time before running to catch up with her daddy and papa.
Last night at dinner Marshall had told Hailie that they would be going shopping for the nursery furniture the next day, and that they wanted Hailie to be the one to pick it out. To say she was excited would have been an understatement.
Now here she was in one of the most expensive children’s furniture stores in Detroit, looking for her baby brother or sisters new furniture. Everything was great. She couldn’t keep her attention on one thing for a second.
“What do you think of this one Hai?” Asked AJ pointing to a black brass crib.
She scrunched her nose up and looked at AJ like he has lost his mind. “You have so gota be kidding me.”
Marshall looked at Hailie in shock. She never talked to anybody like that. “Hailie Jade, you don’t talk to him like that.” Scolded Marshall. “That’s a great crib Alex. I think we found the one we want.”
Hailie glared back. “You said I get to pick out the crib.”
“Well, if you are going to have that attitude then maybe you wont.” Said Marshall through gritted teeth trying not to make a scene.
“Marsh, it’s ok, she’s right that crib is a little much.” Said AJ a little scared at the way Marshall was acting.
Marshall shook his head. “No, that crib is great, we are going to take that crib.” Marshall walked off to go get somebody to help them.
AJ looked at the sad little girl in front of him. “Hai?”
Hailie just turned around and walked the other direction. Nope, things were not going how she would have hoped. Everything was what AJ wanted, or the baby needed. Who cares about Hailie?
*****@*****
**12:30pm**
“Daddy, why can’t we have McDonald’s?” Wined Hailie.
AJ got green just thinking about it.
“Because McDonald’s makes papa not feel good. So we are getting Chinese instead.” Explained Marshall in that tone that Hailie knew he wasn’t changing his mind.
“But I hate Chinese, it makes me not feel good.” She continued to whine.
Marshall took Hailie’s hand and pulled her off to the side of the sidewalk. “Hailie, I don’t have time to listen to you complain. I don’t know what’s gotten into you today, but I don’t like it one bit. If you are going to keep this up, then there will be some consequences.” He said before walking over to AJ.
“Fine, whatever.” She mumbled to herself and followed them down the street.
*****@*****
**4:00pm**
“Hailie, you’re freaky papa is here.” Laughed Doug Johnson, one of the boys on Hailie’s indoor soccer team.
Hailie turned around to see AJ walking towards her. She wasn’t sure what to do anymore. Everything was so messed up now that AJ was her papa. Everybody made fun of her, she didn’t get to do anything she wanted anymore, and even worse her daddy was mad at her. Sighing she walked slowly to the waiting AJ.
“Hey there Hai bear, you ready to go home?” Said AJ happily.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” She said sadly.
“Mr. McLean, can I talk to you for a moment?” Called Bret Conners, Hailie’s coach.
“I’ll be right back Hailie.” Said AJ as he walked off with the coach.
Hailie stood in the middle of the gym and knew everybody was looking at her. ‘Why couldn’t I be born into a normal family?' She thought before walking over to a bench to sit down. When she looked up a few seconds later she saw AJ walking towards her with an angry look on his face.
“What’s wrong papa?”
AJ sighed. “I’ll tell you when we get home ok?”
Hailie nodded, she just wanted to get home anyway.
*****@*****
**5:00pm**
Hailie was up in he room playing with her Barbie’s when she heard her daddy yelling from the bottom of the stairs.
“Hailie! Come down here please.” Yelled Marshall.
Getting up she walked down the stairs to see AJ and Marshall sitting in the living room with looks she didn’t understand on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” She asked sitting down in a chair across from them.
“You aren’t going to be able to go back to soccer.” Said Marshall.
Hailie looked at her daddy with anger in her eyes. “What…why?”
AJ got up off the couch and walked over to the upset little girl. “It’s for the best Hai..”
Hailie looked at AJ and glared at him. “This is all your fault. If you wouldn’t have come into our lives, things would still be normal.” She yelled before running back up the stairs.
She wasn’t sure how long she was up in her room before there was a knock on the door.
“Go away.” She sniffed.
“Hailie, can I come in?” Came a female voice from the other side of the door.
Hailie lifted her head and looked at the door. “Vanessa?”
Vanessa opened the door and walked in. “Yup, the one and only.”
Hailie whipped her eyes with her sleeve. “What are you doing here?”
“You’re daddy called me, he was worried about you.” Said Vanessa sitting down next to the sad little girl.
Hailie snorted. “Yeah right. He just wants to be with AJ.”
“You know that’s not true, he loves you Hailie.”
“If he was worried about me then he wouldn’t have been being mean.” Said Hailie still not believing what the older woman was telling her.
Vanessa sighed. How was she going to get through to the girl? “I know you’re daddy hasn’t been paying that much attention to you lately Hai, but that’s because getting ready for babies is a big job. You’re daddy is trying to adjust to the way things are. He’s having a harder time then you are on this I’m sure.”
Hailie looked at Vanessa and thought about what she was saying. “You mean daddy’s scared?”
Vanessa nodded. “He’s very scared. He wants to make both you and your papa happy, but that’s not always possible. Being a big sister takes a lot of patients and you are going to have to be a big girl and help out.” Taking a breath she started again. “ Getting mad and angry is only making things worse Hailie.”
“I know.” She said quietly.
Vanessa pulled the little girl into a hug. “I’m always here if you need to talk, but I think right now you need to talk to your daddy and papa.”
Hailie smiled maybe her first genuine smile that day. “Thanks.”
**6:00pm**
Hailie walked into the kitchen where she knew at least one of her parents were. She could here pots and pans clanking around. She was right AJ was standing at the sink scrubbing the heck out of a pot that was probably spotless ten minutes ago.
“Papa?”
AJ turned around in surprise to see Hailie standing there.
Hailie walked into the kitchen and climbed into one of the bar stools. “What ya doing?”
Ok, so maybe she was a little scared to apologize. Neither of her parents had been very good at that over the years, so it was never something she learned.
AJ smiled. Having Hailie talk to him was more then he needed. “I was umm…cleaning.”
Hailie giggled. “I think you’re gunna put a hole in that pot if you scrub it anymore.”
“Hey, what’s all the laughing in here about?”
Hailie turned around to see her daddy standing in the doorway. She jumped off the stool and ran to him. “I’m so sorry daddy, I haven’t been a very good girl today.”
Marshall hugged the little girl kissing her on the cheek. “It’s ok baby, I think both of us have some things we need to talk about.”
“About soccer?”
Marshall sighed. “That’s one of the things.”
“Did my coach say something mean to papa?” Asked Hailie scared of the answer. Yeah she didn’t like how her classmates talked about her and her two dads, but she hated the most that the mean words would hurt them.
“No, its nothing like that honey. Coach Conners has seen the way the other kids treat you. He just thought it would be better if maybe you left the team.”
Hailie shook her head. “I still wana play. Those kids aren’t mean enough for me to stay away.”
Marshall smiled. “That’s my girl.” |
|