Chapter 12:They hop,hop

As the children left, Adam scooped up Abbey. ―How is my favorite kid,‖ he cooed as he

tickled her under the chin. Becky stopped in the doorway to look back. Her sad little face

said all. My heart broke for her.

―Come on, Abbey; let's show you around our new house,‖ said Adam.

―Where's, Susan?‖ asked Ma.

―She's busy in the kitchen. C'mon, let's take a look at the house. You can see her later.‖

Becky was still standing in the doorway. I leaned over to pick her up. ―Leave her,

Amelia. Becky, I told you to get in the pen with Keith, now get.‖

I ignored Adam and reached to put my arms around her, but she pushed me away and ran

into the room with the other children.

―You are such a prick, Adam,‖ I hissed quietly not wanting the children to overhear me.

―There was no harm in letting Becky come along.‖

―I gave her an instruction. You tried to interfere, once again. I have told you before, don't

do it. I'm raising my kids a certain way and that's the end of it.‖

―You can shove your house, Adam. I'm going to stay here with the children.‖ I reached

for Abbey. ―Come, Abbey, come play with Becky.‖

Abbey held onto Adam's neck and looked at me, her eyes squinty. ―Na, na, stay unca

Adam.‖ Wow, that really stunned and hurt I can tell you! My baby preferred my brother

to me, what? I looked at Jack. I could see he was getting frustrated. Poor man, he'd had

just about enough of dealing with the dysfunctional antics of my brother. He had told me

over and over that it would never change, just get worse.

Ma somehow broke through the frustration and building tension by being assertive.

―Well, I want to see the house, so I'll show myself. If you kids can't stop your

squabbling, I'm probably better off without you. C'mon, Jack, you and I can check the

place out.‖

―No! No, Ma, I don't want you tramping through the house and...And not seeing it

properly,‖ Adam replied suddenly a little panicked by Ma's challenge to his authority,

and worse, in his own home. ―I'll get Susan, and we'll all go. I want everyone to see it.‖

God I wanted to yell ―screw it,‖ but with the children in mind, I managed to keep my

mouth shut and nod a reluctant affirmation, and so keep the peace.

Susan and Adam showed us the house. I made a few suggestions about room colors and

furniture placement. By the time the tour was complete I was feeling conciliatory and

genuinely pleased for them once again. I had Abbey after she drove Adam crazy

squirming about in his arms trying to get back to me. I must admit I felt a certain smug

validation of my motherhood as I slipped my daughter onto the comfortable support of

my hip, something the male body form was not designed to do.

Oh, everything was soon a return to the same old crap, though. Back in the kitchen,

Adam and Susan sat nibbling on nuts and cookies while we looked on. They didn't offer

us or the children a thing! I never experienced such a lack of manners like these two

could manage. Where they learned it, I have no idea? Not from my mother? She was generous to a fault and always made sure we were never hungry. I should have been used

to his weird behavior, but I kept hoping he would get some manners or something.

―Well, while you two are stuffing your faces, I'm going to be with the children. C'mon,

Jack.‖

Before anyone could say a word, I was out of my chair and heading for the living room.

Keith was standing up, holding onto the side of the playpen. He was only eight months

old, and he spent most of his time in there, as had Cindy, Brian and Becky through their

infant years. Sadly, because of the amount of time they spent standing up and circling the

confined space, rarely being allowed outside to play and exercise in the fresh air and open

parks even as they got older, the weight on their tiny little legs would eventually result in

all of the them having bowed legs, seriously bowed legs that would become another issue

for Adam and Susan to answer for when the Department for Families and Children

Services would become a huge part of this story.

Abbey and Becky were in the pen standing on each side of Keith watching Cindy who

was sitting on the edge of a couch holding up her Blinky Bill book and pointing out the

Australian animal characters one at a time.

―That's a kangawoo, Keith. See his big tail. They hop, hop, hop like this.‖ Abbey jumped

around the pen looking very earnest about her imitation. Becky joined her. Keith giggled

and dribbled. I wiped his mouth.

―Tell them where the kangaroo's come from, Cindy,‖ I said.

Brian cut in. ―They come from where Uncle Jack lived when he was little like me.‖

―Good job, Brian. Where is that, Cindy? Where does Uncle Jack come from?‖ said Jack.

―Ostraya,‖ said Cindy.

―Right, Australia,‖ I said. ―Now, who wants to come outside and play in the new snow?‖

―Me, me, me,‖ a chorus of voices shouted back. ―All right then. We all need to get some

warm clothes on first.‖

Suddenly, Adam was in the room. ―Hey, what's all the noise here?‖

―Auntie Amelia said we could go out and play in the snow,‖ said Cindy, her gleeful face

of a few moments earlier now worried and uncertain.

Adam looked at me as if I had five heads. ―Are you crazy? They're not going out. don't

just assume that they can go out and ask them without asking me first. It's too much work

for us to get them all dressed; you only have one so you don't understand.‖

I glared at him and then turned to the children. ―I'm sorry, children, your father said you

can't come with me.‖ My heart dropped, but I was determined I was not going to allow

Adam to stop my child from having fun in the snow. ―Abbey, come with Mummy.‖

―If I wasn't married to your sister, Adam, I wouldn't give you the time of day. You

shouldn't have kids. In fact, if it was up to me I would advise some serious surgery,‖ said

Jack.

―Stop it, Jack,‖ I said. ―Not in front of the children. I'll get Abbey into her warm clothes,

and then we'll have a play in the snow before we go home.‖ I turned to Adam's children.