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Post by Charlie Parker on Jun 7, 2011 19:12:39 GMT -5
Well... the peace and quiet hadn't lasted long. Under the strong advisory of everyone who knew him, Charlie was still working double shifts Monday through Thursday, but now working only the morning shift on Friday, the evening shift on Saturday, and was taking every Sunday off. He needed to provide for his family... but he also needed to be there for them, and he couldn't do that if he was constantly working. Plus he was on the verge of reaching the end of his fuse and just snapping under the pressure and stress of it all. Being a full time cop and a single dad of three was a lot harder than it sounded, and all things considered he had been handling it quite well... until now. Work was running him down so much he was finding it increasingly difficult to get up every day much less carry out day to day tasks on his job... and Chuck had started asking him more and more when his next day off was... even little Melody had taken up the habit of crying for half an hour every time he would leave. So they convinced him... he needed more time off to spend with his family.
He had gotten up early this morning, knowing that if he didn't it wouldn't be long before Chuck came flying into his room and started begging him to get up, and from that point on he would have no peace and quiet. He loved Chuck, don't get me wrong, but he was like the energizer bunny on 12 energy drinks... he just kept going and going and going at such a fast pace, Charlie was certain there was no one alive who could keep up with that kid all day long... except Brody... but Brody was like a kid in an adult body, so he didn't really count, and Brody was still in California. Anyway, Charlie got up at about 6:00, and got himself ready for the day, then headed down to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee, knowing he would need the caffeine to survive the morning.
About 8:00 Chuck got up, and very shortly after that Melody was crying in her room. So he got up and trudged up the stairs, knowing that the second he walked through that door he wasn't an "eligible bachelor" anymore... he was a dad. He knew all too well that if he didn't go get Jamie up, the older of the two boys would literally sleep forever. They were quite the opposite of each other. Chuck was the last one to go to sleep and the first up and never ran out of energy, but Jamie was always the first to bed and the last to get up and never had even close to as much energy as Chuck did.
Once Charlie had gotten the baby, Jamie, and Chuck both fed and ready for the day it was off to the stable to take care of the horses. Even though it was Charlie's day off, his horses still needed feeding and all that good stuff. Once the stable chores were done, Charlie asked Chuck what he wanted to do today, and of course, Chuck's answer was that he wanted to get ice cream. Charlie couldn't help but chuckle at that... it was only 10:00 and the seven year old wanted ice cream... he should have guessed. Anyhow, Charlie of course told Chuck it was much too early for ice cream, so Chuck settled for the second best option. Football in the park. Now, considering Melody was only a year old football was sort of out of the question. Babies and football didn't mix. So Charlie came up with a compromise. They would take the dog to the park and Chuck could throw the ball for him and play on the playground. That always kept him busy for a good long time. And when the baby was sleeping later they could play football at home.
So after going back home and getting the dog and a few tennis balls, they headed for the park. Charlie's police dog, Jigsaw, was essentially Chuck's best friend. If the dog could come, you bet he would be right along side Chuck's heels. Charlie knew the German Shepherd would take care of the kid, he'd done it several times before when Hayley had still been with Charlie and had hosted a party at their house when Charlie was gone at work. One of her "friends" who was high and probably drunk, went into the kids room where Chuck had taken the dog and the baby and was hiding, and attempted to take the baby for God knows what reason. Leave it to Jigsaw though... who had been trained as a drug dog as part of his police work. The animal wasn't about to let this stranger who wreaked of drugs to go touching his family and lit into that guy like there was no tomorrow. He was just lucky Charlie got home when he did or the dog probably would have killed him.
At the park, Charlie found a bench to sit on while Chuck raced about the park like a little hooligan with Jigsaw always just one step behind him, and Jamie wandered around doing whatever it was that Jamie did during the day. It didn't matter where the Chuck went, up the ladder, down the slide, across the swinging bridge... Jigsaw followed him, keeping a close eye on him. It was nice for Charlie to know that nothing would happen to Chuck if he looked away for a moment or two. Being Mr. Mom and a full time policeman was hard... harder than most people would imagine... but Charlie wouldn't trade his baby girl or Chuck or Jamie for the world. Those kids meant everything to him, and the day someone managed to force Charlie to let them go would be the day that he died. He loved them, and even though it was hard, this life was better than he possibly could have imagined it being.
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Post by horsegirl116 on Jun 8, 2011 17:17:28 GMT -5
 A Miracle are those Little Things that Happen Every Day-------------------------------------------------[/color][/size][/center] Sunday morning. Unusually Hayden was up at 10:00, it might have something to do with the fact that Teddi was whimpering for a walk. Hayden pushed herself out of bed and headed for the huge walk in closet. Grabbing an outfit she headed for the bathroom. She brushed her teeth as she failed to put on her pants and combed her hair as she tried to put on her shirt. After Hayden was fully dressed she headed down the long winding staircase to the kitchen. The cook was making something at the stove and her parents were sitting at the breakfast table. "Morning honey bear" Her father said before taking a sip of black coffee. "Sit hon we wanna talk." Her mother with the blond bob said. Hayden ignored both her parents and headed for the fridge.
"May I get you something Ms. Steele?" The asian cook asked in an accent Hayden barely understood. She ignored the cook too as she pulled out the freshly squeezed orange juice. The cook hurried to the cabinets before Hayden could reach them and handed her a water bottle. Hayden sighed and gave the cook a tiny smile. He was only trying to help. She pushed open the silver bread box and grabbed a bagel. without toasting it she smoothed cream cheese over it. The cook hurried over and wrapped the bagel in tin foil. This time Hayden mumbled, "Thank you" As she headed for the kitchen door. "TEDDI!" She yelled as she balanced her breakfast, her car keys, and the light blue dog leash in her hands.
The tiny bulldog rounded the corner and you could see her silver tags flash. Hayden couldn't help but smile. The bulldog stopped at her feet and she quickly clipped the leash to her collar. "Where are you going?" Her mother asked in a worried tone. Without looking at her mother she answered, "Taking Teddi for a walk.". She meet her mother's eyes who were connected with Hayden's car keys. "I'm tired of walking around this rich neighborhood. I'm taking her to the park!" Hayden said half-yelling. She pulled open the white door and slammed it behind her. She walked down the long drive way to the garage. Inside was her mother's car, father's car, her sister's car, the family car, and Hayden's car. She walked past the black prius, the silver caddilac, the silver sienna minivan, and the red camry solara. She hopped into her mustang with her pup in the passenger's seat. Hayden backed out of the driveway and headed for the park.
Twenty minutes later Hayden and Teddi were strolling through the airy park. They passed the pond, the mini train, the big field, and the carousel. Up ahead was the playground. Hayden could hear the shouts and screams of kids. As the got closer she noticed a little boy on the monkey bars. He was doing well, at almost the half-way point, but his face was strained. A dog was below him watching his every move. Hayden's first thought was the boy didn't want to fall because the dog would hurt him but the dog looked harmless and the boy didn't seem afraid just determined. She watched as the boy reached the second to last bar and slipped. The dog seemed surprised and stood frozen for a second before moving right under where the child was falling. The pair landed awkwardly, the boy partly on top of the dog. Hayden jogged toward them when she didn't see a parent come running.
"You okay bud?" She asked as she knelt beside him. He nodded and said, "I hope Jigsaw is okay." Hayden was confused for a second but quickly decided the dog was Jigsaw. "He seems alright." Hayden said as Teddi hobbled over to the scene. "Do you like dogs?" Hayden asked the boy as she held Teddi's leash tight. The boy smiled and answered, "Yeah" like it was the easiest question in the world. Hayden laughed as she let Teddi move closer to the boy and said, "I like to ask easy questions." The boy smiled at Hayden then turned his eyes to Teddi. Hayden realized they were still sitting on the ground and stood up. "Come on, looks like you have a scrap on your knee let's find your mom." She said as the boy stood. "I'm not here with my mom. I'm here with my dad. And my brother. And my sister. And Jigsaw." He said as the walked away form the monkey bars. "Oh yeah? I've got another easy question for you. What's your name?" Hayden said as Teddi sniffed Jigsaw's butt.
"Chuck" The boy said with his chest puffed out. "Nice to meet you Chuck. I'm Hayden" She said as she shook his hand. Chuck giggled as they shook hands. "What?" Hayden asked with a grin. "People don't shake hands when they meet at the park." Chuck said as they headed for a nest of oak trees. "Then what do they do?" Hayden asked with her eyebrows raised. Chuck's eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "I don't know......." He answered after a second. "How about high five?" Hayden suggested. Chuck shook his head and Hayden said, "Yeah, isn't right." Chuck and Hayden approached a large oak tree. Under it was a man in his early twenties. He was very attractive with a chiseled chin and soft eyes. You could almost see his abs through his shirt. Beside him was a baby crawling around on the soft grass.
"We'll think of something." Chuck said as he headed straight for the tree with the handsome man. "Daddy I got a scratch. Daddy this is Hayden, Hayden this is Daddy." Chuck said as they stood at the corner of the blanket. "Hello" Hayden said as she extended her hand for the man to shake. -------------------------------------------------
But they Still Make you Smile until Your Face Hurts [/color][/size][/center][/font] |
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