Second Chances Chapter 23 La Vie en Rose
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A Second Chance - Chapter 14 free porn video
SUNDAY, May 8, 2016
Rachael was back to her early rising schedule on Sunday. She decided to
make pancakes again for her family today, since they had missed out on
the batch she made at the Stoner's yesterday. She had a batch well
underway when Maria came down, followed shortly thereafter by a sleepy
looking Bobby.
"You are making smells in here that make my tummy hungry," Bobby said.
He was still wearing his pajamas but Rachael decided to let him, since
he would be dressing for church after. She slipped a plate of pancakes
in front of him, and poured syrup on them. She was not going to let him
pour his own and risk losing half the bottle.
"These are excellent, as usual," Maria said. "Ooh, they are blueberry,
aren't they?"
"Yes, they had fresh blueberries on sale so I bought some at the store.
We can have a few blueberry things this week."
"Blueberry cookies," Bobby voted.
"Yuck, I don't think they would be good in cookies. Pies, muffins, or
more pancakes I think. They should last until the end of the week, so we
can be surprised at how we use them. You might even find a couple in
your lunch this week. Think of them as flavor bombs that go off in your
mouth."
"Cool," Bobby said. "The boys I eat with all get jealous when I eat,
because you put so many cool things in my lunch. You are the best sister
ever, Rachael."
"And you are the best brother ever too, Bobby," she said.
Bobby practically needed a bath when he finished eating, with Rachael
herself scrubbing his blue-stained face and syrupy hands before letting
him put on his Sunday clothes. She went down to see her sad Mom.
"We can't go," she said. "I don't have $5 for us to put into the
collection plate this week. I thought I had some tucked away in my
purse, but I don't. We can't go to church and not contribute."
"Don't worry Mom," Rachael hugged Maria. "I have money left from
shopping."
"You can't use your money, I should have some."
"It is not my money, it is our money. It is from the money you gave me
for groceries, but I found some deals and spent less than you gave me.
That means it is your money. Our money," she handed Maria a twoonie plus
a loonie for her to hand to Bobby when the time came.
"You are so good to me," Maria said.
"I just want to let you know, even if I had to use my babysitting money
for us to go, I would. Church is important to me."
The young family walked to church in the early morning sunshine, and got
the same pews as they had the week before. The service this week was
"The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper" and the elderly minister droned on
for over an hour about it. He seemed to stare at the back corner of the
church several times, with a frown on his face. Rachael could stand and
turn around to see what was bothering him until the final hymns. Then
she peeked back as she stood and saw John and Paul from the art shop.
Bobby had gone down to the Sunday school early in the service, but was
back to put his loonie in the collection plate. Finally service was
over, and Maria and Rachael took Bobby out the door, where the minister
pointedly turned away from greeting them, and from John and Paul.
Rachael rushed over to hug John, and shook hands with Paul, who was a
little more reserved.
"Momma, these are the guys with that great art shop I was telling you
about. John, Paul, meet Maria Cartright, my mother."
"Mother? No! Sister perhaps," John flirted in that way that gay guys
will with a pretty girl. "Did we just get snubbed here? I notice that
the minister didn't greet us after service."
"I'm sure he just missed you," Rachael said.
"And he stared at us through the service," Paul added. "What crime is a
lovely family like yours conducting against Mother Church?"
"Single mother," Maria said. "If I was married to a womanizing
philanderer who beat his wife and children, that would be okay. But
raising two children to love God on your own apparently is a sin buried
in the back of the Book somewhere."
Paul laughed. "I like you. Since you come to this church I think maybe
we will give it one more try. There are a few others in town we could
come to, and I'm glad we found this one."
"We don't have that option," Rachael said. "This is the only church in
walking distance to our house. We don't have a car. Right now we could
walk further, but when winter comes, having church only two blocks away
will be a blessing."
"Well that is no excuse. If the old man is as bad next week, we will all
pick a different place to worship. John is very religious, and needs to
go to church, but the church has to be accepting of our lifestyle. I
don't think this one is. We'll all give him one more chance, and if he
doesn't measure up, we will go elsewhere. And we will take you with us
each week, rain or shine."
"Well that is very Christian of you," Maria said. "But as you say, let's
give him one last chance. Next week."
"So can we drive you home," John chuckled. "Our Range Rover is just a
block that way.
Now Rachael giggled. "But our house is just two blocks that way. See,
the little white house with the blue door? It doesn't make sense to walk
one block the other way to save a two block walk."
"No it doesn't. Well then, bye bye Rachel, Maria, and Bobby who is a
good boy and doesn't touch my paintings with sticky hands." The two men
shook hands with the family, with John giving Maria a French-style cheek
kiss, and then left.
The family had just gotten into the house when the phone started
ringing. Rachael was closest and picked up. It was Mikki and she sounded
panicky.
"Rachael, is Danni there?"
"No Mikki, he isn't. We just got back from church this minute. Where is
he?"
"We don't know. He didn't sleep in his bed last night, and now we can't
find him. Momma is in a state, and Daddy is grumpy. It is all his fault.
Can you come help us find him?"
"I will be over in two minutes." Rachael hung up, and tore up the stairs
to her room, explaining the situation to Maria as she changed out of
church clothes and into something more casual. Maria said she would look
after Bobby, and that she should go to her friend. As she was about to
leave her room, Rachael stopped and picked up Mrs. Periwinkle, one of
the dolls Danni had played with when he was over. Then she ran from the
room and was out the door in a second.
All the walking from school paid off, as Rachael ran all the way to the
Stoner house. Mikki opened the door, and was clearly distraught, with
eyes red from crying. Mrs. Stoner was on the sofa, also crying. Mikki
went over and hugged the woman. "Don't worry Mrs. Stoner, we will find
her," Rachael said.
A moment later Rachael had an idea. "Can you two wait here? I want to
see something in Danni's room."
Rachael went upstairs to the room with all the stuffed animals. As she
thought, one seemed to be missing from the middle of the row lined up so
neatly at the head of the bed.
"Danni!" she called out. "Danielle! It is Rachael. I've come to see
you." Was that a sob from somewhere? She tried again. "Danielle. Mrs.
Periwinkle has come to meet all your animal friends. Don't you want to
be a good hostess and introduce them all?"
Yes. There was a definite sob, and a sniffle. Rachael walked towards a
door. Opening it, she saw a closet, and suddenly she remembered a
vision: the one where Bobby had hidden in his closet in a cubbyhole
after finding his sister hanging from a rafter. After Ron became
Rachael, she was confused, because there was no such cubbyhole in their
house. The closet was just too small. But that same cubbyhole was here,
in the Stoner house, and when she looked in she saw two tiny legs
sticking out.
"Mrs. Periwinkle would like to see you," Rachael says. "She said you are
being very unladylike in not greeting her politely."
"No. I'm never coming out," Danni sobbed. "He cut off all my hair. I
look like a boy now. I will stay in here and just die."
"Who cut off your hair?"
"Daddy. No, that hair guy Daddy took me to. A boy hair place with all
old men. The man took off all my hair."
Rachael gasped. Please don't let it be a brushcut, please don't let it
be shaved.
"I would still like to see your new haircut. I'll bet it is still
pretty. I have short hair, and I don't look like a boy, do I?"
"No." More sobs.
"Mrs. Periwinkle says that if you don't come out now, right at this very
minute, she is going to come in there and carry you out." There was a
tiny giggle for a second, followed by a big sob.
"She is too little to carry me," Danni sobbed. "But I will come out. For
you Rachael, and for Mrs. Periwinkle." Slowly she backed out of the
closet and soon sat holding Mrs. Periwinkle as Rachael encircled her
with a hug. They got out and moved over to the bed.
"Oh your hair isn't as bad as I thought," Rachael said. The barber
hadn't given the dreaded brushcut, but gave Danni a cut that resembled
the helmet-head that Justin Bieber wore when he first got on the
Internet. "That is actually a very pretty hair style."
"But all my curls are gone," Danni sobbed. "I loved my long hair."
"Mikki, Mrs. Stoner, I found her," Rachael called out. In seconds the
women entered the room and Mrs. Stoner took Danni from Rachael's arms,
with both of them sobbing. "Danni, my sweet Danielle, I thought I had
lost you," Mrs. Stoner crooned as she held her little daughter.
"Danielle?" Mikki asked confused. "And why is everyone calling him a
her?"
"We think she might be transgendered, a girl in a boy body," Rachael
explained. "I had a cousin like that once. But she died. I think your
Mom might have thought that Danni did the same thing?"
"I told Bob I was going to take her to a doctor yesterday, and he
freaked out. He grabbed Danni and took her off in the car. I was worried
he was going to do something stupid. And he did, although it was not the
stupid thing I thought. He came back from the barber shop with her
looking like this."
"Which is still pretty," Rachael prompted.
"Of course it is. Danielle is beautiful," Andrea hugged the little girl
tighter again.
Rachael whispered into Mikki's ear, and the older sister left the room.
Danni and mother just sobbed and held each other for a few minutes, and
finally the little girl said "Mommy, you are squeezing Mrs. Periwinkle,
and she is going to be ever so cross with you."
"I'm sorry honey. And I am sorry too, Mrs. Periwinkle."
"Let's move over to Mikki's room," Rachael suggested. "I think she has
something on the computer to show you."
They moved into Mikki's room, where Mikki was sitting at her computer
desk. "Snuggle up there on your sister's lap," Rachael said, as she and
Mrs. Stoner stood behind the chair.
"Do you know that girl?" Rachael said. "It is the girl who played
Hermione in Harry Potter. She cut her hair short like that for a while.
It is longer now, but does she look like a boy?"
"No, she is pretty," Danni said.
"And look at this lady," Mikki said. "I didn't know about her, but
Rachael says she is Audrey Hepburn."
"She is beautiful," Danni admitted. "I like that style. And that one,
with the waves. They are almost like curls."
Then Mikki typed in 'short hair styles' to Google, and brought up
another page of pictures. Some of these were longer than Danni's hair,
but many were shorter. The little girl started pointing at one picture
after another, and saying 'she is pretty' to each one, usually blondes
like her.
"So you see honey, you can be pretty with short hair," Rachael said.
"And do you want to know a secret? Your hair is growing. Even right now,
it is getting longer. If you look really hard, you can see it grow.
Look, pft, that one just got a tiny bit longer. And pft, another one
over there is longer now. Pft, there is one more. Your hair grows
slowly, but in one year it will be down to here," Rachael held her hand
six inches down Danni's back. Then she moved it another half foot. "And
a year later it will be down to here. That is nearly as long as it was
yesterday."
"Really?" Danni said, jumping off Mikki's lap. "I need to go introduce
Mrs. Periwinkle to my animals. Pft, pft, pft."
Rachael could see Mrs. Stoner visibly relax. "I don't know how to thank
you enough, Rachael. We searched her room, but couldn't find her. Of
course it didn't help that her father was yelling her name angrily. Of
course she would have crawled deeper into that niche rather than facing
him after he ? violated her like that."
"Should we phone them? Lyle and Daddy are out in the car, looking."
"No, let him stew. He wants a son? Let him think he might find a dead
son out there," Mrs. Stoner said bitterly. "I thought I knew him better
than this."
It was an hour later that the men came back, to find Danni playing
happily on the livingroom rug with Mrs. Periwinkle and three of her
stuffed animals.
"Where did you find him?" Mr. Stoner said loudly. "And why is he playing
with dolls. I forbid that."
"I said she could," Mrs. Stoner said softly.
"This is my house, and I will not be overruled. I will not have a son of
mine playing with dolls."
"My house?" Mrs. Stoner repeated, her voice rising. "I thought it was
'our house'. Now you think it is your house?"
"I paid the mortgage in Toronto for 15 years, so yes, it is my house,"
the man shouted. Rachael and Danni were both near tears watching their
parents fight, and Kyle was also looking uncomfortable.
"Oh, so you paid the mortgage while I was having your babies, is that
it? Is that all I am to you? A bearer of children? Are you going to get
me pregnant again, to replace the son you lost?"
"I didn't lose my son. He is right over there." Danni broke out in tears
as her father pointed and yelled at her.
"You are scaring her."
"Him. He. Daniel is a boy, and no crazy doctor will ever change that,"
Mr. Stoner yelled.
"Mr. Stoner," Rachael decided to try and help. "Why do you object to
Danni seeing a doctor? If she was ill you would get her medical care,
wouldn't you. How is this so different"?
"You!" the man raged, turning red in the face. "You have been nothing
but trouble since you started hanging around my daughter." He turned to
Mikki. "You are not to speak to this girl again, nor see her. No more
walking home from school together." Mikki gasped as her father turned
back to face Rachael. "First Kayla says her name is Mikki, and then you
want to turn my son into a girl. I want you out of my house."
"I think I should leave," Rachael said, standing.
"NO!" Mrs. Stoner shouted. "This is my house, and it is you who is
leaving," she said, arraying all her rage at her husband. You can go
back to Toronto and do whatever you want there, but I don't want you
back here until you come to your senses."
"I'm going with Dad," Kyle said.
"No you are not," Mrs. Stoner said. "You have six more weeks of school
here, and you will finish that. Then we will decide what to do. But
you," she stared at her husband "will get out of MY house NOW!" Kyle
raced up to his bedroom hearing this.
Mr. Stoner looked from left to right, and then wheeled and fled out the
door. A second later, the sound of a car squealing its tires could be
heard tearing out of the drive and speeding off.
Rachael immediately went and picked up the sobbing Danni, and hugged her
for a few seconds until her mother came and took her. Rachael then moved
over to hug Mikki, who was sobbing as hard as Danni.
"Are you guys getting a divorce?" Mikki choked out the words towards her
mother.
"Oh honey, I don't know what is going to happen. I do know that I am
taking Danni to the doctor tomorrow, and hopefully he will get her a
referral to a psychologist specializing in gender issues of the young.
We need medical advice before we decide what to do. Maybe Danni is just
going through a phase, as Bob likes to think. But I think there is more
to it than that, and I need to be sure. I do know that no man will tell
me how to care for my child."
Mikki continued to be tense as she sobbed, worrying that her parents
might be splitting up. Or had they split up already? Her Dad was gone to
Toronto. She shuddered.
Rachael spoke up, while still hugging her friend. "It is important for
the girls to know that they are not the reason why this is all
happening. Danni, don't blame yourself for your Daddy getting mad and
going away. It is not your fault, and doesn't mean that he doesn't still
love you. He and your Mom just have different ideas about what to do,
and they argued about it. It is not your fault."
"That is true girls. Hopefully in a week or two we will know about
Danni's health, and we will all be a big family again."
"And Danni, would you like to keep Mrs. Periwinkle? She told me she
really likes this house, and likes your animals better than the dolls at
my house. She will give you someone to talk to when you need to think
about things. Is that a good idea?"
"Oh yes, yes. Thank you, thank you. Mrs. Periwinkle is such a good
friend." She wriggled free from her Mom and picked up the doll. "I will
take her upstairs to see her friends." She walked over to the stairs,
then turned around. "But I do not love Daddy any more," she said with
fire in those beautiful blue eyes, "I hate him, and I never want to see
him again."
With that she stomped up the stairs, whispering something to Mrs.
Periwinkle, leaving the others looking at her in shock. "Well I still
love Daddy," Mikki said. "I want you two to get back together."
"That can be a good thing," Rachael said. "It would be good for you to
call him once a day or so and tell him that. I suspect that when your
Mom calls things might get tense, at least at first. But if Mikki can
call and let him know she still loves him, that could be healing. I
suspect that nothing good will happen until a psychologist sees Danni.
Hopefully he will listen to professional advice. That might be why he
was so reluctant to have one see Danni. He knew if he loses there the
battle is over."
"Rachael, you are so wise," Mrs. Stoner said. "Are you sure you are only
13?"
"For another two months I am," she answered, knowing how close to the
truth that question was. You gain a lot of wisdom in 60 plus years, and
all that seemed to have been brought forward to Rachael.
"Look, I have to head home. We are having Grandpa over for dinner
tonight, and I haven't even started cooking."
At home Rachael got out the slice of ham that she had bought the day
before. An inch thick, it should make a good meal for the four of them.
She seasoned it with mustard and spices, and popped it into a slow oven
to bake. It should be done about a half hour before Grandpa arrived. To
complement it, she got baking potatoes into the oven as well, and both
baby carrots and peas as vegetables. She got Bobby to help with his
'sallid'. The little guy loved making something for his Grandpa to eat.
There was a surprise as well. She had bought a small block of ice cream.
Bobby had been exercising well all week: she thought she could spoil him
on Sunday. And Grandpa had mentioned a love of ice cream as well. With
luck, they could get two Sundays out of the small block.
The now familiar sound of a car on the drive signaled that Grandpa was
here, and a young man from the Legion (young meaning late 40s) helped
Grandpa into the house. He was soon seated in the easy chair, with Bobby
on his lap seconds later.
They didn't read for long. Maria and Rachael set the table and served
the meal only 10 minutes later. As promised, Rachael asked Grandpa to
add to the grace by telling about one of the men who hadn't come back
from France.
The old soldier choked up a bit, and Maria suggested that perhaps this
was too much for him, but instead he shook his head, saying 'it's
important' and then related the story of a young man who died on the
beaches the first day, and died clutching a rosary in one hand and a
rifle in the other, without having spent a single shot.
"And please Lord, tell Private Harper that we still will remember all he
did for us, and how important he was to us having the freedom and
prosperity we have today. I know he is with you. Amen."
Maria handed Grandpa a tissue to wipe her eyes and took one for herself.
"You know, sweetheart," Grandpa told Rachael, "I have been thinking all
week about which soldier to mention. Some were braver, many did much
more. We remember those longer. But young Brian ? I couldn't even
remember his face at first. Me, who should never forget. But then it
came to me, and I couldn't not name him. His name is probably on a
cenotaph somewhere. I think he was from down Sarnia way. But for us to
no longer remember his face. I hope he had family: nephews and nieces,
for he was too young to have children of his own. He deserves to be
remembered. And now we have. Thank you for suggesting this. I can only
hope to live long enough to name all of them. There were so many."
With that they ate the dinner. Bobby decided that he liked ham, and both
Maria and Grandpa were amazed at how tasty Rachael's recipe was. Bobby
ate all his vegetables, and was amazed when Rachael suggested that he
eat his potato skins. In the kitchen before bringing them out Rachael
had split his, and put a liberal coating of butter on the skins to melt
and soak in during the meal.
She ate some of her skins, which she had not buttered, and when he
picked his up with his hand and took a bite his eyes widened. "These are
really, really good," he said. "I like them even more than mashed
potatoes. More than French Fries ? almost."
The small bowls of ice cream were a hit. Bobby looked as if he wished
the helpings could be larger when he first saw the dessert, but when he
finished it he noted that he was "filled to the very top."
Maria and Rachael shared the cleanup duties as Bobby read to Grandpa.
When the women came out of the kitchen, they stopped reading, although
Bobby didn't move from his comfortable seat on Grandpa's lap. They had a
good half-hour before the other Legion man would come and get Grandpa.
"Dear," Grandpa said, looking at Rachael. "I found the bill for the
groceries on the counter, and saw that you spent more than I gave you."
"That is all right. You needed some other things, and you deserved some
treats as well. I know that was your last money, so I borrowed a bit
from our grocery money. We are all family."
"Yes dear, that was the last money I had in my purse, but it is not all
the money I had. I have a pension that goes into the bank each month. It
is more than I spend most months, so you see, I am not hard up for
money."
"Oh." Rachael was so used to being short of money that she assumed that
he was as well.
"In fact, my dear granddaughter," he added. "The bank gave me a silly
little card a few years ago that they say can get money out of a
machine. Do you know about those?"
"An ATM. An automated teller machine. Yes, I know of them, although we
don't use one here. Mom gets paid in cash, and tips. We don't use a bank
much."
"Well I have to. A few years back the pension people stopped mailing
checks out and wanted to just put it in the bank. I was upset at the
time, but now it is pretty convenient. I don't have to take a taxi to
the bank just to cash my checks."
"You use a taxi?"
"Oh yes. I have an account with Kings Cabs. Jerome Kingsmill was in my
company, and he started the taxi with one old Ford back at the end of
the war. I think there are a dozen now. It seems to be a different
driver each time now. But I heard you paying for the cab when you got my
groceries, and I intend to phone Bill Kingsmill, Jerome's grandson, and
tell him that you are to be added to my account. You can use the taxi
whenever you need one, not just to get my groceries."
"Okay." Rachael said hesitantly. She wanted to protest, but couldn't
think of any good reason. "I don't want to waste all your money," was
the best she could come up with.
He laughed. "Unless you start taking a taxi two or three times a day it
won't be a waste, and I trust you more than that. I get a pretty special
rate from Bill, and he includes the tip to the driver on my bill."
"Okay then, I will make sure I use Kings next weekend, and see how it
works."
"The other thing I would ask is if you were to take my bank card thing,"
he said. "I never get out, and as you know I am short of cash right now.
If you can find one of those machines, I would like to get $100 for my
purse, and $100 more for you. I will give you my bank card number."
Rachael gasped. "I can't take $100. That is too much. Bobby and I do
what we do for love, not money."
"I know sweetheart, but you deserve it. And I want to treat for the next
week's dinner. Do you know that I didn't go out for five months before I
met you two, other than doctors and tests at the hospital. Maybe once to
the grocery store. You two have made my life full. I wait every day to
see you, and I wait every week to come and visit with your beautiful
mother. It makes my life worth living again. Will you do that for an old
man?"
How could she say no? Rachael agreed. It was only a few minutes later
when the man from the Legion arrived. "I guess you really don't need
these guys, do you," Rachael asked when they heard the car pull in.
"I do like meeting them, though," Grandpa said as Rachael helped him
from his chair. "Most of them are sons or grandsons of veterans, and
joined the Legion for that. They do good work for those of us left, as
few as we are now, and the new ones coming in from Afghanistan and those
other places. As long as they are so happy to do it, let them drive me
on Sundays."
This driver agreed to wait and bring Rachael back after dropping off the
Sergeant, as he called him, so she was able to accompany him home again,
taking a few of her soups for his fridge.
When they got into the door, the old man went to a desk, and pulled it
open. "Here it is," he said handing Rachael a bankcard. "The password to
make it work is 6644."
"D-Day," Rachael whispered. "I won't forget that. Ever." She put the
card into her purse and then helped Grandpa up to bed, unbuttoning his
shirt for him and loosening his belt before leaving him to his bed.
After returning home, Bobby was ready for his double helping of Harry
Potter. They were nearing the end of the first book, but would have to
get another two-week renewal at the library to finish it.
Again, Bobby fell asleep before long, and Rachael put the bookmark in to
mark the place. She then went downstairs, curling up next to Maria on
the sofa.
"What is that for?" Maria asked, enjoying the cuddle.
"For being you. For being such a perfect Mom." She then proceeded to
tell Maria about all the drama over at the Stoner house earlier in the
day.
"That is horrible," Maria said. She looked at the clock. "Do you think
it would be too late to call Andrea? She may need a friendly ear at a
time like this. I know what it is like to have a husband leave, and
maybe I can help."
"I'm sure she would appreciate that, Momma," Rachael said. "But
everything over the last few days has left me exhausted. I'm off to bed
early tonight.
Dear Lord
I do hope I am doing things right. I tried to help with Danni, and look
at the mess it created. I am supposed to help people, and instead I may
have broken up a family. And I don't even know if I am right about
Danni. What if it is just a phase he is going through? Anyway, bless
Bobby and Mom. Grandpa and the girls from school. And especially bless
the Stoners, and let them get over this in a good way. I will try harder
from now on. I promise.
Amen
Gert
- 07.02.2021
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