Post by ☠ VooDoo ☠ on Dec 31, 2020 1:43:10 GMT -5
[The scene fades in and VooDoo is sitting on the wooden swing on the front porch of her house. She was swinging back and forth with a cup of hot chocolate in one hand as she watched 10 yr old, Callan and 6 yr old, Marie, running around the front yard playing in the snow; they had received about 6 inches of it last night. So far they had made snow angels, built a snowman and they were currently in a snowball fight.]
I am positive that kids, if they aren’t damaged too bad, can bounce back from anything.
[She takes a drink from her cocoa.]
Ciara and Rose have stopped hating their dad. They are still mad at him. But they’ve realized that they're just one of many kids whose parents are no longer together. I don’t think they changed how they feel about Vhodka, though. They've been watching the wrestling channel and they've been hearing and seeing things. Had the shoe been on the other foot, I would not allow a man to disrespect the father of my children because I still respect the person he is. Maybe that’s what happened? Vincent lost his respect for me? I do not and will not talk negatively about them around the kids. I will let the kids make their own judgement call on that.
[She shrugs her shoulders.]
I am glad Call spent Christmas with his dad, that boy misses him so much. I wished the girls had gone, too, maybe next year they will? When he came back I asked him about his trip and he told me it was okay; I could see the look in his eyes, he felt guilty. I looked at him and told him that he could tell me the truth, if he had a good time he could tell me. His guilt turned to relief and he started telling me about everything. He told me about the little trailer they set up for him and said that they were going to set one up for his sisters when they come down.
[She watched as Call nailed Marie with a snowball and ran; she ran after him with her snowball and as she got ready to throw it, she tripped over one of the roots of the oak tree in the front yard. Call stopped running and went back to Marie and helped her back up and as soon as Call asked her if she was alright, she nailed him with a snowball and took off running. VooDoo couldn’t help but chuckle and think “atta girl” take no bullshit.]
The look on Marie’s face when Marie unwrapped that huge box and out popped out her daddy was priceless.
I was really pleased when Roger got there to see that he was indeed sober and had cleaned up; I don’t know who in the Hell that man was in Texas I saw, but I hope I don’t see him again. Or smell him for that matter. Dear Lord, I’ve smelled better bums in Atlantic City. Marie was attached to him at the hip the whole time he was here; he slept in her room. He could have slept in Call’s room, but she insisted and who were we to say no?
Christmas dinner with the family went just fine. Everyone acted like it was any ol’ Christmas; no one treated Roger like a stranger or that he didn’t belong here. I think everyone was wanting to make sure that Marie, and probably me too, had a normal Christmas. As long as the kids were happy, I was happy.
But all good things have to come to an end, right? The day after Christmas I had Roger on a jet back to Webberville. I hated doing it to Marie, but Roger needs to see what it’s doing to her and he couldn’t see that when he was drinking. I had thought about letting him stay until after the New Year, but I decided to send him home for a couple of days. Just to let it all sink in for him. I know, I know, shame on me for inflicting undue trauma on a poor child. I am hoping that the trauma will be enough to make Roger realize the number one thing in his life that should be important, his daughter, not a bottle of booze and not a skank that don't love him, but yet not enough to where Marie’s going to be talking about this in therapy when she’s an adult. I think Roger was realizing it when he got in the car, the solemn look on his face when he thanked me. I almost slipped and let him know I was going to send the jet down on New Years Eve so he could spend the new year with Marie, but I didn’t. I wanted him to think that it was going to be weeks or months instead of days before he got to hold her again.
Tough love. I just wished I didn’t have to be so tough on Marie. Roger, yes; he’s deserving this shit. The kid, not at all. But hopefully, Roger wakes up and I don’t have to punish either of them anymore. I would hate for this to become a permanent arrangement, but it is what it is, and I will do what I have to do.
[Both Call and Marie came running up the front porch steps laughing, they grabbed their cups of cocoa and plopped on the swing on either side of VooDoo. Voo held onto her cocoa as the swing rocked them all side to side; last thing she wanted was to wear hot cocoa.]
Don’t worry, Aunt Voo, it won’t fall. [Marie said matter of factly.] When Daddy and I put it up, he said he anchored it down so good that a tornado wouldn’t be able to rip it down.
That’s good to know. Since I have two little tornadoes in the house.
I think she’s talking about us, Marie. [Call looked around his mother to the little girl sitting on her left.]
Looks like mommy didn’t raise a dummy after all. So, how about some soup and sandwiches for lunch?
Tomato soup?
With grill cheeses?
Tomato soup and grilled cheeses for everyone.
[Before VooDoo could get off the swing, Call and Marie were racing to the front door; laughing as they fought each other trying to get into the front door, until Call moved his leg just enough to let Marie squeeze by. Voo couldn’t help but smile, he had let her win. Call looked back to see his mom watching.]
She needed a win, Mom.
[As he disappeared inside the house, VooDoo got up from where she was sitting and picked up the kids’cups and followed them in as the scene fades to black, her last thought was about her son and how he was going to be a good man one day.]