That's my girl!" John said
"Lennon!" Gina called," Don't you ever say that again ok?"
"Okey dokey" Lennon said burying her head in John's chest
"Alright, Princess ,give me a kiss goodbye. i gotta go" John said kissing her on the head and putting her down
"Bye Daddy" Lennon said then ran off to play with Olivia
"Have fun ladies" John said then slammed the gate behind him
"Don't you love when he vists, it's like getting a vist from a relative you don't want to know you had in the first place" Annie said
"Haha" Gina and Stevanne laughed
"Auntie Stevie..i'm hungry" Olivia said tugging on Stevanne's shirt
"I am too" Gina said
"Me too" Stevanne agreed
"Alright..what does everyone want?" Annie asked
"Pizza" Stevanne said
"Spaghetti O's" Olivia said
"Mexican" Gina said
"Pork chops and applesauce" Lennon said
"And I want a salad.." Annie said
"Well then since we all want different things..let's just order take out" Gina suggested
So they ordered from every possible take out place In Queens..
The next day was raining and everyone was stuck indoors, Stevanne was reading Olivia her favorite book, The Cat in The Hat, Annie was feeding Eva and Lily was up in the crib and Lennon was playing in her room
or so they thought...
"Have you guys seen Lennon?" Gina asked walking through the living room
"Isn't she in her room?" Stevanne asked,stopping the story
"More book.. " Olivia said
"I'm gonna go look upstairs" Gina said then walked up the stairs.
Looking into Lennon's room, she wasn't there and when Gina passed by the twins room, she noticed Lily wasn't her crib.
Starting to panic, Gina went through each of the rooms looking for Lennon and Lily, Stopping In Nikki and Blake's room, she picked up the cordless phone and started to dial, until she heard singing
"Lalalala" Gina followed the singing to the bathroom and saw something that made her stop in her tracks
Lennon attempting to give Lily a bath
"LENNON!" Gina yelled, scaring Lennon and causing her to drop Lily, Gina was grateful the tub plug wasn't in and Lily just slide across the tub
"What are you doing?" Gina said picking up Lily,sat on the toliet seat and attempted to dry her off
"Giving Silly-Lily a bath" Lennon said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world
"You don'tgive Lily a bath, Only Mommy and the adults can give Lily a bath, you could have really hurt Lily, she could have drowned" Gina said struggling not to scream
"Ooops" Lennon said
"I think you should go to your room and sit there until i come get you" Gina said
"But mommy never sends me to my room" Lennon protested
"There's a first time for everything, Now go!" Gina ordered
Lennon pouted and walked into her room
"Well, you seem ok, let's get you some warm pj's and put you back in your crib this time, though, I'm going to stay in there and keep guard.." Gina said
Lily didn't seem to fazed by her near drowning and When Gina put her back in the crib, she just stared at the mobile above her head and kicked her legs.
When Lily finally fell asleep, Gina went back to talk to Lennon but she wasn't in her room
"I swear i'm going to kill this kid" Gina muttered as she walked through the house
"ANNIE!" Gina called
"WHAT?" Annie yelled from the Kitchen
"DO YOU KNOW WHERE LENNON IS?" Gina yelled
"I THINK SHE'S OUTSIDE WITH STEVANNE" Annie called back
" AUGH!" Gina grunted then went downstairs to go outside, she saw Lennon on the swing set but where the hell was Stevanne?
"LENNON!" Gina yelled
"Uh Oh" Lennon looked panicstricken
"Come in here please" Gina said
Lennon came running into the house
"Where's stevanne?" Gina asked taking off Lennon's jacket
"I dunno" Lennon shrugged then ran off toward the kitchen
"Annie, Have you seen Stevanne" Gina asked walking into the Living Room
"No..Why? " Annie said
:"Because Stevanne never goes anywhere without annoucing it to the world" Gina said
"Well let's look around and we're bound to find her somewhere" Annie said
"Ok, I'll look around the house and you look outside" Gina said
"Got it!" Annie grabbed Lennon by the hand and walked around the neighborhood
"STEVANNE!" Gina called
No Answers
"STIGGS!" Gina yelled passing by the hall closet
"GINA!" a voice called
"STEVANNE!" Gina couldn't place where the voice was,"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"I'M IN THE HALL CLOSET!" Stevanne yelled banging on the door
"HOLD ON!" Gina pryed the door open,"How did you get in the closet"
"That friggan Chuckie wanna-be locked me in!" Stevanne was so mad she started to stutter
"How is it three adults are terrified of a four year old, we outweigh her, We need to take control!"Gina said
"She's a child.. not a terrorist!" Stevanne said
"That one remains to be seen, What are we going to do? we obviously can't take care of her and the other three kids, so what do we do?" Gina asked sitting on the steps
"Should We call Nikki?" Stevanne asked sitting beside her
"No besides, if we call her just to say that Lennon has gone off the deep end, she'll just come home incredibly pissed" Gina said
"True" Stevannesaid
"Well what if we pawn her off on someone else for the rest of the weekend?" Gina asked
"Like who?" Stevanne asked
"I don't know think of someone?" Gina said
"Ummm" Stevanne couldn't think of anyone
"I got it! JOHN!" Gina stood up and shouted
"That's it!" Stevanne said jumping up and down
"Alright..who's gonna call him?" Gina sat back down
"Well it can't be me" Stevanne said
"Why?" Gina asked
"I don't know" Stevanne said
"I'll call him " Gina said dialing then talking to him for a few minutes,"Alright, it's all settled, he'll be by soon to get Lennon"
"Thank god!" Stevanne said
"Let's go get the little demon packed up" Gina said
Just then the door opened
"HELLO?" a voice said
"Boy that was fast did you run down the street?" Gina asked not seeing who was at the door
"What are you talking about?" Nikki asked
"What the hell are you doing back so soon?" Stevanne asked
"We missed the girls and besides we got in all the alone time we'll ever need" Nikki said putting down her lugagge
"Besides, two days in the middle of nowwhere for two new yorkers was torture, next time we need alone time, we're going to the waldor " Blake said coming up behind her
"How were the girls?" Nikki asked
"Oh Angels" Gina lied through her teeth
"Great, no problems?" Nikki said
"Nope nothing" Stevanne replied
"Hey!" John said from behind Nikki
"Hi Johnny what are you doing here?" Nikki said kissing him on the cheek
"I came to pick up Lennon..what are you doing back so soon?" John asked
"We missed the girls and came back early" Blake explained then steppedpast Gina and Stevanne to go upstairs
"Where are the rest of the girls?" Nikki asked
"Right here" Annie said carrying Eva into the hallway,"Lennon and Olivia are outside and Lily's asleep"
"Oh good" Nikki said taking the baby then went into the living room and sat down, everyone followed her.
"Nik, We did have a minor problem with Lennon" Gina said slowly
"Oh lord, what did she do now?" Nikki rolled her eyes
"She locked stevanne in the closet and attempted give Lily a bath.." Gina said
"Ugh..I'll deal with her later" Nikki said
"But i thought you didn't send her to her room?" Gina asked
"She spents a good chunk of her day in her room who told you that i don't send her to her room?" Nikki was curious
"Lennon" Gina said
"Ya know, i blame you" Nikki said to john
"Me? what did i do?" John said
"She's half of your genes, so half her crazyness is your fault!" Nikki exclaimed
"Excuse me..no..besides you spoil her even worse than I do.." John defended himself
"Your the one who takes her to F.A.O schwartz every other weekend" Nikki said
"Yeah and you let her eat crap all the time ..that's definitely gotta be screwing her up" John said
"Look Instead of blaming each other for screwing up OUR daughter,let's look at the facts,she may only be four years old but she's a complete terror" Nikki said
"Well I wouldn't call her a complete terror" John defended her
"John, i know you want to protect your baby girl but she is..i can't handle her, nikki has tried even Stevanne and Gina have tried..She's alot to handle "Blake jumped in
"So what do we do?, I mean you can't exactly throw her in boarding school," John said
"No but we're going to have to make some drastic measures to make sure she and the others kids are alright..and we have to set boundries, no more of this "well she's just a little girl." We have to be forceful" Nikki said
"What do you suggest Mommie-Dearest?" John said
"We gotta discipline her, not just this go-to-your-room and i'll -be-in-to talk - to you stuff..time outs, spankings whatever,I don't like the idea of hitting her but we gotta do something before she hurts herself or one of the other kids Agreed?" Nikki finished
"Agreed" John said
"Well, Let's go tell her how the rules are going to change" Nikki stood up and handed Eva to Gina
"Will you go take the girls to the park, cause this could get ugly?"Nikki asked
"Sure"Gina noddedand walked out the door with Lily and Annie carrying Eva followed her..
"Ok so how do we do this? do we tag team her? do we each going in?" John said
"We all go in and just talk to her like a big girl" Blake said standing in front of Lennon's door
"Alright..ready?" Nikki said taking a deep breath
"Yup" John said opening the door
"I hope we're doing the right thing" Nikki said
"Look" John said, he and Blake were in front of her and blocking her line of vision
"What?" Nikki pushed past the guys
Lennon and Olivia were sitting at a little round table and coloring, and Lennon was helping Olivia stay in the lines.
"Do you think we should still talk to her?" Blake said
"No, i think she'll be alright.. " Nikki said smiling at her girls
13 years later
NIKKI P.O.V
Well Lennon eventually got past her stubburn streak and turned into one of the sweetest kids ever, Now was she was fifteen and incredibly beautiful with long red hair and so skinny, although she eats like a horse.
Olivia was fourteen also beautiful but had short brown hair and unfortunely inherited my vision problem but she doesn't mind wearing glasses, she looks more and more like Blake every day and she's very serious about everything,
The twins were nine and although they are fraternal twins, have my small nose and Blake's eyes. Lily is one of the most athleic kids ever and Eva prefers to write and read, like her mother and also like her mother, she and lily both have dark brown hair and Lily has a beauty mark under her right eye while Eva's is on her right shoulder.
Although we said we were done in the kids department, Just after Lennon's thirteenth birthday, we discoved we were pregnant again. and just after Memorial day, Our son, Walker James was born, Yes, Blake got his son, a beautiful little boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes We agreed on Walker James because since i got to pickthe namesfor the twins,it was only fair, He chose Walker because of Walker, Texas Ranger and I chose James because Catie is his godmother . All the girls were thrilled when we brought him home.
As for the rest of the gang, Stevanne's vet clinc went international and is one of the richest woman in Paris, Catie bought out Macy's and it's now one of the hottest store's in Mahattan,Annie's hair shops were scattered through out the city and were thriving, Jen had dumped that Max fella and now was going out with Orlando Bloom., Gina's kids were all grownup, Noah was in his first in College at NYU and Gracie was in the same grade as Lennon, Lennon skipped her eighth grade year because it wasn't challenging enough for her so she and Gracie were Sophomores at P.S. 21 in Queens and they were best friends. John and Tiffany had a little girl of their own, Amy Elizabeth, who was born around the same time Walker was.
Life had been hectic but we'd all manage to get through it, I was still working as a senior writer for the times,stopping only to have Walker and then resumed my career while Blake stayed at home with the baby, he was working on a series of childrens books.
Out of all the kids, Walker was the easiest baby, only crying a little his first night home and then after that, he slept through the night.. it was great.
One Night, When Walker was about year old, Just after we'd just put the kids to bed, Blake was watching Jay Leno and I was attempting to read, the phone rang
the call every parent dreads
"Nikki?" A voice said
"John?" I replied
"Yeah..did i wake you?" John said nervously
"No why? what's going on?" I said still reading my book
"Lennon's been arrested" John said
"WHAT?"I couldn't believe it..," How could she be arrested,she's in her room asleep"
"Go check, because i just got a call from the NYPD That our daughter was picked up for driving without a license and attempting to get into a club" John said
"Oh my god!" I was freaking out
"I'll pick you up in 10 and we'll go get her ok?" John said
"Yeah ..thanks " I said putting the phone down
"What happened?" Blake asked
"Lennon's been arrested!" I jumped out of bed and ran toward her room and ripped open the door..
yup, she was gone...
"What do you mean, she's been arrested?" Blake said coming up behind me
"She's in manhattan jailcell right now because she was driving without a license" I said getting furious
"She doesn't have a --oh she didn't" Blake said running down the stairs and into the garage "SON OF A BITCH,SHE STOLE MY CAR!"
"Oh she is so dead!.. OLIVIA" I called
no answer
"OLIVIA MACKENZIE, I KNOW YOU AREN'T ASLEEP BECAUSE I CAN SEE THE GLOW FROM THE COMPUTER SCREEN UNDER YOUR DOOR" I called through the door
"What?" Olivia said opening the door
"Do you know why your sister snuck out?" I asked her
"She's been doing it for months, it doesn't surprise me " Olivia said
"Oh god.. well she's been arrested..and now i've got to go bail her out..do me a favor and watch Walker and the girls?" I asked
"Sure" Olivia said going back into her room but keeping the door open
I ran back into my own room, threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, took the clip out of my hair, shook my hair out and grab my sneakers and ran down the stairs
"HONEY?" I called, "where are you?"
"STILL IN THE GARAGE" He called back
I walked over to the car and found him staring where the car was
"are you alright?" I asked
"She She She stole my car!.. i can't believe it..she stole MY car!" He kept repeating
"I know I know..." I said taking him by the hand and bringing back into the house
"Olivia, take Daddy and put him back in bed ok?" I asked handing him off to our daughter
"Alright.. Come on..Daddy, that's it..alright..come on" Olivia said as if she were talking to a dog
Just then a horn beeped outside
"Liv, i'll be back soon, When Eva and Lily wake up..don't tell them Lennon was arrested ok?" I said running toward the door
"GOT IT AND MA?" Eva said
"YEAH?" I called back
"if you kill her, can i have her room?" Eva asked
"Sure" I said and ran out to John's car
"Hey" John said as i opened the door
"Hi" I said biting my nail
"It's gonna be alright..she's fine" John tried to ressaure me
"How can it be alright? our daughter was arrested for stealing my husband's car!" I said staring out the window
"I mean, she's isn't hurt or dead, She had a minor act of rebellion" John said
"John, she's never done this before, her last act of rebellion was when she was four!" I said biting my nail
"I realize that..but freaking out isn't going to do anything" John said pulling onto FDR drive
" I know but she's our baby and i'm scared" I said starting to cry
"Remember when she was eight and fell out of the tree, we all thought she wouldn't make it because she fractured her skull but she made it through and she'll get through this" John said pulling into the precinct
"I just keep remembering the day she was born and how she seemed like althought she was a newborn, it was like she was wise and knowing..what did we do wrong?" I said
"We didn't do anything wrong, it's just something stupid she did and it's ok" He said opening the car door and letting me out
I practically ran to the front desk
"Hi my daughter was brought in tonight?" I said to the woman behind the glass
"Name?" The woman asked
"My name? Nicole Capone Reef" I answered
"No i mean your daugher's name" The woman said
"Oh ok, her name is Lennon Madelyn Destifino, she's got long red hair, very skinny, she's also got a mole on her left shoulder " I said
"Nik, the woman wants her name, not a physical description" John said behind me
"Who are you?" The woman asked
"I'm her father" John said
"Please Sit down and a detective will be right with you" The Woman said
I sat in the chair while John paced
"Hello..Are you Lennon Distefino's parents?" A big burly cop asked
"Yes, Where is my baby?" I asked nervously
"She's sitting in a cell right now, Let's just go into my office and talk" The Detective said opening a door
"Would you like some coffee?" The Detective offered
"No thanks" We both said at the same time
"Now about your daughter, we caught her on 95th street speeding and driving erractedly, When we apphrened her, she and the persons in the car froze and the car hit a tree and then they gave us false names,we finally got them to give us their real names"
"Is she alright?" I asked
"She's fine, They were all wearing seat belts" The Detective said
"Who were the other kids in the car?" John asked
"A Grace Hall and a Keith Distefino, that's weird how they have the same last name" the detective said
"Wait..did you say Keith Distefino?" John said
"Yeah why?" The cop asked
"That's my son!" John said
"We didn't know that..we would have called you on him" The cop looked apologic
"Are they being charged?" Iasked
"No, because they are minors and it's their first offense, the District Attorney has asked that they stay in Queens and not venture into the city until they are of legal age" The cop said
"Can we see them now?" John asked
"I'd like to see the car" I said suddenly
"What?" Both the Detective and John said
"I want to see the car so i know what to tell the insurance company" I explained
"Alright but i warn you, it's pretty beat up" The Cop said standing up
We followed him to a parking lot and right away i spotted Blake's car
It was a mess, the front end was smashed like an accordian and the bumper was through the back windshield
"Oh my god.." John said looking sick
"Oh my.." I said and just started to cry
"Are you positive the kids are alright.." John asked
"Yes, they were checked out before they were brought here" The Cop said then led us back into the precienct
"Wait here and we'll bring out the kids" The Cop said
"I can't believe this, I mean i never imagined being in a precienct and having to see a car our daughter nearly died in..it's horrible " I said sitting against the wall
John didn't know what to say
"Mommy!" Lennon yelled
I had never been so glad to hear the word before
"Baby!" I said running toward her
I didn't think i'd ever stop hugging her
" I'm so glad your alright..your so dead but i'm just so relieved" I said
Keith came out a few minutes later
"Hey Dad" Keith said
"Hey Dad..you nearly kill your sister and her friend..and all i get is a Hey Dad.?" John was furious
"I'm sorry ..it was an accident.. " Keith tried to explain
"An Accident..it's a miracle you three aren't hurt" John said
"Speaking of Where's Grace?" I asked
"The cops won't release her because Aunt Gina and Uncle Josh are in Cancun" Lennon said
"Excuse me. who do i speak to about getting Grace Hall released?" I asked the woman behind the pelxiglass
"Hold On.." The woman picked up the phone and spoke to someone and soon Grace was released
"You three ..inside the car and don't say a word" I said through gritted teeth outside the precinct
"Uh Oh" Gracie said
"I think we're in trouble" Lennon said
"No Duh Sherlock" Keith said sliding in John car
We didn't say a word the entire ride home, The Kids didn't say a word because they knew i would have killed them
"Alright..In the House" I ordered
All three of them sat on the couch and didn't say a word
"I want to know who was driving?" I asked
"I was" Lennon said
"What possessed you to drive Blake's car in the middle of the night without a license?" John asked
"I just wanted to be an adult" Lennon said
"So you decide to endanger your brother and best friend?"I said
"I'm sorry I know i screwed up" Lennon said
"There's the understatment of the 21st Century" I said
"Nik.." John said
"I honestly..I don't know wheither to hug you or kill you" I said
"Mom..I'm really sorry" Lennon said Standing up
"Sit down..how come you two haven't said a word?" I asked Grace and Keith
"Lennon is doing a good job ..we're not saying a word" Keith said
"Grace..I just gotta know something" I asked her
"Yes?" She asked pulling her long brown hair
"How did you get out? Your Aunt Annie usually keeps a hawk-eye hold over you?" I said
"I waited until she fell asleep then i hopped over the fence and come into Lennon's room" Grace said
"Twenty Bucks says she doesn't realize you're missing until the morning" John said
"Mommy!" A little voice called ..it was Lily
"Coming" I went upstairs, i turned around and ordered,"STAY PUT!"
JOHN P.O.V
I couldn't believe our children were in a car accident, and barely got a scratch.. i knew Nikki was more terrified than angry but she wasn't about to let the kids know That.
"Daddy-" Lennon said
"Hold on" I stopped her and waited for the door to shut
SLAM!
"Ok now what were you gonna say?" I asked
"We just wanted some fun" Lennon said
"Fun? you want fun? go the movies don't steal a car!" I said
"Uh Dad?" Keith said
"Yes Son?" I Said
