Download - Book: My Story
“When life knocks you down, just
get back up when it knocks you
down,” Keri Hilson.
Chapter One
“Granny, what was your life like. I mean when you
were younger. I mean not that you’re old…. Never
mind….” Madison says.
“Sweet heart, its ok. I understand.” Mary Elizabeth
explains.
“OK. So what happened?”
“Well apparently, I’m from Africa. I was born there
and I lived there until I was three or four.”
“That sounds fun.”
“It was fun honeybun, but let me tell you my story
since you want to know so badly. My parents went to
Africa and they found a man and a woman who were
stealing. In some way, my parents got the hostages
safe, because of that they were “heroes”. Anyway,
the woman was pregnant and due in a few weeks. My
parents went back to America to get their house
ready for a new baby. They had a deal. If my parents
got me then the man and woman wouldn’t go to jail.
But the problem was my biological parents and I were
gone. They moved to a different country right after I
was born. It took my parents three years to find me
and them, but when they did, the African police found
out what happened. The police were going to take me
away, but my parents stepped in and took me home.
The weird thing was I did remember my parents
eating like a king and a queen. They treated me like a
servant at three years old. I was lucky that they came
when they did. I really don’t know how they got my
citizenship or my adoption or anything. All I knew was
that I was being taken away from the only thing I
knew, but at the same time I was being rescued.”
“Granny, did all that stuff really happen? How did you
react when they took you away?”
“How would you react if you were being snatched
away from the only thing you knew? From what I was
told, I screamed and hollered like any three year old
would. The car ride was terrible as my mom told me.
She said I cried and hollered. When we got to the
airport that all the Africans didn’t pay any attention to
me, but all the Americans who were at the airport that
day looked at us really crazy. She said I looked
scared and was crying and wigging out.”
She laughs.
“What’s so funny?”
“I just can't imagine, you out of all people crying.
Come on now. I mean granny you never cry. You are
always the strong one. Always.”
“Well honeybun at that age, I wasn’t very strong.”
“So what happened when you got back here?”
“Come on you two. We’re waiting on you so we can
eat,” says Abigail.
“Can you pass the potatoes?” questioned Taylor.
Now they all sit around the table eating corn on the
cob, smoked ham, butter rolls, rich pecan pie, peach
cobbler, warm red velvet cake, fried chicken, creamy
macaroni and cheese, green beans, and hot dogs for
the little one. Mary Elizabeth (mom) Joshua (Mary
Elizabeth’s husband), Natalie (oldest daughter),
Abigail (oldest grandchild), Madison (only great
grandchild), Daniel, DJ, Tiffany, Paisley, Juliana,
Julian, James, Kristen, Noah, Taylor, Sophie, Derek,
Mary Ann, Edward, Elijah, Angelica, Isaac, Terri,
Cory, Alexandria (youngest grandchild), Alexander,
and Matthew.
“Pass me my grandchild,” demands Mary Elizabeth.
“She is just so adorable. The only reason why I like
any of y'all husbands is because y’all gave me my
grandchildren and great grandchild.”
Everyone laughs.
Madison asks “Granny what was the house look like?”
“We can talk after dinner,” states Mary Elizabeth.
“Ma, what are y’all talking about?” questions Tiffany.
“I was just telling her about my life.”
“Why don’t all of your children, grandchildren, and
Madison hear your story?” Tiffany suggests.
Everyone either shakes their head or says “Yeah.”
“Madison tell them what I told you.”
“Well basically granny’s parents aren’t her real
parents…….”
Chapter Two
“So, is every one caught up now?” questions
Madison.
They either nod their head or say “yes”.
“Wait, I need to use the bathroom,” says Mary Ann.
“You always have to pee. We should just get a diaper
like Alexandria. As much as you pee,” argues Kristen.
“Why are you always starting stuff with me. You have
never liked me since childhood. You were always so
mean to me. Always taking and breaking my barbies,
ripping off the heads of my teddies. I just want to
know why.”
“Hey remember there are children in the room. Y’all
are grown adults. You need to stop.” says Mary
Elizabeth with anger in her voice.
“Ok on that note, I need to change the baby,” states
Terri.
“I need a snack and something to drink,” says Noah.
Daniel,Taylor, Isaac, and Alexander agree then they
all run into the kitchen.
“Granny are you gonna get us a snack?” asks Isaac.
“I’ll be right there sweety pie.”
“No MaMa, I’ll get them a snack you sit there,” says
Kristen.
“OK. Anybody else need to do anything?”
They just shake their head no. Everyone enters back
into the room and settles down. Mary Ann and Kristen
glare at each other.
She starts by saying “The house was huge. It was the
biggest house I have ever seen in my whole entire
life. There were huge pictures hanging on the wall.
Beautiful sculptures of the most artistic people in the
world. This house was a 10 bedroom 10 bathroom
with crystal chandlers and glass stained doors. My
room was the size of two average size classrooms. I
had a king size canopy bed and a customized 80 inch
TV. My playroom had customized playhouse and
kitchenette. The real kitchen was stocked with
American and African food. I had my own gym. It’s
the size of an NBA basketball court. In the backyard
was an olympic size swimming pool that can be an
outside pool or an inside pool. The pool has an
electronic “house”, so basically you can go
swimming all year around. I had 5 different “cars”
(like the little cars that have a battery that has to be
charged) that I could drive all around 2500 acers of
land. We had 3 German shepherds, 3 labs, 4 pit bulls,
and 4 shizoo-poodles.”
“I need to put the kids down it’s 8:00.” Says Terri.
“Ok. I’m getting pretty tired myself. We can pick back
up tomorrow,” says Mary Elizabeth.
Angelica says “Good night granny I love you.”
She answers “I love you too baby. Goodnight. I love
all of you. Good Night to all of you.”
Slowly they all get up kiss each other good night and
they all go to bed.
Chapter Three
“Good morning MaMa,” says Natalie
“Good morning sweetie. I have a question. What is
going on with y’all girls? I treated y’all all the same. I
didn’t treat any one better than the other. I am so sick
of this arguing. When I was raising y’all it was fine. All
I want to know is what happened. It just doesn’t make
any sense.”
“Good morning MaMa. Good morning Natalie.” Says
Terri. “What are y’all talking about?”
“As mom says it…. Our sister drama.” Natalie says.
“Oooh. I got you.” Terri quietly says “I think I’m the
only one who gets along with everybody. It’s so
crazy. I don’t understand.”
“Where’s the baby?” questions Mary Elizabeth.
“She’s asleep with Dee.”
“Good morning MaMa.” Kristen says as she grinds
her teeth.
“Good morning love, now where is Mary Ann and
Tiffany?”
“Well I’m right here but I don’t know where Mary Ann
is.” Tiffany says.
“Good morning MaMa. Hey… everybody else…” says
Mary Ann.
“Why don’t y’all get along? I don’t understand, I
showered all of you with the same amount of love and
care. Now why do some of you get along and others
can’t stand each other it’s just night ri….” says Mary
Elizabeth.
“Mommy….. My stomach hurts.” Elijah says as he
rubs his stomach and his eyes.
“We’ll have this conversation later.”
“I’ll help you get breakfast started.” Kristen says
helpfully with a gleam of joy in her eye.
“Granny can you start the story again?” asks
Madison.
“We can start after breakfast. Do me a favor any go
wake up your cousins and uncles. Tell them I said get
up and get dressed. And while you’re at it tell the rest
of your aunties to get down here and help me and
Auntie Kristen come cook.
“We have eaten now. Can you start the story again?”
asks Madison.
“Ok. Ok. Ok. When I first got there I was treated like
a queen. I had access to as much food as I could get
my hands on. I had as much freedom as an adult who
just inherited millions and millions and millions and
millions of dollars. I felt like I was on top of the world.
I felt that nothing could harm or hurt me. I felt so safe
for once in my life. I felt like I was just the biggest
thing in the whole wide world. Even though I was the
smallest in my class. All the kids always wanted to
come over my house. I had the best stuff even though
it was a private school and my parents paid a pretty
penny for me to go there except money wasn’t even a
problem for them. Everything was good up until my
dad’s mom died. When she died it went downhill from
there. Abigail, Paisley, Juliana, Julian, and Madison
take all your little cousins upstairs to the play room
and turn the TV on.”
They take all the children upstairs.
“Granny can we (Abigail, Paisley, Juliana, Julian, and
Madison) come back and finish listening to the story?
And what should we do with Alexandria?”
“Go get her bassinet Julian and bring her bag down
here.”
He shakes his head and says ok.
“Now that everyone is back I can continue. Anyway
like I said once his mom died he changed. He started
acting weird, but I thought it was just him grieving. At
first it was, but it was like he never got better. When I
was 13 she died….. by 15 I was pregnant. He raped
me right before my 15th birthday. And it wasn’t the
first time either. One night he went out with his
friends. I remember him coming home at 1:46 in the
morning. He was so drunk. I don’t know how he made
it home safely, but he did. I was up working on a
project for school. I had just finished. I was going to
go take a shower when he walked in on me. He hurt
me that night. He said that daddy’s do this to their
little girls. He said he was teaching me and that if I
ever told he would kill me, my mom, all the workers of
the house, then he’d kill himself. So I never told
anyone, but I knew my mom knew. She was so
terrified of him. We all were. He was just so violent.
After I was attacked, she started drinking. At first it
was just wine here or there. Then it picked up. One
day I came home and she was passed out, I called
911 and that day I saved her life. After that she never
touched another drink.”
“Ma..! Ma..! I’m hungry!” screams Noah.
Chapter Four
“What happened after that MaMa?” questions Kristen
in a quiet voice.
“After all that it seemed like he calmed down, at least
for a while. I didn’t hear them fight for a while, but it
was like he relapsed or something. I don’t know. One
night he…. He got drunk again and he blamed me for
him being violent. One day he pushed my mom down
the stairs. She had a cracked rib, sprained ankle, and
broken arm. It was bad, she had a lot of bruises. Her
face was purple. She couldn’t even look at me. She
would just kind of stare at me with hatred and fear in
her eyes. After that moment I knew. I knew I had lost
her too. After that there wasn’t as much food in the
house, my diet was restricted. I couldn’t have friends
over anymore. I couldn’t go over people’s houses.
After a month of that, they pulled me out of school
and home schooled me. They watched my phone like
their lives depended on it. I lost all love for them at
that point. A few months after that like I said I was
pregnant, he picked me up and threw me down the
stairs. I was fine and so was the baby, but he got
worse. My mom got tired of it. She threatened to
leave. So he got clean and got treatment. He gets
better and he apologizes. During my last month of
pregnancy he relapses because he went to go get me
and he saw me half dressed. He was hospitalized for
three days.”
“What happened to the baby?” questions Natalie.
“I’d rather not talk about that in front of the children.
Why don’t you just drop it” says Mary Elizabeth
quietly.
“No. I want to know what happened to the baby.”
“Why don’t you just tell her MaMa. Just tell her,” says
Tiffany.
“Tell me what?”
“Nothing. And Tiffany if you say another word…. I will
slap you across your face. Remember who had you.
You are not too old for me whoop you.”
“Will someone please tell me what happened?” asks
Natalie frantically.
“Whatever I need a drink after this. Kids go upstairs
and check on the kids. Now!” exclaims Mary Ann.
“Me too. We can pick back up after dinner. I think we
all need a drink.” says Terri.
Chapter Five
“The baby was born…. I took the baby home. My dad
wasn’t there. He was still in the hospital. My mom told
me at the time that she cleaned out the bank account.
She said ‘I only left enough money for hospital bills, 3
weeks in a hotel room, and food.’ She told me those
exact words. I felt so relieved. My dad came home
from the hospital only to find that all his things thrown
out and a restraining order against my mom, myself,
and my new baby. Weeks later he was arrested for
endangerment of a child and for 2 counts of assault in
the first degree. He was sentenced to 50 years, but
after he came home that night I never saw him again.
Ever. It wasn’t until right before I had Terri that I
found out he died from a stroke.”
Chapter Six
“MaMa, I’m so sorry for what happened to you. I feel
really really bad,” Terri says. Kristen, Mary Ann,
Natalie, and Tiffany agree.
“My babies, if you don’t remember anything else…..
remember this….. when life throws things at you….
You can either except it and deal with it….. or….. you
can run away. That’s all I have to say about it. Now,
go deal with the children so we can start back up
again.” Mary Elizabeth says.
“Ok MaMa.” Terri agrees.
“Granny, what’s your full name?” Sophie asks
puzzled.
“Baby, my name is Mary Elizabeth Jamille Pickets. My
African name is Abimbola Amaka Amara Udo. My
American name means wished for child, oath or
fullness of God, and beautiful. My African name
means rich child, God is gorgeous, and elegance or
grace.”
“I didn’t know you had two names Granny.” Sophie
says smiling.
“Me either. At least not until I was pregnant with your
mommy. But I haven’t gotten that far into my story
yet. I’ll come back and get you when we get past the
bad stuff.”
“Ok Granny. I love you.” Sophie says as she walks
away smiling.
“What happened next Granny?” Paisley asks eagerly.
“Ok. Shortly after I had the baby I couldn’t say there
anymore, so I left. The maid helped me. It wasn’t like
money was an issue because my dad was paying
child support and paying me. My mom was also
paying me. So I was good on money. One night I said
my good byes to everyone except my mom. The next
morning she didn’t find me or the baby, so she called
911 and had an amber alert put out on us. No one
found us. I didn’t leave the state. I got a job and an
apartment. I put my baby in daycare and I supported
myself and the baby.”
“Who is this baby you keep talking about?” Natalie
asks tiredly.
“Just let it go,” says Mary Ann.
“Mommy…..” Alexander says.
“Yes baby….” Terri says with a worried face.
“I thowed up. I don’t feel good.”
“You thowed up? Where did you throw up baby?”
“In the bathroom.”
“Ok, I’ll go get daddy.”
“Come here baby and I’ll get you cleaned up.” Mary
Elizabeth says.
“Ok Granny.”
“We’ll start back up later. Let’s just go check on all
the kids.” Mary Elizabeth says with power in her
voice.
Chapter Seven
“How’s Alexander?” questions Mary Elizabeth with
concern on her face.
“He’s fine. He ate something he wasn’t supposed to.
Just being a six year old kid.” Terri says.
“Back to the story….”Mary Elizabeth continues.
“Your story just amazes me. I didn’t even know some
of these things MaMa. Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
Mary asks.
Mary Elizabeth responds “Because you didn’t ask.
And anyway are you gonna let me finish? Well not
finish, because I’m only about half way finished
telling my story. Anyway, picking back up from
yesterday… Once I was on my own and I was
settled, I met a police officer. I think I saw my dad
one day, so I called 911. This handsome police
officer shows up, but it turned out that it was just
someone who looked like him. I was really
relieved. We started talking. He was so nice. He
treated my daughter like she was his. He moved
in with us. Everything was going really well.
When I found out I was pregnant, he was
overcome with joy. He was so excited. He went
and bought a whole bunch of baby stuff. Even
before I was out of my first trimester. I was so in
love with that man. I didn’t marry him though. I
knew better than that. I mean not that he wasn’t
hinting, because he was. Life was just going
really well for me. I was in a good place. I was
happy and healthy, so was my daughter, and so
was my ‘boyfriend’. His name was Darrell. Darrell
Wayne. But at some point he lost it. He started
abusing me just as my dad had done. At first it
was just a slap here or there, then it turned into
real abuse. First it was just at home, then it
turned into public places. I don’t know how, but I
got away. I got out. I couldn’t take it anymore. He
tried to take custody of my unborn child. That
didn’t work. I was smart. Every time he hit me I
took a picture of it. I started wearing a wire, and
after that I put hidden video cameras in every
room of our apartment. After I showed the judge
that. I was granted full custody. I got a
restraining order for me, my unborn child, and
my baby girl. As far as I know, even to this day,
he was fired and then put in jail. He’s still there to
my knowledge. One because apparently I wasn’t
the only one he has hurt before. Two because he
killed a few people in jail. Three is for assault.
After some of the bruises he left on me……
Before he was arrested and put in jail, he stalked
me. He found out that I had a new man in my life.
It took me forever to trust him. I had been hurt by
men all my life. So for him to truly love me and
show me that he loved me was tough. I thought
he would break and he would beat me. I thought
he would hurt me and my kids…. But he didn’t. it
took me months and months for me to trust him. I
don’t know how he did it, but he earned my trust
and I loved him. I loved that man. After a while we
got married. We bought a house together and
settled in. My kids loved him and he loved them.
Wanna take a wild guess at who this person is? If
you guessed Joshua Pickets…. You are correct.
He actually/truly treated me like a queen. I fell for
that man. After we got married, I was still finding
new ways to love him. He was finding new ways
to love me.”
“Hey is anyone else kind of hungry?” questions
Kristen. “I need a snack and I know my kids are
hungry.”
“Mommy can I have some puff puffs?” Angelica asks.
“Yes you can have some puff puffs.” Kristen
responds.
“What are puff puffs?” Tiffany asks.
“According to Angelica, they are cheese puffs. Like
Cheetos.” Kristen says.
“MaMa who is this baby and what happened to her?”
Natalie says angrily.
“I don’t know why you keep asking me because I’m
not gonna tell you right now.”
“Fine.”
“I’m going to take a walk. Anybody else want to
come?” Mary Ann says.
“I’ll come with you baby.” Jacob (Mary Ann’s
husband) says.
“We’ll all go together as a family, we need to change.
Everybody go get dressed. That means you
Abigail, Paisley, Juliana, Julian, Madison, Noah,
Daniel, Matthew, Isaac, Taylor, Alexander,
Angelica, Sophie, Elijah, and even Alexandria.
That includes Natalie and John (Jay), Tiffany and
Davis (Sonny), Kristen and Michael (Mike), Mary
Ann and Jacob (Jake), and Terri and Derek (Dee).
Everybody go get dressed. Let’s go!” Mary
Elizabeth decrees.
Chapter Eight
“I’m tired I need a nap.” Madison says out of breath.
“You aren’t the only one. Your auntie is sleepy and
tired too baby.” Tiffany says also out of breath.
“Let’s take a nap and get back up later and eat and
talk some more.” Mary Elizabeth says.
A Few Hours Later
“Shortly after we got married, I got pregnant again.
Josh, my daughters, and I were heading out one day.
My ex-boyfriend saw me with them. Darrell got out of
the car and attacked my new husband. They got into
a fist fight. I called 911 and that’s why he was
charged with assault. ”
“What specifically happened during the fight?”
Abagail asks.
“Well…. Josh helped me into the car and closed the
door. That’s when Darrell got out of the car. He
walked over to Josh with rage. I had never seen him
so mad. He was so drunk. You could smell him from a
mile away. It was making me sick. I was worried
about our safety. So I called 911. By the time they
showed up Darrell and Josh were both covered in
blood. But it wasn’t Josh’s blood it was Darrell’s. No
one knew this but Josh was a fighter back in the day.
He has done his fair share of damage to people. So
when Darrell attacked him, it was like Josh being
pulled into that other person. At the same time he
was being defensive because he was very protective
over all of us, not just me. Especially since my kids
were in the car and witnessed it, he lost it. Josh
almost killed him. He was protecting me and my kids.
He was fighting for our lives. Darrell was taken to the
hospital and arrested on the way there. We never did
make it to where we were going, but I was just glad
that he was alright and so was myself and the kids.”
“So granddaddy was a fighter?!?!” Madison asks
eagerly.
“Yes. Yes he was.” Mary Elizabeth said.
“Wow. I didn’t even know that.” Kristen and Terri
says.
Chapter Nine
“Hey MaMa, what you doing?” Mary Ann asks
sincerely.
“Nothing really. Just doing some stuff for work.”
“Now I know better. You bringing us all the way out
here. You tell us not to work and you’re sitting there
working. Oh No! Give me that. You will not be
working. No ma’am! If I can’t work…. Neither can
you. This makes me really upset.” Mary Ann says
angrily.
“Remember who you’re talking to. If you must know
it’s a family tree for the kids. Now, please leave.”
“MaMa, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
“It’s ok. Next time before you blow up, make sure you
have all the facts.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Hey good people.” Abigail says as Madison, Paisley,
Julian, Juliana, Kristen, Natalie, Tiffany, and Terri
walked in.
“What happened after that Granny?” Julian asks.
“Well, shortly after the fight I found out my mom had
been very sick. She was dying of liver disease
because of her drinking problem she had. She was
hospitalized. So I left and went back to that house. I
don’t know why but I did. Then I went straight to the
hospital. I could barely take it because I was still
pregnant. So I didn’t stay very long. But it was like
she knew me and knew what I had been through.
When I walked into her room she started to cry.
Which made me cry. I could still see the bruises my
dad had left on her from when I was a child. That
brought back all the bad that had been done to me. I
began to cry and cry and cry. It was like I couldn’t
stop. Even in her being sick she comforted me. I
could tell she was strong again. I felt so bad for not
spending time with her spending time with her over
the years. She understood and I felt so much better. I
was so glad that she understood and she forgave me.
She said if it had been her she would have done the
same thing. I went back every day to see her after
that. I even brought Josh and the kids up there
sometimes. I have never taken them to the house and
I never will. When I die it will die. I know that sounds
kind of harsh, but it’s the truth. I will never return
back to that house and neither will any of you. I had
the baby a few weeks later. I took the baby to see her.
She was so happy and peaceful. I knew something
was wrong. That day she died. It was my husband all
of my children I had at the time and me. We were all
standing around her. I didn’t even feel bad when she
died. I didn’t feel guilty I mean. That’s why you need
to give people their flowers while they are still alive. I
cried that night. Once her funeral was over and
finished I got the worst surprise of my life.”
“What surprise?” Juliana question eagerly.
“You’ll find out after we eat.”
“Who and where is this baby?” Natalie asks
impatiently.
“Stop asking me that you will find out soon enough.
Now leave me alone and stop asking me. You will find
out soon enough.” Mary Ann says tiredly (tired of her
asking).
Chapter Ten
“What was this worst surprise?” Julian asks.
“What I didn’t tell you was on their death bed she told
me that I was adopted and she told me the whole
story about how I got here and who my parents were
and what they did. That whole story. But the last thing
she told me that day was they were looking for me.
My biological parents were looking for me. After she
died and after the reading of the will I found out I was
pregnant again. What I got out of the will was
everything they had. All their stocks and bonds. All
the money. All the estates. A few months after that
they showed up at my door. I began to cry that’s
when Josh stepped in. He was so protective of me.
They came back a few days later. They told me their
side of the whole story. I couldn’t take it. It was too
much stress. Josh put them out. He knew it was too
much for me. I don’t know how I got over it but I did. I
let them in. And I told them that if they ever hurt me
again, especially after what they did to me, they were
finished. They apologized and I forgave them.
Apparently I have a whole lot of brothers and sisters.
I did get to meet them once. They were ok but
something just wasn’t right. I couldn’t put my finger
on it but it was like they were controlling them in
some freakish way. I knew that the customs were
different in Africa than in America but it was like an
extreme. I would never let my brother and sisters
meet my children. I just wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t. I
didn’t. I don’t think they even know that any of you all
exist. I have nieces and nephews that I don’t know
about. It’s like I don’t even want to know them. I just
wished I could have stayed a single child. I don’t and
still don’t want any brothers and sisters. I really don’t
want anything to do them at all. Really only because
of the way they treated me. I don’t know I just guess
it’s different. I still don’t know how I feel about it, but
slowly I’m coping with it. I’m taking my time. For me
the healing process is a lot longer than most people’s
and now you know why. I was so glad I had Josh, I
just don’t know what I would have done had he not
been there for me and my children.” Mary Elizabeth
explains.
Chapter Eleven
“Hey, what happened when you let them meet us?”
Tiffany asks.
“Well, they came back a few days later. They brought
gifts and presents for y’all. Some were from Africa
and some were America toys. They wanted y’all to
know my ‘heritage’. I didn’t want you to have any of
the African toys. I told them that I wouldn’t allow the
toys. At first they objected, but they let it go. They
wanted to spend time with their grandchildren. I was
very emotional after they meet you. I couldn’t stop
crying, that’s when he had had enough. He put them
out. He was protecting me. My hero. He was such a
good man. Always there when I needed him. He did
things for me just to make me smile. Flowers, jewelry,
candy, chocolate…… and other things. That man
treated me so well. He was just like me. Well at least a
male version.” Mary Elizabeth says with tears in her
eyes.
“Wow MaMa. I never knew he did so much.” Terri
adds.
“Yeah. He did so much and y’all didn’t even realize.
He treated all of you the same. He didn’t love any one
of you more than another. He treated you like
princesses. Gave you everything you ever needed or
wanted. I loved that man.”
“I think we should take a break and give her a break.”
Juliana says as she walks over and hugs her.
“Thank you baby but I’m ok.” Mary Elizabeth says
crying.
Terri, Alexandria, Matthew, Alexander, Dee, Mary
Ann, Elijah, Isaac, Jake, Kristen, Sophie, Noah,
Taylor, Mike, Tiffany, Juliana, Julian, Paisley, Sonny,
Natalie, Abigail, Madison, Daniel, and Jay all pile
together and hug. They calm Mary Elizabeth down.
They start humming. All of them. After that everyone
went to bed. They all slept in Mary Elizabeth’s room.
On the floor, on the bed, on 5 different air mattresses,
on 3 different couches, and for Alexandria in a
bassinette.
Chapter Twelve
“How are you feeling this morning?” Paisley asks.
“I’m fine. Better now.” Mary Elizabeth says as she
drinks her coffee.
“Good morning auntie.” Paisley says as Terri walks in
with Alexandria.
“Give me my cousin. Aww… Alexandria… you smell
so good and you’re so cute… and you’re so sweet…
and you’re such a good baby….” Paisley says as she
walks away with Alexandria.
“Go wake up everybody and get them up.” Mary
Elizabeth says.
“Ok MaMa.” Terri says.
While the men were cooking breakfast and the
children were playing outside the girls and Julian
were listening to Mary Elizabeth again.
“What happened after grandpa put them out?”
Madison asks.
“Honestly, I found out I was pregnant again. Which is
why I was so moody and crying a lot. It was because I
was pregnant and because I was under so much
stress. Then your auntie Kristen scared us half to
death. She got sick. We had to hospitalize her. We
almost lost her, but she’s a fighter. She came
through. That didn’t help anything. It only put me
under more stress. Josh made me got to the hospital.
It was a good thing he did. I almost lost your auntie
Terri. If I hadn’t gone to the hospital she wouldn’t be
sitting here right now looking at us. I was alright.
They did some tests to make sure she and I were
alright. I don’t exactly remember what had happened,
but they gave me some medicine. I felt better they
kept me overnight for observation and I was
discharged the next day. My biological parents and
his parents showed up to help. They spent a few
weeks at our house to help out. Then all four of them
packed up their lives and moved closer to us. So they
could be around their children and grandchildren.”
Mary Elizabeth explains.
“Well thank God for daddy right?” Terri adds.
“Yeah. Thank God for your daddy.” Mary Elizabeth
says.