7 Kids-One Happy Family

Charpter 7

New York was always filled with adventure. It was always filled with busyness. For Carrie, it was always filled with work. Carrie had three different types of shows to do in New York as well as many different interviews, meetings, and so on. It was going to be a lot, and it was going to take a little less than two weeks to fit it all in. Carrie didn't mind it. She understood it was her job and it was what she had to do. Getting to sing on stage made up for all of the boring parts.

The thing that killed her though was leaving. She didn't particularly like being away from home that much anymore. She would miss sleeping with her husband every night, although space wasn't as hard for them as they would have to be separated for weeks or even a month at a time when it came to the beginning of their marriage. As for the kids though, that was a different story. Carrie always kept the promise that she would not be gone for more than two weeks at a time. Even that was hard to do. Carrie always missed the kids so much and they most definitely always missed her, at least the little ones always did.

Saying goodbye was always hard for both the kids and Carrie. They would always make a special dinner the night before and have family movie night. This time was particularly hard though. It had been a while since Carrie had been away. But she did what she had to do.

Mike had let Carrie sleep in a little longer that day. She would need it while traveling. Mike got ready and then woke up all the kids so they could help make breakfast. Before waking up Grayson, Mike entered Charlotte's room where he sat on the edge of the bed and tapped Charlotte awake.

"Charlotte, it's time to wake up," Mike said.

"No," she refused.

"Yes, it's time to get ready," Mike told her.

"I'm not getting up," she snapped back as she rolled onto here side and hid underneath the covers.

"Don't be difficult, Char," Mike said being rather annoyed with his daughter's disrespect.

"Go away," Charlotte complained.

"If you don't get up on the count of three, I'll get you up myself," Mike warned. "1....2....3!"

It only took Mike five seconds to pry the blankets off of the tiny blonde and pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. "Stop it!" she yelled.

"I warned you," Mike said. Mike took her downstairs to the kitchen where he set her down on one of the barstools. She sat there with a pouty look on her face, her blue eyes angrily squinted, her tiny little arms crossed, her body slumped over. Everyone was now in the kitchen, even Carrie.

"Someone had a rough time getting out of bed this morning," Carrie joked lightly.

"Shut up!" Charlotte bellowed.

"Charlotte Marie Fisher, don't you dare ever say that again!" Mike scolded. "I've had enough from you this morning. If you cause anymore trouble, you're gonna be grounded for a week!"

The youngest daughter just continued to pout without saying a word. She refused to eat breakfast and refused to hold her siblings' hands when they said grace before. In the middle of everyone eating, Charlotte stood up from her seat, and ran for the back door slamming it behind her. Carrie at first stood up to chase after her until Mike told her not to. Mike looked from the window to see that Charlotte was running to the pond which was not too far.

"But we should at least talk to her," Carrie said from across the table.

"She's fine," Mike assured her. "Let her cool off a bit."

Carrie nodded, yet she was still concerned. It was very unlike Charlotte to be in such a bad mood, and it was very unlike her to tell to her mother to shut up. Carrie was definitely worried about her, and she didn't want to leave unless she knew what was wrong, and she knew how to fix it.

If there was one thing all of the kids shared in common, it was their love to be outside. Outside, they could be free and at peace. Outside, Charlotte could be alone, and that's what she wanted. She stood a few feet away from the pond observing its features. It seemed cool, calm, and collective, which were traits sometimes Charlotte wished she had as a six year old.

She noticed the rocks that were laying on the ground beside the lake hidden in the fresh green grass. She picked a small piece up and tossed it into the pond. She tried to remember how all of her siblings made the rocks skip, but failed to do so. Instead, she just continued chucking rocks as far as she could.

"Boy, is it sure nice out here," a woman's voice interrupted the complex thoughts running through the little girl's brain. Charlotte turned around to see her mother was standing looking down upon her hair thrown up in a ponytail wearing a tank top and athletic shorts with flip flops. Charlotte turned back around towards the pond and continue to throw rocks. "Wow, you've got a heck of a good arm there."

There was still no sound coming from Charlotte. She continued to ignore her mother and kept the same pouty face she had on since she woke up that morning.

"Are you gonna talk to me?" Carrie asked the child. She shook her head in response. "Well that makes Mommy very upset."

Charlotte stopped throwing rocks and decided just to keep her back turned to her and look down at the ground, studying the features and patterns of the grass. The grass grew darker as Carrie's shadow appeared closer to Charlotte's. She felt her mother bend down to her level and gently place her hand on her shoulder.

"You know I would never leave without knowing you're okay, right?" Carrie questioned the small blonde.

At that point, Charlotte had hit her breaking point. The tears that had formed in her eyes had let loose and were streaming down her face and she could not help but cry. "But I'm not okay, Momma! I don't want you to leave!"

"I know it's hard sweetie," Carrie told her as she brought her into a warm hug. "It's hard for me too. But I won't be gone too long and it's going to be over before you know it. It won't be long, I promise."

"Why can't I go with you?" Charlotte asked through her cries.

"Because all of your brothers and sisters would miss you way too much. And you know who would miss you the most?" Carrie asked her only to get a shaking head. "Your daddy."

"I'm gonna miss you, Mommy," Charlotte said calming down a bit more.

Carrie wiped away the small girl's tears and replied, "I'm gonna miss you too, Charlie. But I'll call you every day before you go to bed."

"Pinky promise?" Charlotte questioned holding out her itty bitty pinky.

Carrie smiled as she interlocked her pinky with her youngest daughter's, "Pinky promise."