Holiday Hullabaloo

Chapter 14

The kids left Lillian's apartment, still thinking about what they heard from her.

"I guess losing your Christmas spirit to your husband's death is understandable" said Calvin.

"But it's gonna be hard to cheer the lady up. I feel like we need to" said Charles Wallace.

"So do I. This is shaping up to be a really morbid Christmastime" said Sam.

"And I think we should start fixing that by having a little chat with Chad" said Calvin.

"Calvin, I dunno" said Sam.

"Sam, I'm not letting him keep this act" said Calvin.

"You're not gonna hurt him, are you?" said Charles Wallace.

"Hurt him? No! I'm just gonna get him to let you explain" said Calvin. 

"That's not gonna be easy" said Sam.

"He'll listen to us. We're the Warriors" said Calvin.

He led his friends to the dormitory building, up the stairs and to Chad's door.

"Trusty, old pal... you may wanna stay in the hall" said Sam.

Trusty obeyed by sitting down by the stairs while Calvin knocked on the door. 

"Chad? It's Calvin. Are you there?" he said.

"Can we come in?" said Sam.

It took a few seconds, but Chad's soft voice croaked out "yes."

The kids entered with worried looks on their faces.

Chad was sitting on his couch in tears.

"Chad? Are you still mad at me?" said Charles Wallace.

Chad lifted his head. "It depends."

"On what?" said Sam.

"I didn't let him tell me the truth last night. It's a regret that I'm having" said Chad.

"Are you implying that you wanna know what really happened?" said Charles Wallace.

"Yes. I feel like I shall be sorry for it" said Chad.

Charles Wallace sat on the couch and faced his brother-in-law.

"Look, Chad. Shortly after you and Meg left, Andy found a rat in one of my cabinets. She chased it away, but it ended up crawling under your door. I had my dog Tramp chase after it and... there's a chance the rat was standing on Idina's crib. It must have fallen when Tramp jumped after it" Charles Wallace explained.

"It really was an accident?" said Chad.

"Have I ever been wrong?" said Charles Wallace.

"And have we ever lied to you?" said Calvin.

Chad was really crying now. 

"I owe you an apology, Charles. Maybe several. To you and Tramp both" he said.

"That's okay, Chad. That was just the grief talking" said Charles Wallace.

He gave his brother-in-law one of his big, tight Charles Wallace hugs.

"I think that means you owe someone else an apology" said Sam.

"Right. I'm so sorry, Sam. Especially for yelling at you when you didn't know what was happening" said Chad.

"I forgive you. But I meant Trusty" said Sam.

Chad sighed deeply. "Of course. Is he here?" he said shakily. 

Sam clapped her hands and Trusty came running.

"Hullo, Trusty. I'm so sorry, boy" Chad cooed.

Trusty gave Chad's face a forgiving lick. 

"See, guys? We're okay" said Calvin.

"Yes, we're okay. But I'm still a bit worried for my daughters' safety. Knowing we have rats actually makes it worse" said Chad.

"Don't you worry, Chad. The Warriors are here and we'll find some way to ensure extreme safety" said Sam giving the man a hug.