The Next Chapter

A Masen Family Vacay

Okay, we're starting the sequel for A Fresh Start. This will probably be slow going as I want to make sure I tell Marie's story well and appropriately. I'd like to thank all of my readers from A Fresh Start and their stories about their children with Autism. Your recollections will help me tremendously in Marie's story. I'm an educator and I'm familiar with the educational ramifications of Autism, but not living with a child with Autism on a day to day basis.

Anyhow, Twilight is not mine. Never will be mine. Ever. *WAAAH!* David, Lizzie and Marie are mine in a literary sense. Ren, too.

You still with me? I know I've been slacking on this one. Part of it is honestly, I don't know where I'm going with this. I know that Renee will be the bad guy but yeah. Secondly, is that some people have been 'rude' about my portrayal of Marie. I'm not a parent. I'm a teacher and I've dealt with children with Autism. But not on a daily, living situation. All of my research has been done online and from the help and guidance from my patient readers (you know who you are and I appreciate your guidance!). I'm hoping to keep up the story of Edward, Bella and their crazy brood, but please be patient with their growth. If there's something wrong, please don't hesitate to contact me, privately. Thanks!

Chapter Fourteen: A Masen Family Vacay

Day One: A Day at the Pool

I don't know what crack I was smoking when we decided to take our three four-year old children to Disney. It's mass chaos. After they woke up from their nap, David wanted to go to Animal Kingdom, Lizzie wanted to go to Magic Kingdom and Marie wanted to go to the pool. Edward and I desperately wanted a nap since we spent the time while they were asleep unpacking.

It was too late in the day to go to a park, so we lathered up our children with gobs of sun block and headed down to the pool. Marie was slightly freaking out at the sheer amount of people at the pool. She was clinging to Edward like he was the last person on the planet. I balanced Lizzie and David between me with our pool bag.

"Momma, where are we going to tomorrow?" Lizzie asked as I took of her pink color blocked jumper. "Can we see Cinderella's castle?"

"Well, good question, Lizziebear," I said as I sat down, pulling her hair back away from her face. "We need to decide where we are going while we're here."

"Also, don't forget, tomorrow morning, Mommy's going to the spa while we make gingerbread houses," Edward said as he wiped down David who had globs of sun block on his belly. "After that, what do you want to do?"

"How about we go to Cinderella's castle," Lizzie suggested. "I want to see her castle and have tea with her."

"How about you, David?" Edward asked as he ruffled his son's hair.

"SIMBA!" David roared.

Marie cowered and nuzzled into my arms, glaring at her brother.

"One vote for Animal Kingdom," I chuckled. "What about you, little one?"

"Cinderella?" she asked, toying with my hair. "Pease?"

"Okay, we're going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow and how about we do Animal Kingdom the next day?" I said as I smiled softly at David.

"Okay. As long as we're not doing girly things at Magic Kingdom, I'm cool," David said with a smug look on his face.

"You're cool? Where did you hear that?" Edward snorted.

"EJ. We're cool like that," David said as he flipped his wrist, smiling slyly. "Can we go in the pool now?"

"Oh, my son," Edward chuckled. He scooped up David and carried him by his legs until they reached the edge of the pool. Edward dangled David by his feet over the water as he squealed happily. Flipping David up, Edward slid into the water with David on his back, who shrieked at the cold water.