Kasey to the Rescue by Ellen Rogers

Author:Ellen Rogers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hyperion

’TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and all through the house, all the creatures were stirring, not to mention bickering, barking, whining, complaining, clucking, chirping, peeping, and squawking. Kasey ranged back and forth in her cage, clucking and trilling at Ned, who kept calling me in to translate, as if my guess was any better than his. I slumped into a chair, my fingers raw from miles of Scotch tape and curly ribbon. There wasn’t a prayer of getting a nurse for Christmas Eve, so I was looking at a long night ahead.

“She’s trying to tell me something, Mom. What do you think she wants?”

“I fed her exactly the right amount at the right time, Ned. I praised her in a positive tone when she pottied. I turned her cage for an optimal view of the TV. What more could she want?”

“Just hang out for a while,” said Ned. “Help me figure it out.”

“Eck eck.” Kasey zipped her purse and waved it at me. “Kreeeeeeeee!”

It was as if we’d adopted a three-year-old from Chechnya. She was really cute, but neither of us could understand a word the other was saying. And culturally, let’s face it, we were worlds apart.

“Mom, don’t let those dogs—”

Too late. Guy and Bailey were in. Kasey skreeked and pounced, making them nuts. If the door was shut, Ned was isolated from the rest of the family. If the door was open, the dog and monkey show left him wincing with nerve pain. So we went back and forth—door open, door closed, door open, door closed—all day. And now Maddie and Anna were going at it.

“Anna, those are my jeans!”

“Then why were they in my closet?”

“Skraaaaaaaaaaaaaak!” Kasey pounced to the side of her cage, shaking the grill.

“Yikes,” I said. “That I understand.”

“Knock it off, girls,” Ned shouted. “You’re scaring the monkey.”

“It’s our house, Ned,” Maddie shouted right back.

“Kasey’s not the boss of me,” Anna added.

“SKREEEEEEEEEEK!” Kasey vehemently disagreed.

After a brief stare-down, the girls turned on their heels and set out to find a new place to carry on their argument, and Kasey went back to her toys.

“We’d better have Megan talk to them,” said Ned. “They have to get used to Kasey being here.”

Like they’ve had to get used to everything else?

I couldn’t blame the girls for being on edge. Long before Kasey arrived, they’d been feeling like they were at the bottom of the heap. The vast majority of my time, energy, and waking thoughts were occupied by Ned’s care. Meanwhile, Maddie and Anna hustled rides, packed their own lunches, and missed out on many of the regular happenings of regular girls. Now a screeching monkey was putting them in their place. All they wanted was a little upbeat Christmas spirit among sane, normal company. There wasn’t much of either at our house.

Then Jake arrived, and new hope breezed in with a gust of cold air. “Jake’s home!” Maddie danced down the stairs to greet him.

“I’ll be back,” I told Ned, hoping to catch Son #2 at the door, but by the time I’d made my way through the maze, Jake was plopped in front of the TV.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.