Clean Up, Clean Up

Ruth's eyes were as wide as baseball's when she saw them trying to nonchalantly enter the house. "Elliot Saggarith!" She pronounced his full name with such definite severity that made both of the grown men jump in their seats.

He froze and looked down. "No," he whispered his hatred of what he knew was going to happen.

She gasped when Alice came running at full throttle, streaking brown watery dirt across her perfectly clean kitchen floors,"Alice no! No!" She rushed to the other room just in time to stop the dog from hitting her white carpets,"No!" She yelled again, now towering over the black toy poodle. "Out! Out!" She commanded with a jab of her hand. Alice whimpered a bit while backing away from the creme livingroom carpet. They made eye contact and the alpha female stomped her foot, assuring her seriousness.

Her husband stood slowly, his brows knit together as he studied his two children. "How did you possibly? Emily?" He asked breathlessly.

"I-i-i," she stuttered as her mama stalked towards them. "We-- car car?" She pleaded for his help.

He shrugged from the livingroom to say, 'You're on your own kid.' The little girl bit her lip and stared at her soiled shoes.

Ruth sighed deeply as she felt how greasy and grimmy her son's hair was, "Jack?" She called for her husband over her shoulder. Clearly they both needed another bath. "Could you grab the towels?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jack facepalmed before chuckling at himself. "Get ta work, dumbo." He shoved his pink tipped hair out of his face as he jogged to their bathroom.

She shook her head lightly. "Outside, cmon." She waved her twins back through the door they'd come from and around the back. Emily's stomach grumbled. "Loves..." She sounded with such disappointed in them, specifically her little girl.

"I-i," Emily sniffled and wiped her face,"I sowyy..."She needed dinner. That would have to wait.

Her mama simply shook her head and started stripping them,"It's okay, Emi." Normally she kept so clean. She helped the little girl's panties off before glancing to Elliot,"Strip?" she asked her pantless boy,"C'mon Elliot, get the water warm," she urged him into action.

He nodded and laughed nervously, "Oh, oh ok," he turned around and threw off his shirt before fumbling with the water nozzles. Just as it started to warm, his daddy walked out onto the porch with three or fourth towels and a bucket of toiletries: baby shampoo, conditioner, flea shampoo for Alice, a couple hair brushes, and more.

Jack's tired wife smiled at the help, "Oh," she breathed, pausing her scrubbing of the dried mud covering her son's arm,"Thank you," she spoke to his gentle kiss on her cheek.

He grinned and nodded before glancing fondly to his little girl whom still held Pip, "What'd ya say about helping me wash Alice after your turn?" He asked kindly, bending down to her level.

She smiled up at him,"She's diirrtty," she cooed, scratching the small dog's head while her tail just wagged and wagged. Alice sure loved being with her family.

Ruth couldn't help her chuckle. That was an understatement. "You're dirty. She's something more, sweetie." The dog was a different color all together. And her stuffed animal? It seemed like only half of it had taken a swim in the mud.

Jack nodded as he stood with the bucket of soiled clothes, "I'm gonna throw these in the wash real quick then I'll help." His wife thanked him and soon enough, both twins were clean and dressed in new, warm, pajamas.

While Elliot scarfed down the meatloaf his mama had cooked, his daddy and sister drenched Alice with water in the kitchen sink. She giggled at how scrawny she looked,"She's so skinnyy."

"Yeah!" Her daddy chimed with a chuckle of his own. "She's a rat!" He smiled at Emily while messaging shampoo into Alice's long curly ears with one hand.

"Pssh, nooo," his baby argued from his hip,"She's a puppyyy."

"Noo, that can't be!" He snickered while rinsing a shivering Alice, "Puppy's are fluffy. There's no way they're this small. I could eat her in two bites."

Emily gasped at the audacity of that idea,"Eat her?!" She glanced back to her brother with wide eyes,"Did you--?"

He roared with laughter and shook his head,"No, you silly girl." He set her down to dry their dog off as he continued snickering. She frowned at him before ducking to her mama's side. Ruth shook her head at him. He loved messing with them far too much, "What?" he asked with a small smirk while swaddling Alice in a towel like a baby. "What'd I do?"

"You're too much," she answered softly, her eyes showing such a fondness for him.

Jack joined them at the table with a scoff then gestured to his father-in-law with his head, "No, he's too much." He argued, only earning a chuckle from Car Car, "I'm just enough," he looked to Emily and smiled, "Isn't that right baby?"

Elliot answered for her between bites,"Nope!" his sister giggled in the background.

"You're such a dork," his mama cooed to Jack. His hair shined bright green at that. He grinned like a Chessur cat and wrapped his arm around both his girls.

Car Car gave a rather fake gasp and ruffled the boy's chocolate head of hair,"How come you're so mean, hmm?"

"I dunno," he replied with a shrug.

"Y'know," The ancient man leaned over closer to his grandson.

Elliot looked up curiously as his word hung in the air, "What?"

He made a face of mock displeasure and picked at his meatloaf, "Oh nevermind."

His grandson's brow raised with interest, "What is it?"

"It doesn't matter. It's not something a little boy like you would care about." he said with a shake of his head. Emily giggled from her spot in mama's lap. She knew what was happening. Car car was egging him on, setting the bait.

"No, I do, I do!" Elliot protested vehemently.

"Oh you do?"

His head bobbed yes. His daddy broke into laughter. "I think he does Car Car. Whatcha got?" Jack encouraged the older man.

Ruth's daddy paused to chuckle a minute, "Ok, ok," he retorted to Elliot's whines of impatience, "Your mama made pie."

Emily gasped, "Wut?" she asked in breathless surprise.

"WHAT?!" Her brother echoed loudly, causing his sippy cup to fall over.

She glanced to him before craning her neck to look up at her mama, "Pie?"

Ruth gave her a gentle nod while brushing her dark hair out of her face, "Mmmhm," she hummed.

"Kin I have somes?"

"Mhhmm," she hummed some more.

"NOW?!" her son yelled his excitement, already out of his chair and looking all around.

She laughed softly as Jack dragged him back to the table by the back of his shirt, "After everyone's," her muggy green eyes lazily found Car Car, "Done eating."

"But mommmm," he moaned at her, practically laying on the wooden table. "I'm fulll."

Jack shook his head, "You heard her. None till we've all munched."

The little boy huffed. This was their rule every night, but he still didn't like it. Why couldn't Sissy and Car Car just eat faster?!

*&^%$*&^%$*&^%$*&^%$*

ADVENTURE TWO!

"It's going, it's going, and..." Elliot created a small drum roll while his favorite baseball entered his sister's range of grasp. And... She dropped the ball, quite literally. "Emmii," he whined at her, a big ole frown framing his face.

"I-i-um," she bent down to grab the mud covered ball and Alice snatched it up. Her lip trembled when she lost balance and fell onto her toosh. "...sorry," she breathed pitifully. Emily was no good at this game. Tears quickly came, as they always did. Even Alice seemed to be laughing at her. She was certainly taunting her by running circles around the grungy sand pit.

Her brother rushed to her side, as he always did. "What? No, no. It's okay! It's okay," he tried to comfort a bit softer,"I'm kiddin. Is just a game, game!" He insisted in a tone that only seemed to make her crying worse. Alice gave a muffled bark in agreement.

"But, but," Emily tugged at the wet soft weed patch littering the big pit they'd found only an hour ago. Oh sometimes he hated how she couldn't take a joke. He was just trying to be funny and... This happened.