Forlot: Welcome to the Dummy House - Book Forty-One

Chapter Nine

I skidded to a stop and watched in horror as Olive was scooped up by the monster. Hold on. I rubbed my eyes and examined the monster. My heart slowed down as I tugged on my shirt. I had never felt so relieved. I could not believe that I thought that Jack was some monster. I wanted to slap myself silly.

Jack was, of course, surprised by Olive's presence. "Oh my," he said. "I was not expecting company this early." He cradled her. "I was not expecting company at all."

I thought that Olive would be afraid of him, seeing that he was a stranger to us. I was incorrect. She liked Jack. No, not liked. She loved him. Adored him. She grabbed his nose and cooed with excitement. She loved Jack for some reason. Maybe she wanted to make a new friend. How could Jack say no?

Jack walked to the end of the porch with Olive safely in his arms. The only thing over there was a lonely swing. It was this pretty blue and swaying back and forth with the help of the wind. He sat in it and asked my sister if she loved swings. I saw her head moving up and down, so she was nodding.

"I love swings too," he said. "Do you love slides?"

She nodded again and clapped.

"Would you like to go to the playground?"

She held up her little hands and feet.

"So...is that a yes?"

"Sometimes, Olive gets so excited that she holds up her hands and feet," I said.

He looked up. "Janice. I did not expect to see you here. Well, I should have. She is your sister after all."

I squeezed my hands and walked to the steps. "May I?"

"Of course. No need to ask for permission. Your family members are my neighbors. My neighbors can visit me whenever they want."

The floorboards creaked as I trudged up to the porch. I felt like that I was going to faint again. I just wanted to grab Olive and dash back home and pretend like that it never happened. It was my fault. My fault that my little sister disturbed him. I just wanted to apologize and get us out of there.

I reached the porch and walked to the end. "I-I need to apologize."

Jack was rocking Olive. "Why? You have done nothing wrong."

"I am sorry that my sister slapped on your door. I truly am sorry that she is bothering you and distracting you from your work. I promise you. This will never happen again."

He tilted his head to the side and tapped his chin. "My. You really mean it. You are really sorry."

"I feel bad." I held out open hands. "I will take back my sister and make sure that she never crawls here again."

Jack stood and pushed my hands. "Now wait a second. Who says that she is bothering me? Who told you that Olive is keeping me from my work? You do know that I have never seen an infant. I have never cradled one. So I want to learn about them, starting with this one."

Olive grabbed her little feet. "S...st...sto.."

"Story?" I guessed. "Is that what you wanted to say?"

She nodded.

"I will read you a story when we return to the house."

She shook her head and pointed at Jack.

"You want Jack to read you a story?"

"You want me to read you a story?" he asked.

Olive gave him the puppy eyes and whimpered. You do not want to see the puppy eyes, for they are soooooooo irresistible. They make you do whatever she wants.

"Olive, do not show him those puppy eyes," I begged as I stroked her cheek. "Please spare him. Spare him from your cuteness."

She did not stop. Tears formed in her eyes, and she got ahold of his hand. Then she ran her tiny hands all over his big one and said, "Sad!"

"No, no, no." Jack used his other hand to rub her small foot. "Do not be sad. I do not want you to be sad. If you start being happy, I will read you a story. I promise."

She cooed happily before grabbing his face and kissing his nose. "L...lo..."

"I think that Olive is trying to say that she loves you," I said.

"Is that so? Well, I love her too. I love you, Olive."

She covered her eyes and giggled.

"Would you like to come in, Janice? I have many books for Olive and can fetch you something to drink."

"That would be lovely. Could you give me a minute?"

"Sure."

I scrambled back down the steps to Alexis. Alexis had a lipstick in one hand and a small mirror in the other.

I stopped in front of her and put my hands on my hips. "You will never believe who invited me to their house."

She was applying red lipstick to her lips. "Now this will be easy to guess." She lowered her lipstick and glanced at me. "The cattle. They invited you because they think that you are a cow. You are a stupid and fat cow."

I wanted to snatch her lipstick and draw on her face. "I am not fat. I do not eat as much as you do."

"Prove it."

"I do not have to prove it because you already are."

"Is everything alright?"

I turned around and spotted Jack. He was still holding Olive and walking towards us. Goosebumps showed up on my skin as a shiver crawled down my spine.

"J-Jack," I stammered. "What are you doing here?"

"Duh. He lives in the neighborhood," Alexis spat.

"I know that. I mean...why did you come out?"

"I heard you and the girl arguing. Is she giving you any problems?"

"More than you will ever know."

He looked at Alexis and took her hand. "My lady."

Oh, no.