"Merry Christmas, Maggie!!" Grandma Dun said as Maggie and Josh and Debbie walked into Josh's parent's house.
"Hi Gramma!" Maggie smiled, giving her grandma a hug. Her teeth were coming in, but she still had a bit of a lisp and that gap.
Josh and Debby said hello to Josh's family and Maggie ran off to play with her cousins.
"She looks good. She looks like she's growing so fast!" Josh's mom said.
"Besides that - weird situation in the fall - she's been doing great," Josh admitted.
"What about the nightmares?"
"She still has them, and still pretty frequently, but they seem to be getting better? Maybe? She's had a couple of those episodes where she stops breathing, but not for long. The doctor thinks it's something to do with the nightmares themselves. As long as she doesn't stop breathing for more than a minute, he says just to keep an eye out. And she calls for us now. So we're there before she stops breathing usually."
Maggie, meanwhile was playing with her cousins who were playing with a dollhouse Gramma had for the kids.
"Maggie, you be the baby," her older cousin said.
"I alwayth have to be the baby! I don't wanna be the baby!" Maggie insisted.
"But you're the last one in the family. So you're the baby," her cousin said.
"I don't want to. You be the baby!"
"No," the cousin said.
Maggie got up and stomped over to her parents who were in the kitchen.
"Hey Bug," Mama said. "Why aren't you playing with your cousins?"
"They're playing with the dollhouthe and they thaid I have to be the baby. Again. I'm alwayth the baby! I don't want to be the baby! The baby doethn't do anything!" Maggie fumed.
"Did you tell them you wanted to do something else? Or be a different doll?" Debby asked. They were working with Maggie on self-advocating.
"Yeth," Maggie said. "But they thaid becauthe I'm the latht to come into the family I have to be the baby. And I don't wanna!"
Josh and Debby looked at each other. Josh's mom broke the silence.
"Why don't you come here with Gramma?"
Maggie's gramma said. "I need some help putting cookies on a plate for dessert."
"Okay, Gramma!" Maggie said, and followed her gramma into the kitchen.
"The kids aren't being very fair to Maggie," Debby said. "She might be the last so far, but she's not a baby."
Josh nodded.
"I don't want to piss my siblings off, but I'll talk to them," he said.
At dinner time, Maggie sat between her parents and everyone had fun. There was a lot of laughing and talking and joking. Maggie had learned to love Christmas. She got to see her Papa's family and tomorrow, after Santa came they would FaceTime Mama's mama and papa and wish them a Merry Christmas.
After dinner, the adults cleared up and set up for dessert, while the kids all gathered in the living room by the tree. Every child would get one gift tonight to open, from Gramma and Grampa.
The kids sat excitedly waiting for their gifts. There were more gifts for the kids, but they'd be sent home with their parents for Christmas morning.
Once the adults were done being boring and cleaning up, they came into the living room where the children all cheered because now it was time for presents!
Gramma and Grampa handed each child their gift. Maggie waited expectantly for her gift.
Gramma came over and handed Maggie a small envelope. She looked and saw all her cousins had different sized gifts.
"Okay, kids, open your gifts!" Gramma said.
Maggie opened her envelope. A Mickey Mouse card fell out.
"It'th a card?" Maggie looked at the card. It didn't make any sense to her. Her cousins got toys and books and she got a card?!
"Gramma and Grampa are taking you to Disneyland!" Gramma said.
"When?" Maggie asked, excited.
"For your spring break, we thought," Gramma said.
"But, Mama and I are going to meet up with Papa on tour," Maggie said.
"We thought maybe you'd like to go to Disneyland instead. And then we'll spend the summer on tour with Papa," Mama said.
"But I'll mith Papa," Maggie said, tearing up a little. "I wanted to thee Papa."
"Hey, Bug," Papa said. "Guess what?"
"What?" Maggie said, trying not to cry. She didn't want her cousins to make fun of her. Or make Gramma and Grampa upset.
"We'll be in California while you're on your spring break with Gramma and Grampa. So you will get to see me. Gramma and Grampa will bring you to the arena, okay?"
That made Maggie feel better.
"Okay, Papa! Thank you Gramma and Grampa!" Maggie said, getting up and hugging her grandparents.
"How come she gets to go to Disneyland?" Maggie's oldest cousin asked.
"We took you last year!" Gramma said. "Maggie has never been."
The older kids moved on to play with their new toys or read their new books. Maggie held the little card in her hand.
After a while, the family had dessert and sleepy children were packed up, bundled up and taken home to bed.
"She's getting heavy," Josh smiled as he carried a fast asleep Maggie into the house. Debby smiled.
"She is. The doctor says her weight is good. She's still considered underweight, but he's not concerned anymore."
"Good," Josh said, laying Maggie on her bed and taking off her winter coat.
"Papa, I'm thleeping," Maggie mumbled.
"I know, Bug. We're just putting you to bed."
"Okay. Make thure the monthterth can't come in the houthe," Maggie mumbled.
Debby and Josh looked at each other and shrugged. Debby got Maggie into pyjamas and Josh tucked her in.
"Sweet dreams, Maggie," Josh said.
The two adults went downstairs to finish wrapping the last of Maggie's Christmas presents and Debby pulled out some ingredients to make cookies in the morning with Maggie.
They turned on the TV and snuggled on the couch watching bad Christmas movies, but enjoying each other's company and talking about the sleeping seven-year-old upstairs.
YOU ARE READING
Magnolia Blooms
FanfictionMagnolia (known to family and friends as Maggie) is seven years old. Two years ago, her life was changed when she was tossed out of her parents car, in a garbage bag. She was found by none other than Josh Dun of the band twentyone pilots. She was a...
