Ms. Tilly

Chapter 3

I was sprawled out on the couch when the girls charged through the front door.

"Dad! Dad!" Taylor called. "Somebody's moving in next door!" 

Mackenzie ran into the kitchen to get Gary. "Dad! Did you hear Taylor?" Gary stopped fixing dinner for us and turned to his daughters. "Haven't I told you not to yell in the house?"

"Sorry...but Dad," Mackenzie shook her head. Taylor dropped off her backpack on the dining table. "There's a new neighbor."

Gary continued stirring the macaroni and cheese. "Why are you making such a fuss over it? People move here all the time," Gary said while he poured milk in the pot.

"I say we just move out to the country! So no one can move in," I said sarcastically. Mackenzie laughed as she petted me on the head. "We just like to meet new people."

I snarled. "Don't touch me, parasite #2." Taylor also started to pet me too. "Is this some kind of a trend? Stop petting your superiors!" I screeched. 

"Leave Ms. Tilly alone. I think it's that time again," Gary muttered as he continued to stare at the pot. "Shut up, loser." I slapped the fork off the table. "See?" Gary sighed.

"Dad..." Taylor mumbled. "What?"

"What if it's Mom?" She gazed at her shoes. Everyone turned silent.

I could understand why Taylor was uneasy about her mother. She always worried about whether their mother was going to come back. "That's not possible. She's still in Chicago," Gary turned from making dinner. "She's not coming back. I won't allow it."

Taylor, Mackenzie, and Ivan's mother was a horrible person. When Taylor just started sixth grade, their mother, Helen, left. Right before the girls got on the bus one morning, Helen said that she was going to the store. She never came back. 

Gary and the girls thought that something horrible had happened to Helen. It turned out that Helen ran off with another lover and moved to Chicago. Gary was absolutely depressed that she was having an affair, and abandoning their children. 

Ivan was barely seven months when Helen ran away. It's sad because Ivan doesn't remember her. But I don't think it's that sad. She was awful to them. I'm glad that she left. She was the poison; Gary and the kids acted as if they were suffering from withdrawal. 

The only thing good that came out of Helen were the girls and Ivan.

***

I ate the leftover macaroni and cheese out of the pot it was cooked in. Gary didn't feel putting away leftovers, and I didn't feel like using a bowl. A great compromise, I should say.

"You should get to bed, it's a school night." Gary shut Ivan's door quietly as he whispered to the girls. Surprisingly, the girls obeyed without arguing.

I admit that I have some odd attraction with the family I stay with, but that doesn't mean I like them. I only pretend to value their presence because they feed me. That is all.

I am more crooked as people think I am. I'm not the ordinary being everyone assumes me to be. I am a walking, talking, despicable thing that exists. 

Gary collapsed on to the couch and sighed. "I envy you, Ms. Tilly," 

"And why is that?" I eyed him. That's adorable. He thinks being me is easy. Does he know how hard it is to nap and eat all day?

"You don't have a job. You're very free and...free." He trailed off. As he kept complaining about his difficult life, his eyelids grew heavy. Gary leaned back into the soft cushions and fell asleep.

How lame.

And then there was a soft knock on the door.

Terrifyingly, Gary bounced off the couch and answered the door. I find it a bit odd that someone's visiting at nine'o'clock. 

There stood a woman about as tall as Gary. She looked the same age as Gary: old and pasty. 

"Is there anything I can help you with, ma'am?" Gary asked in his fake polite voice. That woman must have been the neighbor that just moved in, because I don't remember terrorizing her at all yet.

"Hello, are you Tammy's... husband?" The woman's thick accent made me shiver. She must be new to the whole country in general.

Gary blinked at her. He must have misunderstood her.

She smiled awkwardly and then recited some alien-like language, "Spreek je Nederlands?" Her voice flowed easier in what she had said than in English.

Nederlands? I think that's Dutch.

"Ben jij de man van Tammy?"

Gary continued to blink. "I'm sorry...uhh... Spreek geen vloeiend Nederlands" Gary started to speak Dutch as well. What were they saying?

"Ah! I can not speak good English, sorry." The woman sputtered.

"Dad?" Mackenzie walked aside of Gary in her pj's. "Who's she?"

"I have no idea sweetheart, go back to bed." He said, trying to act like a decent human being. 

"Is this your daughter?" The woman's heavy dutch accent wavered. 

Mackenzie's eyes lit up. I think she figured out that she was Dutch. "Ja, ik ben zijn dochter. Ik vermoed dat je nieuw bent in Amerika." Mackenzie spoke fluently.

What was she saying? I don't even think Gary knew. He kept blinking.

"Ik ben net hierheen verhuisd vandaag. Ik zoek de man van Tammy. Ben jij Tammy's dochter?" The woman laughed. Mackenzie shook her head, "Sorry, er is geen Tammy hier. Mijn naam is Mackenzie." Mackenzie replied.

I keep hearing the name Tammy. Who is she?

"Ik ben Petra, mijn excuses voor het onderbreken van je nacht. Dank je." The woman waved goodbye and left.

"When could you speak Dutch?" Gary closed the door, in awe.

"Dad, you signed me up for the Foreign languages course. One of the major languages was Dutch." Mackenzie answered with attitude. 

"What did she want?" Gary asked.

"Her name is Petra, she is our new neighbor. She was looking for this Tammy woman or her husband or something. She just moved here. Her strong suit is not English." Mackenzie yawned. "Dad, I think you need to learn some Dutch. She was very pretty." She winked.

Gary blinked once more.

Did... Did Mackenzie just hint Gary that he should go for that Dutch woman?

***A/N***

Oh my god, I am so sorry for being late. My apologies guys. Oh by the way, I am terrible in Dutch...so if you see some mistakes: please tell me.

I can't believe we're already at Chapter 3. It's going so fast. :'( 

Thanks for reading. Make sure to hit that beautiful star!