Troubling Grey
857 Words
"Sure. I'll do it."
"No Jay. She'll be fine. That's natural."
"Okay bye."
That was Jay, in case you were wondering. He has to go somewhere for 2 days for some work and he wants to know if he can leave Carol with me. I am all up although I am not sure Carol is. I could hear her screaming and cry in the background.
An hour later I open the door to Jay, who is all ready to leave and to a sore-eyed Carol. She sure has been crying a lot.
"Hey, beautiful," I smile at her and she frowns. This is trouble.
"Carol... " Jay warns her.
She mutters an incoherent hello I suppose.
He hands over the sulking girl to me and her bag.
"Be good okay? Uncle Grey can spank you if you're naughty, alright? Don't make him." He tells her. I am not going to spank this baby. Gosh.
"I will be back in two days tops. I'll try and finish my work and come home at the earliest. Give me a call if she is too naughty." He tells me and leaves.
The duo is pretty intense today. I concentrate on the doll is my arms.
"Hey, pretty girl, what do you want to do? Watch a movie?"
She ignores me.
"Ice cream?"
She ignores me again.
"You want to color?"
Again.
"Take a nap?"
It's like I am talking to the wall.
"Why are you mad at me? What did I do?" I ask her.
"You suck." Ouch. That hurt.
Carol has a way with words. She can be really harsh when she wants to.
"It's okay baby. He will be back soon. I promise. We will have fun till then alright?" I ask, trying to cheer her up.
I sit her on a high chair. Yes, we have one for her here as well and then bring ice creams for both of us. She enjoys ice creams. One moment it's sitting innocuously at the table and the next moment she grabs the bowl and throws it at the wall.
"Carol?! What was that?" I am stunned.
"I don't want ice-cream!" She screams.
"Okay. You did not have to throw it like that!" I admonish her.
"Are you hungry? Do you want breakfast?"
"No!"
I get up and clean the mess and she is sitting on the high chair, arms crossed and pouting at me.
"Do you want to color? Hmm, baby girl?"
She refuses to communicate with me. What am I to do? Gosh, I will make trash of a daddy.
"Baby, talk to me." I pick her up in my arms and go to the living room. I sit her down with her coloring books and color pens.
I go outside to bring her some juice and cookies. I am only gone for five minutes and when I come back there are angry slashes with the felt pen all over the walls. Books from my shelf are on the floor, it's pages flying everywhere.
Fuck.
What am I to do? Jay will be back by tomorrow night? I do not think I will survive her till then.
My books? I want to tan her and weep for my books at the same time.
"What do you think you're doing Carol? Behaving like this won't help get daddy back soon." I am surprised to hear myself be so calm.
In the hours that follow I can't get her to do one thing. She hasn't eaten anything or done anything else for that matter. Anything good I mean.
My walls are decorated with her designs. I have lost three flower vases to her temper. My books are destroyed. My sketches all gone for a toss. And the screen of my TV reads "Carol was here." She didn't break it at least.
She has had a couple of swats from me which seems to have made no difference to her at all. Thankfully, Jay did not call. I wouldn't know what I would tell him if he did.
By eleven, I am exhausted and losing my temper which I really don't want to. We both did not eat anything since morning. I don't know about her, I am famished and irritable.
"Carol Francon. We have had enough of your tantrums for today. Let's have a bath and then I will put you to bed and you will go to sleep without a peep. Do you understand?"
"Nope."
I just grab her and take her upstairs. She tries to run away and is jumping in my arms like a banshee. f**k. The door is open, f**k she wants to run away.
One second she is in my arms and the next she shoves me hard and we both slip off the stairs. I try to keep her on me so that she doesn't get hurt.
My arm hurts. Excruciatingly.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Carol?!" I look at her. She looks shocked, to say the least.
"What the f**k is going on here?!" I look up to see Jay looking at us from near the door before slipping off to darkness.
- Writer
