by T.M. Chapman

Created on: April 21, 2008   Last Updated: January 21, 2011

Surprise

"I hate babies," Mimi, a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, grumbled.

"Why's that dear?" Karl, a man with ruffled black hair an inch long asked as they stared at a girl about sixteen years old as she cradled a crying baby.

"All they ever do is cry," she leaned back on the bench she and her husband were sitting on, giving her ankle-long black skirt a flick to rid it of a wrinkle.

"Mm hm," he nodded and fixed the collar on his blue fleece jacket.

"And make messes that already busy people have to clean," the girl they were watching bent down to pick up the toy the baby had thrown down.

"Yup," Karl glanced to his right. Their friend Victor was sitting on the bench next to them reading a newspaper, his face hidden.

"And eat you out of house and home," Mimi folded her arms as the girl shook a bottle and started feeding the baby.

"No lie," Karl replied and leaned back on the bench, putting an arm around Mimi. Victor flipped to a new page in the newspaper.

"And grow into toddlers that break everything they get their hands on," Mimi looked a few feet in front of Victor at two toddlers fighting over a toy bear until its arm ripped off, sending both children into tears.

"And grow into teenagers that are antisocial and brooding." Mimi looked at a boy sitting on a bench to their left playing on a handheld video game. He was dressed in black from head to toe with pierced ears, eyebrows and nose.

"Yup," Karl sighed and flicked at a fly that landed on his blue jeans.

"And become adults who move out, breaking your heart," she looked several yards in front of her at a trio standing at the bus stop.

A woman with a suitcase and a backpack hugged a man and woman with graying hair before waving and getting on the bus. After the bus pulled away the woman started crying and the man hugged her and rubbed her back.
"Yup," Karl gave Mimi a few pats on her right shoulder and squeezed her left hand.

"Curious," Victor folded his newspaper and looked at his friends, "If you hate kids so much, why did you have six of them?"

Mimi and Karl looked at each other and grinned. The two toddlers that ripped the bear came running up to them crying, showing them the bear.

"For all of the above reasons," Mimi was still grinning as she reached under the bench and brought out a backpack. The toddlers took out two more toys and dropped the bear and its severed arm in Mimi's lap.

"It's a nice little adventure," Karl chuckled as the boy in black walked up to them.

"Mom, do you have any batteries in there? Mine died."

"Well," the man and woman with graying hair walked up to them, the woman speaking, "our eldest grandchild is off to college," she sat down next to Mimi and hugged her, "But at least I have her mother and five more grandbabies."

"Mom," the girl they had been watching walked up to them with a groan, "I can't get Sam to stop crying."

"Karl, take your son please." Mimi said as she searched the backpack for batteries.

Karl reached up and took the baby the girl handed to him.

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