Part 3

Released from the table, Diana herded the two sets of twins to the downstairs bathroom first, and then to the closet where the children’s outdoor clothing was stored. 

“Me and Terry can dress ourselves,” Larry announced proudly.  The two boys sat on the floor and shoved their feet into snowpants; they pulled knit toboggans over their heads and even managed their red rubber fireman’s boots by themselves.  Once dressed for the outdoors, Larry and Terry marched around the foyer, laughing at the squeaky sound made by the new boots, while Diana zipped her little sisters into their matching pink snowsuits with attached furry hoods.  After zipping the boys’ snowpants, Diana handed them their coats and they thrust their arms into the sleeves while she fished the mitten-strings of Barbie’s and Margie’s mittens through the snowsuit sleeves and worked the mittens over the four chubby fists. 

“Larry and Terry, Di-di is so proud of you!  You’re putting your own mittens and hats on!” she exclaimed.   It was a job getting all four of the children ready to play outside and for a moment she wondered if it was worth the trouble.  However, they were all smiling and rosy-cheeked with excitement.  Quickly, she pulled on her own snowpants and matching ski-jacket – brand-new and in her favorite lilac.  Bundling her black hair into a matching beret, she began the task of getting the girls and herself into boots.

Finally, they were all dressed and ready to go outside.  Diana held the door to the enclosed terrace as the younger ones trooped out.  Larry and Terry were almost running, while Margie and Barbie toddled along, hardly able to move in their unaccustomed extra padding.  The four little ones stood at the terrace’s outside door, waiting for her.  Barbie was picking herself up after losing her balance in her bulky snowsuit and boots. 

“Outside, outside!” Margie cried, clapping her mittened hands.

Diana held her sisters’ hands as they descended the two shallow steps onto the outside terrace.  The door shut with a click, its hydraulic spring keeping it from banging as Larry released it.  Finally, they were outside in the snow!  Diana lifted her face to the sky and stuck out her tongue to catch a few of the icy flakes as they fell.  The chilly air soothed her flushed face; it was hot work getting the two sets of twins dressed for the snow.

“Taste some snow, twinnies,” she encouraged.  “Stick out your tongues and catch a snowflake.”  Obediently, the little girls looked up and stuck out their little pink tongues.  They chuckled as the cold snowflakes landed on their faces and tongues. 

After a light dusting of snow frosted her lashes, Diana looked around to see what her brothers were doing.  Larry and Terry were busy plowing their way out into the yard and picking up handfuls of snow.  They squeezed and pressed the snow between their hands, trying to make snowballs, but the snow wasn’t cooperative. 

“Help us, Di-di,” Terry called.  “We want to make snowballs.”

“All right, boys,” she answered.  “I’m coming.”  She and her sisters moved out into the yard, passing a grouping of pumpkins her mother had arranged for a Thanksgiving decoration.  Each pumpkin wore a fluffy cap of snow.  “Look, Margie, Barbie!  The pumpkins are wearing their winter caps.”  She giggled at the idea, and her sisters followed suit.

“Punkins got snowcaps,” Margie said, pointing to the orange globes.  “So they won’t get cold.”  Her twin nodded agreement, and tried to run.  In a moment she was facedown in the snow.  Diana scooped her up and brushed off the snow. 

“Let’s build a snowman, okay?” she suggested.

“How, Di-di?  The snow won’t stick together.”  Larry had come to her side.  “See?”  He opened his hand to show her the crumbled clots of snow it held.

“Let me see if I can start a snowball,” Diana suggested.  Carefully, she scooped up a handful, patting it into shape and then squeezing it gently until the snow held together.  The sun was shining brightly and she moved the little group into a sunny area, hoping the snow would be melting just a bit on top, and therefore sticking together better.  After several minutes of patient effort, she had a snowball the size of a softball.

“Here, Larry, you roll the snowball on the ground so more snow will stick to it,” she ordered.  “Terry, I’ll make another snowball for you to roll.”  Scooping another handful of snow, she wasted no time in starting Terry’s ball.  The two boys were very competitive and she didn’t want any arguments.

Margie watched Diana in fascination, but Barbie had sat down in the snow and was picking up tiny clumps of the trodden white stuff.  Diana looked around for Barbie and was just in time to stop her from putting the clump into her mouth.  “No, no,” she chided.  “We’ll get some nice clean snow in a few minutes so we can make snow cream, but we can’t eat the snow we’ve been walking in.  It’s dirty, sweetie.”

Barbie pouted and her twin mimicked Diana.  “No, no!” Margie cried.  Barbie held up her arms.

“Want up!  Up, Di-di.”  She struggled to get herself up, but was unable to manage in the bulky outer garments in which she was bundled.  Diana helped her to stand, and brushed the snow off once again.  “Look girls, we’ll make a snowball, too.  That will be the snowman’s head.  It doesn’t have to be as big as the rest of him.” 

She could see Larry and Terry, rolling their snowballs next to each other.  The white spheres had grown to a respectable size already, and she could see why.

“Mine’s bigger!” boasted Terry.

“No it’s not – mine is,” countered Larry.

“Wait, boys,” Diana called out.  “One doesn’t need to be as big as the other.  Trade balls and keep rolling while the girls and I make the head ball.”

Diana started the small ball rolling, and her sisters wanted to help roll it, but kept falling over.  Soon, she had assigned Barbie to help Larry, and Margie to help Terry.  It was easier for the little ones to stay upright behind the larger balls.

“Okay, stop now,” she commanded.  “Let’s see which ball’s the biggest.”  Terry and Margie’s ball was selected to go on the bottom, and Diana helped Larry and Terry together lift Larry and Barbie’s ball on top of the base.  The little girls clapped their hands again, and Diana held Larry up to place the head on their snowman.

“He’s a great snowman,” she told her siblings.  “We’ll see if Daddy has an old hat and a scarf we can use for him.”

“And some lumps of coal for his eyes?” Terry asked hopefully.

Diana frowned.  She hadn’t really thought about what to use for eyes.  There was no gravel in the Lynch driveway, and no small rocks of any kind here at the new house.  “I don’t think we have any coal,” she said.  “We’ll ask Daddy and Mummy what they think.  But maybe we’ll do that later.  We’d better not go back in yet; we’ll track too much snow.  Are you kiddies tired?”

“No!  Not tired.  Play in snow.”  Barbie’s face was red with cold, but she was smiling and bouncing with excitement.

“Not tired,” her twin agreed.  “No take nap.”

“We’re not tired,” Larry said.  “We’re big now and don’t take naps.  Right, Terry?”

Terry nodded with such vigor that his cap bobbed.   “What else can we do, Di-di?”

“We’ll make some snow angels,” Diana decided.  Moving to an undisturbed area of the yard, she sat down and extended her legs, motioning to each of her brothers and sisters to do the same.

“Now lie down and put your arms out, like this.”  She demonstrated.  “Now, move your arms and legs back and forth, like I’m doing.” 

The other four followed suit.  Diana sat up and then stood, careful not to disturb the outline she had made.  “Don’t get up, twinnies,” she cautioned.  “I’ll help you so you don’t mess up your angels.”

Used to obeying their big sister, the little ones waited for her.  Soon, the five children stood, looking at the angels they had made.  “They really do look like angels,” agreed Larry.  “Wings and everything.”

Barbie spoke up.  She never wanted to be left out.  “Angels.  Me make angels mineself.”

Margie stood with her thumb in her mouth.  She stared at the indentations in the snow, but didn’t say anything.  Something about her facial expression told Diana that Margie had something on her mind besides snow angels.

“Margie, do you need to go potty?” she asked gently, knowing Mrs. Carter had been working to train the little girls to use the potty.

“Mmmhmm.”  Margie mumbled around her thumb.   Taking the thumb out of her mouth, she said clearly, “Potty.  Go potty now.”

Grabbing a sister under each arm, Diana hurried to the house, the boys in hot pursuit.  She was sweating and panting by the time they reached the door, and the only thought in her mind was getting Margie to the potty before she could soak her clothing  - or worse.  Hurrying the four children inside and toward the downstairs bathroom, she paid no attention to the clumps of snow that dropped from their snowsuits and the puddles that resulted from snow released from the treads of their boots.  Dashing through the terrace, the gallery, and the kitchen with her sisters, she didn’t notice when the boys stopped to remove their toboggan caps and mittens, flinging them to the floor.

With the bathroom door shut behind her and her sisters, Diana paid no attention to the sounds of her brothers calling for their parents.  She yanked down the zipper on Margie’s snowsuit, peeled it off her shoulders and down to the tops of her boots, and then unfastened the straps of her overalls.

“Why did they have to put you in overalls today?” she moaned.  Finally, she pulled down the padded training pants and lifted Margie onto the toilet.  Only then did she notice the training pants were wet.

“Great, just great.  All that hurrying for nothing.”  She sighed.

“Sorry, Di-di.  Me sorry.”  Margie patted Diana’s shoulder.  She looked as if she was about to cry.

“Don’t worry, sweetie.  That was a long way to come and a lot of clothes to get out of the way. You’re a big girl and you were good to tell me you had to go.”  She smiled at her sister and was about to give her a big hug when all three of them were startled by a muffled crash – from somewhere in the house.

Diana had a sinking feeling as she helped Margie get down and redressed her.  “We’ll get some dry clothes for you in a minute, sweetie,” she soothed.  “Di-di just needs to check on that noise.”

Barbie, still in her snowsuit, had already reached the kitchen when Diana and Margie caught up to her.  Diana gasped at the sight that met her eyes.  A large silver serving tray was on the floor – with a red rubber fireman’s boot underneath it – surrounded by broken pieces of her mother’s china service.  Diana recognized the spouts of a broken coffee server and a hot chocolate pot, along with several china coffee cups.  A lake of coffee, mixed with cocoa and dotted with pieces of pumpkin pie, puffs of whipped cream, and a number of pumpkin cookies, covered most of the kitchen floor. 

She noticed that her brothers’ toboggans and mittens were scattered across the floor, along with the other three boots belonging to the boys.  They were splashed with a mix of liquid, cookies, and shards of china.

Most shocking of all, the dignified butler, Harrison, was sitting in the midst of the lake, his formal clothing spattered with cocoa and pumpkin pie filling.  He pulled a soggy handkerchief from his breast pocket and used it to wipe pie from his head.  Slowly and stiffly, he got to his feet, glaring at her and her sisters.

Mr. and Mrs. Lynch had also responded to the crash, and stood in the door which led from the kitchen to the family dining room. 

“My goodness, Harrison!  Are you all right?” asked Mrs. Lynch, stepping carefully into the kitchen.  Diana could see that she was inspecting his face and hands for cuts.

“I was bringing a tray of refreshments to the den, as you asked, madam.  However, when I entered the kitchen from the butler’s pantry, I failed to notice that the floor was wet, and slipped in a puddle of water.”  Harrison’s face flushed.  Probably he was embarrassed to be seen by his employer in such a ridiculous position, Diana thought.  I wonder if he thinks Mummy and Daddy will expect him to pay for the china?   For a moment she felt sorry for him.  

“Why in the world was there water on the floor?” Mrs. Lynch asked.

Harrison cleared his throat.  “I believe Miss Diana had just brought the children inside,” he said.  He stalked off toward his quarters above the butler’s pantry, limping a little and dripping onto the floor as he walked.

“Diana!  What were you thinking?  You know better than to leave a wet mess on the floor!”  Mrs. Lynch turned to stare at Diana, her blue eyes shooting icy sparks as she scolded.  “Use that head for something besides a hair garden!  Harrison could have been badly hurt.”

“Where are the boys, Diana?  Didn’t they come inside with you?” Mr. Lynch interrupted his wife’s tirade.

Diana’s heart sank, and tears came to her eyes.  It’s all my fault, she thought.  When all I was trying to do was to take care of the kids.  Mummy’s never looked at me like that – never. 

“I – I – Margie had to use the potty, so I brought all the kids inside.  I don’t know where the boys are now, but I could hear them shouting for you when we went into the bathroom.”

“Did you have to leave all this mess behind you?”  Mrs. Lynch still looked angry.

“I – I was rushing to get Margie to the bathroom.  I knew we didn’t have much time.”  Despite her best intentions, a tear escaped and rolled down Diana’s cheek.  “I’m s-s-sorry, Daddy, Mummy.”

“Of course you had to hurry, Diana, darling.  And I know how hard it is to keep up with four little children at once.”  Mrs. Lynch’s face softened as she made her way over to Diana and hugged her.  “Don’t worry about the china, sweetie.  I’m just glad Harrison wasn’t badly hurt.”  She turned to Margie and Barbie, who had stood silently watching the drama unfold.  “So did you use the potty, Margie?  Like a big girl?”

“We didn’t quite make it,” Diana confessed.  “I just couldn’t get her undressed fast enough.  But she knew, and she asked to go.”  She looked closely at her sisters, who were both sucking their thumbs.  “I think they’re sleepy, Mummy.  I’ll clean up the mess here if you want to put them down for naps now.”

Mrs. Lynch knelt to remove Barbie’s outerwear and to finish removing Margie’s boots and snowsuit.  In a moment she led the two little girls away, heading toward the nursery wing.

“Daddy, you should see the snowman we made!”  Larry and Terry had come up behind their father, who still stood in the doorway.  Larry pulled at his father’s belt.  “Can we use your hat and scarf for him?” 

“Boys, why are your boots, hats and mittens lying out in the middle of the floor?”  Mr. Lynch looked stern.  “Harrison had an accident when he tripped on one of the boots. You know better than that.”

Larry hung his head and Terry followed suit.  “Sorry, Daddy,” they said in unison.

“Go to the den and wait for me,” Mr. Lynch said.  “Di-di and I will clean up the mess, and we’ll see about you boys after that.”

Diana couldn’t believe her father’s face when he turned back to her after the boys left the kitchen.  His eyes twinkled as he passed her a towel to wipe up the floor.  “I’m really glad Harrison wasn’t badly hurt, Princess,” he said.  “But it was priceless to see that pompous dignity splattered with pie and whipped cream.”  He began to laugh, and in a moment was gasping with barely suppressed mirth, tears rolling down his cheeks.  Diana began to giggle, too, and soon the episode didn’t seem like the earth-shattering catastrophe it had at first.

During the half-hour it took to collect and dispose of the broken china, blot up the liquid and mop the floor, and clean and polish the silver tray, she listened to her father expound on why she should leave the care of the twins to the nurses and spend more time with friends her own age.

“It’s a lot of responsibility, Diana.  And you need some time to be a kid, have fun, do things.  Why haven’t I seen your friend Trixie over here since we’ve moved?”

“Oh, Daddy, I’ve invited her, but between Mummy’s surgery, Trixie’s chores, and all of my after-school stuff, it’s been hard to get together.”  Diana’s eyes filled with tears again, but she ducked her head quickly so her father wouldn’t see them.  “I have art lessons every Monday and Thursday, piano lessons on Wednesday, dance class on Tuesday and Saturday.  There’s not a lot of time left.”

“Well, what about having one of your dance classmates over after class on a Saturday?  Isn’t Amy Morrisey in your dance class?”

“She’s at the dance studio, but she’s way more advanced than I am, Daddy.  I hardly see her.”  Diana didn’t mention that Amy made fun of her for being a beginning dance student at the age of twelve.  

“Well, I mean for my girl to enjoy herself.  Maybe you can have some of your classmates over for a party during the Christmas holidays,” Mr. Lynch suggested.

“Maybe after the Christmas program at the dance studio,” Diana suggested doubtfully.  “Practice is going to take up a lot of time before that.”  Who in the world could I invite?  Trixie might come – might!  Everyone else seems to think I’ve grown two heads since we moved out here.

“Let’s see what other messes those two rascals have made while they were running around loose,” suggested Mr. Lynch as he rinsed out the mop bucket and added clean, sudsy water to it.  “We might have to do a bit more cleanup.”

Diana fetched some clean toweling rags from the maid’s closet and followed him as he marched toward the den, where Larry and Terry waited for him.

“Come, boys.  Show me what else you did while you were looking for Mummy and me.”  Mr. Lynch jerked his head to indicate that the twins should follow him.  Larry and Terry slid off the ottomans where they were sitting and led the way into the living room.  Wet footprints marked the carpet, but Diana saw no signs of dirt.  She gave the boys some rags so that they could wipe any spots in the foyer and up the stairs.  Upstairs, the boys trotted to the nursery wing, where toys had been pulled from the toy box and flung onto the floor of the playroom that occupied the space between the two large bedrooms.

“We were looking for something to use for snowman eyes,” Terry explained.

“Well, put everything back now.  I’ll see about some snowman eyes later; if nothing else I should be able to run up to Lytell’s store and buy a bucket of coal.”  Mr. Lynch was obviously trying to keep from laughing, Diana thought.  She moved to help her brothers, but her father stopped her.

“You’re usually very responsible, Diana,” he said.  “In this case, maybe there was something more you could have done to prevent Harrison’s accident as well as the boys’ mess, but they do need to learn to clean up after themselves.  Let them do it.  I’ll watch them.  You go and see if your mother needs any help.” He hugged her and added, “Now scoot.”

Happy to be restored to her position as her Daddy’s girl, Diana went to join her mother in the girls’ bedroom, which had an entrance from the hallway as well as from the playroom.  Mrs. Lynch had changed the twin girls’ clothing and had pulled a chair up between their cots.  Diana joined the group, lowering herself to the floor to sit Indian-style. 

“Would you girls like to sing a song today instead of reading a story?” Mrs. Lynch asked.  “I know a nice Thanksgiving song.”

“Yes, yes,” cried the little girls. Barbie started to sit up, but Diana patted her back and made her lie down again.

“Is it Over the River, Mummy?” she asked.  “I love that song!”

“That’s it,” said Mrs. Lynch.  Together, she and Diana began to sing softly.

“Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go,
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifted snow.
Oh! Over the river and through the woods, trot fast my dapple gray,
Go over the ground like a hunting hound, for this is Thanksgiving Day.”

Mrs. Lynch and Diana sang several verses of the song in a quiet and soothing tone, and soon Barbie and Margie were sound asleep. 

Diana and her mother tiptoed out of the room, making sure the intercom was turned on so they would be able to hear the little girls when they awoke.  Once they were in the hallway, though, Mrs. Lynch spoke to her eldest daughter.

“Diana, your father and I both feel that it’s time for you to spend more time with children your own age.  That’s why we have nurses for the children – you’ve always taken on more responsibility than is good for your age.  It’s not that we don’t appreciate what you do with the kids, not at all!  Do you understand?”

Diana nodded dumbly.  I understand they don’t need me to help any more.  But I love my little brothers and sisters, and they love me.  They don’t think I’m stuck up – they don’t see someone who’s changed so much that I hardly know who I am anymore.  And if I hardly know who I am, how can my friends know who I am?”  Her face burned as she remembered Jane Morgan’s taunt.  “It’s no wonder they think I’m a stuck-up princess.  And now my family doesn’t need me.  I wish I could turn back time – I hate being rich!”

Her mother continued speaking, but Diana was no longer listening.  Caught up in her own emotional storm, she was holding back tears.  Suddenly, she felt very much alone.