The family's baby

Chapter 9

*Grace's P.O.V*

"Interrupt me again, child, and there will be consequences." Mom tells me in an authoritative tone. I may or may not have kept interrupting her to give my perspective during this conversation.

When I open my mouth to say something again and completely ignore her warning, she closes it with her thumb and gives me a warning glare that I may have seen once or twice before. Okay, way too many times before so I wisely kept my mouth shut this time. After a moment of silence passes between us where she waits to make sure I wont say anything, she continues and removes her thumb from my lips.

"It might have felt like a long time to you, little girl, but I promise you it was only 15 minutes. You would have only been there for 10 but you just couldn't stay quiet and just had to throw your little tantrum about not getting your way so you earned yourself another 5. You were in fact not forgotten... and I kept a very close eye on the time for you. To be honest, I think I'm being quite lenient on you. Jazmin gets a minimum of 15 minutes and that's only on the rare days she behaves while in the corner. Usually she is in timeout for at least 30 minutes before she will regret her decisions and apologize for them. Something you could learn from since you still haven't apologized for anything you have done!" She tells me. I open my mouth to tell her that a 3 year old is not better than me but again, I am silenced by her. This time it's a finger on my lips with her free hand stopping me from speaking.

"I'm warning you... if anything but I'm sorry for one of your many mistakes comes out of your mouth, young lady, you will quickly find yourself across my lap getting your bottom reddened. I'm done with your excuses. You messed up. Not only did you mess up, you tried to hide it from me, your father, and your sisters by lying! Then you tried excuse after excuse in hopes I would not realize how much trouble you got yourself into! I mean it when I say today you are acting worse than my granddaughter and she is 3! Yes, Jazmin acts better than you, Grace! She at least admits when she is caught doing something wrong and says I'm sorry for it. Yes, she will tell me why. Why is not an excuse! I still don't know why you thought it was a great idea to travel, alone, without telling anyone, across the entire country for 36 hrs by bus because all you can tell me are excuses! Stop digging, Grace, before my mercy on you runs out and you find yourself stuck in this grave you have dug for yourself! Now speak... What were you going to say?" My mother instructs, removing her finger as I flinch back slightly by her tone of voice alone. My none response is all the answer she needs on what I was about to say.

"That's what I thought." My mom says as she grabs my arm and drags me over to the kitchen table. Once there, she pulls out a chair and forces me to sit down on it. She then reaches down and straps me to the booster that was on said seat, making sure to pull it tight. My mom actually just strapped me to a booster! I try to protest that I don't need no stupid booster but the warning look from my mother reminds me of her warning and I close my mouth instead.

"Since you seem to have your heart set on acting no better than Jazmin, I will continue to treat you like her. Yes, that is her booster. No, you will not leave it until we are done here. Touch that strap and you will quickly find out her punishment for doing so. I will release you when I think it is time. Maybe then you will start acting like my 22 year old daughter and not my 3 year old granddaughter!" She tells me as she pushes me in.

I watch as she leaves me to go back to the kitchen cabinets and starts digging around and comes back with a bib. Before I can even try to protest, she makes quick work of putting it on me.

"I shouldn't have to tell you this but I will anyway because I don't want to hear the excuse of you not knowing... don't remove it. It stays on." My mom instructs, holding the bib down against my chest before leaving again. I hear her once again start digging around in the cabinets fairly quickly.

While I'm stuck waiting in fear of what would happen if I did anything else, I can't help but wonder what is more embarrassing. The fact that I'm strapped to my niece's booster or that I'm wearing her bib right now. Or that I fit in both and don't find them uncomfortable! How am I the same size as a 3 year old! I know I lost some weight in college by accident but I didn't lose that much weight, did I? And why don't my feet touch the floor!?

"I imagine since you were on a bus, you barely ate so I'm hoping this little... tantrum, I guess is the best word for it, of yours will go away once you have some food in you. If not then we will try a nap instead." My mom says as she puts a bowl of food in front of me.

My first thought is wondering if my mom actually just threatened me with a nap. That is quickly forgotten about as I see the bowl in front of me. It's a dark pink and kind of looks like a dinosaur. It's a stegosaurus, I think, by the rounded spikes at the top. It has a head and tail, probably for handles. Picking up the utensil, I realize it's also dinosaur themed. This is a... triceratops? The handle looks like the body and the head seems to be the spoon section with its horns acting as tongs of a fork... is this a toddlers' spork? I try to pick the bowl up but it seems to be suctioned to the table. I glance over to my mom as she sits down across from me and see her smirking at my struggles to lift it.

"Leave it before you make a mess, baby. It's designed so children can't easily spill it all over themselves so you wont release it like that. Just eat or are you waiting to be fed by mommy? Is that it?" She teases me and I can't help but plush at her teasing. I'm not sure what's worse, the fact she called me baby, herself mommy, or the fact I'm kind of hoping she does feed me.

What am I thinking right now! I am an adult! A college graduate!! I just traveled across country on my own! I can't have my mommy... mom! My mom feed me right now! Or ever! Never ever can it happen, in fact. I am wearing a bib, in a booster, eating out of a toddlers suction bowl with a toddlers spork right now... would it really be any more embarrassing? The answer is yes.

"Can I have a drink first... please?" I ask, hoping it explains why I haven't started eating yet.

"Sure... but you do realize it will be out of a sippy cup, right? Do you still want a drink knowing that?" She asks me.

"No, never mind then." I tell her, realizing now how obvious a sippy cup should have been.

"I didn't think so and I repeat... eat, baby, we have other things to do then to sit here all day." My mom tells me. This time not mentioning feeding me, thankfully.