Prompt - Skunk

 

"Helena! Helena!  Jay!"  Diana called from her back porch.  She searched the yard and then the surrounding woods, looking for her young daughter and nephew.  Next to the young mother, her second daughter Marie put her hands on her hips and sighed, mirroring Diana's own stance.  Normally, that would make Diana grin but not today.

 

"Marie.  You stay right there and don't move."  Diana walked into the yard and looked into the dog house and the playhouse, seeking her wayward child.  She must be Trixie's joke on Mart and I'm caught in the middle.  Helena was always wandering off and had been the reason they had put a fence around the house.  She was very intelligent and also very curious.  Generally her red-headed cousin kept Helena from breaking any rules, but occasionally her blond haired whirlwind could talk him into an adventure.  "HELENA!"

 

As the worried dark haired woman started toward the gate, she heard a voice in the distance.  "Auntie Di.  Come quick!!!!"

 

Diana yanked the gate open, tearing out towards the woods, her heart beating faster.  She ran through the trees, branches tearing at her pants.  "Jamie!  Where are you?"

 

"Here!"  "It's okay, Mom."  She slowed just a little as she heard her daughter's voice. 

 

She spied them coming towards her, Jamie, of course, pulling his older cousin who appeared to want to go the other direction.  "Helena.  Stop that.  You get over here right now."  Diana stopped, willing her heart to start beating normally and praying for the wisdom to deal correctly with her errant child.

 

Jamie stopped right before her, not releasing his beloved cousin's hand.  He would follow her reluctantly but would take more than the share of the blame for any wrongdoing.  So like his father, Diana thought. 

 

"Helena Caroline Belden."  Diana grabbed each child by the hand and started back to the house.  "Do you remember what I said when we built the fence?" 

 

Her beautiful unrepentant child looked up at her.  "That it wasn't high enough?"

 

Diana rolled her eyes.  Obviously, I was right.  "No.  I told you that you were NOT supposed to leave the yard without an adult.  Jamie is not an adult so why were you out here?"

 

They were walking through the yard now.  Diana looked up at the porch and saw her youngest talking on the phone extension.  Both of her problem children were now moving to sit in the chairs.  Diana held up her hand to them and reached for the phone from Marie.

 

"It's Daddy,"  Marie said as she handed her mom the phone. 

 

"So you found the Dynamic Duo?"  Mart chuckled.

 

"Yes.  And you will watch the two of them next time.  I will go to your mom's and fertilize for her next time."  Diana shook her head at her daughter as she moved to get out of the chair.  "You stay on and listen so we can both find out what happened."  Diana switched her phone to speaker.  She nodded to her daughter to speak.

 

"We saw a kitty!"  her demon child exclaimed.  "We had to save it."  She bounced up and down.

 

Jamie shook his head vigorously.  "No, Auntie Di.  It wasn't a kitty."

 

Diana and Mart both groaned.  "What was it, Jamie?"

 

"It was  a black kitty, Mommy.  It had a white stripe!"  Diana smacked her own head.

 

Jamie looked very seriously at his aunt.  "It was a skunk, Auntie."

 

Diana hung up the phone as she heard her husband laughing hysterically from Crabapple Farm.