Cantrell: The Early Years, Part SIX

Pressure Cooker, a Cantrell: The Early Years, Part Six Update

Every once in awhile, the sun gave them some warmth. By the calendar it was early March. The first Sunday of Spring, fast approaching, was colliding with two major events. Easter and the Quadrennial. Song of the Year was a big deal. Erik did his best to focus on other things, as anymore, a nomination caused him a slight anxiety attack. It was so bad just the other day, that he spent time alone in his newly built Man Cave.

Once he emerged, feeling a bit better for having taken some time for himself, he dove right in helping Kayleigh with their three children. They were all growing so fast, like new sprigs of life bursting through the soil. Andrew was nothing short of a live wire. A one-toddler wrecking machine. Highly inquisitive, Erik quickly learned it was incumbent on both parents to occupy his mind. Otherwise, they were all in for a rocky road. He skipped that moment in time when he was just a delightful toddler and went straight for the terrible twos. Which had both parents on edge.

Over and over, he strained the patience of his parents.  Erik was in the nursery tending to Melodie, newly freed from her bassinet, when Andrew raced in and began a vicious assault on the baby’s doll house.  Erik sat on the small stool on the opposite side of the crib from where Andrew unleashed his wrath on the pink house.  “Andrew,” Erik said, in his best ‘dad’ voice, the boy startled. It was safe to assume, he thought he was in the baby’s room alone.

Erik placed Melodie into her crib and walked over to his increasingly delinquent second son.  “I am very disappointed in your behavior,” Erik began, hands on his hips. “If you’re not smashing something, you’re painting the Parquet floors. Will you kindly tell me just why you decided to wreck Melodie’s new doll house? She isn’t even sitting up, yet. You busted it to pieces before she could even get a good look at it. Why? Are you angry with her? She’s just a helpless baby. Or are you angry with Mommie and Daddy? Let me guess, you didn’t want another sibling, did you.”

“Come over here,” Erik said, as he lowered himself onto his knees. “It’s time you and I had a chat.”
“What?” his little voice surprisingly snarky. Erik was taken aback. Are you sixteen in a toddler’s body?
“I know your mother recently gave you a chat on how to say sorry, so I’m going to skip that part and do my best to make you understand right from wrong.”
“Huh?"

“Do you like it when one of your toys gets broken?”
“No like bweak, Andrew sad when it bweaks.”
“Good, at least you show signs of a conscious. That’s good.  Is it wrong to break things?”
“I no bweak it, Jamie did.”

Erik gazed coolly at the toddler, as he wrote a note in his journal. “Really? How odd that I only found you in this room, not Jamison. You just told a whopper of a lie, young man. And that’s also very wrong. Say you’re sorry.” Andrew made a whiney sound at this request. “I sawy.”

Then burst into tears. Erik scooped the boy into his arms.

“There, there now, it’s going to be all right. No more smashing of doll houses and no more saying your brother did it when it was you. Do you understand me? That’s not okay. Come on, it’s time for us to head down to church.” 

Erik got Andrew all wrapped up in his winter coat and boots. Kayleigh got Jamison ready, with the boys on their backs, Kayleigh put Melodie in her carrier and the four of them set off for Brindleton Bay.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Erik and Kayleigh arrived home after a heart-warming and jubilant Easter midnight service.  He stood staring at the house and then suffered chills.  “Kayleigh, something’s off, hold on a minute.” he put a hand on her arm to stay her progress. Whipping out his phone, he called the police who were on speed-dial. “I saw movement through the windows,” he said into the phone. “No, the whole family was out. We went to Midnight Services. Yes, it’s Easter. No, we haven’t entered the house. We’ll wait outside until you arrive and thank you.”

“Careful, ma’am.” the Officer cautioned as Kayleigh preceded her into the foyer.

Erik entered the house and immediately checked the game room off of the foyer. He followed the sickening scent of a person who had urinated all over themself several times without bathing. He could all but see the green vapor often lingering in the air.  Yet, there was no one there. Taking Andrew by the hand, the two went down into the basement to check things out. Glancing about the room, Erik found nothing out of place, thankfully, but yet that nasty smell suffused the air, down here, too. “They’ve been here,” he said to Andrew.

“It stinky. Look, Daddy, they here,” Andrew said.  There on the floor near the bathroom, was a plate of Ambrosia. Originally, when these were left in and around his house, Erik was greatly disturbed by it, thinking it a veiled death threat. Now, he knew it was merely a calling card, of sorts.

Andrew, who had recently mastered the art of opening up doors, let himself into the small bathroom. “Daddy,” he hailed.  When Erik took a look, he snapped a photo of this plate of Ambrosia, too. There was no longer any doubt his home had been invaded. He had installed the best, safest, most impenetrable security system on the market, and yet, they got in. 

Bringing his little son with him, he set the boy down once they were upstairs again. Erik went to show the photos and to speak to Officer Maigre. “I’m so sorry, sir,” she told Erik. “I don’t understand how he got away. He was there and then he just wasn’t. I don’t know what else to say.”

Erik quietly nodded his head. “Have you considered the possibility he beamed himself in and then back out again? I have double checked the locking system it’s still engaged. It didn’t trip.” 
“Locked up tighter than a drum,” she said.

“Absolutely. I’m going to suggest adding another tool to your accouterment. A device able to detect and capture the energy wave.”
“Yes, then we could pull the perpetrator back and arrest them. Brilliant, sir. But I’m not sure the department can afford it.”
“Since I just won the lottery last week, I will make a donation to the department. There has been a rash of break-ins lately. We could all benefit from such a device.”

“Most generous, sir.”

“Think nothing of it. I live here, too. And now it’s time for some little people to get to bed.” Kayleigh headed upstairs, first, with Melodie in her arms. Placing the infant in her crib, she came into the hallway to find Jamison at the top of the stairs.  Followed by Erik who held Andrew in his arms. “Ah, yes, the best time of any day,” he said, taking out a toddler book and sitting on the edge of Andrew’s bed.

Finally, all was quiet, and Peace reigned over the Erik Cantrell household once again.

All for now, thanks for reading.