Max and Jill
came to visit Rennie.
They had not seen him
since they moved in
with their grandmother.
“How do you like it?”
Rennie asked.
He swept his arms
across the room.
Max looked around.
“It’s all right,”
he said.
“It’s okay,”
said Jill.
“But Rick’s place
is much nicer.”
“Well, stay with Rick then,”
Rennie snapped at Jill.
Then he dropped
his voice a bit.
“I don’t want
to hear about Rick.”
“Can we watch TV?”
Max asked.
“You just got here,”
said Rennie.
“I thought maybe
we could make some dinner.”
Max turned on
the TV anyway.
“Are you kidding me?”
he said.
“Only ten channels?”
“You can’t find
anything to watch
out of ten channels?”
Rennie asked.
“Never mind,”
said Max.
“I want to play
a game.
Where’s your computer?”
“I don’t have a computer,”
Rennie said.
“Let’s just make dinner.”
“Our Nana
doesn’t make us cook
at her house,”
said Jill.
“She doesn’t make us
do anything!”
“Okay, Okay,”
said Rennie.
“Let’s go out to eat.
Then we can go
to a movie.
How does that sound?”
So the three of them
went out for fast food.
Then they went
to a movie
that Rennie wanted to see.
“How did you like
the movie?”
Rennie asked
on the way out.
“No good,”
said Max.
“I didn’t get it.”
They drove home
without talking.
“I’ll show you
your new beds,”
said Rennie.
“These beds
are not new, Dad!”
said Jill.
“They’re new to you,”
was all Rennie could say.
Max and Jill
started jumping
on the beds.
“Don’t do that!”
Rennie yelled.
“Do you want
to break the beds
the very first night?
Now get yourselves ready.
It’s time to sleep.”
The kids
got into their beds.
“I can’t sleep,”
called Jill.
“This bed smells funny.”
“I can’t sleep either,”
called Max.
“My bed
smells funny too.”
“Okay, that’s it,”
Rennie shouted back.
“Get dressed!
You’re going
back to Nana’s
right this minute.
You can sleep there,
in your very own beds.
Now move it!”