A few seconds later, Eugene came hurrying back behind the cutout. "What was--oh. Are you alright?"
I giggled. "Yeahhh...I fell."
He held a hand out, and I took it, standing up and thanking him. He was trying so hard not to smile.
"Oh, stop!" I laughed. "I know it's weird that I still fall out of bed, but that's me. I'm clumsy."
He chuckled. "Nah...I'm just glad to have ya back."
"Alrighty then," I teased, "not sure how you can miss having me back as your wife, but...okay."
He grinned, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pulling me down onto his lap.
"So...what does my girl want to do today?"
"Hmmmh....as little as possible. I'm still tired from yesterday! Are the girls up yet?"
"Nope. They're tuckered out, too, I guess," he said. He finally let his adorable smile shine through, which told me just how much he'd missed the girls. I leaned my head up against his shoulder, admiring that smile until he laced my hairline with kisses.
We just talked quietly for a little while, until Jordan got up.
And thus started my first day [back] as wife and mom to this awesome guy and adorable little girls! :]
My good mood was severely marred this afternoon when Zelia poked her head over to our side of the table.
"Did you know that the Frozen bunch was being put back in their boxes?"
"What?!" I gasped, standing abruptly. The older girls were taking their 4-o-clock nap, and Eugene was holding Jordan, so all I had was Pascal on my shoulder. I rushed over to talk with my sister.
"Yeah...Tangled Fan just did. Look," she pointed up, and I saw Anna, Elsa, Hans, and Kristoff in their boxes on the bench. They had blank stares on their faces, and I gasped, horrified.
"Wh-why do they look like that?"
"Dolls are alive when they are put in boxes in the warehouse -- Disney makes sure that they do, because it gives them extra character, and kids will want them-- but if they're put back in their box...they're no longer living. They're not dead-dead, but they're just...like that. Frozen in time. When or if they're removed once more, it's like they're starting their life all over again. Merida over there has been taken out of her box and put back in repeatedly for rearranging purposes. It's kind of amusing to play with their heads."
I was horrified....and even more appalled by Zelia's reaction to the repeated removal of Merida.
"That's HORRIBLE, Zelia! How awful of you to say--"
"I was trying to joke. Quit looking like you've seen a ghost!" she huffed.
I shook my head slowly. "I-I feel like I HAVE seen a ghost...they're just ghosts of their formal selves! This is AWFUL!" I sobbed. "A-Anna...did they know? Why? Did anyone tell you why?"
"They told me this morning before she came to put them in their boxes. Anna said that she didn't want you to know until after they were taken care of. She told me to explain everything to you: she and Elsa knew that one day, their joints would grow weaker and weaker until Tangled Fan would have to put them in their boxes -- that's why Merida is in hers. It's a defect in the 2012 articulation; the leg joints are placed incorrectly, and they can't hold up as long as our legs can. They knew it would happen someday, and it's been getting worse...it's kind of like some degenerative illness in humans. She said that's why they wanted to go on a week-long expedition of the house, but she insisted you couldn't go. She knew that their secret would be revealed...anyway, she went on to say that she was a fool for being so horrible to you, and mostly because of the things she'd done before you, you know..had your accident; but at the time, she was bitter with the fact that this would happen someday, and she wouldn't be able to have a family. She said she was happy that she got to see you guys back together again yesterday; that's why everyone stayed for so long...this explains everything. Or, it should. Elsa said that she was sorry she couldn't say goodbye, but it was for the best, and she never liked goodbyes anyway."
I was crying. Everyone was solemn on that side of the table, even Punzie. I dropped to my knees, burying my face in my hands. "I-I...I can't believe this...they're...they're GONE!"
Zelia sat beside me. "Hey. Don't cry. They're not in pain anymore -- and they were in plenty before."
Well, thanks, sister-mine. That makes me feel LOADS better!
I tried to compose myself, and a thought occurred to me. "Wh-...why are Kristoff and Hans in their boxes, too?"
"They didn't want to spend their days looking up to see the blank faces of their wives, so they elected to have the same fate as the girls."
I thought I was going to throw up. "...Oh....did they know it would happen someday?"
"Yes...they were the only ones who did, up until this morning."
I gulped a few deep breaths, which only made me feel sicker. "Oh..." I heard Eugene ask where I'd disappeared to, and stumbled to my feet. "I--I need to go..." Before my sister could say anything else, I was gone.
I rushed over to the other side of the table, and ran headfirst into Eugene, who must've gotten Jordan to sleep.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
I mumbled what had happened to the Frozen bunch, and he shook his head, obviously saddened by it.
We talked about it quietly for a little while, but then the girls woke up, and we put on cheery faces so as to not worry them.
Casey saw something was wrong, though. We had a chat before bedtime, --Eugene said we always had before.
"What's wrong? I know something is. Are you upset about us being here so soon?" Casey asked, rolling her big green eyes up at me.
I cuddled her close. "No, definitely not, baby girl, It's just...still all sinking in for me. Finding out I was married to your daddy and I was the mom to you three sweethearts was a big surprise, albeit a happy one," I said. It WAS true...I was still processing all that, too.
And on top of that all, I had thought of something absolutely terrifying.
Eugene had joint problems because of whatever had happened to him.
What if Tangled Fan put him in his box?? What would happen with the girls? The mere thought terrified me.
Back to Casey, though, she gave me a relieved smile, yawning.
"Ready for bed?" I asked.
"Huh-uh..."
Said the little girl who was having a hard time keeping her eyes from crossing. They had played ALLLLL day long, stopping only to nap at 4.
I shook my head, grinning to myself, but I held her until she fell asleep, which didn't take long. When she had, I put her in bed with Audrey, and watched Eugene carefully spread a blanket over Jordan, who was sleeping already.
When he turned around, I gave him a small smile. "They tuckered themselves out, didn't they?"
"They tuckered ME out, too!" he chuckled. "They're happy to be home and have their momma again...I am, too."
He winked, but I didn't blush or giggle like I normally would. What would I do if he was put back inside that plastic prison?
We went to bed, but I couldn't close my eyes and sleep. Every time I shut my eyes, I saw one of their frozen faces...and that made me worry even more about Eugene.
I squirmed a bit closer to my husband, and he slid his hand up and down my forearm, half asleep.
"Can't sleep?" he asked tiredly. I didn't want to disturb him, but it slipped out.
"I'm scared," I whispered.
Plenty awake now, he cleared his throat and stroked my hair. "Why? The Frozen bunch?"
"Kind of...every time I close my eyes, I see their faces. Oh, Eugene, it was awful...a-and then it scares me because...what if the same happens to us? What would the girls do?"
"You don't have to worry, hon...you didn't come with your original box," he reassured me.
I sat up. "I don't care what happens to me...I'm worried about YOU," I got choked up on the last part.
"Why?"
"Y-your joints! I don't know what we'd do...I don't know what would happen to the girls, and that scares me...and I don't know what I'd do without you..." I trailed off, knowing that if I looked up into those warm brown eyes...see that soft expression of concern on his face...I'd lose it for sure.
But he sat up and tilted my chin up to look me in the eye. "I promise you it won't happen. My joints are different than theirs. Mine only hurt temporarily, and I know how to control it. Theirs is a factory defect. So don't worry about me, okay, sweet girl?"
I took in a deep, shuddering breath, relieved to have been told this. "Okay...just me being silly, as always. How did...how did you fall, anyway? I can't remember."
He stiffened. "That's one thing I'm glad you forgot...I'd prefer to keep it that way..."
What? What on earth had happened??
"What happened? You've peaked my interest, so you HAVE to tell me, now...please?" I coaxed.
He sighed, but he gave in. "We got into a fight with Anna and Kristoff. You were trying to defend Elsa from her sister's rudeness, and it set them both off. Kristoff approached you, and I stepped in front of you. He punched me and knocked me out, and from what you told me, we both fell down off of the dresser. You managed to grab a dresser handle and tried to keep me from falling, but you couldn't, of course, and I fell and messed up my hip joints.".
I put a hand to my mouth. "So it was my fault..I'm so--"
He shook his head. "Don't say it...we went through this six months ago when it actually happened. Okay?"
I sighed, pulling my knees to my chest and sneaking a glance at him. "You've done so much for me, I mean really. I don't know how I can ever repay you,"
He was quiet for a second before grinning, smoothing the hair from my face. "You could...give me that pretty smile of yours that I love so much," he teased, stroking my cheek with the pad of his thumb. I couldn't NOT grin, and he chuckled. "C'mere."
I leaned up against him, and he wrapped me in his arms, asking if I felt better.
"I do for sure, knowing that you aren't in danger of being put in your box, but I still feel horrible for everyone that WAS. If you had seen their faces...it was just awful."
"I'm sorry you saw it...that's like the equivalent of a human seeing a dead body. I guess, anyway," he pulled me a little closer, and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, wishing the images would go away.
And to think that just yesterday, I was thinking that Elsa and Kris would be starting a family soon...it's amazing how things can change in the blink of an eye. I guess it wasn't a blink for them, but it was for the rest of us. It made me want to cherish every moment with my girls and my husband even more.
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