Bad Parenting

Bad Parenting

Sam and Donna moved into the new house. It was much bigger than the rented two-bedroom they lived in. Donna could feel the neighbors' eyes on her, watching as they took the baby cots, chair, and toys. "Oh my," said Donna to Sam, "they have more stuff than us both." "Well, what would you expect from twins?" They both smiled. Mrs. Webber at No. 32 nearly put her neck out trying to see what sex the babies were. They were all wrapped up; it was October, after all.

Three weeks went by, and no one outside the house got a glimpse of the children. Milly and Jack, their names. It came time for Sam to go back to work; he was a vet, and although he wanted to stay home with Donna and the twins, he knew he would be pushing it. A few women stood in deep conversation on the street, eyes nodding at Sam and Donna’s house. They were actually discussing how they saw Donna going out regularly but not with the two babies. They were talking about getting social services involved. Why would she go out and just leave them? One of the ladies, Mrs. Potts, checked her CCTV cameras; no one had been to Sam and Donna’s except delivery men and postmen. So definitely no babysitters there.

Donna loved playing with the young ones; they were hard work, but at least they slept all night. Sam came home; he felt sad Donna was coping on her own all day, but he had to work. Tonight he had a nice surprise for her: his boss had invited them to a party Saturday night. His mum always sat with the little ones; she loved playing granny to them both. So he mentioned the invite, told her mum would stay over, and she was happy to just get out for a few hours. Sam’s mum had a key; he gave her one and explained she may be a wee bit late. Donna said, "Well, these two will be fast asleep by the time we go out, so yeah, it’s all good."

On the night of the invite, they both dressed up, fed, and put the young ones down to sleep. Off they went. A crowd of women gathered at the front of the house an hour later. Sam’s mum had not got there yet. They had phoned the police, concerned for the babies; they knew they were alone. The police had a chat with the angry, upset ladies and knocked on the door. “It’s no good,” one shouted. “The kids are alone in that house! Please do something!”

Two more police cars pulled up; a few police went around to the back. They decided not to ignore this; they couldn’t do anything but believe the crowd. They made a call to social services and were told they would be with them in ten minutes. The police were just about to break the front door down when Sam’s mum arrived. “What the heck?” she said. “What is going on here?” The police explained they had concerns after reports that the twins were all alone in the house. Sam’s mum fell into bouts of uncontrollable laughter. “You better come in,” she said. The officer asked where the children’s room was. “Oh, the children’s room!” she cried. “Follow me! On the landing,” she pointed to a room. “In there, but be quiet, please don’t wake them.“So you are aware they are alone then?” the officer said,

Oh yes,” said Sam’s mum. The officer entered the room; there were two cages, one pink and one blue. They could see the two young ones wrapped up and sleeping. They rushed to the cages. Sam’s mum laughed louder as the officer jumped a mile when he reached in and found a baby chimp in each cage. “Oh my lord!” he shouted. “These are the twins?”

“Yes,” she cried. By now, both were awake and trying desperately to be let out. He explained as the social worker arrived, as Sam and Donna pulled up in the drive. The party had to be canceled as his boss landed himself in the hospital after a fall down the stairs. Panic hit them; they ran in and saw everyone in fits of laughter.

Sam explained that he was a vet and the twins’ mum rejected them, so he and Donna took them in until a suitable zoo could be found. Donna made a brew, and they had a good laugh, especially after Sam went out inviting the crowd to meet the little ones. After everyone had gone, Sam, Donna, and Mum chatted before going to bed, as the twins liked getting up at 6 a.m.

“What a night!” said Sam. “I second that,” said Donna. “Bloody nosy neighbors, eh? Ha ha!”

The end.