The Adventures of Jackie - A Monster Tea Party

This is the second story with the character based on my daughter. [Please see the entry dated Feb. 21 for the first ‘Adventures of Jackie’.]


The Adventures of Jackie - A Monster Tea Party


Jackie was asleep in her bed buried in a pile of her dolls, stuffed animals, and pillows peacefully dreaming of monsters. Not monsters like vampires, werewolves, and mummies. More like harmless, little fluffy creatures that like to cuddle, not so much the harming and destroying kind of monsters.

She awakened suddenly and sat up in bed. It was nighttime. She was only four years old and not yet astute at telling time, but she could see darkness out her window. She heard a faint squeaking and looked in that direction.

There by the door stood two furry little guys barely bigger than a doll. If standing next to Jackie they might be as tall as her belly button. One had green eyes and appeared to be of blue fur. The other with yellow eyes with red fur. They looked at Jackie and were not afraid. They smiled to her and motioned for her to get out of bed and follow them.

Smiling, she grabbed Dolly, her favorite doll, and got out of bed. Giggling she followed the monsters downstairs.

Kira, her good dog, was at the bottom of the stairs to greet Jackie and the two creatures. The dog did not seem surprised at all by the presence of the two extra beings. Kira and the two small monsters had apparently seen each other before and they got along agreeably.

The monsters led Jackie to the family room where ten more monsters were on the couch! Some sat politely waving to her and others were playfully hiding under a blanket. They would peak out from underneath, squeak, and then cover up. They were very colorful guys including green, yellow, purple, blue, orange, red, and a little one that was pink with white dots.

“Wow, you guys are pretty,” she exclaimed. “Who are you guys? What are you doing here,” she continued happy to have so many playmates.

One monster hopped down off the couch, ran to Jackie’s toy kitchen set in the family room and pointed to it while jumping up and down.

“You want to have a tea party with me,” Jackie asked.

Three more jumped off the couch and they all nodded their heads ‘Yes”.

She got her tea set out, complete with plastic food, from her kitchen and set up on the coffee table. Her dog came trotting around the corner with two more monsters on her back with one tugging at an ear. Kira, very tolerant of the mild abuse, deposited the monsters at the tea party and then lay down behind the couch.

Jackie hosted her new monster friends at the tea party and talked nonstop. She talked about how she liked spooky things, the cartoons she enjoyed, her friends at preschool, and how much she liked candy and ice cream. All the while the monsters held their tiny tea cups with their pinkies out and listened politely. They all squeaked along to her compelling monologue.

Two monsters, feeling playful, were jumping up and down on the couch. They bumped into each other and fell onto the coffee table knocking the tea set and plates to the ground with a loud clatter.

Jackie and the monsters heard both mommy and daddy upstairs get up out of bed and walk quickly to the stairs.

The monsters ran to the hallway ventilation screen and pulled it open at one corner where there was a loose screw. They waved and squeaked a smiling farewell to their tea party hostess. One by one they squeezed through the screen and into the walls where they lived.

“Jackie, what’s going on,” said daddy relieved to find that the noise was only his daughter having a tea party with her doll, Dolly. He started to pick up the tea cups and plates.

“Hi, mommy and daddy. I’m having a tea party with some monsters. Sorry about the noise, they knocked down the plates,” Jackie explained.

“It’s 3 o’clock in the morning. You and Dolly should be in bed. Come with me, I’ll tuck you both in,” mommy picking up her girl.

“Good night, Jackie. Stay in bed, please,” said mommy kissing her daughter and then Dolly after putting them both back in bed.

“Goodnight, mommy. I love you,” Jackie said, pleased with her late night adventure.

Mommy left the room and Jackie heard a squeak. She turned and in the dark she saw a pair of green and a pair of yellow eyes. Two of her monster friends cuddled up to Jackie and her dolls.

“Hi, guys,” whispered Jackie and then she giggled.

Daddy walked by Jackie‘s bedroom and heard her giggling in bed. “Good night, Boogie,” he said and kept walking.

“Good night, daddy. See you tomorrow,” she called back.

Daddy thought he heard a couple of squeaks. But he was too tired to investigate. Plus his pillow was calling him back to his sleepy slumber.


-klem
3/2009