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Mr. Large in Charge

Mrs. Large opened one eye and peered out at the morning. She forced open the other eye, dragged herself out of bed and set off down the stairs to the kitchen, where Mr. Large had kindly started the children on their breakfasts.

“You look ghastly, dear,” said Mr. Large. “Don’t say that to Mummy!” said Laura indignantly. “Mummy looks beautiful!” exclaimed Lester. “Booful Mummy,” cooed the baby. “Yes, of course Mummy’s beautiful,” said Mr. Large. “I meant she doesn’t look well - are you feeling all right, dear?” “As a matter of fact, I don’t feel too good,” admitted Mrs. Large. “But I was going to take them all to the park later on. Then there’s the shopping and the lunch and there’s-” “Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that,” said Mr. Large. “It’s the weekend, so I’m in charge. Go on, back to bed with you- we’ll take care of everything, won’t we, kids?” “You bet!” called Lester.

Mrs. Large trudged back upstairs clutching a nice hot-water bottle and sank back into the bed, which was still warm. “What a treat!” she said.

Downstairs, Mr. Large was organizing his troops. “Right, men!” he commanded. “We’re not all men,” said Laura. “Oh, you know what I mean,” said Mr. Large. “Well, troops, then- all right? I will take the worst task- that’s the washing-up. Lester, you can tackle the hoovering - Luck, picking things up off the floor- Laura and the baby, general dusting and cushion-plumping. Quick march. One-two, one-two, off you go.” Mr. Large turned on the radio, found a jolly tune to cheer everyone along and soon they were all busy with their tasks.

Upstairs, Mrs. Large was jolted back from the brink of sleep by the astonishing amount of noise blasting up through the floorboards. She listened anxiously for a while, but could soon tell they were mostly happy noise, so she wedged a pillow round her ears and decided to ignore it.

Mrs. Large had just drifted off to sleep when she was rudely awoken by the baby, who was giving her a thorough dusting. “Sorry, Mum!” yelled Laura, rushing in and grabbing the baby. The baby began to scream and hung on to the bedclothes so that they both fell over backwards. “This isn’t proving very restful, Laura,” said Mrs. Large crossly as Laura disentangled herself and the baby, and attempted to bundle the bedclothes back onto the bed.

“Mummy, huggy!” screamed the baby. “Want my Mummy! Big huggy now!” Laura stuffed the baby under her arm and wrestled her out of the door. “Don’t worry, Mum,” she called as she closed the door behind them. “I’ll take her down to Dad.” “Don’t want Dad,” bellowed the baby. “Want Mum! Want my Mummy!” Mrs. Large rearranged the mangled bedclothes and snuggled down, feeling decidedly jangled. Suddenly, there was an almighty crunch from downstairs and the hoover stopped abruptly. The bedroom door opened and Lester looked in. “It’s all right, Mum!” he reassured her. “Nothing broke, it just sounded bad.” Luke’s head appeared round Lester’s knees. “That’s right, Mum!” he agreed. “Nothing to worry about. You just go back to sleep- everything’s under control.” Mrs. Large was finally dropping off when Mr. Large crashed open the bedroom door. “We’re all off to the park now, dear,” he announced. “We’ll get the shopping on the way home, then we can bring you up a nice lunch.” “Thank you, dear,” said Mrs. Large. “I’m having a lovely rest.” Mr. Large beamed and blew his wife a kiss as he backed out of the room, closing the door very quietly.

At last, Mrs. Large dozed off. What seemed like five minutes later, she was woken by a smell of burning. Just then, Laura put her head round the door. “Dad says not to worry about the smell,” she said. “He’s getting the lunch and he wants to know if you’d like some.” “What exactly is it?” asked Mrs. Large, nervously. “Well,” said Laura. “It was something in a special sauce, but Dad just had a little look at the football on TV- well, it was quite a long look actually. So now it’s cheese sandwiches.” “I think I’ll carry on sleeping, thank you, dear,” said Mrs. Large. “Perhaps I could join in at teatime.” “Right-o,” said Laura, slamming the door as she rushed off to tell Dad.

Mrs. Large closed her eyes and tried to relax. What seemed like three seconds later, the door crashed open again and all the children came charging in. “We’re going to play football with Dad!” yelled Lester. “In the garden!” said Luke. “Now!” said the baby. “Are you feeling a bit better?” asked Laura. “Mummy better?” asked the baby. “Big huggy?” “A bit better,” said Mrs. Large. “You go and have fun with Daddy and perhaps I’ll be all right later on.” “Big, big huggy!” wept the baby as Lester scooped her up and carried her out. “Big huggy, Mummy. Now!” “Don’t worry, Mum,” said Laura. “She loves football once she gets going!” The door slammed shut for the hundredth time. Mrs. Large winced and slithered down under the covers. Joyful sounds came drifting in from the garden and Mrs. Large smiled contentedly. Five minutes later, Lester burst into the bedroom. “Dad says where are the bandages?” he yelled. “-don’t worry, Mum, it’s not the baby- Dad tripped over the rake.” “They’re on top of the bathroom cabinet,” said Mrs. Large weakly.

After a while, the door opened again and Mr. Large came in carrying a tray laden with tea and cakes. The children sneaked in behind him and lurked. The baby didn’t lurk for long. She climbed grimly onto the bed and clasped her mother round the neck. “Big huggy,” she crooned. “Everyone out!” ordered Mr. Large. “Let Mummy have her rest now. She’s not well today.” Mrs. Large heaved herself into a sitting position and patted the covers. “That’s all right, dear,” she said. “I’ve had a very restful day and I’m feeling much better now. Why don’t you all join me for tea?” “Well, if you’re sure,” said Mr. Large, and everyone piled onto the bed to tell Mrs. Large all about the day she’d missed.