"Are you sure you have  time for this?" Madison asked one crisp October morning. She had just  finished getting herself dressed to face the weather. And today wasn't a  normal day, in fact if she had it her way she would be snuggled under  the covers. But she had committed herself to chaperoning a class trip  for Emma and Ella.

As luck would have it  Brandon decided that he was going to take the day off to join the girls.  Madison had tried to tell him it was all right but he was insistent. He  didn't want to miss out on making family memories such as this.

"I am sure babe," he  said tugging on worn jeans and a knitted turtle neck sweater. "I already  called in sick and I am excited to come today". The grade thee class  was taking a trip to a local farm to pick out pumpkins for Halloween.

"We are excited too,"  Emma giggled as she ran into her parent's bedroom, Ella following close  behind her. Both of them climbed onto the bed and started to bounce.  Their giggles filled the air.

Brandon chuckled a  little "okay girls that's enough" he reached forward and lifted both  girls into his arms "we need to get ready for school". He flashed a  smile and a wink towards Madison before he carried the two girls out to  get them dressed.

Madison made her way  down stairs to get the lunches packed for the kids. Noah was already at  the table having a breakfast of cereal. "Ready for the day?" his mother  asked.

"Yeah sure" Noah shrugged "as good as you can be for high school".

She laughed a little "yeah sounds like high school". She took a seat down "how are you and Anna?"

Noah shrugged a little and grumbled "fine".

Madison raised an eyebrow "fine? Something wrong?"

"I don't know, she's  always in a bad mood. She and her friends keep talking about going to  Halloween dance but every time I come around she won't even look at me". 

"Have you asked her to the dance yet?" Brandon asked walking into the room. He grabbed a cup of coffee and glanced at his son.

"Why would I do that?" Noah asked clueless.

Brandon chuckled a  little and shook his head "oh silly boy. That's why she's mad at you.  She wants to go to this dance but you haven't grown a pair and asked her  yet".

"A pair of what?" Ella asked curiously walking into the kitchen.

"Nothing" both boys said  at the same time. The little girl looked at them confused but accepted  the answer and went to eat her cereal.

Madison shook her head  at Brandon and went to get the girls coats. Once Noah had left for  school she got the girls dressed for the cold and followed Brandon out  to the car.

When the Haywood family  arrived at the school there was already several yellow school buses out  front. Madison unbuckled the girls and like rockets they bolted towards  their friends.

"Seems they want their friends more than us" Brandon said chuckling a little.

"Well we are only family" Madison said laughing as well.

Several set of parents  were standing near the bus talking together. They were clearly already a  close-knit group that must have been together since their children were  little. Now Brandon and Madison were like the new kids, the outsiders.

"Well let's go" Brandon said a lot more confidently than Madison felt. Together they headed over to the other adults.

"Hi" Madison forced out.  Some of them smiled but several of them just glanced at them and  continued talking. Compared to the other woman Madison certainly didn't  seem to blend in well. In fact she was the opposite of them all.

Every woman was dress in  the most expensive clothing, majority of them in designer dress pants  and leather jackets with silk scarfs. This was very different than  Madison's jeans and checkered shirt. She glanced over at Brandon and  noticed there was only one other man there and considering he was  standing at the bus holding a clipboard she assumed that he must be the  girls teacher.

"You guys ready to pick a pumpkin?" Brandon asked the group trying to break the ice.

The four women there  glanced at him and smirked a little. "Hi there" one of them nearly  purred. Madison raised an eyebrow. Who did this woman think she was?

"I'm Carmella" she held  her hand out for him. And considering the way she had her hand  positioned she wasn't expecting a handshake – she wanted him to kiss her  hand.

"Brandon" he said eyeing her hand but he made no effort to actually shake it "nice to meet you".

"I'm sure it is" the  woman said. She glanced at her friends and smiled a little "come on  girls. Lets get out seats on the bus". The four of them laughed together  as they climbed onto the bus

The Haywood couple was a  little stunned as they slowly walked towards the bus. If this was what  the parents were like then what in the world were the children like?  Madison hoped that the younger generation was a little more warm and  welcoming towards her daughters.

"Don't mind them" the  teacher smiled at the two of them as they approached the bus "they wont  be picking any pumpkins anyways. Usually they just stand off to the side  and watch. It makes them look good to the other parents". He held out  his hand and laughed a little "I nearly forgot, I'm Kyle Lynch, grade  three teacher. And you must be Emma and Ella's mom and dad right?"

Brandon shook the man's  hand "Brandon and Madison Haywood. It's nice to meet you". The two of  them climb onto the bus and took a seat. Madison couldn't help but  glance over her shoulder at the two girls. They were seated in the back  surrounded by a group of friends. In fact she even noticed one or two  boys focused on Emma's every move.

"They're too young for that" Brandon grumbled glancing at Emma and the boy.

"That's my son Shane"  the teacher chuckled a little and took a seat across the aisle from them  "they've gotten really close the last two months. But honestly they're  only friends. My son is too young to have a girlfriend. Even if it is  only a third grade romance."

Madison laughed a little  "good. I was hoping we had at least a few more years before we needed  to start worrying about something like that". The bus started to move  forward. She leaned across her husband a little in order to talk better  with Kyle "how are they doing in school? I was worried about them  adjusting to a new school".

Kyle smiled a little  "your girls are both doing very well. Ella has really taken an interest  in acting out the classic fairy tales we've been reading in class. I  like for the students to get into groups to act it out dramatically. I'm  considering offering her the role of Clarice from Rudolph for this  year's Christmas play. Usually it's only from grades four to six, but I  think they could make an exception for her".

Brandon nearly beamed  "my little girl? In a play? You really think she is good enough for  that?" the way he was acting it was as if he just found out she was  being accepted in Julliard.

The teacher chuckled a  little and nodded "yeah I do think she is good enough. She would do  great. A strong voice and a great memory."

The voice part honestly  surprised Madison. Ella was always the more soft-spoken of the two  girls. But now hearing that she was speaking up in class and taking on a  role, even in just a classroom play meant a lot to her. Sometimes she  still worried if changing schools was the right choice or not. But now  hearing how much her daughter is excelling in the new setting she knew  it was the right choice.

But her excitement was  short lived when she heard her phone beep. It had been a couple weeks  since she had last heard from the blackmailer – or should she say Alex.  She was convinced it was he. It had to be. At first she thought maybe it  was Kennedy since that would have made sense, but something about it  didn't feel right.

Actually a lot of things  didn't feel right and she had more questions than answers. If it was  Alex than how could he have gotten her new number? How did he know about  her and Brandon? There was very little news coverage about them as a  couple. And furthermore how did he know where she lived?

Nonetheless she glanced at her phone and noticed a new message from the unknown number.

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Don't force me to make this call.

Along with the message  there was a photo attached with Brandon's number typed in. indicating  that the entire sender had to do was hit call and it would be all over.  Her secret would come out. Brandon leaned over and tried to glance at  her phone. But Madison was quick – a little too quick – to turn it away  from him.

"You okay babe?" Brandon asked raising a curious eyebrow.

Madison nodded "yeah I'm  fine". Thankfully the bus then pulled into the farm parking lot. Giving  her much needed distraction. Single filed – or at least as single filed  and organized as a group of third graders can be – climbed off the bus. 

As predicted the mothers  hung back talking more to each other than their own children. But  Madison and Brandon were up front with the teacher and surrounded by all  the kids.

The fields were filled  with bright orange pumpkins. The perfect shade of the setting sun. There  were several sizes. Small ones perfect for each child to carry  themselves and large ones that would be great for carving.

"Okay kids gather round"  Kyle called to the class. Quickly – with only a few stragglers – the  students circled around their teacher. "Today we are here to pick out  the perfect pumpkins for each and every one of you. You will each get  the chance to select one pumpkin and take it home for Halloween. After  you load your pumpkin onto the bus we will have lunch at the farmers  market and then we might even have a chance to pick some apples".

The minute Kyle directed  the children to the rows of pumpkins they could select from, and set  the rules as to how far they could go, the children rushed off.

Madison chuckled a  little and stood with Brandon. The two of them stood and watched as the  young children ran around together and laughed. The girls seemed to be  truly enjoying themselves. The mother watched her daughters as they  interacted with their friends. She was quick to notice there were one or  two girls that Ella had gotten to be close with and Emma seemed to have  found a large crowd of her own.

"Birthdays will be interesting from now on" Brandon chuckled "no longer sharing the same friends".

"They are becoming their  own individuals now" Madison said proudly but a little disappointed  too. They were growing up far too fast for her liking. Her baby girls  weren't babies anymore – and then it hit her. She had another baby  coming. No matter how hard she tried to ignore or forget it the baby  always made him or her known with the early morning sickness.

"Yeah its almost sad to  not have a little baby around anymore" Brandon added as if he was  reading her mind. "Even your friends son, little Ryan. It's cute having a  little boy around again. I miss it".

"Yeah so do I" Madison said without catching herself.

Brandon glanced at her  and gave a small wink. He looked as though he was going to say something  – most likely about babies – but Madison nearly ran towards the kids  saying she was going to check on the girls.

She kneeled down next to  Emma and Ella in the muddy field "have you got yourself a pumpkin yet?"  she asked glancing around at all the orange.

Ella held up a perfectly  round, deep orange pumpkin. But Emma nodded and pointed to a huge  pumpkin near the end of the line. Their mother laughed a little and  reached forward twirling Emma's braid around her fingers "I think that  might be a little too big. Once we get home daddy will go out and get  one that big but how about you select one you can carry".

Emma pouted a little "but that's the one I want".

"I understand that but we need one that is a little smaller" Madison said again.

But it didn't seem to do  any good. Emma's face turned from cute dog eyes to annoying ones. She  clearly was not very pleased with the idea of being told no.

"I want it" she said a little more forceful.

"I know" Madison said "but the answer is no Emma".

The little girl crossed her arms over her chest and was having a clear stare off with her mother.

"Emma do as your mother said" Brandon said walking behind Madison, showing that he clearly had her back and supported her.

Emma now turned to glare at him "you never let me have what I want" she nearly growled.

"Don't take that tone with me Emma Haywood" Brandon said sternly, resting his hands on his waist.

"Yes I will!" her voice was raising "I want that pumpkin! I want it!"

"We don't always get  what we want," Brandon said. And Madison couldn't agree more. Sometimes  you don't get what you want – you might not even get what you need.

"Well I do" Emma said forcefully.

"If you keep this up you'll get a time out" Madison warned.

Emma's eyes clouded over now with hot tears "I want it! I want it! I want it!" she started to scream.

The faces of all the  judgmental mothers had now turned towards the scene. The small girl had  started to jump and stomp her feet. The mothers leaned in close together  and started to whisper disapprovingly. They had rolled their eyes  several times and even giggled a little.

"Emma!" Madison hissed, noticing the onlookers. Her face started to turn bright red with embarrassment.

"Emma this needs to stop  right now" Brandon said, he was trying to remain calm but the looks and  laughter was starting to get to him too. But it didn't stop; in fact it  made things worse. Her screaming got louder and she even started to  kick the other smaller pumpkins. "Okay Emma that's it" he held onto her  hand and started to tug her away from the fields. "You wont be getting  any pumpkins".

She tried to fight  against him but he held on tighter and finally led her away from  everyone. For a moment Madison stood there fully stunned. She had never  once dreamed that her daughter would have such an attitude towards  discipline. What had gotten into her daughter? A year ago she never  would have tried something like that. Had she relaxed too much when it  came to giving her children punishments? Had she gone soft? Had she  started to spoil them too much?

Maybe she had. Maybe she  gave them too much now. They never used to act that way. But now was it  because they were living in a rich neighborhood? They now had all the  dolls they could want? Were they slowly becoming spoiled brats?

But than again Noah and  Ella still seemed to be acting the same way they always did. Was it  something else? Maybe Emma was just going through a stage. That was  possible right?

Nonetheless it felt like  the rest of the day was ruined. Brandon made Emma stick close to him  and wouldn't let her have much fun with her friends. Madison felt like  she was the center of attention with everyone watching her every move  and she just wanted to curl into a ball to disappear.

The mothers would  continue to talk behind her back. She caught word of it every so often  but most of it was in hushed tones. They seemed to be talking about how  bad a mother she was for not having control over her daughter and how  Brandon was too forceful.

After the school  children had loaded their pumpkins onto the bus they all had lunch  followed by a hayride to the apple fields. They all sang some songs as  the ride took them down the dirt road.

Each child had filled a  basket with the fresh fruit and both Haywood parents gathered enough to  fill two large bags. Madison smiled looking at the bright red fruit she  had. Tonight if she had time she was planning to make the kids a treat  of candy apples, and as long as Emma behaved she would share with her  too. If not she would go to bed without dessert.

When the kids and mom  and dad got home the girls headed to their room to play. Noah was  already home sitting on the couch with a video game. "How did it go?" he  asked glancing at them.

Brandon just shook his head and took a seat next to his son "I need to beat your butt at this game" he grabbed a controller.

"That bad eh?" Noah chuckled a little.

"How about you tell us how things went with Anna?" Brandon said changing the subject.

Noah blushed a little "she and I are going to the dance on Halloween".

Madison leaned in the door way and smiled a little "you'll need a costume".

Her son groaned, "Oh come on. I don't want to dress in some silly thing".

"Well we will find you something cool" Brandon said taking the lead now in the game thanks to the distraction Madison gave.

"Hey!" Noah glared at his dad.

Madison chuckled a little "maybe we can find a matching costume for you and Anna".

"What!" Noah gasps. This  now gave Brandon the chance he needed to knock Noah out and win the  game. "Hey you did that on purpose".

Brandon chuckled and stood when the doorbell rang "that must be the Chinese food".

"You ordered food?"  Madison asked realizing that her stomach was actually longing for food.  They had a long day at the farm and she was too busy with the other kids  and being affected by Emma's bad behaviour that she didn't get a chance  to eat much at lunch.

"I thought we might be  too tired to cook once we got home" Brandon said "so I ordered on the  way home". He answered the door and took the food thanking the  deliveryman.

"Great" Madison smiled  "Noah can you set the table". She walked towards the stairs and called  up to the girls "girls its time to eat".

Ella came rushing down  but Emma took her time still sour from the day events. She continued to  sulk and have an attitude the entire time. And the meal could barely be  enjoyed because of such negative energy. No one was really willing to  talk and the only sound was forks hitting the plates.

Finally when Madison  asked Emma to take her plate to the kitchen they hit the last straw.  Emma absolutely refused to take her plate to the sink.

"That isn't my job" she glared at her mother "that's what you do" she grumbled.

"Emma!" Brandon said stunned "say you're sorry to your mother right now!"

"Why? Its true" Emma  said, "That's all she does now. She was supposed to be our teacher this  year but instead she decided to stay home. So the dishes is her job now"  she crossed her arms over her chest with confidence.

"This attitude of yours  needs to end right now Emma" Brandon said standing from the table "we  have all had enough of it. Go to your room".

She rolled her eyes "I don't want to".

"I don't care" Brandon raised his voice "go to your room right now Emma!"

Emma's eyes filled with  tears and she looked at her parents "I wish you two weren't my parents!"  she gave her foot a hard stomp and ran away.

The room fell into an  awkward silence, as no one knew what to do or say. Everyone for a moment  say there stunned for they had never seen Brandon raise his voice  before. Finally Noah cleared his throat "Ella, lets go to the basement  and play". He grabbed both of their plates and took them to the sink. He  then grabbed onto her hand and led her away.

Brandon let out a loud  sigh and took a seat back at the table. He rested his head in his hands.  To put it simply he was disappointed with himself for losing his temper  at his daughter.

Madison stood behind him  a rested her hands gently on his shoulders. Slowly and softly she  started to give his shoulders and back a soft massage. He reached back  and took hold of her hand, giving it a softly squeeze.

Neither of them said  anything, instead the message passed silently between them. Today was a  told fail. They both had their own expectations that came crashing down.  But they also so proud of each other and the way they each handle  things. Madison knew it wasn't easy on Brandon to have to put his foot  down with Emma but she was proud of him for doing it.