Topic: Glitter And Glue

Lyneth Granger

Date: 2013-02-01 12:03 EST
What are little girls made of? Glitter and glue and nothing quite blue, if the state of Lyneth Davidson was anything to go by. In fact, it wasn't just her she had covered in her various handicrafts. Mummy was equally smothered with glitter and tiny discarded bits of cut paper; even Loki was sporting a sparkling sheen to his fur. But despite the mess, the little house felt happy today, despite Des' absence.

Indeed, it was because of Des' absence that all this was going on at all. Lynnie had been learning about public holidays at school, about the special days in the year that people marked in different ways, and though she was early, she had come home today demanding that Mummy pull out all the paper and cardboard and glitter and glue and everything else, fully intent upon making something for Valentine's Day.

Of course, she couldn't make it for Mummy, because Mummy had to help her with the scissors and the glue. She couldn't make it for Loki, because he was a dog. She couldn't make it for any of her faery friends, because they wouldn't have the first idea what it was. So her little heart had settled itself upon making a Valentine for Des, because she loved him. Not the way Mummy loved him, but even so ...

It hadn't quite turned out the way she'd wanted it to. There was glitter, yes, and hearts, and butterflies, and his name in big letters across the top, but there was a big empty space beneath that she couldn't think of anything to put in. Mummy sat curled up next to her, watching the little face frown thoughtfully over her creation, and finally said, "You know, Lynnie, some people put little poems on their Valentines. You're not supposed to say who it's from, but the poem gives a clue."

The little Fae-child looked up at her mother hopefully. "What sort of poems?"

Mummy smiled, wracking her brains for one that might be appropriate. "Well, there's one that people use a lot," she said. "Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you."

The expression this little recital brought out on her daughter's face made her laugh, even as the little girl objected strongly to the wording. "Violets aren't blue, they're purple," she said, a little crossly. "And Des isn't sweet, he's ....he's Des!"

Still laughing, Mummy reached for a pen. "Maybe we could change it a bit," she offered. "What do you want your Valentine to say?"

There was a long pause as Lyneth considered this, chewing momentarily at a hank of her long hair until Mummy took it out of her mouth. "Des loves you, doesn't he, Mummy?" she asked quietly. "Does that mean he loves me too?"

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sure he loves you too," Mummy hurried to reassure her. "But that's a good idea to put on your Valentine. If you ask him like that, I'm sure he'll tell you he loves you."

"Roses are red," Lyneth mused carefully, "and violets are blue - which they're really not, they're purple - and Des loves you, Mummy ..."

Mummy's smile softened and widened in the same moment. "Tell you what," she suggested, "shall I write it for you?" She leaned over and murmured something into Lyneth's ear. "Would that do?"

The little girl beamed happily. "That's perfect, Mummy! Write it onna card!"

Chuckling, Mummy did just that, settling the little personalised poem down on the sticky, glittery paper in careful letters, saying each word as she wrote it down for the little girl's benefit. It filled the blank space that had been left exactly the way Lyneth wanted it to, and the tiny girl let out a crow of delight, kissing her mother's cheek happily.

"It's all done! When can I give it to him?"

Mummy chuckled, wiping a stray swathe of glitter from Lyneth's cheek. "You can give it to him when he comes back at the weekend," she promised her daughter. "Since he'll be on Earth on Valentine's Day, we can give him a Valentine's Day early here. But first ....this needs to dry off and set, and you, little horror, need to have a bath before you cover the house in glitter!"

Lyneth erupted into delighted squeals of laughter as Mummy attacked her with tickling fingers, both of them thumping over onto the polished wood of the floor when Loki bounded up to join in. Someday soon - very soon - Des would be a part of these little interludes, and though the Valentine wasn't quite what she had hoped it would be, Lyneth was very pleased that she had made one for him. That's what families did for each other, wasn't it? _____________________ http://cfc.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/.sig/cuTVcdzT5dEYlZbKqOEsw/cid/70903839/id/Qau96TdpTvaZOceutendeA/size/c600x653.jpg