Susie was the queen of all that she surveyed; a little world crafted of brick and wood and surrounded by furniture. Her subjects for today were measly plastic blocks, but her beloved teddy bear, Raptor, rested in a cottony slump at her side. Despite the abuse it received from the infant on a daily basis, the bear stared up at Susie with glassy brown eyes, and if an inanimate object was capable of devotion then Raptor would be eaten up with it. As the baby babbled and tossed her blocks around the circumference of her pretty pink blanket, Audrey watched from her perch on the couch, her chin cradled in her palm and her legs crossed one over the other at the knee. Rapt fascination, more schoolgirl awe than motherly interest, had taken control of her pretty face and set twin twinkles in the corners of her eyes.
"You know I love you, right?"
Susie stopped midswing, a brightly colored pink block clenched in a chubby deathgrip, and moved her big gray eyes to the smaller of her mothers. Her mouth spread into a gummy smile that showcased not one but all four of her sharp little teeth. She may not have understood what Audrey was saying but the sound of her voice was cause enough for mirth. The block she was holding went sailing through the air, only to fall in a quick nosedive to the ground at Audrey's feet. The little brunette uncrossed her legs and bent down to fetch the toy. It squeaked when she squeezed it but it silenced as an underhanded roll across the floor brought it back to Susie.
"I do. I'm sorry that I got so caught up with work. I didn't mean to do that to you, Snooze. I don't want you to think I was doing it to avoid you."
Susie watched as Little Mommy scootched to the edge of the couch and jumped when she dropped to her knees. When Audrey had made it to the edge of her blanket, she squealed happily and smacked the ground repeatedly with her little starfish shaped hands. Audrey smiled- how could she not?- and drew her legs to her chest. It was still weird that she could be anyone's mother and that was no more blindingly apparent than it was to Audrey herself. But there was Susie celebrating her arrival in Snoozeville as if she were the best thing since sliced bread or Blonde Mommy and Audrey couldn't have been happier.
She reached out to give a few of Susie's dark curls a gentle tug, a sigh rolling from her lips; sweet and dreamy and utterly content. But then those baby blues darkened, her brows furrowed together and her bottom lip trembled.
"I don't wanna be like my parents. My mom was just divorced from reality when she should have been divorced from Daddy. He wasn't a good man, Susie, but I think he really tried to be there at the end. "
As if sensing her mother's sudden melancholy, Susie picked Raptor up roughly by one of her arms and dropped her unceremoniously at Audrey's feet. Surprised, and incredibly grateful for such an offering, the little brunette hooked her finger through the red ribbon tied around the bear's neck and hugged it close to her heart. It might have been a fluke, a moment of infantile capricious disguised as something sweet, but Audrey didn't care.
"You're loved, Susie," she continued, a semi-circle of an upper body sway making Raptor's legs move.
It was almost as if the teddy bear was dancing, and that in turn had Susie howling with delighted, bubbly peals of chirpy laughter.
Audrey's eyes widened. "Yeah? See, you already know that. You're a smart baby. I think you get that from Blonde Mommy, but don't tell her. She'll get a big head."
When Susie reached for Raptor, suddenly impatient, Audrey laughed again as sweetly as a bellchime and pressed the long suffering bear's head into her daughter's hands. The baby immediately pulled Raptor close to her, almost as if she were mimicking her mother's embrace of the bear, and let out a stern "Bah!" of warning.
"Okay, okay! Raptor is yours. I get it, I get it." She threw her hands up in defeat, to which Susie cooed out a pitiful ''Wapto." It only served to wind Audrey even tighter around her pudgy little finger.
She then stretched her legs out and with a groan she rolled onto her stomach. A quick look around proved fruitful enough; she stretched her arm out as far as she could and curled her fingers into the plush purple foot of a stuffed rhino. Reeling it in, Audrey tucked it beneath her head, turning it into an impromptu pillow, and grinned up at Susie's suddenly stern little face.
"We're never gonna leave you, Snooze. No matter what you do, we're gonna be right here for you. You might hate us when you get to be Tina's age, but that won't stop us from loving you."
A yawn escaped into the hollow of her elbow. There was something about the floor and that damned rhinoceros that was almost siren like, but instead of being lured to Davey Jones' Locker with a pretty song, Audrey just wanted to sleep. Susie had since fallen victim to that very same fatigue and crawled closer to her mother, smooshing poor Raptor against the floor in the process.
It was a scene to be sure. Not ten minutes later, Susie was curled up along the back of Audrey's head, her tiny feet curled between the petite woman's shoulder blades.
Raptor, from her vantage point atop Audrey's ribcage, watched over the dreamers as diligent as any watchdog. But maybe, just maybe, if one were to stare long enough then they would see those marble eyes close too.
"You know I love you, right?"
Susie stopped midswing, a brightly colored pink block clenched in a chubby deathgrip, and moved her big gray eyes to the smaller of her mothers. Her mouth spread into a gummy smile that showcased not one but all four of her sharp little teeth. She may not have understood what Audrey was saying but the sound of her voice was cause enough for mirth. The block she was holding went sailing through the air, only to fall in a quick nosedive to the ground at Audrey's feet. The little brunette uncrossed her legs and bent down to fetch the toy. It squeaked when she squeezed it but it silenced as an underhanded roll across the floor brought it back to Susie.
"I do. I'm sorry that I got so caught up with work. I didn't mean to do that to you, Snooze. I don't want you to think I was doing it to avoid you."
Susie watched as Little Mommy scootched to the edge of the couch and jumped when she dropped to her knees. When Audrey had made it to the edge of her blanket, she squealed happily and smacked the ground repeatedly with her little starfish shaped hands. Audrey smiled- how could she not?- and drew her legs to her chest. It was still weird that she could be anyone's mother and that was no more blindingly apparent than it was to Audrey herself. But there was Susie celebrating her arrival in Snoozeville as if she were the best thing since sliced bread or Blonde Mommy and Audrey couldn't have been happier.
She reached out to give a few of Susie's dark curls a gentle tug, a sigh rolling from her lips; sweet and dreamy and utterly content. But then those baby blues darkened, her brows furrowed together and her bottom lip trembled.
"I don't wanna be like my parents. My mom was just divorced from reality when she should have been divorced from Daddy. He wasn't a good man, Susie, but I think he really tried to be there at the end. "
As if sensing her mother's sudden melancholy, Susie picked Raptor up roughly by one of her arms and dropped her unceremoniously at Audrey's feet. Surprised, and incredibly grateful for such an offering, the little brunette hooked her finger through the red ribbon tied around the bear's neck and hugged it close to her heart. It might have been a fluke, a moment of infantile capricious disguised as something sweet, but Audrey didn't care.
"You're loved, Susie," she continued, a semi-circle of an upper body sway making Raptor's legs move.
It was almost as if the teddy bear was dancing, and that in turn had Susie howling with delighted, bubbly peals of chirpy laughter.
Audrey's eyes widened. "Yeah? See, you already know that. You're a smart baby. I think you get that from Blonde Mommy, but don't tell her. She'll get a big head."
When Susie reached for Raptor, suddenly impatient, Audrey laughed again as sweetly as a bellchime and pressed the long suffering bear's head into her daughter's hands. The baby immediately pulled Raptor close to her, almost as if she were mimicking her mother's embrace of the bear, and let out a stern "Bah!" of warning.
"Okay, okay! Raptor is yours. I get it, I get it." She threw her hands up in defeat, to which Susie cooed out a pitiful ''Wapto." It only served to wind Audrey even tighter around her pudgy little finger.
She then stretched her legs out and with a groan she rolled onto her stomach. A quick look around proved fruitful enough; she stretched her arm out as far as she could and curled her fingers into the plush purple foot of a stuffed rhino. Reeling it in, Audrey tucked it beneath her head, turning it into an impromptu pillow, and grinned up at Susie's suddenly stern little face.
"We're never gonna leave you, Snooze. No matter what you do, we're gonna be right here for you. You might hate us when you get to be Tina's age, but that won't stop us from loving you."
A yawn escaped into the hollow of her elbow. There was something about the floor and that damned rhinoceros that was almost siren like, but instead of being lured to Davey Jones' Locker with a pretty song, Audrey just wanted to sleep. Susie had since fallen victim to that very same fatigue and crawled closer to her mother, smooshing poor Raptor against the floor in the process.
It was a scene to be sure. Not ten minutes later, Susie was curled up along the back of Audrey's head, her tiny feet curled between the petite woman's shoulder blades.
Raptor, from her vantage point atop Audrey's ribcage, watched over the dreamers as diligent as any watchdog. But maybe, just maybe, if one were to stare long enough then they would see those marble eyes close too.