Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
The sun was coming up and I could hear the girls chattering to each other in the bedroom just as I finished packing my things. There was so little that I wanted from our house. It had never felt like mine anyway.
Straightening my sweater as I got to my feet, I walked slowly down the hall, savoring the last few minutes of quiet before the crazy day ahead.
“Mama!” Ariel cried happily, bouncing on her bed as I opened their door. “Nana’s got a runny nose!”
“Good morning,” I called softly, the smile on my face not nearly as hard to come by as I’d feared. “Did you sleep good?”
“Nana spit out her blue binky but I gave it back,” Ariel replied importantly, hopping off her bed, her little yellow blankie slung over her shoulder.
“Diana,” I scolded jokingly, walking to the crib to poke my youngest in the belly. “Did you throw your binky off the bed so sister would have to come get it?”
“No,” she replied, giggling. “I not.”
“She did,” Ariel murmured, leaning against my hip. She didn’t sound the least bit put out by it.
I ran my hand over Ariel’s hair, my heart thundering. We were leaving. We were finally leaving. I could barely catch my breath. Ariel would never have to—no. I stopped that train of thought before I could finish it. I would think of the implications later. Rejoice later. Once we were safe with Esther and her husband Otto.
“Let’s change your diaper,” I said to Diana, scooping her up out of the crib. “Ariel, you want to pick your outfit for today?”
“Can I wear the purple dress?”
“Oh, I suppose,” I said with a teasing sigh. “Don’t forget your underwear and tights.”
“Okay!” She hopped on two feet across the little room to her dresser.
“How about you?” I asked Diana, rubbing her back as I carried her toward the dresser. “What do you want to wear today?”
“Dress,” Diana murmured around her pacifier.
“I suppose that can be arranged.”
The next few minutes were a whirl of activity as I wrangled the girls into clothes and brushed Ariel’s hair, but eventually I herded them out of the bedroom toward the kitchen.
“I want pancakes,” Ariel announced, skipping ahead of me. “With bananas.”
“I don’t think we have any bananas, tootsie pop. We’ll have to pick something else.”
“Oatmeal,” she roared, lifting her hands like paws.
“Are you a lion?”
“No, I’m a tiger.”
“Scary.” I shivered. “Do tigers roar?” It was a serious question. I couldn’t remember.
“They do,” Ariel replied firmly.
“Do tigers like oatmeal?”
“The smart ones do.” She climbed into her seat at the table and waited while I put Diana in her high chair.
“How about an apple with your oatmeal?” I asked, shaking out my hands as I grabbed some plain oatmeal packets out of the drawer. Straightening my back, I mixed them with a little water and put them into the microwave.
“I love appoes,” Diana sang, spitting her pacifier onto the high chair tray.
“They’re your favorite, huh?” I said, glancing over my shoulder at her as I grabbed an apple out of the bowl.
“I like oranges,” Ariel contradicted. “But I can eat an apple.”
“Well, that’s good.” Only years of conditioning kept me from rolling my eyes as I sliced their apple. “Since we have no oranges.”
“We should go to the store.”
“Maybe tomorrow.”
The beep of the microwave seemed too loud and I watched out the window as I fixed the girls their plates.
“I put brown sugar on it,” I whispered to Ariel as I set the plate down in front of her.
I grit my teeth and bowed my head as she automatically closed her eyes and prayed out loud for her and Diana’s meals.
“Nice job, baby,” I murmured, putting Diana’s plate on her tray.
“Can we do puzzles after breakfast?” Ariel asked, swinging her feet.
“Absolutely.”
“And bubbles,” she asked slyly, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.
“Maybe this afternoon,” I conceded. Bubbles were a special treat and I wondered for a moment if she knew something was up.
They were used to Caleb being gone in the mornings for work and they’d slept through the chaos of the paramedics the night before, but maybe she could sense it. I wouldn’t have been surprised. Ariel noticed everything.
It only took a few minutes for the girls to eat, even though Diana took the time to sing quietly to herself between bites. As soon as they were done, I quickly washed their dishes and pulled down the wooden puzzles for them to play with before heading into their room.
The girls had way more to pack than I did. Between the diapers and clothes for both of them, the keepsakes I kept in the top drawer of their dresser, and the stuffed animals they were most attached to, I’d filled another large suitcase and duffel bag. Stashing them in with my suitcase in the bedroom, I wandered back toward the living room. There were a few photos of the girls that I wanted to grab and a throw blanket my mom had made as a wedding gift, but for the most part we were fully packed and ready when I sat down on the floor to help them with their puzzles.