Fairies Can Wait

Dear Mommy,

I think I found a solution to our little problem. The fairies in our backyard are what's making all the weeds grow for their houses, so if you could just tell them that I don’t actually have to pick the weeds today…that would be great.

Vivian smiled at her work as she neatly folded the paper and shoved it into an old Christmas envelope. Crawling out of her fort, she stood up and fluffed the sparkly pink tutu her father had given her for her birthday.

Smiling, she grabbed her little stuffed bunny, which was once her mother’s, and skipped down the hallway to present her mother with her proposal.

“Mom?” she called as she turned the corner, running right into her twin, Tyler.

“HI VEE!” Tyler yelled with a wide smile on his chocolate-covered face. Vivian narrowed her eyes at him.

“What are you so smiley about?” She studied him, from his bright green eyes to the pet cat, noodles, in his hand. Vivian always loved her brother's eyes, the way they matched. Even though they were twins, her eyes were miss-matched: Brown and green. He laughed and looked over her shoulder.

“Me and Asher were going to catch frogs, but he got all distracted, and we ate some of his candy. So then his mom called us in, and she got it all made so that he could eat it before lunch. So he had to go home, and then I walked all the way back here, and noodles were stuck in a tree, and so I grabbed her, and then I saw mom-”

“Wait!” Vivian interrupted before Tyler could keep rambling. “Where did you see mom? I need to give her my letter!”

Tyler paused, not caring about the interruption, and thought. Noodles squirmed out of his arms and plopped to the ground, stretching her small, sleek legs. Tyler bends down to pick her up and laughs as her tail brushes his nose.

“She’s in the garden, I think. Penelope was riding bikes with her friends, and Mom told her to wear a helmet, but Penelope didn't want to, so then mom set it on the floor for her to pick up, but then she-.” Vivian ran off before Tyler could start another story. She ran out the back door, pausing momentarily to smile at her “TOP GIRL FOR MRS. HONEY’S 1ST GRADE CLASS” certificate she won last week. Fixing her wings with a new rush of pride, she barreled outside with her bare feet.

It was a beautiful day, just warm enough for the King family to start their flower garden. Vivian skipped along, smiling at the shadow her wings cast. She scanned her large backyard, feeling the mushy grass beneath her toes. Just then, a large ball came flying over the fence and landed at her feet.

“Vee! Can you toss that back over?” her 10-year-old sister, Penelope, called from over the fence.

“Be careful what you wish for!” Vivian laughed. She had just learned that phrase at school and liked using it whenever possible. Picking the dirty ball, she ran over to the fence, peeking through the hole. She was met with Penelope's messy black hair and big blue eyes. She smiled.

“Here, just toss it over to me and Hazel!” Penelope called, backing up.

“Ok!” Vivian replied as she stepped back and tossed the ball over. She was about to walk away when she remembered something.

“Oh! Wait-” She ran back to the fence and peeked through the hole again. “Penny, have you seen Mom?” Penelope turned around and pointed towards the garage.

“She was in there, but Dad just got home!” Penelope said as she hopped on her bike, getting ready to pedal off again. Vivian smiled.

“Dad's home?? " she asked, running toward the gate, standing on her tiptoes to open the fence. Eventually, she managed to open it, and she ran over to the driveway, where her face lit up.

“Daddy!” she laughed as she ran towards a tall man with long black hair and blue eyes. He smiled and set down his bag, scooping her up.

“Hello, princess! What are you doing out here?” He laughed brightly, kissing her cheek. Vivian giggled, squirming out of his arms and grabbing his hand.

“I was looking for mom to give her this very important letter. But I can't find her anywhere!” she inhaled as if this was the most frustrating thing ever. Her father picked his bag up and looked down at her with a gentle smile.

“Well, why don't we find her together?” he suggested, squeezing her hand.

“Ok!” Vivian agreed and started leading him inside. She walked close to him, leaning her head on his leg. She loved it when Dad came home. He bent down and scooped her up as they walked through the door. Setting his bag down and fixing his hair, they walked around. A small thud came from the kitchen, and Vivian pointed.

“Is she in there?” she asked, looking at him with her beautiful, unique eyes. He shrugged, setting her down.

“I don't know, princess. Let's go check.” he walked into the kitchen, and Vivian trailed him, holding the letter to her chest. They walked into the kitchen, and her dad smiled.

“Hello, Darling,” he said softly, walking into their pantry. Vivian followed and peeked her head in. Her dad was hugging her mom. She had pretty brown hair, just like her, but her eyes were different. She looked up at him and smiled. She had dark circles too, but her skin was paler than father's.

“Hello Theo…” her mother laid her head on his chest, looking happy, but tired. He rubbed her back and kissed her head. Vivian scrunched her nose but giggled, which caught her attention.

“Why, hello there, little girl!” her mother's face brightened as she carefully reached down to scoop Vivian up. “Where have you been?”

"Everywhere!" Vivian laughed and held out the letter to her mom. “I was looking all over for you!” Her mother laughed, taking the letter.

“Is that so? Well, I'm happy you found me.” She kissed Vivian's head and set her down. “What is this?”

“It's a letter! For you!” She smiled shyly. Her mother laughed and opened it, reading it and pretending to ponder. Vivan watched her with eager eyes, trying to guess the outcome.

“Hmm…I see. Well, I'll have a chat with those fairies because you still need to do your chores!” She laughed, putting her hands on her hips.

"But mom! The fairies!" Vivian whined. Her mother laughed, tickling her sides.

"Oh no, you don't! No whining!" She began to laugh, then stopped, her face growing still and place again. she held her head and slowly looked at Father.

“H-here sweetheart, why don't you ask your dad-” she stopped, making a small painful sound. She let out a strange breath and held her stomach.

"Darling, I'm sorry-" She quickly got up and hurried away, making her father frown. Vivian watched her go, her smile fading into sad confusion.

“Dad? Is Mama ok?” She looked up at her dad, glancing at the letter her mom opened. He sighed, softly bouncing Vivian on his hip.

“Yeah, kiddo…she’s ok…” he said softly, his voice sounding sad. Vivian frowned, tilting her head. She didn’t understand why he seemed so sad. He sat down on the floor, holding Vivian in his lap.

“Dad?...” she asked again when his eyes got all sparkly. He looked at her and quickly smiled, straightening his back.

“Oh, sorry,y princess.” he stroked her hair. “Your mom is just…sick, that's all. She’ll be ok. Vivan looked at him; she didn’t want her mama to be sick.

“Sick? What do you mean?” She looked back at where her mother had hurried off. Her father adjusted his position on the floor and sighed.

“Well, remember when grandma came to watch you guys while mommy and daddy went away?” Father crossed his legs, turning her around so they could see each other's eyes. Vivian thought, then nodded.

"You left because Mama needed surgery, right?” she asked. He softly smiled and fluffed her hair.

“That's right. Well, mama has just…been a little sick since then.” He closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the kitchen cabinet. Vivian frowned, feeling sad inside. She hugged his neck, making her father clear his throat. His eyes quickly brightened. He kissed her cheek and stood up, handing her little letter back.

“But don't worry! But if you want to be helpful for Mama while she feels better, then you should probably tell those fairies to move so you can do your chore, huh?” he smiled.

Vivian sighed, but she wanted to help her mom. “Ok, dad,” she said. He laughed and gave her a hug.

“That's my girl! Thank you!” he said cheerfully.

"Now go on and play." He walked her to the back door. Vivian smiled and ran back outside. Skipping over to the garden, she abruptly paused when she saw Tyler looking through the living room window.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she sat by him. Tyler looked at her.

“Spying,” he said flatly. That sounded better than weeds, so Vivian sat by him and peeked through the window. She saw her dad gently knocking on the bathroom door and softly talking.

“What's he saying?” Vivian whispered, glancing at her brother. He shrugged.

“I don’t know, but I think he’s talking to Mom.” he licked his lips, his eyes glued on their father. Vivan nodded and looked back through the window. Their father softly opened the door and walked in, crouching down. The twins were so busy squinting through the window that they didn’t notice Penelope walk up behind them.

“What are you two doing?” she smiled, peeking through the window. Her smile faded as they all watched their father scoop up their mom and carry her off to their room. Penelope looked at her two confused younger siblings and took their hands.

“Come on, you two, we need to get our chores done.” She laughed as the two groaned.

“Oh come on! We get it done fast, we can play shop!” That caught Vivian's attention. The three ran off to the garden box, leaving behind the gloomy sight inside.

Vivian picked her weeds, her fairy wings reflecting the sunlight. Taking them off, she wiped her dirty hands on her dress. She'd play with the fairies after. But she wanted to help her mom so she could smile again.

The little meow caught her attention, and she looked at the fluffy tabby.

"Oh! Noodles!" She laughed as noodles brushed her leg, wanting attention. Scooping her up, they walked to the flowers. Noodles purred as Vivian rubbed her head, already excited to play. She glanced back at her fairy wings, glistening by the garden, then to the house, where her father was talking to Penelope. Vivian's eyes saddened, and she set noodles down.

"Go on, buddy, play without me..." she said softly, sitting down by the weed patch.

The fairies will have to wait another day.