tuesday morning
nick/macy

by katie lynn :)

so i'm finally attempting to write something that isn't fluffy and pointless. it's a miracle! i recently fell in love with nacy, and i thought this would be a good choice to ya know...explore. tehe.

originally started out as a jess like a year ago but then i tweaked the idea. a lot. lmfao.

–

Ariel Lucas wakes up at seven o'clock on a Tuesday morning in early January. It's very cold when she sits up in her bed and looks around the room. She shivers and curls up into a ball beneath her comforter, hoping the cold goes away soon. Ariel isn't fond of being cold. So she lies in her nice, warm bed for a moment and is happy that she doesn't have to go to school today. She doesn't really like kindergarten much; it's not as fun as preschool, and you don't get a naptime.

When she finally crawls out of bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly, she doesn't feel very good. Her throat is scratchy and her knees feel like grape jelly. Ariel shifts and hopes she isn't sick, because being sick is no fun at all. She was looking forward to seeing her cousins and going to Mommy's party, too, and if she was sick then Daddy definitely wouldn't let her go.

She shuffles out of the room and hallway, and down the steps (almost losing her balance), until she finally sees a light on in the kitchen just around the staircase. Daddy is probably up now – he always wakes up early so that he can drink a cup of coffee and eat a bowl of Frosted Flakes with banana before he goes to the studio.

Ariel is wrong. Her daddy is not in the kitchen – but her Uncle Joey and Aunt Stella are! She hears them talking about her and gets excited, because maybe they're planning a surprise for her.

Aunt Stella is wearing a long black dress and some black high heels. Ariel is a little confused, because Aunt Stella doesn't like wearing black. "We have to be there in forty-five minutes, Joe."

Uncle Joey sighs and runs his fingers through his thick black hair, unstraightened for once. Ariel likes Uncle Joey's hair a lot – it's soft and sometimes he lets her put flower barrettes in it.

"C'mon, Stells. Let Ari and Chels sleep a little longer. Nick won't care if we're two minutes late," Joe says gently. Ariel's baby sister Chelsea is only two, and she needs more sleep than Ariel. Ariel is a big girl, like Mommy and Aunt Stella.

She crawls under the dining room table and hides behind a chair, listening to her aunt and uncle talk a little bit more. She stays under the table, and it's very dark and cramped, but Ariel likes to be brave like Daddy.

Her long, dark hair brushes the back of a chair, and the hairs tickle the back of her neck. "Eep!" Ariel giggles in surprise before realizing her mistake and clapping a hand over her mouth.

Aunt Stella and Uncle Joey look into the dining room. "Ariel Nichole," Aunt Stella smiles smally, using her "mommy" voice. Aunt Stella is her cousin's mommy, but Ariel still crawls out from under the table shamefully.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Stella. Are you mad?" Ariel says in a small voice. Her voice feels scratchy.

Aunt Stella shakes her head and motions for Ariel to come closer. "I'm not mad, Ariel," she says gently.

"Are...are you gonna tell Daddy I was listenin' to you an' Uncle Joey?"

"No, Ariel, that's okay. But we're gonna get you ready for Mommy's party now, alright? Joseph, get the cough medicine just in case."

Aunt Stella picks Ariel up in her arms and carries her back to her bedroom. Yesterday, they went shopping and Ariel got a brand new dress for Mommy's party. it's purple with a black sweater, and she even got shiny new black shoes. Ariel hasn't seen Mommy since Thursday, and really wants to look nice for her party.

"I can't believe Mommy's coming back from Heaven just for a party!" Ariel gushes. "Did Daddy call her?"

Aunt Stella swallows and pulls Ariel's hair back before braiding the brown strands into a thick plait. She ties it at the end with a black bow, then kisses Ariel's cheek. "No, sweetheart," she says quietly. Ariel is confused, pouting out her lips in thought, but decides that it doesn't matter. As long as Mommy comes home, everything will be just fine.

"I miss Mommy a lot," Ariel muses to herself aloud. She misses when Mommy made her breakfast and did her hair with the fancy butterfly hair clip and played with her when Daddy was busy. Oh! And she misses the way Mommy gave the best hugs in the whole entire world. Even better than Uncle Kevin, and his hugs are REALLY good.

Aunt Stella's eyes get all watery and she gives Ariel a big squeeze. "I miss her too, sweetheart. But why don't you go play with Uncle Joey while I dress Chels, okay?"

Ariel nods slowly, wiping some black stuff off Aunt Stella's cheek. Then she goes to play with Uncle Joey. He lets her play with his hair and tells her a story about an adventure he went on with Nolan and Claire.

Nolan and Claire are her cousins, and she really can't wait to see them, either. Mommy's party is going to be the most fun thing in the whole entire world.

Uncle Joey smiles at her after a while, and brushes her bangs from her face, and even Ariel can tell that his eyes are sad.

"Are you sad, Uncle Joey?" Ariel asks gently and wraps her arms around his neck.

When Ariel asks why, he just shrugs and tells her to put her coat on because it's cold outside.

Sometimes she really hates when grown-ups don't tell her things.

–

When they get to the party place, Ariel is really confused because this is just church. Ariel doesn't like church much. Daddy always makes her be quiet in church.

"I wanna walk with Chelsea," Ariel says when they get out of Uncle Joey's car. She takes Chelsea's chubby fingers, entwining them with her own, and smiles. Hopefully when she sees them, Mommy will pick both of them up and twirl them around in a circle.

The church is warm and toasty when they get inside. It's really, really big and when the people walk you can hear their footsteps echo. There's lots of people, and they all look at Ariel and Chelsea sadly.

"Daddy!" Chelsea cries out when Daddy comes into view. He's wearing a really fancy suit and shiny dress shoes, and his cheeks get all red when Chelsea yells for him.

Ariel thinks he looks very pretty.

"Hi, girls," Daddy whispers. He picks up Ariel and Chelsea at the same time like Mommy does. "You want to go sit with Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Daddy! I wanna see Mommy, silly!" Ariel flashes him a wide smile so that all of her teeth are showing. She almost coughs a little, and then swallows it. Daddy won't let her see Mommy if he knows that there's a frog in her throat.

Daddy nods slowly and kisses each of their cheeks. "Okay, honey," he says real quiet like when he sings her a goodnight song. Daddy has the best voice in the whole world.

He leads them up to a big wood container where Mommy's sleeping. Ariel can't wait to jump onto her tummy and tickle under her arms.

"Mommy!" Chelsea says and reached for Mommy desperately. Daddy doesn't let her go.

Ariel's cheeks are flushed with excitement, until she leans over to look at Mommy. She isn't smiling like she always does when she sleeps, and her skin is the color of the snow outside. She's wearing her prettiest dress, and the heart locket Daddy got her that she only wears on special occasions.

"Mommy," Ariel says in a small voice, reaching out to touch Mommy's cheek. She feels like an ice cube. "Daddy, she needs a blanket."

Daddy swallows and holds Chelsea tighter. "Ariel" - his voice cracks - "you know how when people go to Heaven, their spirits go but not their bodies?"

Ariel's lower lip trembles as she realizes what Daddy means. Mommy isn't really here. It's like when her bunny Daisy went to Heaven and then they had a party for her and put her in the ground.

"M-Mommy," Ariel stutters quietly, then buries her face in Daddy's shoulder. Daddy's shoulder is warm and smells like cinnamon apples, and she can't see Mommy anymore.

Daddy kisses her hair and whispers, "I'm sorry, baby."

Chelsea starts to cry.

Daddy starts humming her favorite song. His voice cracks.

Ariel can feel tears sting the corner of her eyes, then drip down her cheeks.

This is the worst Tuesday she's ever had in her whole entire life.

–

okay wow. that took me forever to write. sad stories take a lot more of my time. but yeah. i like how this turned out. :)

please review with more than "so sad" or "i loved it," thanks. i mean honestly, i spend a lot of time on my stories and i like hearing peoples' opinions beyond that.