"Aun ecky!"
Becky woke up to a small curly haired toddler bouncing up, and down besides her, she glances over Mark who is asleep with the covers over his head. She knows that he's still tired from being sick an entire looks over towards the door to their bedroom. Darlene is standing there with a bag with some of Harris clothes in it. She frowns as Darlene mouths "you owe me," she wonders when watching after their niece has become a weekend routine thing for her, and Mark not that it bothers them. She turns towards Harris as the door to the bedroom closes, and she could hear the door to the trailer being lightly slammed shut.
Harris Conner-Healy, the three year old from hell as her very own mother muttered once was excited because she gets to spend the weekend with her favorite Aunt, and Uncle. She smiles as her Aunt Becky turned over to look at her. She stopped jumping when she noticed her Aunt Becky
pointing at the person shaped lump underneath the covers.
Harris sat down in her Aunt's lap as the lump moved. A shriek of childish giggles escaping her as her Uncle Mark sits up, grabs her to hold her close. Kissing her forehead, as her Aunt kisses her yawns as her Uncle Mark softly ask if she's sleepy. She nods her head,she is settled between them, her Aunt scooting close to hug her,while her Uncle throws his arm around them.
It's different she thinks her Aunt, and Uncle are different from her Mommy, and Daddy.
Her Mommy sometimes gets mad, and screams at Daddy. Her Daddy simply tells her that her Mommy is like that, She has never seen her Aunt Becky mad, she seen her Uncle Mark mad before when Daddy mentioned someone named Barbara.
She knows that her Mommy, and Daddy love each other like her Grandpa Dan, and Grandma Rose, like Aunt Becky, and Uncle Mark do. But she's never seen Mommy kiss Daddy.
She looks up from the toys, her Aunt Becky keeps in a small brown box that has her name written on the side. Her Aunt kisses her Uncle, and her Uncle smiles. She sometimes wonders about her Daddy and her Uncle's Mommy, and Daddy. She asked her Uncle once when they were at the store, he told her that his and Daddy's Mommy and Daddy are bad.
She wonders why her Aunt and Uncle look sad sometimes when they take her to the park. But she doesn't, she doesn't know what to ask so she hugs her Aunt Becky, and calls her aunt pretty, because her aunt is pretty. She calls Uncle Mark pretty, and he laughs and tells her that she and Aunt Becky are the only ones allowed to call him pretty. She smiles as her uncle pouts when her aunt calls him pretty before she kiss him.
She loves them, they aren't mommy and daddy, but she knows they have a lot of love for her. Her Uncle tells her that him, and Aunt Becky will always love her. Her Uncle promises that he will spoil her, and take her out for a ride on the big shiny bike he has when she's older. She smiles as her Uncle Mark hugs her close, kisses her forehead,tells her to behave all the while with a smile on his face. Aunt Becky places her box of toys in her mommy's lap, turning towards her, picks her up, and spins her around in a circle.
It's her Aunt's birthday, she's four now ,and she puts on the blue dress her Aunt got her for christmas. There just waiting on Uncle Mark to arrive, she sees flowers behind in her Uncle's hand. He motions for her to be quite. She smiles as her aunt smiles when her uncle shows her the flowers. She watches as they lean closer to each other their foreheads touching. She can't really make out what their saying, but it makes her grandpa laugh.
A year later it her Aunt's birthday again, and just like last time Uncle Mark got Aunt Becky a small bouquet of flowers with a little card. Her Uncle wraps his arms around her Aunt, kissing her cheek,and saying that one day it will happen.
She wonders what her Uncle means by one day. But she knows that one day will never happen, she will never know what her uncle meant. Because three months later she wakes up to see her Dad crying, with her mom trying to comfort him. She walks over clutching her stuffed Bunny that her aunt, and uncle got her. She understands what her mom means when she says that Uncle Mark is gone. She blinks because she can feel her eyes get watery, her lips tremble as her dad holds her close. She cries as her dad tries to sooth her with shaky hands, and tells her that life isn't fair.
She holds her bunny close to her chest as her mom tucks her in, after her dad falls asleep while crying, and mumbling her beloved uncle's name.
After that her mom, and dad barely talk to each other, her dad is more distant. She clutches her bunny, and sits in a corner of her room as the yelling starts again. She closes her eyes wishing her uncle was here to make her laugh whenever she felt sad, or scared.
It's the day everyone is wearing black, once her legs touch the grass and her dad lets go of her. She takes off looking her Aunt Becky, pushing past people, and family alike. She doesn't stop until she reaches her Aunt, she clings to her Aunt Becky burying her face into her her aunt's neck. Her small fingers clutching the collar of the leather jacket her aunt is wearing, because it's Uncle Mark's jacket.
She spends the rest of the day by her Aunt's side, as people come up to her Aunt to hug her, tell her that it a shame what happened. Everyone is at her grandparents, she simply stares at the pictures of her Uncle, she notices that her Uncle's hair is longer and fluffy looking in those pictures. She hears her Aunt Becky laugh as she picks one of the pictures. It's of her Aunt Becky, and Uncle Mark in the picture their smiling, her Uncle Mark's arm around her Aunt's shoulder, they look younger. She keeps the picture in her hands as Aunt Becky picks up, and tells her that she loved Uncle Mark, and his fluffy hair, and when his hair wasn't so fluffy.
She cuddles with her Aunt in the armchair that Uncle Mark would have been sitting in with Aunt Becky sitting on the armrest. She falls asleep with her Aunt in the armchair, feeling her Aunt hug her closer. She snuggles her face into her Aunt's neck as she hears her Aunt say Uncle Mark's name in her sleep. She wakes up, and notices that she in her room in chicago, she wonders if her Aunt will ever feel better as she plays with the floppy ears of her bunny.
She wants to go see her Aunt Becky she demands one day stomping her feet, she wants to be with her cuddling her, and letting her aunt play with her so she won't be sad. Because she knows that her Uncle Mark wouldn't want Aunt Becky to be sad. But her mom yells at her to be quiet while her mom yells at her dad about why he has a suitcase made.
She runs to her room closes the door, and grabs her bunny sitting in a corner. She doesn't feel sad, or scared. She feels angry, a couple of hours later as her mom tells her to pick some candy. She ask her mom why, her mom tells her it's for Aunt Becky. That should make her feel better, that she picking candy for her Aunt maybe their going to go visit her. But they don't her mom takes the candy they bought, and puts it in a box with a crossword puzzle. Telling her that their going to send this candy package to her Aunt.