Tonight was going to be a Girls Only Night. Your mommy told you this before she started making dinner. "Daddy won't be home, he's got to work late at the hospital. Plus, your brothers are sleeping over Jasper's house," She said, "So we're going to have a fun Girls Only Night."
"Okay mommy," You replied without complaint. "What're we going to do?"
"What would you like to do, pumpkin?"
You weren't sure how you felt about that nickname. Mommy called you 'pumpkin', and daddy called you 'meatball'. You also weren't sure why they liked to call you food, but you didn't care about that too much. As long as they didn't call you 'short stop' like your brothers.
"Bella said she had a Girls Only Night with her mommy. She said they watched a scary movie, and had junk food."
"Alright! Then it's settled. After dinner—I'm making chicken fingers," You jumped up in the air, with a fist pump, and a 'Yessssss!' because homemade chicken fingers were your favorite, "Then we could go to the store and get some good hot chocolate mix, ice cream, and new nail polish. After that we can go to Blockbuster, okay?"
"Okay mommy"
Dinner was amazing, just like you expected. It was probably because your mommy was the best cook in the world, you were positive of it.
"Ready to go?" She asked with a smile, as she watched you tie your own shoes. This new phenomena had only recently happened within the last two weeks. You were pretty proud of yourself, and so were your parents.
"Ready to go, mommy!" You confirmed with a little nod and a salute. She laughed, and you two went about your shopping excursion.
"I don't know pumpkin…" (She said this in the tone of voice you've come to associate with, 'Maybe we should talk to daddy about it first…') "That's a suspense movie, are you sure you'll be okay watching it? …What's the rating?" She asked while brushing some hair out of your right eye.
"PG-13…" You murmured reluctantly.
"I don't know Alice, you're not 13." She said with a smile.
Before she could say 'no' outright, you jumped in with your argument, "Mommy, I'm seven now! I can handle it. I'm a big girl like you, remember?" She told you that a lot, especially when you tired your shoes, "I'll be okay. I promise. And if I get scared, we can stop watching it. Okay? Jessica said she watched The Sixth Sense too, with her daddy. She said it wasn't that bad… You won't tell Chief Charlie on me, will you?"
She laughed, "No, silly girl. I don't think we need to get the police involved in your first federal offence"
You weren't sure what a 'federal a fence' was, but you did like climbing fences, so you were pretty sure nothing too bad would happen. "So can we get it?" You asked while bouncing in your spot.
"Well, okay. But let's get another movie, just incase that one's too scary. How about this one?" She held up Muppet Treasure Island.
"Okay mommy!" If it wasn't too late, then you could watch that too! And if it was, then you could always wait until the next Girls Only Night. You were pretty excited about your dastardly plan. Even though you weren't quite sure was 'dastardly' meant. You heard the bad guy in Betty Boop say it.
With your purchases in hand, you left the Blockbuster and jumped into the car. Before you knew it, you were pulling into the driveway. The ride had gone a lot faster than you expected, but it was probably due to the fact that you and your mommy were singing along to John Mayer at the top of your lungs.
"Okay! How should we do this? Nail polish and music first? Then hot chocolate, and watch the movie with ice cream? Or… Nail polish and music, then ice cream, and then watch the movie with hot chocolate?" She asked this as you laid all your goodies out on the living room floor.
"The second one! Cause hot chocolate makes you sleepy. That way after the movie we can go to bed, right?"
"Right! Okay, lets put the iPod on shuffle."
"Okay mommy"
Twenty fingers and toes, and two bowls of ice cream later, you were sitting next to your mommy on the couch watched The Sixth Sense, while drinking the best hot chocolate of your life. It was scary sometimes, but you were doing all right. Every time you jumped, your mommy would hug you a little tighter. Sometimes she would jump, and then you both would laugh at each other for being scared in the first place. It was fun, and funny, and relaxing, even if the movie put you on edge sometimes.
Once it was over, you both cleaned up the stuff in the living room. It was an hour passed your bedtime, and you knew she was going to say something soon. After you handed her your hot chocolate mug, your prediction was proven correct. "Alright, pumpkin," She murmured, "It's bedtime. Why don't you go on upstairs, while I clean up these dishes. Then I'll come up and tuck you in."
You went upstairs and did what you had to do. You even had a little order you did it in. You brushed your hair first, and then your teeth, washed your face, and lastly put on your pajamas. It worked out well this way, because then if you got toothpaste on your clothes, it didn't matter. You were going to take them off and put them in the hamper anyway. Your bothers weren't so smart. They both got toothpaste on their pajamas.
Your mommy had the best timing. Right after you scooted into bed, and got your feet under the covers, she came in your room. "All set Alice?"
"All set mommy"
"Okay then," She tucked you in all nice and snug, like she always did. Daddy would usually come in as well, to give you a kiss goodnight. But he wasn't there tonight. That didn't really matter though, even if he were there, he wouldn't have been able to say goodnight. Tonight was a Girls Only Night after all.
"If you get scared, you know where I'll be. My room is only a couple doors down. Don't worry about waking me up. Just come in, okay?"
"Okay mommy"
You weren't sure if the thunder outside your window, or your dream, woke you up. Either way, you were awake, and you were scared. Without even a second thought, you grabbed your sleeping buddy (a little rabbit named Bun-bun) and booked it into your mommy's room.
You crawled in her bed, without bothering to ask, and scooted up next to her.
"Hey pumpkin, did the thunder storm wake you up too?" She asked. Her voice was quiet, comforting, relaxing, and sleepy. Just like you knew it would be. You instantly felt better, and a little foolish for running down the hall. But it was all right, because your mommy didn't seem to mind one bit. She turned over to face you; she brushed some hair out of your eyes.
"Yeah, I guess… I got scared too. I had a bad dream."
"From the movie?"
"I don't know. I don't remember… But it was scary."
"Well, everything is all right now. Why don't we go back to sleep. In the morning, we can make French toast, okay?"
"Okay mommy" because it was.