Problems – Sex Pistols
Meredith settled onto the sofa. The plush, soft cushions engulphed and comforted her. Her eyelids immediately shuddered and dropped halfway; weariness surrounded her. She gave in to her heavy eyes and she slept, her drained brain not providing the usual slideshow of dreams in its wrecked state.
'Aaahhh!' The shill noise pierced the protective layer of sleep. Her eyes flicked to the digital alarm that rested on the side table. 02:34. She dragged her body from the cushions, her slippered feet scuffing the floor and she plodded mindlessly upstairs.
'Zola. Why? Let mommy have some sleep. I've changed, fed and washed you. I've put on your lullabies. Please let me sleep.' She moaned at the child, who in turn just stared plaintively back at her occasionally sobbing. Meredith opened the childcare book which had become her Derek. The pages were yellowing and the spine was already broken from the constant use that had been necessary during the five days she had had Zola.
Reading to the child in a soothing voice is a particularly effective way of getting them to fall asleep. Children feel safe at the sound of a familiar voice and at this age they are too young to understand the meaning behind the words however, it has been proven children who are read to develop language skills faster.
Meredith turned to the bookshelf in Zola's nursery. Her long, surgeon's fingers danced over spines in a slow search for a something to read. Finally, they settled on a thick, bound spine, she slipped her nails into the crevices and extracted the book from its neighbours. Her body sank into the padded rocking chair and she heaved the cover open.
'The term human anatomy comprises a consideration of the various structures which make up the human organism. In a restricted sense it deals merely with...'
Five minutes later Zola's eyes fluttered closed to the calming vowels and consonants drifting from her mother's mouth. Meredith followed her shortly after, the colossal copy of Gray's Anatomy peacefully resting on her lap.