"Momma!" Harriet called out, tears streaming down her face. "Momma! Momma!" April quickly turned around, leaning down to comfort her child.
"Oh, baby girl," she cooed, wiping away the tears from Harriet's chubby cheeks. "What happened, Hattie?"
"They did it again. They wouldn't let me play with them," the little girl wailed. April picked up her daughter and carried her to the couch. Harriet nestled into April's chest, the warm tears creating a wet spot on April's shirt. "I did what you told me to. I asked nicely too." April sighed. She had hoped that her childhood troubles of unpopularity wouldn't be inherited by her daughter and that Jackson's suave personality would be the dominant trait, but clearly, that wasn't the case. April rubbed up and down her daughter's back, whispering reassurances into her ear until she had calmed down.
"Nugget, I have something to tell you. You ready to listen?" Hattie's curls moved as she nodded, her ragged breaths beginning to even out. April inhaled deeply before delivering the harsh truth she felt her daughter should learn sooner than later. "Baby, sometimes when people are really close to one another, they share something special. Now, I'm not saying that it was right of them to leave you out, but if they wanted to spend time with one another, you can't force your way into their relationship. Sometimes you need to look for other people to spend time with. When they say no to you, you need to be able to move on."
"But Mommy," Harriet sniffled, "I really want to play with them. They always are so happy."
"You could have that same type of fun with other kids in your class. Have you tried the girl that sits next to you that also likes country music? What's her name again, Bug?"
"Kira."
"Have you tried asking her to play with you?" Hattie shook her head, her tears slowing as her mother spoke.
"How about we try asking her tomorrow? Are we okay now?" April asked gently, searching her baby's eyes for any remnants of sadness. Harriet rubbed away the last tear and nodded, causing April to smile. "I know what will cheer you up. Do you want to have a dance party?" Harriet leaped off of April's lap and ran over to the Amazon Echo.
"Alexa," she screamed, the gadget's rim lighting up, "play Thomas Rhett." A smile graced April's face as the country singer's new song began to play. Thomas Rhett was becoming one of her daughter's favorite artists even though Jackson was having a cow about it. It seemed that their little seven-year-old had a tiny crush on him, effectively causing Jackson to freak out.
April stood up, pulling her hair out of her ponytail and fluffed it, as the intro guitar riff played. Harriet jumped onto the sofa, spinning around with a wide smile on her face.
Don't even want the attention
But yeah, that's all that she's getting
Her song is on and she's spinning around, yeah
She got me drunk like Corona
Heart racing like it's Daytona
Ooh, I'm in Heaven, I swear, right now
And those eyes can hypnotize
Was designed to blow my mind
April stared at her exuberant child bouncing along to the beat of the song. As the chorus kicked in, Hattie jumped off the couch to run towards her mom. The two shimmied in and out, hair dancing along with their movements.
Look what God gave her
How perfect He made her
She walks in the room
It's like He answered my prayers
The way that she moves
How could anybody blame her?
I know she's got haters
But it ain't her fault, nah
Look what God gave her
Harriet moved along to the lyrics, giving her best strut and finger wag when appropriate. April giggled at her daughter's moves, spinning her around as the second verse rolled around.
It's like I heard angels singing
Like she came down from the ceiling
When she walked in here this evening, I thought, yeah
That girl one in seven billion
Got everyone in here feeling
Like there's a fire in this building, so hot
"Hello ladies," a masculine voice called out. "What's going on here?" April looked over her shoulder as she swayed along to the music to see her husband taking off her coat, hanging it over the back of the couch with a confused look on his face.
"Dance party!" Harriet yelled, jumping onto the couch and into her father's arms. After a giant bear hug, Jackson placed his daughter back onto the couch and turned his attention to his wife. Jackson leaned in to kiss her, April wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him for a moment before Harriet's voice cut through the chorus of the song.
"Ewww," she squealed. "Daddy's kissing Mommy."
"Well, what do you want me to do about it, missy," Jackson quipped lightly. "It's what mommies and daddies do." Harriet's nose scrunched up in disgust before she ran off to her room.
April giggled while watched her daughter's retreating figure, her husband's arm wrapped around her waist. He slipped his hand into hers, spinning her around before the swayed slowly in their living room, the two oblivious to the beat to the country hit.
"How was your day off?" Jackson asked.
"It was good, for the most part. I got a lot done around the house. Harriet is still having trouble getting along with some of the other girls at school. We talked about it though. She's gonna try her luck with some other kids in her class."
"I really didn't think that she'd struggle this much at school. She was so good at the daycare center. Everybody adored her."
"Yeah, neither did I. But, I'm hoping that with this, she'll get better at handling rejection."
"Maybe..." Jackson trailed, "Is this what the dance party was for?"
"Yeah. She really perked up once the song started playing."
"What was it?" he asked.
"Thomas Rhett," April answered, kissing his cheek when his grimaced. "Your favorite."
"Ugh," Jackson groaned. "I don't know what she sees in him."
"Awww, baby," April cooed. "Do we need another dance party to cheer you up?"
"No," Jackson retorted, but paused a moment before continuing, "Well, maybe we will, but we'll be making our own music." A smug smile erupted on his features, as his wife stilled from his innuendo.
"Jackson Avery!" the redhead exclaimed, shocked as a blush crept onto her face. "Get your head out of the gutter!"
"What? It's not my fault that I can't keep my hands of my gorgeous wife." April pushed away from him, mumbling something about needing to get dinner started. He chuckled, as she retreated to the kitchen. Alone in the living room, Jackson listened to the song playing, confused as to how his daughter and wife enjoyed this type of music. "Alexa," he ordered, "Play Drake." He sank into the couch as the iconic hi-hat sounded from the speaker. "That's better."
A/N
Fluff. Fluff. Fluffity fluff. Name after Thomas Rhett's song. Some lyrics are incorporated. Also, parenting is hard. I literally could not get into the right headspace when April was trying to comfort Hattie. Becoming a parent is way way way far away from me right now, so I resorted to parenting books. If it seems a little sketch to you, that's probably why, but other then that, enjoy this short story. Also, I would love it if y'all would leave me a little feedback. Thanks for reading!