"Charlotte, did you get your brother ready?" Bo Dennis asked as she saw her daughter's bouncing brunette hair over the counter.
Little fingers pulled the girl up onto the stool and she looked at her mother with a look that said 'Of course I did, come on' and she smiled that toothy smile. Charlotte had just lost her first tooth, her left central incisor, and she was big about showing it off to whoever she could. "Momma, can I have a yummy cake with my sammich?"
"Yes you may," Bo said, smiling at her little girl who couldn't say sandwich yet. Bo reached high into the cupboard to collect the box of small cakes when she felt a warm hand on her skin where her shirt slid up.
"Hey, you." Lauren said as she gave Bo a quick kiss on her neck, moving to the fridge to get Charlotte a juice box for the meal Bo was preparing for her girl's lunch.
Ignoring the disgusted face her daughter pulled, she put her hand to her mouth and acted like she was vomiting, Bo went back to hooking everything just right into the Powerpuff Girls lunch box featuring Buttercup punching a strange green monkey. She smiled when Lauren handed her the juice box and she closed the lunch box with a snap. Setting it next to her brother's, with an even stranger picture from Spiderman, Superman, and Batman all sitting down for coffee, she looked over at Lauren and eyed her scrumptious attire.
"Want me to get Ethan?" Bo asked, as she saw her wife pour herself a cup of coffee.
"No, it's okay, he's coming down the stairs now."
Bo turned as she heard her son's little shoes tapping across the floor and smiled as he came into the room with his too-big backpack over his shoulders. He looked up and smiled the cutest smile that made Bo melt and he, with help of his older sister, sat atop the stool to the counter. His dark, fine blond hair fell into his eyes, and Bo wondered if she should give him a haircut after today.
Lauren came behind Bo and put a soft hand on the small of her back, looked at their children, and said, "Now, who's ready for the first day?"
Their children looked at each other, hopped off the stool, and ran to the front door. Bo called out the no running in the house rule, and smiled back at Lauren as she grabbed her hand, leading her to the door.
"We will be right outside when you get out, okay?" Bo said, as she turned her head a fraction of an inch to make sure her children knew she was talking to them.
"Momma, I get it." Charlotte sighed, she had already been through this anticipation ritual a year ago, and she had to endure ten minutes of it again while they drove to their school.
"What momma is trying to say," Lauren cut in, putting a hand on Bo's arm, "is that we won't be far if you need us. Do you understand, Ethan?"
The boy looked up from the window and smiled as he said, "Yes, mommy," Ethan looked out the window again and the two women looked at each other and smiled.
"Okay, well, have a great time!" Bo shouted towards her children as they ascended the steps of their school. Ethan turned, waved his arm above his head in farewell to his mothers, before turning to take Charlotte's hand again, entering the school. Bo stood there, trying to see her children, and was a little startled when Lauren took her hand.
"Bo, they'll be fine."
"It's Ethan's first day..." Bo pouted as she looked over to her wife.
"And he seemed incredibly excited. Come on, we'll see them after. I'm sure I can think of something to ease your mind." Lauren leaned in and nipped at Bo's neck as she said it. Bo's eyes traveled into soft brown ones and she smiled. She would never forget about her children, but the offer was a very enticing one.
Getting back into the car, Bo looked back towards the school one final time, before switching on the car and driving away.
"Oh, ohhh, there you are!" Bo said excitedly as she bent down and swept her daughter into a hug.
"Momma, gross, grooooss," Charlotte said, trying to get away from her mother's kisses.
Bo smiled as she hugged her daughter harder. "Ethan, come here, honey." She said, and Ethan replied immediately with a huge grin on his face. The boy loved hugs and kisses, and when Bo swept him into it, his smiled widened and he kissed Bo's cheek back. Bo picked Ethan up, and she saw Lauren bend down to give a soft kiss onto Charlotte's head as she held her to her body, and put him into the car.
The family drove home with Ethan excitedly telling his parents of his day, of how he was offered a crayon by another boy and they had played and drew together the entire class, and how Charlotte found her best friend again; happy they were in the same class together. They continued talking of their first day of school until bedtime, and the next morning Ethan would be more excited than the day before.
The women smiled at each other lovingly as they tucked their children into bed, and as they walked out of the room, Lauren would begin to try to calm Bo's mind of the next day and the day after that. Sending their children away was a big step for Bo to begin with, and Lauren knew she would be in the same state the next day. As the two women got ready for bed, Lauren would kiss Bo's shoulder, consoling her further, and sleeping in her arms.
Very soon, after almost a week of doing the same ritual each morning and evening, Bo would begin to calm. She would begin to relax and allow her children to enter the school without badgering them about how she would be right outside the school each and every day. She smiled to herself as she leaned her head down into the blonde's soft curls.
She would relax, after the first day.
fin