"What?" Sam sighed, unfurling from her crouched position of stacking the dishwasher to cross her arms. She knew Tom was about to ask her something when he towered bouncily in the doorway and had a frantic grin on his face, teeth gleaming. The corners of her mouth were turned up in a classic Sam-like smirk, so Tom knew she was only playing miffed.
He drew his arm out from behind the doorway it had been resting on. In his thumb and for-finger a small, brown envelope wafted out towards her. He wagged in distractingly. Sam looked at his face. He was biting his lip in an effort to stop himself from exploding in a fit of delight. His eyes bubbled in anticipation as she caught his line of vision. Sam shook her head in amusement.
"What the hell Tom?" She smiled praising the envelope from his grip with a swift swipe of her arm. She held it in front of her, her face expressing that 'this better be good' glare.
"Open it then!" Tom buzzed, pressing forward, eagerly awaiting Sam's reaction. She let out another sigh but then held her breath.
Sliding her fingernail between the brown paper and adhesive seal, she began to open the envelope, never breaking the stare she held with Tom. Whatever was in the there was extremely light, as the only weight Sam could distinguish was from the envelope its self. When the sticky saliva was sliced apart expertly - she was a doctor after all - she slid the top open and reached with delicate fingers inside. It was minute but sharp- small and strong. Pulling it out from the inside corner, Sam tossed it into her palm. It sat there; purely white and perfect.
"A tooth?..." She whispered.
Before Tom could speak, an energetic sprightly figure burst through his legs on her hands and knees. She sprang to her stockinged feet which slid with the speed and urgency in her race. She rampaged towards Sam with the look of elated enchantment on her rosy cheeks.
"Mummy! Mummy! My tooth fell out at school! See?..." Alice exclaimed, all the words escaping at once. Her blonde curls jumped as she leaped around the kitchen in whirling circles. Sam's heart sped up and hummed in speed. The tooth in her hand seemed to tickle her palm, and her entire body lifted into a state of surprise. Her face illuminated. Alice rushed and giggled flying around the small space. "It fell out in my hand, Mummy! And the lady in the office, she put it in the envelope and said to give it to you, Mummy!" she explain, all the time hopping around at Sam's feet.
From behind Alice, Tom's strong arms wrapped around her and engulfed her to his chest. She wriggled and laughed as he made an effort to calm her down, not to much avail. Sam turned over the tiny piece of her daughter in her hand. She's five... Sam thought. But, she's only a baby still...
Tom had Alice balanced on his side. Now about the same size as Sam, Alice pointed to her mother's open palm. "See Mummy! I'm a big girl now! That's what the lady said at school, and that's what Daddy said as well!" She exclaimed, her words still pouring out like liquid.
Sam rested her concentration on Alice's grin. It was Tom's, and like his, she could read it like a book. One canine was missing and the open gap was really obvious, but apart from that they were identical. It melted her heart.
"She's growing up, Sam..." Tom stated warmly.
Sam looked at Tom's thoughtful expression, and then at Alice's beautiful naivety. She wouldn't be hers forever.
"I know."