Sick –or – A Day Filled With Tissues, Sniffles, and Disney
Nate groaned as he tossed a used tissue into the nearly overflowing bin next to his feet. He was completely clogged up, running a slight fever, and ached as if he had climbed everything he had climbed in his life at once. A small moan of unhappiness came from the left of him, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone trying to remove as much mucus from their nasal cavity. Nate looked down at his four-year-old daughter, Sophie, who also had the joy of suffering the common cold. Her dark hair was a mess and her favorite green pajamas where rumbled. She was wrapped up in her blue comforter along with the large quilt that was covering Nate from the waist down. Sophie's attention was completely focused on the old Disney movie that was currently on. Nate wished he could grab the book he had been reading last night, but it was a little difficult when had a three-year-old's arms wrapped around your waist. Plus Nate doubted that he would even be able to focus on his book properly.
"Daddy?" Sophie suddenly asked.
"What is it sweet-heart?"
"Why do we get sick?" Well, that was question he really wasn't expecting. He was thought it would be something along the lines of if she could make friends with wild animals like Snow White just did or when Elena was going to be home.
"Because…" he paused for a moment trying to think a quick and easy answer, "sometimes our bodies are telling us to take a break. Or maybe to take a little bit better care of ourselves."
"How come Alex isn't sick?" she asked, referring to her six-year-old brother.
"He got lucky."
"Oh. Did Mommy get lucky too?"
"Probably." He placed an arm around his daughter as she snuggled closer.
"I like this part" she whispered as the film cut to the seven dwarfs for the first time. Nate just smiled and pulled her a little closer and the quilt a little higher on himself as he placed his feet on the coffee table. "Daddy?"
"Yea?"
"Do you think I can make friends with the bunnies that eat up Mommy's plants?" he chuckled. There was the question he was expecting earlier.
"Nate? Sophie?" Elena called out into the slightly quiet house. She heard what possibly sounded like one of the kid's movie. Taking off her coat, she headed towards the kitchen to put up some items she purchased at the grocery store. "Nate?" she had half expected to see her husband in the kitchen making something for Sophie in order to escape the never-ending run of Disney films. But the kitchen was empty, save for the dirty pot, skillet, and a few dishes and silverware. She wondered into the living room and instantly was smiling. Nate and Sophie were fast asleep on the couch. At some point during their day, Sophie had made herself and her father crowns, drawn pictures of herself with rabbits, and covered Nate in stickers. Elena pulled out her phone and took a picture. She took out the DVD and turned off the TV before placing the fallen quilt back on them.
"Mm…Elena?" Nate murmured, making Elena jump a little.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Drake." Elena replied, "I have to tell ya, that pink sparkly sticker suits you perfectly."
"Oh man, is it three already?" Nate groaned, looking around for Alex.
"Nope, it's just a little after one. I was able to get off early today." She tucked back a lock of Sophie's hair, "How you feeling?"
"A bit better. Not as stuffed up at the moment, but I believe I won't be getting a number of Disney songs out of my head for a while."
"Aw…poor baby! Don't worry, one day she'll say she's too old of Disney movies."
"Can that day be tomorrow?" Elena laughed as Nate's face went from slightly miserable to a strong frown, "On second thought, I can live with Disney movies."
Petting Zoo – or – A Day With Sheep
"Look sweetie! A lamb! Let's go pet the lamb!" Elena said enthusiastically as she carried her two-year-old daughter over to the sheep. Nate was busy helping five-year-old Alex feed some of the goats.
"Where's Momma?" Alex asked as he looked around for her. Nate looked up and scanned the area for his wife and daughter.
"Good question champ. Let's go look for her." Nate replied, taking hold of Alex's hand. He was silently cursing himself for forgetting his wife's deep love of zoos, especially petting zoos. Nate had discovered this fact shortly after his son's first birthday. Elena had convinced him to do a family outing, just the three of them, to the zoo. The day had been filled with Elena dragging him all over the place and when they had reached the petting zoo… Nate gave a slight shudder. At the end of that day, he had just given up trying to following Elena and just sat on a bench, watching his wife carry their son from animal to animal. He remembered the big smile on both their faces. "Now if I were Mom, where would I be?"
"Looking at cute things?" Alex supplied, looking up at his father.
"Uh…" Nate looked around, he believed that any of the animals would fall under the "cute" category for Elena. He sighed as quickly grabbed the giant tote Elena called a purse before heading towards the middle of the enclosed area. It didn't take long to find the two; Sophie's laughter was possibly the loudest sound Nate or Elena had ever heard from any child. "Making friends?" Nate asked as he and Alex approached.
Elena turned her head and smiled at the two boys while Sophie was completely enthralled with the sheep in front of her. "Sorry. Should have told where we were headed, huh?" She stood up to take her purse from Nate as Alex went over to join Sophie. The two adults watched as Alex joined in the act of sticking his hands into the sheep's fleece.
"Don't worry too much about it. I rather try and hunt you down in here than the main attraction." Nate replied as he threw an arm across her shoulder, "Should've known that you would have brought Sophie over to the sheep though. Alex did like them better than the goats last time."
Elena just chuckled and gave her husband a small peck on the cheek.
