Stella opened the bedroom door and settled herself down on one of the twin bunk beds. Taking a deep breath, she started to sing while looking at her children in their sprawled positions.
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky! Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are!"
Kate, her head tucked under the pillow and Gary the Spider in his trusted nightcap resting in his comfortable spot above her. All eight of his legs dancing in tandem with each puff of her breath. Kristie nuzzling into the soft wool of her sheep, Bathsheepa, safely tucked under her arm for the night. Alice lying on her side with an arm around Domino, his tail swinging back and forth over the child's nose. And Little Rose, buried beneath the pile of blankets, with only a small red cowboy boot sticking out from beneath the comforter.
Her babies.
She pushed herself up from the bunk bed, creaking with aches and pains of the day, the adrenaline and fear from work all forgotten. "Goodnight, my babies."
She closed the bedroom door not hearing their sleepy whisper.
"Goodnight Mommy."
The end.
Thank you for reading.
