You know how I called me and Claire the babies of the family? Well, notice that I had said we were. See, a couple years after their wedding, Aunt Alex and Uncle Leon provided us with our youngest baby cousin! Even though I was only 5 when it happened, that was a chapter in my life that I won't soon forget.
With all of our relatives, and Aunt Alex being the youngest member of the second generation, she had lots of help while she was expecting. Daddy was always so close to her, so he often took me and Papa down to help out whenever Uncle Leon had to work. One day, Daddy brought me home from school with the words, "After you finish your snack, we're going to visit Aunt Alex!" We rarely visited family on anything but special occasions, so I said "hi" to papa, scarfed down my cookies, and was ready to leave again within mere minutes.
"Good to see you, Allie! How are you?" Daddy exclaimed once we walked in the door, enclosing his sister in a tight hug. I knew straight off that something was different about my aunt, besides the fact that there was this utterly joyful vibe emanating from her. Plus she was wearing a really odd looking shirt, the fabric loose around the stomach area…
My attention span allowed me to zone back in when Papa and Uncle Leon had joined us in the room. "So, why'd you call us here?" Papa inquired in an upbeat tone, absently ruffling my hair. Exchanging quick smiles, Aunt Alex leaned into Uncle Leon as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"It took just about forever, but… I'm finally pregnant!" my youngest aunt breathed. I didn't exactly know what that meant, of course, but the word clicked with the image of babies and a fat lady in my head. I think it's because one of my friends had said something about having a pregnant mother, and her baby sister was born a few months ago…
Whatever the phrase's meaning, it must've been extraordinary. Daddy and Papa were dealing out kisses to Aunt Alex's cheeks and head, plus hugs to the very proud-looking couple (well, Papa was too humble to give Uncle Leon anything more than a handshake). "Aunt Alex is going to have a baby, Daisy! A little cousin for you," Papa quickly explained to me. You can only imagine how much excitement flooded my 5 year old mind.
So, I found myself at my youngest aunt's house at least once every week. Daddy always took me, and Papa came along whenever he had off from work. Ooh, I never told you his job, did I? He's a chef! He used to just wash dishes, but he cooked dinner for his boss one night and got promoted a few days later! Isn't that cool?
Anyway, it had been one of the first times since Aunt Alex announced she was having a baby that Papa and Uncle Leon had off from work on the same day (my uncle plays violin in some type of music industry). Uncle Leon was showing Papa some recipe from his culture while I watched television with Daddy and Aunt Alex. That was how these visits always went: I colored or watched TV while Aunt Alex and Daddy did chores around the house, made a meal, or sat with me. Sometimes we went shopping, too.
I'd finished scribbling in my coloring book and some sappy movie was on TV, so I decided to go spend time with Papa and Uncle Leon in the kitchen. I intended to, really I did… But I ended up leaning up against the side of the doorway, eavesdropping out of sight.
"Wow, that really is thin, huh? Almost like paper… Now, could you use pancake batter for this?" Papa was saying. Uncle Leon bit his lip thoughtfully, tossing something that looked sort of like a pancake I guess, if you squashed it to the point that it was literally less than a centimeter thick, onto a plate.
"Oui, you could… Zey wouldn't really be crêpes, zough. Zey're much easier to eat when zey're made wiz ze legitimate batter," Uncle Leon answered. Papa nodded.
"Want me to start assembling one?" Papa questioned, pulling a tub of cool whip toward him.
"S'il vous plaît, go right a'ead." With a smile, Papa gingerly peeled the topmost tortilla-like-thing off of a plate by Uncle Leon's hand, plopped it on his own plate, and spooned some of the nearby white cream onto the middle. It was silent between the two men for a few seconds. Uncle Leon glanced up at Papa, his lips semi parted and his eyebrows raised a bit as if he had something to say. Papa caught his eye, still smiling, and tilted his head.
"What?"
Blushing very slightly, Uncle Leon laughed awkwardly. "Oh, nozzing, nozzing… It's just…" He set down his pan and turned to face Papa all the way. "It's only natural for a man wiz 'is firs child due to constantly wonder 'ow to do fazzerly stuff correctly, right? Well, whenever I zink about parenting role models… My number un example is you and Kiseki."
Papa froze right in the middle of returning the spoon to the cool whip container, and he ended up dropping it in instead of setting it against the side. "Yeah? I'm not trying to sound insecure or anything, but… Why us?"
Uncle Leon turned the stove down and leaned against the countertop. "Well, I mean… You could 'ave gone wizzout any children. It would 'ave been so much easier on ze bozz of you… It's not like zere weren't plenty of kids in your family to fuss over. But you went for it and adopted Daisy, despite her being an age you knew would be 'ard to 'andle, because you loved 'er from first sight… Even wiz all ze 'ate against your relationship, you're staying strong togezzer and letting Daisy know zat being different isn't a bad zing. In ze event zat you become overwhelmed from people zinking your relationship is wrong, you would want to stay a couple because…?"
"Daisy needs us and we love her," Papa immediately answered in a soft tone. My eyes widened a bit: even at my very young age, I figured that parents would want to stay a couple mainly because they loved each other. Uncle Leon nodded, apparently pleased with his response.
"See? Zat is an example of excellent parenting. …You should probably add ze strawberries and chocolate spread before zat gets too cold." Papa laughed and returned to his creation. I returned to Daddy and Aunt Alex with a gentle smile on my face.
There was one other eavesdropping incident at Aunt Alex's that left me feeling, I dunno, fluttery inside. It was just 3 of us, since Papa was working late and Uncle Leon was on a four day long business trip. That made me crazy: I simply couldn't understand how a man could leave for a few days when his wife was going to have a baby soon! Daddy assured me, though, that my cousin wouldn't be born for 2 more months. Still, I was skeptic for a while afterwards.
When we first settled down on the couch, my immediate instinct was to freak out when Aunt Alex snuggled up against Daddy and he affectionately rubbed her arm. I was just never the same since I saw some ladies hitting on my dad at the Muggle mall… Of course, I didn't know it was flirting, but it still set off red flags in my little head. Anyway, I quickly acknowledged that these two were siblings, and settled myself down with my head in Daddy's lap.
I tried to fall asleep, I really did, but I apparently just wasn't tired. The two adults, however, didn't take notice of this… "She really is beautiful," Aunt Alex murmured. For a moment, I wondered who she was referring to- someone on TV maybe?- until I felt fingers gingerly brush strands of hair away from my face. They must've been Daddy's, since I've always known his skin to feel so cool.
"I know… A little pudgy, but hey, that just makes her even more adorable. Cyrus and I made a good decision, choosing her," Daddy whispered. "She's such a sweetheart," he added. They were talking about me…? It took all my willpower to keep my eyes closed.
"You know, I've never seen her give you trouble. She's fussed when she was tired or hungry or bored, yes, but don't all kids do that?" Aunt Alex sighed happily under her breath. From the movement I detected, I could tell she had her hand resting atop her stomach. "I hope my baby will be as well behaved…"
Daddy's fingers were now repeatedly caressing my forehead. I think he shrugged. "I'm sure they'll be a great little person. And even if they're difficult, I'm positive you and Leon can handle it… Although there is one thing you have to worry about."
"Hm? What's that?"
"If the child picks up on that god awful French accent of their father's!" Daddy joked. Aunt Alex chuckled and kissed me so lightly on the nose that I wasn't even positive I'd felt it.
"You'll trade me Daisy if my child turns against me, right?" Aunt Alex teased. I'm not sure what Daddy responded, because that's when I finally nodded off to sleep.