The rating for this story has been bumped up because of language. The scene hasn't happened yet, but it's coming and an 'm' rating doesn't automatically mean there's going to be smut :P
We only had to travel two blocks, LJ was actually impatient while waiting for Castle to assist me with my wheelchair but when we got inside the store, she halted in her tracks. There were displays upon displays of different eyewear on every wall for starters, but what eeked LJ out was that everything was too bright, calm and clean for her liking. She was rescued by one of the store salespeople a few moments later. What put LJ at ease besides the woman's friendly nature was that she was wearing glasses.
"Welcome to LensCrafters, my name is Annabeth. How may I help you today?"
"We are the Castles, and we were just sent here from Saint Brigid's Hospital by Doctor Castillo." Castle explained. "Our daughter has just been diagnosed with twenty-forty vision, and we were able to get prescriptions for lenses written out for her."
"May I see the prescriptions, please?"
Castle fished them out of his wallet and handed them to Annabeth who studied them before handing them off to a passing lab tech. LJ's attention had been wandering by now, so she gave a little start when Annabeth spoke to her.
"What's your name, sweetie?"
"Lily Joy, and I'm six."
"Do you want to come see the display on the back wall?"
"Okay," (LJ started following Annabeth closely, afraid to lose her) "But do you have bendy frames?"
"I just set up the display for that this morning, actually!"
"Wow! Do you have green or blue?"
"We have every color of the rainbow."
"What about sports goggles for archery? I need those, too."
"We've got everything you need and more, Lily Joy; look."
We'd arrived at the extensive back wall display, and two seconds later, LJ was a tornado of activity as she tried on various frames. At one point, Annabeth advised Castle and I on the importance of getting back up sets, and just as we agreed this was a good idea, LJ sauntered up to us, looking proud of herself.
"Mama, daddy, Annabeth, what about these?"
The pair in question were dark blue and rectangularly-shaped with the arms looping all the way down behind her ears to ensure they'd stay secure. As a whole, she'd actually picked out a really good frame.
"I like them, LJ." I told her. "Very snazzy."
"The blue really brings out your eyes." Added Castle. "Have they always been so dazzling and sparkly?"
LJ was reduced to giggles by this, and it was a minute before she had a good enough handle to focus on the ever-patient Annabeth's questions.
"Do they fit well? Not too tight?"
"They're all nice and snug!"
"Fantastic! Are they tight on your ears?"
"Nope, they're perfect! I have a question, though…"
"Ask away; I love when people ask me questions about glasses."
"Why don't these frames have lenses?"
"They're just for display and trying on, so they don't need any."
"Oh."
"But I have a special surprise for you about your eyewear."
"Annabeth, I love surprises! How special is it?"
"So special that the lenses will turn turquoise or purple when you're in bright light, depending on the color you choose."
LJ knew immediately. "Purple."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep!"
"Then I'll make sure my technicians know. Do you have any more things you want to ask?"
"Sometimes I get super awful headaches. Could the glasses and the goggles keep them away?"
"Not entirely, but they can. Are you ready to look at the goggles now? They're over here."
Annabeth showed her the new display, but I wasn't able to see the deciding process because the baby suddenly pressed all of her weight on my bladder, so that by the time I returned from the bathroom, LJ was grinning at me from behind a frame of what looked more like the kind of glasses I wear when I'm at the shooting range, more than anything else. Like the earlier selection of glasses that she'd picked, this new frame was also rectangular but with silver frames and turquoise arms. What constituted them as goggles was the adjustable strap on the ends of the arms to keep them secure when worn.
"Mama, what do you think?"
"That you are looking fantastic, Lily; you made anther great choice!"
LJ made a happy trilling noise and removed the goggles, handing them off to Annabeth, who then gave us a specific time to come pick everything up. We killed time by going a few blocks over to finally eat at Remy's, whereupon LJ scarfed her meal down because she hadn't eaten since breakfast.
When we went back to LensCrafters to collect everything, LJ wouldn't stop yapping away about about the details in her surroundings, but she felt blessedly silent when we picked up Jameson and the twins from daycare. That was mostly because they were all giving her curious looks, trying to figure out what to make of their big sister's change in appearance. It made me wonder how things will go tomorrow at school when LJ goes back tomorrow.
Later that night
LJ was quiet for the rest of the day, even when she came to visit me at bedtime. Her eyes were so magnified by her glasses that she reminded me of a baby owl.
"Hey, you! What's up?"
"I'm worried about school tomorrow. What if I get teased because I have glasses now?"
"You ignore the bullying, but if it gets worse, tell a teacher."
"And maybe I could stick with Inga since she has glasses and she's on my archery team."
"That's a good idea, she seems really nice." I patted the space next to me. "Climb up here; I want to show you something."
LJ obliged and I showed her the large leather-bound tome I'd been looking through.
"I've never seen this before. What is it?"
"It's a photo album that my mama made right before she went to be with the angels." I explained. "My daddy gave it back to me the other day."
"That's neat."
"Yes, it is." I flipped a page. "Look at this picture."
LJ gaped at it in surprise and then hugged as much of me as she could.
We were looking at my eighth grade school picture, when I was going through my awkward phase, and besides a hairstyle and outfit that makes me cringe nowadays, I was wearing thick black-rimmed nerd style glasses that made my eyes look too big for my face.
"You had glasses, too?"
"I got my first pair when I was eight."
She leaned closer and fidgeted as the baby nudged her. "Why don't you have them now?"
"In college, I moved to California for school and decided to get contacts. Do you know what those are?"
"Little round pieces of plastic some grown-ups put on their eyeballs to help them see better." She paused. "Mama, did you never show these pictures because they were at Papa Jim's house?"
"That's right."
Satisfied, she looked back at the photo of my teenage self.
"It's funny to see a picture of you with glasses on, but it makes me feel way better."
"I'm glad."
"Were you bullied?"
I nodded. "But I stood my ground to show the bullies I wasn't going to let them shove me around."
"Ever pick fights with them?"
"Not about my glasses."
"So you have picked fights before?"
"Lily Joy, I'm not proud of it, but I picked quite a few after my mama went to be with the angels."
"Did you ever get hurt?"
"Many times, and one of those times, I was protecting Madison."
"So you'd do anything to protect your buddies?"
"That, and I also care about my friends. It makes my heart sad when they're hurt or in trouble."
"I feel that way about my buddies…"
"And that's because you have a really big and beautiful heart that's just overflowing with love that you'll pass along to your babies when you're a mama one day."
LJ giggled. "When me and my Zeke are grown-ups and married to each other, we'll adopt two babies from Argentina because that's where Zeke's daddy is from. Tiny babies all over the world will always need forever families, like how I did."
"Why two babies, though?"
"Because what if there's a brother and sister up for adoption? We're not gonna fall in love with two and only pick one because it would be wrong to be keep them apart from each other, like how my mommy kept me, Alexis and Abby away from each other! All siblings belong together!"
Knowing how precious of a subject siblinghood is to her, especially her sisters from Meredith, I made a general noise of agreement and changed the subject.
"Any other places you and Zeke would adopt from?"
"Ethiopia."
"Why there?"
"I'm learning about it in class." LJ stretched out and yawned. "We might also choose China because that's the country that Zeke's class is learning about. Mama, I'm so sleepy. Could I cuddle with you since I can't keep my eyes open?"
"Sure thing, but you have to take your glasses off and put them on the nightstand so they don't get lost."
LJ did what she was told in a sluggish manner, and eventually, she was curled up under the blankets, pressing her body against mine, for once not minding my huge baby bump.
"I love you forever, mama." She yawned again. "Forever and ever."
I put away the photo album and shut off the light before snuggling with her.
"And I love you, precious girl." I whispered in her ear. "Forever and ever."
All I heard in response was a peaceful sigh of contentment.
My heart melted.
