Sorry for the wait!
Flashbacks in Italics.
Blissful Moments
Chapter 11
Enjoy.
Emily: Age 8
"Mama?" Emily looked up from where she was sitting at the kitchen table working on her writing homework. The first day of third grade back in August had come in a whirlwind and now they were in late November getting ready for the holidays.
"Yeah, Em?" The raven-haired woman smiled as she put down the pen she was using to write the shopping list of items she would need for their Thanksgiving feast later on in the week.
"Did you know that the Plymouth Pilgrims were the first to celebrate Thanksgiving?"
"I did not." Alex smirked. Social Studies was Emily's favorite subject, and the mother was sure that every week she got her own mini lesson over whatever historical event or person her daughter was learning about that week.
"And the Pilgrim leader, Governor William Bradford, had organized the first Thanksgiving feast in the year 1621 and invited the neighboring Wampanoag Indians also to the feast." The eight year old's head was tilted to the side, reminding Alex of another blonde who did the exact same thing when explaining something she was passionate about.
Just as Alex went to reply, her wife came in through garage door from work, a smile plastered on her face. "Hey guys, I picked up pizza on the way home from work."
"You know, I think mommy was at the first Thanksgiving feast."
"What?" Piper's small quickly dropped off her face as she set the pizza box on top of the kitchen counter.
"Mama says that you were at the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621." Emily's blue eyes were shining as she raised her eyebrows. "You've been to a lot of Thanksgivings, Mommy."
"Al." Piper narrowed her eyes as she lightly slapped her wife's forearm. The blonde tried to walk around her lover, but Alex stopped her and wrapped her arms around her slender frame instead.
"I'm just playing around." The brunette planted a kiss to the side of her wife's neck before turning to grab plates out of the cabinet.
"What are you working on, babe?" Piper leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her child's crown before pulling out a chair and sitting down.
"I'm writing a paragraph on what I'm most thankful for." Emily looked up at Piper before continuing her writing. "And Mama hasn't even helped me."
"I see. Want to read me what you have so far?"
Emily nodded.
"I have many things to be thankful for. One of them is my family. My mommy, my mama, my grandma Diane, and my dog Bailey. Family is important and we need them. If we didn't have family, then we would not have a big Thanksgiving feast like the pilgrims and Indians. Families are important because without them we wouldn't have hugs. My favorite thing about my family is that they love me and my dog since we were babies."
"That was so good, Em." Piper couldn't help but wrap her arms around her daughter and bring her in close.
"This will be my eighth Thanksgiving and Grandma Diane is letting me help her with the turkey this year."
"Please don't say that." Alex groaned as she set a plate in front of her wife and little one.
Piper could only giggle as she watched her wife sit down and take a bite of her slice of pizza.
"Do you remember her first Thanksgiving? She was so tiny."
"Yeah, two week old baby, new parents, and no sleep." Alex deadpanned while Emily just giggled from where she sat across from her.
"Is she okay?" Alex's raspy voice drifted from where she was slumped against the headboard. "I'm sorry, I feel asleep."
"She's okay." Piper adjusted her newborn higher up on her chest as she gently pulled the sheet up over her torso after nursing Emily.
"Do you want me to change her?" The brunette reached across the mattress and ran the backs of her knuckles down Emily's naked back. The newborns pediatrician harped on the new parents that for the first three weeks it should be topless mommy and diaper clad baby.
"Yeah." The younger woman gently raised Emily up off her chest and handed her to her wife. The newborn made a few small grunting noises before her little limbs started to flail. Everything about her was so tiny. Her diaper was tiny. Her nose was tiny. Her mouth was tiny. Her eyes were tiny. But everything was perfect to her parents.
Alex was sure she'd seen her wife cry at least twice during the past two weeks, but she knew that it was from the hormones and lack of sleep. Diane had left a week ago and the parents were still trying to figure out the whole parenting routine. Diane had called twice a day since she left, but a part of them was relieved because she would be back tomorrow for Thanksgiving.
"Where's her pacifier?" The brunette gently laid Emily out in front of her and grabbed a new diaper. She could tell that the wails were coming as Emily's flailing started to grow more erratic.
"Right here." Piper slowly leaned over and inserted the soothing item. "We're gonna have to get up soon and start cooking. It's four thirty."
"I say we just order Chinese from that little whole in the wall place that seems to be open twenty four seven and call it a day. We've maybe gotten two hours of sleep tonight." Alex gently attached the tabs to the front of Emily's diaper before transferring her back to Piper.
"Alex your mother's coming as well as your boss and his family. We need to make an attempt to look like we have actually slept and actually put real clothes on our child."
"Piper, they know we've had a baby. I doubt they're expecting a five course meal in a mansion."
"It's just our first Thanksgiving as a family of three, Al. I want it to be memorable."
"It will be." Alex simply smiled and pressed her lips to Piper's shoulder while gently cupping the back of their daughters head.
Emily was now slumped over, fast asleep, in between her parents on the couch with her photo album that covered her first year sprawled across her lap. One of the very first photos she came across in the album was one of her very first Thanksgiving. She was dressed in a brown long-sleeved onesie that said it was her first thanksgiving. Around the onesie was an orange tutu that matched a simple bow atop her head.
In the picture, the newborn's parents looked like they hadn't slept at all, yet that had a full feast on the table behind them and a sleeping baby in their arms. They looked as happy as could be with their daughter in their arms.
I can definitely tell I haven't wrote in a while. I've had this in my unfinished folder since last Thanksgiving, so what better time to finish and post it with the upcoming holiday.
Happy Holidays.
