From an open window, the rhythmic tapping of rain on the street filled the room. Despite usually having a very busy work schedule, I had two days out of the month where I did not get off late. Instead, I would leave around eight or nine at night; which while still a long shift was still shorter than my usual one. While I would usually take the opportunity to drop my smurfs off at Dave's house and go out for some drinks but due to the unforeseen storm most businesses had closed early. As such, I chose to spend the evening in with the family. It had been a very nice evening, with a big warm meal of meat stew with a baked loaf of bread. Of course, because of the occasion, my smurfs had been given extra servings of their smurf berry porridge. The smell and heat of the kitchen filled the whole of the house and kept us against the chill of the rain. After everyone had eaten and had taken their share of the festivities, the only ones left at the end were myself and the older twin Lucy.
Laying on the couch wrapped in a blanket together, her fingers sank deep into the fabric of my shirt as she clutched on to me. Since everything had changed, she had not had a break from monitoring her new siblings. After many long weeks of being a look out, she had partied the hardest out of them all. Now as she lay in a weaken huddle trying to warm herself from the cold, I brought her closer to me and kissed her head. Her body moved slightly in response to my touch, taking a moment to enjoy the comfort she was feeling. With the lights turned on low and the sounds of some random ambient track playing from my phone, I gently ran my fingers down the soft skin of her back. Though it had not been more than a couple months since the twins moved in, they both had grown maybe a couple finger widths taller. I could feel Lucy was now about the size of my palm. Despite her growth, she was still a small being; one who gave off a surprising amount of heat. As I was laying with my head back, absent mindedly petting her, I was shocked when she let out a sudden yelp.
After taking a moment for my heart to settle, I looked down at her wondering what had happened. She was shivering there on my chest with her tiny head down and her hands caressing her cheek. I apologized to her and assured her it was an accident, causing her to calm down. After a couple minutes of assuaging, I managed to get her to sit up and allow me to look into her mouth. Taking my phone light out, I peered inside and looked for what was causing her pain. Scanning around, I discovered that one of her teeth towards the back had started to become loose. She cried in pain when I accidentally touched the offending tooth, causing another round of apologies. Once I got her calm again, I knew I needed to think of something. I thought perhaps, maybe the tooth was starting to become loose because another was growing behind it.
I quickly scooped her up and placed the infant smurf inside of a nearby basket. Keeping her there while I paced. The stores where all closed so there wasn't the possibility of asking the veterinarian or buying animal pain meds. Running out of options, a sudden memory boiled up which caused a burst of inspiration. When I was younger, one of the things people did when their children's teeth hurt was to given them a quick swab of alcohol. Lucy's eyes followed me with interest, taking her attention from her pain as I went into the kitchen and opened up the liquor cabinet. From there I took out a large bottle of dark amber liquid which I took and put some splashes on a napkin. I put the wet wad of paper to the side and opened the fridge and retrieved a bottle of chocolate syrup. I poured some on the wad and then mixed it around, pouring a copious amount of chocolate afterwards. I then turned to Lucy.
"Hey, look at this. Come have a taste, it's a treat for you," I said to her as she toddled over, a hand still on her aching cheek. She took a second to smell the treat, before reaching up and starting to greedily eat the chocolate. It was not long before she had eaten the entirety of the mixture. When she finished, I wiped her mouth with a wet rag and went back to the couch, clutching her in my arms. It only took seconds for the mix to hit her tiny body, causing her head to swim and the room to start wobbling. The laughed and hiccuped, finding some solace from her pain. Her head leaned over, moving slightly as the infant smurf fell into the deep intoxication of alcohol. I laughed, myself having had several bottles during the party, as I noticed Lucy adjusting to her new headspace. Wanting to reassure her that she was fine, I picked her up by the arms and made her do a little dance, to show her that she was not in pain anymore. Her tiny face looked around in confusion as I moved her up and down, becoming dizzier with every rise. Lucy's vision clouded as the alcohol ran through her system, the nights festivities, and pain having left a mark on her which she had since been repressing, was now let loose. With one last frightful look at me, Lucy furrowed her brows, blinked rapidly, and then vomited several times on my pant leg, her body tensing up and violently convulsing with each heave. Her diminutive statue meant that the mess was contained and minimal but still came as quite a shock. I took a second to adjust to what had happened and then looked at Lucy who, still held up her two arms, was now fast asleep with her head laying back. I checked to make sure she was breathing gave a sigh of relief as I heard her a gentle breath escape her.
I placed her on her back in the nearby basket and then swaddled her with the blankets inside. Bound by the soft sheer fabric, she was completely immobile with her arms and legs now pressed tightly together. Only her azure head, no bigger than a lime, was exposed to the open air. I took some fabric and wrapped it around the top part of her head and face in order to shield her eyes from the light. I blew her a kiss as I left for a second to go to the bathroom and then retrieve some tools. One of them was a bendable desk lamp which I positioned above her. The others I took from a small black leather bag which I zipped open. As she slept soundly, I took Lucy and gathered some blankets under her head and then tilted her backwards. This way, gravity took her and made it so that her mouth was held open. Moving the light to get a better look, I found the offending tooth. It was nestled on her left side, and was visibly hanging slightly above the others. Taking a second to rummage through the bag, I pulled out a small pair of stainless-steel tweezers. I held Lucy's head down as I placed the tweezers in her mouth and got a good grip on the tooth. With one swift motion, I yanked the tooth bloodlessly from her head. Holding it up to the light, I took a second to appreciate its foreign anatomy. Not wanting to throw it away, I instead placed it inside of an empty mint tin, hoping to maybe start a collection. Bending a clean napkin, I placed it gently in her mouth and dotted the gum line. Looking inside, I did not see another tooth underneath but assumed that it would come later after she had grown more. I took a second to enjoy my victory before I switched off the light.
I returned my tools and came back to Lucy. I undid her headgear and removed her swaddling. Opening the blankets from her body, her tiny fragile limbs flopped around as she was moved. I merely laughed and joked that she had had a drink of the dark stuff. I did attempt to see if she would awaken, poking at her and holding her from her head as her arms and legs dangled, but she stayed fast asleep. I brushed it off and thought it was best this way. I took her to the smurf room, put the lights on low so as not to wake her siblings, and quietly got her dressed for bed. Her unconscious body was difficult to maneuver, however after some effort I was able to get her ready. I gently opened the sleeping cage and placed her near her brother. I then left quietly but not without blowing them a kiss good night. Afterwards, I closed the house up for the night and went to bed myself; taking a shot of my favorite vodka before turning off the light.
In the morning before work, I did my normal routine and got the smurfs ready for Dave's. Opening the door, I saw them waiting for me as usual. My eyes were instantly drawn to Lucy who had a small stain over her front, most likely vomit from the night before. She stood at the front of the group with her face pressed against the bars, a single arm outstretched to me, her eyes red and filled with sadness. The poor thing was experiencing her first hangover. I bathed her first and gave her a thicker breakfast than usual, holding her hand as she ate. Every other bite she would occasionally wince and rub at her temple, shrieking and chirping when she did. Her siblings were both confused and curious, looking at me for guidance. I simply told them that she was unwell and to not bother her to much today. After they were done eating, I dropped them off at Dave's place. Taking one final look backwards, I could see that my smurfs where pressed against the window watching me leave. I waved at them goodbye and took that image to work with me.
God, I miss how things used to be.