A/N: I decided to write this first part in first person because I was having trouble expressing a four year old's thoughts in the third person, but you'll know when I went back to the third. This is why it took me so long to write, because I just couldn't get this part down.
Chapter Nine
I was sitting in the sand, carefully filling my yellow bucket with sand as I watched Mommy. She was a few feet away sitting on a white blanket, sunglasses perched on her nose. Even though I couldn't see her eyes because of the dark lenses, I knew she was watching me. I have to be real fast when I want to sneak a cookie before dinner, because Mommy is always watching.
Mommy is really pretty. But I don't look like her. She has brown hair, but mine is yellow. She says I look like an angel. I think she does too. But Mommy looks really pretty today, sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest and her feet buried in the sand.
I like Logan. He is really nice and fuzzy. Logan is helping me build a sand castle. Since I met him, he's always been watching me too, a lot like Mommy, but different too.
Isn't Mommy pretty?
Logan watched amused as Maddy suddenly hopped up and ran to jump on a startled Max. "Mommy! You're pretty."
"So are you baby doll." Max said calmly, sitting back to adjust her balance to the added weight of her daughter. Maddy pulled off Max's sunglasses and sat them on her own face, the lenses falling almost off her nose.
"Can I go look off the pier? Please?" Maddy begged, kissing Max's cheek in an effective move of sucking up.
"Do you promise to stay in the middle and not go to close to the edge without me there with you?"
Instead of agreeing, Maddy ran off squealing, kicking up sand behind her as she passed Logan. "I'm going on the pier." She yelled at him as she ran by, Max's sunglasses falling off.
Max watched Logan as he smiled at Maddy as she ran past him. She'd carefully observed the two together as Logan helped Maddy build a beautiful castle, then as he'd laughed when she jumped on it, smashing it under her feet. Max watched as Logan and Maddy talked about whatever a four year old wanted to talk about, and as Logan had ruffled her hair with one hand affectionately.
Logan walked over to flop on the blanket next to Max, tossing her the sunglasses Maddy had dropped to Max. "Well, I can honestly say, Max," he said conversationally. "She must have gotten the Manticore patented energy supply. She is a handful." Logan said closing his eyes in mock defeat.
This was more than Logan had said to her all morning, in the non-hostile sense that is. "Yeah." Max said lightly, watching Maddy carefully as she peered into the water from the middle of the pier. "She never does slow down. Maddy has all of two functions. Stop and go."
"She seems well behaved if anything else."
"Mad's such a great kid. Made my job so easy."
"Well you did a good job on her."
"Wow, Logan." Max said mockingly, turning to look at him. "Was that a compliment?"
Logan frowned, as if in thought. "No, just a simple observation."
Max laughed, turning back. In the seconds it took for her to look at Logan, Maddy had moved to the edge of the pier. "Maddy!" Max shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. "You're to close to the--" Her words choked on a startled gasp as she saw the large dog barreling down the pier. Both Max and Logan jumped to their feet as the dog ran directing into Maddy, knocking Maddy into the water.
Logan and Max reached the pier at the same time, but Logan shoved Max aside as he dropped his glasses onto the deck and jumped into the water.
It seemed like an eternity that Max stood on the edge of the pier before Logan resurfaced with a wailing Maddy in his arms. Max jumped forward, grabbing Maddy out of Logan's arms as he held her up to her. Logan then pushed himself onto the pier, rolling onto his back as Max sank to the ground, clutching Maddy to her, tears streaming down her face.
After a few moments, Maddy quieted, but Max continued to rock back and forth, holding on to her daughter for dear life. "Mommy?" Maddy whispered.
"Yeah?" Max replied, her voice still shaking.
"I think I got to close to the edge."
Max laughed weakly.
"Are you ok, Maddy?" Logan asked, finally making his presence aware to Max.
They looked over to where Logan sat, next to them, completely soaked and completely unnerved.
After several moments of convincing, both Logan and Max finally took Maddy's words of reassurance that she was fine. After a few more moments, Max relinquished her death grip to let Maddy go play in the sand again, as if nothing had happened.
"I never did ask," Max said as she pulled her knees up to her chest and continued to rock back and forth slightly. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Logan said, reaching for his glasses. "Jesus Christ, that took about seven years of my life off."
"It's all my fault." Max whispered after a moment of silence. "I wasn't paying attention, I should have gone out with her. What the hell was I thinking?" Max said to her self.
Logan stared at her while she berated herself. "Max." He interrupted. "She's four. All four year olds do nothing but get in trouble." When Max continued to stare blankly ahead, Logan continued to talk, trying to get Max to come out of whatever world she had gone into. "I remember when I was four I played dodge ball with my cousin in the kitchen with two dozen eggs. I thought my mom was going to have heart failure."
Max glanced over at him. "What?"
"Nothing. Look, Maddy's fine, don't worry about it to much."
Max gained her feet, and then offered Logan a hand to pull him up. "Look, I think we've all had enough excitement for the day. Let's go home."
Both Max and Logan stood where they were for a moment, looking at each other, then looking at the hands they still had clenched together.
Suddenly they both pulled back as if they had been burned. Wordlessly, not even acknowledging what had just happened, they walked off to gather their belongings and go back to Max's house.
Old habits die-hard.
Chapter Nine
I was sitting in the sand, carefully filling my yellow bucket with sand as I watched Mommy. She was a few feet away sitting on a white blanket, sunglasses perched on her nose. Even though I couldn't see her eyes because of the dark lenses, I knew she was watching me. I have to be real fast when I want to sneak a cookie before dinner, because Mommy is always watching.
Mommy is really pretty. But I don't look like her. She has brown hair, but mine is yellow. She says I look like an angel. I think she does too. But Mommy looks really pretty today, sitting with her legs pulled up to her chest and her feet buried in the sand.
I like Logan. He is really nice and fuzzy. Logan is helping me build a sand castle. Since I met him, he's always been watching me too, a lot like Mommy, but different too.
Isn't Mommy pretty?
Logan watched amused as Maddy suddenly hopped up and ran to jump on a startled Max. "Mommy! You're pretty."
"So are you baby doll." Max said calmly, sitting back to adjust her balance to the added weight of her daughter. Maddy pulled off Max's sunglasses and sat them on her own face, the lenses falling almost off her nose.
"Can I go look off the pier? Please?" Maddy begged, kissing Max's cheek in an effective move of sucking up.
"Do you promise to stay in the middle and not go to close to the edge without me there with you?"
Instead of agreeing, Maddy ran off squealing, kicking up sand behind her as she passed Logan. "I'm going on the pier." She yelled at him as she ran by, Max's sunglasses falling off.
Max watched Logan as he smiled at Maddy as she ran past him. She'd carefully observed the two together as Logan helped Maddy build a beautiful castle, then as he'd laughed when she jumped on it, smashing it under her feet. Max watched as Logan and Maddy talked about whatever a four year old wanted to talk about, and as Logan had ruffled her hair with one hand affectionately.
Logan walked over to flop on the blanket next to Max, tossing her the sunglasses Maddy had dropped to Max. "Well, I can honestly say, Max," he said conversationally. "She must have gotten the Manticore patented energy supply. She is a handful." Logan said closing his eyes in mock defeat.
This was more than Logan had said to her all morning, in the non-hostile sense that is. "Yeah." Max said lightly, watching Maddy carefully as she peered into the water from the middle of the pier. "She never does slow down. Maddy has all of two functions. Stop and go."
"She seems well behaved if anything else."
"Mad's such a great kid. Made my job so easy."
"Well you did a good job on her."
"Wow, Logan." Max said mockingly, turning to look at him. "Was that a compliment?"
Logan frowned, as if in thought. "No, just a simple observation."
Max laughed, turning back. In the seconds it took for her to look at Logan, Maddy had moved to the edge of the pier. "Maddy!" Max shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. "You're to close to the--" Her words choked on a startled gasp as she saw the large dog barreling down the pier. Both Max and Logan jumped to their feet as the dog ran directing into Maddy, knocking Maddy into the water.
Logan and Max reached the pier at the same time, but Logan shoved Max aside as he dropped his glasses onto the deck and jumped into the water.
It seemed like an eternity that Max stood on the edge of the pier before Logan resurfaced with a wailing Maddy in his arms. Max jumped forward, grabbing Maddy out of Logan's arms as he held her up to her. Logan then pushed himself onto the pier, rolling onto his back as Max sank to the ground, clutching Maddy to her, tears streaming down her face.
After a few moments, Maddy quieted, but Max continued to rock back and forth, holding on to her daughter for dear life. "Mommy?" Maddy whispered.
"Yeah?" Max replied, her voice still shaking.
"I think I got to close to the edge."
Max laughed weakly.
"Are you ok, Maddy?" Logan asked, finally making his presence aware to Max.
They looked over to where Logan sat, next to them, completely soaked and completely unnerved.
After several moments of convincing, both Logan and Max finally took Maddy's words of reassurance that she was fine. After a few more moments, Max relinquished her death grip to let Maddy go play in the sand again, as if nothing had happened.
"I never did ask," Max said as she pulled her knees up to her chest and continued to rock back and forth slightly. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Logan said, reaching for his glasses. "Jesus Christ, that took about seven years of my life off."
"It's all my fault." Max whispered after a moment of silence. "I wasn't paying attention, I should have gone out with her. What the hell was I thinking?" Max said to her self.
Logan stared at her while she berated herself. "Max." He interrupted. "She's four. All four year olds do nothing but get in trouble." When Max continued to stare blankly ahead, Logan continued to talk, trying to get Max to come out of whatever world she had gone into. "I remember when I was four I played dodge ball with my cousin in the kitchen with two dozen eggs. I thought my mom was going to have heart failure."
Max glanced over at him. "What?"
"Nothing. Look, Maddy's fine, don't worry about it to much."
Max gained her feet, and then offered Logan a hand to pull him up. "Look, I think we've all had enough excitement for the day. Let's go home."
Both Max and Logan stood where they were for a moment, looking at each other, then looking at the hands they still had clenched together.
Suddenly they both pulled back as if they had been burned. Wordlessly, not even acknowledging what had just happened, they walked off to gather their belongings and go back to Max's house.
Old habits die-hard.