After The Show Chapter 8: Little Diamond

Christian went back into the bedroom. Satine was sitting on the floor looking up at him. Christian was unsure of what to do. How do you talk to a twenty three year old woman who is pretending to be two?

He knelt down next to her and thought back to when his sister was two. What had their mother always done that made them happy? Suddenly, he got an idea.

ÒDo you want some ice cream, Satine?Ó he asked. She nodded her head happily. ÒOk, letÕs go get some.Ó He turned to walk out the door, expecting Satine to follow. Instead, he turned around to see her whimpering and reaching towards him. She wanted to be carried. He remembered the doctor telling him that Satine would set the pace. So he picked Satine up and carried her downstairs to the kitchen.

Christian had no idea how far into her own world Satine had gone until he tried to give her ice cream. Only about half of what he put in the bowl made it into her mouth. The other half was spread across her face and hands as well as her legs and the table. ÒI think you should go take a shower and get yourself cleaned up,Ó Christian said as he tried to suppress a laugh. Satine looked at him with tears in her eyes. She stared at him until he realized what he had done wrong. ÒOh, IÕm sorry. ItÕs going to take awhile for me to get used to little Satine. Now, why donÕt we take you upstairs and get you cleaned up?Ó He carried her into the bathroom and ran a bath for her. While they were waiting for it to fill up, he heard Satine say his name. ÒYes, angel?Ó he asked. He was getting used to Òlittle SatineÓ.

ÒYou still love me?Ó she asked. Christian pulled her onto his lap. ÒOf course I still love you. YouÕre still my diamond. YouÕre just my little diamond.Ó He kissed the top of her head as he put her in the bathtub. ÒNow letÕs get you cleaned up.Ó

At the end of her bath, Satine seemed to be getting tired. Christian glanced at his watch and saw it was only about noon. ÒI think itÕs about time my little diamond had a nap,Ó he said. Satine considered protesting, but she really was tired. A nap did sound good. She let Christian lift her out of the bathtub and get her dressed. Satine liked being the Òlittle diamondÓ. Christian put her in bed and was about to leave when he heard Satine whimpering. He walked back over and asked what was wrong.

ÒNo darkÓ Satine said. She grabbed ChristianÕs arm and refused to let go of it. ÒOk, Satine. IÕll leave the light on. I have to go downstairs now,Ó Christian said as he tried to get his arm back. Satine whimpered again. ÒNo leave, Cwistian! No leave!Ó Christian sighed. He lifted Satine out of the bed and carried her over to the chair. He held her on his lap and gently rocked her as he sang to her.

ItÕs a little bit funny

This feeling inside

IÕm not one of those who can easily hide

I donÕt have much money but if I did

IÕd buy a big house where we both could live

And you can tell everybody

This is you song

It may be quite simple but

Now that itÕs done

I hope you donÕt mind

I hope you donÕt mind

That I put down in words

How wonderful life is

Now youÕre in the world

By the end of the song, Satine had fallen asleep on his lap. She was sucking her thumb again. Christian decided he needed some support. He was glad he hadnÕt mailed the letter to Harold yet. He sat down and added another paragraph inviting them to come and visit.

Christian signed the letter and looked at Satine sleeping. ÒGood night, little diamond.Ó He whispered as he left the room to mail the letter.

About an hour and a half after leaving Satine, Christian heard her yell from upstairs. He ran into the room to find her on the floor, clutching the pillow she had been sleeping on. She was sobbing hysterically and Christian couldnÕt figure out what to do. He hated it when she cried like this. He gently touched her shoulder.

ÒItÕs ok baby. IÕm here. What happened?Ó he asked. ÒDid you have a bad dream?Ó The doctor said that nightmares could be both common and severe.

Satine nodded. ÒDo you want to tell me what happened?Ó he asked. When she shook her head no, he got another idea. He remembered the day they had moved in and he had been shown her old bedroom. She used to draw. Maybe she still would, now that she was being little Satine. He stood up and told her he had a surprise for her. Satine seemed content enough with getting a surprise that she let Christian leave the room. He went down to her old bedroom and opened up the desk drawers. Sure enough, he found some crayons. He brought both the crayons and an old stuffed zebra that had been propped up on the bed back with him.

Once he was back in the bedroom, he sat in the desk chair and told Satine to sit on his lap. He put a piece of paper in front of her and gave her the crayons he found. ÒSatine, do you want to draw me a picture?Ó he asked. Satine nodded and began to draw. Christian held her on his lap as he watched her. ÒShe really does think sheÕs two years oldÓ he realized. The picture she was drawing might have made sense to her, but to anyone else, it was simply scribbling. After about five minutes she looked at Christian. ÒAll done!Ó she exclaimed proudly. Christian looked at the drawing. He suddenly knew what she had drawn. She had drawn a picture of the two of them in her elephant the night they met. Granted, she was depicted as a red scribble and him as a black one. The large heart window was a yellow circle. But he could see what everything was. ÒWow, thatÕs beautiful sweetie. Yes, I can see what this is. ThatÕs you, and thatÕs meÉAngel, this is wonderful. I think we should save this.Ó He said, putting the picture in the desk drawer. Satine beamed proudly. Christian remembered the stuffed toy he had brought for her.

ÒI almost forgot your other surprise,Ó he said. He handed her the zebra. She clapped her hands excitedly at getting the toy, although she didnÕt seem to know where it came from.

Three days later, Christian was checking the mail and saw he had gotten a reply from Harold. Yes, they would come and visit. Not only himself and Marie, but Toulouse and the rest as well.