The next day...
"Come on, Seth, hurry up, we've got to go and meet our neighbours... They have a little girl your age you can play with...
Yes, sweetie, you can bring your horse, but stop dawdling!" Kirsten exclaimed, her patience with Seth wearing thin. It had taken him twice as long to put on his socks and shoes than usual, and hadn't wanted to go without the toy horse Caleb had bought him the previous day.
Kirsten attacked his hair with a wet comb, in an attempt to make it lie flat, but her attempt failed miserably, as Seth's curls refused to be tamed.
Giving up on that front, she checked his face and clothes for dirt and spillages and was pleased to see there weren't any.
She then proceded to look for her keys.
"Your keys are here, honey," Sandy declared, brandishing a keychain bearing a diamante 'K' and house and car keys.
"My hero!2 Kirsten gushed, giving her husband a peck on the cheek.
"Are you ready, Setheleh?" Sandy asked his son.
"Yes, Daddy! May I have a piggyback there please?" Seth implored, holding out his arms to be picked up.
"Sure, hop on and hold on tight!" Sandy replied, crouching down to let Seth clamber on.
"Thank you Daddy! Mommy, hold my horse please!" Seth exclaimed, thrusting it into his mother's hands.
"Ok, boys, let's get moving, we're late already!" she declared.
The two men in her life replied with a chorus of "Yes Mommy!" which sent them off into hysterics at their amazing wit.
They wandered out and Kirsten locked the door behind them.
Sandy put Seth down when they'd arrived, and then Kirsten rang the bell.
It was opened by a woman with fiery red hair who looked seriously intimidating. Her husband held back a little, seeming to be the more passive partner in the relationship.
A little girl who looked about 5 years old clung to her father's leg, twisting one of her light brown pigtails with her finger.
"oh my goodness, it's Jimmy, isn't it? It's been ages! How are you?" Kirsten stated excitedly, rushing over to give the man inside the house a hug. After all, he was her ex-boyfriend and one time nearly-fiance, they went way back.
"Wow, Kirsten, look at you, you look amazing! This must be your son, and you must be Sandford, nice to meet you!" Jimmy said, all in one breath, only pausing to shake Sandy's hand warmly.
"Please, it's Sandy, no-one calls me Sandford!" declared the older Cohen man.
"And I'm Julie", the red-head interrupted. "I've heard so much about you, Kirsten, Jimmy always talks about you with so much affection, anyone would think he was still in love with you!" she intoned, trying to sound jokey and pleasant, but her words were tinged with bitchiness and she threw Jimmy a deadly look.
" Come in, anyway," Jimmy added, as he lead the way into the lounge, followed by his ex-girlfriend and her family.
"Don't be shy, Marissa honey, come say hello. Daddy's friend and her husband have a little boy you can play with, isn't that nice?" Julie coaxed, embarrased that Marissa was being so clingy. She was holding on to Jimmy's leg like a limpet and Seth was attached to Sandy's in a similar fashion, behaving so shly that both his parents were surprised.
Seth was the first to detach himself and speak.
"I'm Seth, Seth Ezekiel Cohen. It's a pleasure to meet you! Do you want to see my horse? Do you have any cool toys? Did you know you're very pretty?" he questioned all in one breath.
Kirsten raised her hand to her mouth to prevent a giggle coming out of her mouth at the sound of her little boy sounding so much like his father.
Marissa smiled slightly, let go of her father's leg and moved towards Seth cautiously.
She nervously reached out to touch the plastic horse that the young boy was clutching with both hands.
"Is your horsey a boy horsey or a girl horsey? Does he or she have a name yet?" she asked, stroking the horse's mane.
"It's a boy horse, but he doesn't have a name yet... Maybe you can help me think of one?" he replied, oozing with Cohen charm effortlessly.
"Marissa, take Seth upstairs and show him your room, you can play up there while Mommy and I have tea with Seth's Mommy and Daddy, OK? There'll be a snack for you in a little while, alright, kiddo?" Jimmy declared.
"Yes Daddy", Marissa replied, running upstairs with Seth close behind, the two of them giggling as they went.
"And play quietly, honey, Kaitlyn's napping, remember?" julie added, a little too late, she feared.
Twenty minutes later, the two children were clamouring for juice or milk and cookies.
Julie gave Seth a plastic cup of milk and a plate with two cookies, then repeated the operation with Marissa, except she gave her juice instead of milk.
Seth scrambled up onto the sofa to sit between his parents while Marissa sat on a cushion on the floor, near her dad's feet. Kirsten began 'feeding' bits of cookie to Captain Oats, as per Seth's request.
"Who made the cookies, Marissa?" Seth piped up. "Did your Mommy make them? My mommy's not allowed in the kitchen without... uh... Daddy? What's that word that means to watch over someone, the one that starts with 'P' or 'S'?" continued Seth, munching on his cookie as he did so.
"Do you mean supervision, Setheleh?" questioned Sandy. "And don't speak with your mouth full, please, it's bad manners," he added automatically. Seth swallowed his mouthful of cookie before replying.
"Yes, that's it exactly, Daddy! Thank you! Well, Marissa, my Mommy isn't allowed in the kitchen without, uh, the word my Daddy said, 'cause she gets it all wrong, but my Daddy's allowed, 'cause he's the bestest cooker!" Seth divulged in one breath, causing Kirsten to go bright red.
"Come on, Sir Talk-a-Lot, finish your milk and cookie and then say thank you for having me to Marissa and her Mommy and Daddy," Sandy declared, trying to avert the situation and prevent any more embarassing nuggets escape his son's mouth.
When Seth had finished, he gave Julie his cup and plate, thanked her and Jimmy and kissed Marissa on the cheek, which made her blush a deep red.
As the Cohens left, Seth grabbed his father's hand with his free hand, as the other was clutching on to his toy horse for dear life.
"Did you have a nice time with Marissa, my darling?" Sandy asked, squeezing his son's hand as they walked.
"Yes, it was fun, Daddy, Marissa's nice! But her room's too pink and purple, I like blue and green better! What's your favourite colour, Daddy?" Seth asked eagerly, dying to know this fact about his father.
"Hmmmm, let me think... I like blue, I think that's my favourite colour," Sandy replied.
" Wow, just like me, Daddy, we can be twins then!" Seth gabbled, thrilled at his father's response.
Sandy and Kirsten avoided eachother's gaze, as they knew they'd laugh if their eyes met, so Sandy changed the subject, hoping Seth wouldn't notice.
"So, Setheleh, has your horse got a name yet?" he enquired.
"No, not yet, Daddy! Marissa suggested Buttercup, but that's not a boy horrse's name, is it?" he replied, apparently sorely put out by Marissa's suggestion.
"What about Dogfood, don't you think that's a good name?" Sandy suggested, which earned him a look from Kirsten and a reprimand to stop being silly from his son.
"I know, sweetie, why don't you name him after a comic book character? like, uh, Captain Marvel?" Kirsten ventured, hoping Captain Marvel was in fact a comic book character and not one she'd seen on kids' TV.
"That's a good idea, Mommy, you're so smart! Do horses eat cookies?" he asked inquisitively.
"No, sweetie, they don't... They eat raw carrots, apples and sugar lumps, just like you do sometimes, and they also like grass, hay, barley and oats, things like that..." she replied.
Seth stayed silent for a minute, obviously deep in thought. He muttered to himself several times and looked serious. Naming a toy wasn't something you took lightly, after all.
"I've got it!" he suddenly shouted jubilantly. "He's called Captain Oats... I took the Captain from Captain Marvel and Oats are his favourite food, so that's his name! Do you think it's a good name, Mommy? what about you, Daddy?" he demanded of his parents.
"I think it's a very good name for a horse, sweetie," his mother replied. "I like it, my darling. Nice to meet you, Captain Oats," Sandy declared, reaching out to shake the toy's hoof.
Seth looked thrilled and made the toy nuzzle his dad's arm, commenting that that meant he was saying hello back and that he liked him.
He repeated the process with Kirsten, unfortunately just as she was opening the door, which made her jump, but she stroked the horse's mane and squeezed Seth's shoulder as they entered their new house.
