Sydney to the Max Season 5: Episode 16 - Sydney's Other Mother

Written By: "Fun But Shy Girl", Based on Characters Created by: Mark Reisman

January 2014:

Judy came down the stairs of her home and saw Sydney laying on the living room couch all curled up watching television. Judy walked over to Sydney and said, "Anything I can get you Sydney?" Sydney while keeping her eyes on the television said, "Noodles please." Judy smirked as she said, "That's all you've eaten all week. If you keep eating nothing but noodles, you're gonna turn into one." Then Max walked in through the front door and said, "Hey Sydney. Hey mom. Thanks for watching Sydney." Then Judy approached Max and said, "Did everything go okay with the funeral preparations?" Max nodded his head and said, "Yeah. Anyway, Sydney, we gotta go home." Sydney keeping her eyes focused on the television said, "Just let me finish this show." Then Max said, "No Sydney. We gotta go home now." Judy then gently grabbed Max's arm and said, "Max, can I see you in the kitchen?" Max then said, "No. Sydney, you've been laying on the couch at grandma's all week. It's time to go home." Then Sydney sat up and reluctantly said, "Okay." Then Judy said, "Here. How about I come over to your place. I'll grab Sydney's things and also bring some food with me."

A short time later Max and Sydney walked into their townhouse they lived in as Judy followed after them carrying several bags. As Sydney headed up to her room, Max looked at Judy and said, "Thanks mom. I'll take it from here." Then Judy said, "You know, how about I stay on the couch here tonight. Just in case." Max looking frustrated said, "Mom, I got this." Then Judy said, "Well Max, it's your first night taking care of Sydney by yourself now. It might be nice to have a little backup around just in case." Then Max sighed and said, "Fine. But you can take my bed. I'll take the couch." Then Judy glanced at the couch and saw a blanket on it. Judy then looked at Max as she said, "Max... have you been sleeping on the couch all week?" Max turned his head away as he said, "I... I haven't been in the bedroom since... look mom, just do whatever you want in that room. I don't really wanna go back into it... maybe ever again." As Max sat down on the couch, Judy put her hands on Max's shoulders briefly and said, "It's okay to feel what you're feeling Max." Judy then headed up the stairs as Max silently covered his face with his hands.

Judy was laying in a bed in the middle of the night, when she heard a door open. Judy sat up and said, "Hello?" Judy then saw Sydney walk into the room wearing pajamas as she said, "Oh. Grandma. I'm sorry." As Judy turned a light on she said, "Sydney, is everything okay?" Sydney then said, "Yeah. It's just... whenever I usually wake up in the middle of the night, I come in and talk to mom. But..." Suddenly Sydney began to cry, as Judy held out her arms and said, "Come here Sydney." Sydney then ran into Judy's arms and began to sob. Judy held Sydney, as Sydney curled up into a ball as streams of tears escaped her eyes. Judy began to gently stroke Sydney's hair, as Sydney said, "I knew she wouldn't be here. But I thought when I woke up that... maybe I dreamed it all, or... ugh, I feel so stupid." Judy then began to gently rub Sydney's back as she said, "No. You're not stupid Sydney. You miss your mother. But remember, you miss her so much because she loved you so much. And she loved you so much, because you are such an amazing and beautiful girl." Sydney then began to tug at Judy's clothes as she continued to cry for rest of the night, while Judy simply held her.

March 2014:

Judy was making food in the kitchen as Sydney sat in a chair watching Judy work. As Judy prepared the food she said, "So Sydney, are you sure you want noodles again? You know if you eat nothing but noodles, you're gonna become one." Sydney then said, "That's okay. I like it when you make noodles grandma." Then Max walked into the kitchen and said, "Hey mom. Hey Sydney. So... did you finish your homework Syd?" Sydney looking a little nervous said, "Uh..." Max then said, "Go finish it." Sydney sighed and said, "Okay." Then Sydney walked out of the kitchen. As Max looked at what Judy was making he said, "Noodles again?" Then Judy said, "Yeah. It's all Sydney wants now." Then Max said, "Well thank you. Sydney still doesn't eat much at home, but she always devours your noodles. You know that's the only kind of food Alisha could never cook well strangely enough." Suddenly a look of clarity went across Judy's face.

An hour later, Judy walked over to Sydney who was reading a book in the living room. Judy then sat down and said, "Hey Sydney. Ready to make a big dinner with me?" Sydney then said, "Sure. What kind of noodles are we eating?" Judy then said, "Well... how about something different? You pick. Whatever you wanna put in the oven." Sydney then titled her head down low as she said, "Well... I..." Judy then put an arm around Sydney and said, "I get it Sydney. Your mom was an amazing cook. And eating something that wasn't cooked or made by her... it doesn't feel right." Sydney had a sad face on her head as she quietly nodded. Judy then said, "Well I know I don't cook like her, but I think with some time we can find some new kinds of food we can both make and enjoy. You know... how about every day... we both try a new kind of food to make. If we don't like it, we won't do it again. But we're going to eventually have to find at least six different new things we can make that you like. Okay?" Sydney sighed as she said, "Okay. But can we still have noodles on Fridays?" Judy smiled as she said, "Okay. But one day you're gonna turn into a noddle yourself if you eat so many."

June 2014:

Sydney sat in a chair in a doctors' office as several adults in white coats were standing near her. Sydney looked frightened as she said, "No. I can't get tonsils taken out. I can't let your tools go into my mouth. No!" Then Judy rushed over to Sydney's side and said, "Hey. Lets talk." Judy then took Sydney into the nearby hallway as Sydney looking scared said, "I won't let them put braces in my mouth grandma. I won't!" Then Judy got on her knees and said, "Hey, hey now Sydney. I know it seems scary, but you have to be a big girl. You know, I saw a bunch of little four and five year olds kids in the waiting room. But you know, you're gonna be eight years old in a month. Don't you wanna show those little kids what a really brave almost eight year old is like." Sydney took a deep breath and said, "Okay. I'll try to act like a brave eight year old grandma." Judy smiled as she said, "Atta girl."

December 2014:

Judy and Sydney were walking through the mall as Judy said, "Okay Sydney. I think one more gift for your dad sounds good. Where do you wanna go?" Sydney turned her head several times, and as she looked at the many adults and children walking by, Sydney suddenly felt her heart race and her chest hurt. Sydney suddenly began to looked freaked out as she said, "Grandma... I think I'm having a heart attack. My heart really hurts!" Judy then took Sydney to a bench nearby as she said, "Whoa, okay. Sit down. Here, have some water and drink it. I have some pretzels in my bag you can eat to." Sydney then ate some pretzels, drank some water, and then looked calm. As Sydney caught her breath, Judy then said, "Feel better now?" Sydney nodded her head and said, "Yeah. I don't know what happened." Then Judy said, "Well was it something you saw or something you were thinking about that maybe caused it?" Sydney then said, "Well... I just saw lots of kids with their... moms walking around, and... suddenly I... I just started missing my mom. I miss my mommy so much!" Sydney then suddenly began to cry, as Judy hugged her. As Sydney hugged Judy tightly she said, "I haven't cried about her for so long now, but... it just all came back. It just hurts so much again." As Judy held Sydney close she said, "I know Sydney. These feelings are gonna come back from time to time. But if they do, you can always talk to me and your dad about it, okay?" Sydney nodded her head as she said, "Okay."

October 2015:

Judy stood in the living room as she yelled, "Come on Sydney. Time to go trick or treating! Show me your secret Halloween costume already!" Then Sydney came down the stairs wearing a giant noodle can. Then Sydney with a smile said, "Ta da. Check it out grandma. It finally happened, just like you said. I turned into noodles." Judy burst out laughing and then said, "Very nice my little noodle. Now lets see if we can fit something more sugary and sweet into that giant can you're wearing." Then Judy and Sydney smiled as they walked out the door together.

September 2017:

Sydney was sitting at an outdoor tea party as many mothers and daughters were sitting together wearing fancy outfits. As Sydney sat next to Olive, Olive's mother handed Sydney some tea as she said, "I'm glad you joined me and Olive for this tea party Sydney." Then Olive said, "Yeah. There's no reason why you should've felt left out." Then Sydney said, "Yeah. Well, it just feels weird being the only one without a mother here and..." Then suddenly Judy ran into the tea party as she said, "Sydney. HEY!" As Judy sat down next to Sydney, a confused Sydney said, "Grandma. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Then Judy said, "Yeah, well I should be. But after your dad told me about this outdoor tea party you were going to, I figured... eh, I'm retiring in two years. Why not skip a day, and have some fun with my noodle." Sydney then hugged Judy as she said, "Thanks grandma."

March 2020:

Judy sat in a chair outside of a changing room in a womans only clothing store. Suddenly Sydney stepped out of the changing room wearing just shorts and a blue bra as she said, "I don't like any of these bras Grandma. Can we just go home?" Then Judy looked at Sydney as she said, "Come on Noodle. Those are made of the most comfortable material the store has." Then Sydney with a sad face said, "It's not the material. It's just... I feel like a freak wearing them." Then Judy smiled as she said, "Lots of girls feel that way Sydney. But this is part of growing up and becoming a woman." Then as Sydney pulled at the blue bra she said, "But... it feels like it's in the way." Judy then stood up, had Sydney face a nearby mirror, and put her hands on Sydney's shoulders as she said, "Don't think of a bra as a burden you must bear Noodle. Think of it as a badge of honor that represents your feminity, your growth, and how far you've come in growing up. Your breasts are a beautiful part of your body, and it's wonderful to wear something beautiful that compliments them." Then Sydney looked at herself, took a deep breath, and then said, "Okay. Lets try them on again." Then Judy held up several bras as she said, "Good. And try these on too. These are the sexiest ones I found in your size." Sydney's face turned red as she said, "Grandma! I thought you said bras should not be used to attract boys?" Then Judy with a smirk said, "I did. But that doesn't mean you can't look sexy for yourself while getting dressed in front of the mirror every day. Just make sure you don't tell your father I said that... or tell him about the Victoria's Secret Underwear sets I'm buying you." Sydney giggled as she headed back into the changing room and said, "Thanks Grandma."

May 2024:

Judy was sitting in the living playing with Sydney's baby sister Lauren. Judy was tossing a stuffed toy dog into the air as she said, "Watch the doggy fly Lauren!" Young Lauren giggled as Sydney stepped into the room and said, "Hey Lauren." Then Lauren reached out and hugged Sydney as she said, "Sissy!" Sydney hugged Lauren back as she said, "Hey. Got you a new toy at the thrift store to play with." Then Sydney handed Lauren a stuffed toy cat. Then Lauren threw the cat into the air and laughed. Then as Lauren began to toss the cat around, a confused Sydney said, "Where did she pick up that habit from?" Then Judy with a straight face said, "I have no idea." Then Sydney sat next to Judy and said, "Anyway grandma, I just finished my big English project of the semester." Then a curious Judy said, "Well what was it about noodle?" Then Sydney said, "Well we were all tasked with writing about an influential woman in our lives, with the recommendation to write about our mothers. I wanted to write about my own mom, but... I only have so many memories of her. Then I thought about writing about Angela, but she's only been my step-mom for awhile now. But then I realized... there was one other mother I had forgotten about." Then Sydney opened up a book she had in front of Judy, and showed surrounded by text were many pictures of Sydney and Judy together throughout the years. Tears appeared in Judy's eyes as she looked at all of the pictures. Then Sydney looked at Judy as she said, "You know... for years I thought how sad it was that I didn't have a mother anymore. But then I realized... I always had a mom around. Happy Mother's Day Grandma." Then Sydney immediately hugged Judy. Judy began to cry as she smiled and hugged Sydney back as she said, "Thank you Noodle."

THE END