Once again, here are two short stories/scenes for you to enjoy…
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"Hi Mya," Andy greets the little girl as she gets down to her level and gives her a hug while directing a smile at Marlo, who's standing behind her.
"Hi Andy!" Mya squeaks as she wraps her tiny arms around Andy's neck. "Where's Daddy?" She wonders once they both pull away.
"Daddy's right here," Sam says as he walks into the room with a smile on his face.
"Daddy!" Mya squeals as she runs to Sam and leaps into his arms, while Marlo and Andy look on at the two of them, unable to keep the smiles off their faces.
"Hi Peanut," Sam says as he hugs his daughter.
"Daddy, guess what!" Mya probes as she pulls away from their hug so she can look Sam in the eyes.
"What?" He asks.
"I'm getting married!" She declares, enthusiastically.
"You are?" He asks with wide eyes and an amused smile. "To who?" He wonders.
"Johnny," she explains.
"Who's Johnny?" He questions as he glances at Marlo, who looks like she's fighting to keep a laugh down.
"He's my boyfriend, Daddy!" She exclaims, as if it should be obvious.
"Your boyfriend?" He asks, incredulously. "Since when?"
"Since Thursday at recess," she explains. "He gave me this ring, so… so now we're getting married!" she tells him, eagerly, as she shows him her left hand, which has a plastic pink ring wrapped around her finger. "Isn't it pretty, Daddy?" She asks.
"It's very pretty, sweetheart," he tells her.
"Are you gonna walk me down the aisle?" She wonders, a moment later. "That's what Daddies do," she reminds him.
"Of course I will," he tells her with a smile.
"Andy, are you gonna see me get married?" Mya asks as she turns her body to face her step-mother.
"Sure, sweetheart. I'd love to," Andy responds with a genuine smile.
"It's gonna be so much fun!" Mya exclaims, excitedly. "Where's Lucy? She's the flower girl!" She declares.
"I'm sure she'd love that," Andy smiles.
"Why don't you go wake her up? She should be getting up from her nap soon," Sam suggests as he puts his daughter down on the ground.
"Okay!" She agrees before she skips to the staircase and then hops all the way up them.
"So what is this about a boyfriend?" Sam asks Marlo after he's sure that Mya is out of earshot.
"Sam, she's in kindergarten… it's just pretend," Marlo says with a laugh.
"Well why is she pretending to have a boyfriend?" He retorts. "She's way too young to be thinking about that!" He argues.
"Sam, she barely even knows what it means… she'll have completely forgotten about it in a day or two," Marlo assures him.
"Yeah, I don't like it," Sam declares. "I mean… who is this kid?" He asks. "Why is he giving jewelry to my daughter?" He adds.
"He's just a sweet little boy… totally harmless," Marlo tells him. "I saw his mother a couple weeks ago and she just got engaged… he probably just learned what it meant and now he's got the idea in his head… it's sweet," Marlo says with a smile.
Sam's just about to open his mouth and let out a sarcastic response when he hears the pitter patter of little feet coming down the stairs. He turns to find Mya holding Lucy's hand and guiding the sleepy three year old down the stairs. And yeah, his annoyance momentarily dissipates at the image. Seeing his daughters together never ceases to warm his heart.
"Hi Lucy," Marlo greets the little girl with an affectionate smile as she bends her knees to properly say hello.
"Hi Ma-lo!" Lucy smiles as she hugs Marlo, who can't help but grin at the little girl.
"Lucy says she'll be my flower girl!" Mya announces to everyone.
"I get to wear a pretty dress!" Lucy adds with a big smile.
"And you have to throw the flowers down the aisle," Mya reminds her.
"Oh yeah," Lucy nods her head.
"We'll have to practice," Mya tells her.
"Oh-tay," Lucy agrees. "Now?" She asks.
"How about after dinner?" Andy proposes.
"Okay, we'll practice after dinner," Mya agrees.
"Well on that note, I better get going," Marlo proclaims.
"Bye Mommy!" Mya says with a wave.
"Come give me a hug and a kiss," Marlo tells her as she holds her arms out. Mya hops over to her and gives her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You be good, okay?" Marlo says.
"I will," Mya promises.
"Okay, I'll see you on Sunday," she tells her daughter. "Call me if you need anything," she tells Andy and Sam.
"Have a good weekend," Andy tells Marlo.
"You too," she replies, before she slips out the door.
"Let's go play in my room!" Mya tells her sister.
"Oh-tay," Lucy agrees before the two of them quickly make their way up the stairs, leaving Andy and Sam alone in the kitchen.
Andy waltzes over to her husband with an amused smile on her face. "You poor thing," she teases as she wraps her arms around his neck.
"This isn't funny," he argues with a pout. "She's barely five... I wasn't prepared for this," he explains. "I figured I still had at least a good eight or nine years before I had to worry about this kind of thing," he tells her as he wraps his arms around Andy's waist.
"Sam, it's not like he's her actual boyfriend… you have plenty of time before you'll have to deal with actual boyfriends," she assures him.
"It just seemed like yesterday when all boys had cooties except for me," he reminisces.
"I know," she sympathizes as she runs her fingers through his hair. "But don't worry, I'm sure boys will have cooties again soon," she assures him.
"You think so?" He asks, hopefully.
"Yeah," she says with a chuckle. "With girls, the whole cooties thing comes and goes and comes back again… this is probably just a phase," she explains.
"Let's hope," he replies, as he pulls his wife into his side and kisses the top of her head.
She glances up at him with a smile and stands on her toes to press a kiss against his lips. "And on the bright side, Lucy still thinks boys have cooties," she says with a smirk.
"Well, at least there's that," he agrees with a smile.
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"Sam…" Andy says, trying to get her husband's attention. He's been completely lost in his thoughts ever since he got home. Now that he doesn't have work to distract him, he obviously can't stop thinking about what's going on in his daughter's life right now. Yeah, Andy knew that tonight was going to be tough, but she wasn't really expecting all of this sulking around.
"Sam," she says again as she taps his thigh with her toe.
"Hm?" He responds, as he finally snaps out of it.
She smiles at him and flips herself around so she's snuggled beside him on the couch and running her fingers through his hair in that way that she knows he likes. "You haven't said anything in over an hour," she observes.
"Sorry," he murmurs as he gently squeezes her knee.
"You okay?" She asks with a tilt of her head.
"Not really," he grumbles before he meets her eyes and blows out a breath. "I'll feel better once I know she's at home," he adds.
"Sam, she's fifteen… it's her first date… what do you honestly think is gonna happen?" She wonders.
"I don't know… she's out with a sixteen year old boy… they aren't exactly innocent!" he reminds her. "Who knows what could happen?" He adds.
"Sam…"
"I still say she's too young to date," he declares.
"I know," she replies.
"I don't know how I got overruled on this one," he grumbles.
Andy gives him a sympathetic look and continues to run her fingers through his hair and gently massage his scalp in an attempt to relax him. The past two weeks have not been easy on him where Mya is concerned. Sam and Marlo went back and forth a few times about her first date. While they are usually on the same page when it involves their daughter, they were definitely not in agreement about this. Sam was always against it, but Marlo wanted to let her go. And yeah, Sam's been grumbling for days about the fact that he lost this argument.
"Sam, it'll be okay… I was her age when I had my first date," she shrugs. "We went to the movies and we sat in the back of the theatre and…"
"I think you should probably stop that sentence before I hunt Mya down and lock her up in her room forever," he warns.
Andy giggles and playfully rolls her eyes at her husband. "I was going to say that we held hands and shared a Sprite," she informs him.
He turns his head slightly and pulls back to get a good look at her face. He continues to eye her with a furrowed eyebrow until he's absolutely sure that she's being truthful. "Really?" He asks, just to be sure.
"Yes, really," she assures him. "All he got was a peck on the lips after he walked me home," she adds.
"Well, I wish you had kept that part to yourself," he cringes.
"Sorry," she apologizes. "But I swear, it was all very innocent," she tells him.
"I still don't like it," he tells her with a frown.
"I know," she says with an amused smile.
"I hope you know that Lucy isn't dating until she's eighteen," he insists. "Better yet, let's make it twenty," he amends.
Andy lets out a laugh. "Okay, dear," she says, very obviously placating him.
"I mean it," he argues.
"I know you do," she tells him with adoring eyes. After all these years, she still kind of likes when he gets a little bit ridiculous about their kids. "Hey, why don't we go upstairs and I'll help you relax?" she suggests.
"Oh yeah? How you gonna do that?" He asks, absentmindedly.
"Hmm… I don't know…" She comments as she starts to run her foot up his calf in the most seductive way possible.
That's when he finally chances a look at his wife and can't help the playful roll of his eyes when he sees the expression on her face. The look she's giving him- she knows exactly what it does to him.
"C'mon, I think you could use a good distraction," she flirts as she runs her hand up his chest.
He stares her down for a moment, as if he actually has to think about it. Eventually, he lets a small smile slip out and nods his head. "Yeah… maybe you're right," he agrees.
She lights up at his words and quickly pulls him off the couch. "C'mon," she says before dragging him upstairs to their bedroom.
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And if anyone has any ideas for scenes, please share!