Ages:

Melinda — 59
Scott — 30
Mackenzie — 24
Freya — 7 months

Enjoy! xx Mariah

"Freya, please eat," Mackenzie said, sighing.

She was sitting on a kitchen chair that had been pulled up to Freya's high chair. In her hand was a spoon with a healthy scoop of pureed peas suspended in mid-air, willing her seven-month-old daughter to take a bite.

"Freya, please eat for mommy." She was cut off when the bright green dollop slid off of the spoon and hit the tray of the high chair with a plop. "Please baby… will you eat for me?"

Before Mackenzie could even reach for the wet rag on the countertop behind her, her daughter's little hands had found the spatter of peas and she slid her tiny fingers through the mess, spreading it across the surface of the high chair tray and giggling all the way.

"Why don't you want to eat, Frey?" She asked softly, dropping the spoon into the bowl of peas. "I'm gonna have to call grandma and see what she says, aren't I?"

The infant giggled and clapped her hands at the sound of grandma. "Nanananana," Freya babbled loudly.

"Oh baby girl," she laughed and cleaned her hands off and moved the bowl away before the little girl could make another bigger mess. "Even covered in peas you are just the cutest, aren't you?"

The phone rang twice before her mom answered. "Hey, Kenz… what's up?" Melinda's light and airy voice said into the phone.

"Hey mom, do you have some time?" She asked. "I just… Freya's being difficult, and I need some guidance."

Melinda chuckled. "Of course, but what's the matter sweetheart?" Her mom asked.

"Freya isn't eating," she sighed. "She just plays with it and flicks it away. I've tried everything, but I need her to eat something other than fruit or a bottle."

"What are you trying to feed her?" Her mom asked.

"I think it was some chicken and peas," she answered. "She ate some of the chicken but she just played around in the mashed peas."

Melinda hummed on the other end of the line. "I see. I know you said you tried everything, but have you tried carrots? You and Katie used to love carrots when you were little. It was the only vegetable other than broccoli that you two would eat," her mom replied.

"Carrots!" She cheered and went to the cupboard, grabbing a jar of them and a small bowl. "I never thought about carrots. Thank you."

"Well if she doesn't go for that… call me back," her mom said. "I think she's also just trying to show you who's boss. You were the same way."

"Yeah… well, mama is the boss," she said, eyeing the little girl. Mackenzie looked at Freya with faux-seriousness but soon started laughing at the perplexed look the little one gave her in return. "Okay mom, thank you. Seriously."

"Always, Kenz," Melinda said, chuckling. "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled and hung up, sitting down with a plop with the new food. "Mommy needs you to eat your dinner."

Mackenzie snapped her fingers to get her attention and when the baby looked up at her, she smiled at her widely and opened her mouth. She knew that Freya would try to mimic her actions, and didn't have to wait long before her tiny mouth popped open and quickly dropped a spoonful of carrots onto her tongue.

"Look at you, big girl!" She crowed, causing as much fanfare as she could to let her know how happy she was that she'd taken a bite of food, but soon, her face screwed up and her blue eyes crinkled. "Isn't that yummy?"

It was no use. Freya blew the food out of her mouth, causing every last drop of her food to fly out, showering her shirt and neck with bright orange specks. The infant began to whine, bringing her tiny hands up to her hair and pulling at it.

"Oh baby, don't pull your hair," Mackenzie said softly and kissed her head as someone knocked on the door. "I wonder who that could be?" She grabbed the rag and wiped what she could off her face before running to the door and opening it. "Scott, hi. Did you forget your key or something the last time you were here?"

There stood her boyfriend with a brown paper bag in his hands. "Yeah, I was in a hurry to get to work. Remember?" He was blushing when he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Did you have a good day? I got some stuff to make us dinner and other stuff. I rented a movie too if you're not busy."

She did remember. That had been a good morning, but she had made him late to work. "Yeah, but it could be better. Like that morning when you left your key…" she sighed. "A movie and dinner sound perfect. Especially after the day I've had."

"I see. The carrots in your hair… and well, everywhere," he laughed, smiling at her. "They suit you."

She smiled. Scott was always so sweet and considerate. She loved that about him. "Thanks. Come in and make yourself comfortable," she said as Freya whined, pounding her fists on the tray for attention. "Freya's in a mood."

He shut the door behind him as she ran to the little girl. She was dressed very casually in a pair of shorts and a tank top as she bent over to feed the little one another bite of carrots.

"Come on baby," she pleaded. "Just a few bites..."

Scott came into the kitchen and set the bag on the counter. "Here," he said, nudging her side. "Want me to try this?"

"Sure. Have fun," she chuckled, handing him the bowl and spoon as she went to look in the bag on the counter. "Give it your best try, handsome." She looked through the bags, seeing all the stuff she'd written on the list that had gone missing the other morning. "Did you steal my list?"

He nodded and took his jacket off quickly, sitting in the chair before her. "Your mama says you're not eating," he said, scooping up a little spoonful. "Will you try for me?" He brought the spoonful to Freya's mouth and opened his own, encouraging her to do the same.

As soon as she did, Scott had the spoon in her mouth. Freya ate it, smacking her lips with a smile. After that, he was easily able to feed her the rest of the food.

"Wow. I'm impressed," she said, clapping a few times.

"There," he said proudly, scooping the last bit and feeding it to her. "That wasn't so bad, wasn't it?" Her boyfriend turned around and presented the empty bowl to her.

Mackenzie sighed in relief and smiled at Freya. "Good job! I'm so proud of you, my sweet girl." She turned to him with a look of amusement. "Thank you. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You would've gotten her to eat eventually," he smiled. "You're a good mom."

"Still… thank you," she said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder softly. "And thank you for grocery shopping for me. I've been so busy lately studying for my finals."

Scott winked. "No problem. It makes me feel better to lighten your load. Now go shower, babe. I've got her." He said, pressing a kiss to his girlfriend's forehead. "We'll get all cleaned up and ready for bed, right Freya?"

"Dadadada," Freya smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. The little girl reached out to her after and she smiled up at her boyfriend. "Mamamama."

"Oh," she laughed. "Looks like you've got yourself a title… what do you think?"

"I'll take it," he smiled, kissing Mackenzie on the lips properly this time, despite the carrots still splattered on her skin, and smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."