The mirror reflected the pale light of morning in grey and blue hues, and at its centre, Chilli's sad smile greeted her.
She looked at her reflection and sighed.
"Forty one years old", Chilli thought, observing with detainment the marks of age upon her. Some white hairs, little smile wrinkles around her eyes and mouth… and yes, sort of deep sadness intermingling with joy in her dark pupils.
"Mum celebrated her 41st birthday, the same age that I'm today…and one week later Dad had to take her to the hospital…she didn't reach her forty two years old… By the time she passed away, she did not have as much white hairs as I have now", she sighed with melancholy.
"She didn't live long enough to see me finish primary school…sometimes I wonder how much time I have left…for how much longer I'll accompany my girls?..Would I ever see them as adult women?", her inner voice asked.
Then, as if following a cue, she heard giggles outside.
"Hey! Where is Mum?!"
She felt a fluttering warmth in her chest, at the sound of her daughter's voices, chiming like little silver bells.
"I Bet she's in the dunny…" chuckled Bandit.
"Daaaad! Don't say dunny!! Mum doesn't like it and It's her birthday!!", Bingo reprimanded while Bluey giggled.
Chilli chuckled. "Good girl, Bingo…" her mind cooed.
She couldn't help but smile at the sight that awaited her.
Bingo and Bluey wagging her tails at her sight, with bright smiles on their little faces and a brekky tray on her bed, and her Bandit with a flower bouquet.
Her heart was about to burst, she was so fortunate!
"Ohhhh… this is so nice…Thank you!!", she said, taking in their love lit up faces.
But time doesn't wait, not even on birthdays, so after eating and cuddling, everyone went to do his part for the day…save for Bandit, who halted Chilli before getting up from their bed.
The bed made a little crack noise under his weight as he sat beside her, smiling softly while he took one of her hands in his.
"Are you alright, babe?" he asked, lifting up one eyebrow in concern, while he searched for her eyes. "You can't fool me Chilli…something is eating you … tell me, it could do some good to you".
She leaned herself into her husband's shoulder and sighed. "...My mum's last birthday was her 41st…"
He gulped and embraced her tightly, knowing what kind of ghosts visited Chilli's mind at that moment.
"Y'know she's with you, don't you?", he said, resting his cheek in the top of her head.
"Yeah…I know…" she said, a bit tearily, her words soft and distant.
"And y'know you are not going anywhere, don't you babe?…cause I'm not letting you!", he reassured her, looking into her eyes and cupping her cheek.
"Oh I know, my big, lovely fella! …" she sighed "...Don't worry about me, I'll be alright", she answered back, smiling into his kiss.
Right in the hallway besides the room's open door, Bluey echoed her mother's sigh, and went to find Bingo with a heavy heart, yet with determination in her pace and mind.
—--
The flamboyant offered respite from the sun to the Heeler girls, while its bright red flowers seemed to listen to the whispering pups.
"...So, our mum is missing her mum?" asked the younger of them after hearing her sister.
"Yeah… we need to fix it, Bingo ... It's her birthday and yet she's sad… It's not fair to be sad on one's birthday!", exclaimed Bluey.
Bingo knitted her brows together, thinking really hard.
"...Bluey… do you remember when dad went away for six weeks?", she said tentatively.
Bluey raised an eyebrow, waiting for the five year old to elaborate some more on whatever she might be thinking about. "Oh yeah…I do!".
"Well…" Bingo continued, slowly giving form to an idea. "Do you remember that Mum borrowed his perfume from the bathroom and left it in our room so we could smell it if we missed him too much?"
The remembrance lit up in the older's mind.
The cold glass of Dad's perfume bottle in her hand, and the herbal, musky fragrance coming to life whenever she opened its lid … whenever she had felt sad because Dad wasn't there to play, or when a "good night" message in her Mum's phone wasn't good enough to sleep…
"Yeah, it helped…" Bluey smiled brightly while her mind seemed to connect with that of her sister, and the tails of both girls started to wag rapidly. "Do you think we should borrow something that was from her mum to give it to her?!!"
"YEAH!!", Bingo exclaimed excitedly, her big dark eyes bright with enthusiasm, only to get pensive again. "But grandad doesn't have a phone", she added "…how could we find something from Nana Saffron without his help?"
Both girls directed their gazes to the floor in deep concentration.
"BRANDY!!", the girls squealed in unison after a pair of seconds.
—--
Bright beams of light entered through Brandy's kitchen windows.
An array of personal items covered the table, while she tried to arrange her travel bag, at the same time she listened to the lively conversation of her nieces on the phone.
"Yes girls, I'm going to pick up Grandad, and then we will visit you", Brandy confirmed to the girls, whose eager voices made her smile.
She picked up her brush from the table and left it inside the bag… now… where were her sunglasses…?
"Oh yes! I remember it's your Mum's birthday!" she chuckled. "That's why I'm going to your home- Yeah! I have a present for her already" She added while looking under the table for the missing item, "-Oh! I can imagine you have loads of party stuff!", she said while turning around to look upon the kitchen's counter.
Suddenly she sobered, halting before her open bag again, with sorrow filled eyes.
"...Oh…so…you think she's sad…" she almost whispered. "Yeah Bluey, of course I'll help you and Bingo if I can! What's your plan, girls?"
She opened her eyes widely, and smiled, while her heart thumped with contained emotion.
"I'll do everything I can!", she exclaimed. "I'll call you back when I get something".
The girls squealed and giggled on the phone.
She chuckled. Chilli and Bandit were certainly doing a good job as parents.
—--
Bandit turned off the call on his phone while looking at his smiling daughters.
He breathed in deeply, with a pride filled heart.
"You're awesome, kiddos", he said softly. "Now, off you go! We have a house to decorate!"
—--
Chilli smiled, a bit amused and a bit chagrined.
"Aww… C'mon please let me do something!"
"Of course not!" Frisky exclaimed. While Trixie and Stripe busied themselves in the Heeler's kitchen.
"It's your birthday! So, you sit down and relax!", added Stripe above the cacophony of cooking devices and mixers.
The red heeler groaned. "I really appreciate it… but I'm not good at being idle…"
Trixie approached her, with a mischievous grin. "OK, ok. Look, here is Socks, " she said, holding the littlest Heeler hand and sitting her in her sister in law's lap unceremoniously. "Cuddle her!", she ordered, "...and let the Chef do her work", she chuckled while signalling to her black apron.
Chilli chuckled at Socks's lovely expression. "So, it's you and me, uh, little niece?", she said. "C'me here and give me a hug".
The little pup did as asked, while wagging her tail happily, and so, Chilli holded her until she fell asleep in her lap.
She sighed.
Now that her girls had grown up a bit, they didn't fall asleep so easily in her arms, even if they still cuddled with her as little pups do.
Chilli caressed Socks' soft baby fur, feeling the steady rhythm of her heart, while hearing her daughters playing along with Muffin in the backyard…
She gulped. For how much longer she would be able to relish in these simple joys? For how much longer she would have the certainty of waking to her daughters' smiles and Bandit's embrace?
She still could remember the last time she fell asleep in her mother's lap.
She had climbed to the tall white bed, and curled up with her head pressed against her Mum's chest, her ear just above her heart… oh, she was so thin! and yet she still felt safe in that beloved place under the crook of her neck...
Chilli breathed in, filling her lungs with her mother's beloved scent, relishing in Saffron's fur against her cheek…She tucked her ten year old tiny hands under her face, and looked up to her mother's loving eyes.
Saffron had chuckled and let her crochet project aside to embrace her properly, and thus she fell asleep, cradled against her mother's side, lulled by the rhythm of her breath, not caring about the IV into the adult's small wrist, nor about the cold, white hospital walls…
—--
"So… Do you have anything that has been Mum's?" Brandy asked softly, taking in the melancholy in her father's eyes… it seemed that Chilli's 41st birthday wasn't only affecting her, but also the ol'man…
"Oh… Geez girl!... I'm pretty sure I already gave everything to you and your sister…", he exclaimed, scratching his nape while knitting his brows together.
Mort sighed, they needed to find something, for Chilli and for the girls.
He racked his brain thinking about all of his beloved Saffron's possessions… he could relinquish some of his to give it to Chilli, but all of those she already knew about, and won't accept to keep them…
Suddenly the old man started to wag his tail, "Let's check in her old room closet!", he proposed. Brandy smiled.
—--
The last thing Brandy had asked for her to crochet was a hat, it came out quite nicely and her thirteen year old girl loved it; now it had been Chilli's turn to ask for something.
"One single crochet, draw up a loop and then tuck in the crochet through it, hold on the yarn, draw up a loop again, one, two, three times".
Saffron sighed while smiling, she liked crocheting. The yarn embracing itself, loop over loop, time and time again to create objects made of close or loose nets, built of hugs or knots, seemed to her like a metaphor of life itself.
She chuckled. It was so "classic Chilli" to ask for a toy!, after all, she was still a very young pup…
The brown yarn was soft to the touch, yet resistant enough to endure hours of playing once the project was done.
Oh, she was so tired! Yet she was entertained.
She kept on crocheting and hoping that, somehow by the virtues of the craft, her love was also woven with the yarn.
—--
Brandy was elated.
"Hey girls!" she said, sniffling a fugitive tear while sending a voice message to Bandit's phone. "Guess what? Grandpa found something! We're taking it to you so you can give it to your Mum…".
—--
It was afternoon in the Heeler household, and a lively group had gathered at the backyard deck, the usual tea time repast transformed into a veritable feast, thanks to Trixie's unfathomable culinary skills, and Stripe diligent help.
Grandpa Bob and Nana had come later, and after them, Grandad and Brandy had arrived, sharing complicit looks with the girls.
The sun had begun to set on a bed of rosy clouds when the time for presenting the birthday gifts was due.
Bluey and Bingo squealed when it was their turn to give a present to their mother.
"Oh, Mum, here is your card!!" Said Bluey, passing a drawing to Chilli as if no child had ever drawn before.
"It has sequins!!", chimed in Bingo, pointing to the sparkling stars that adorned the folded paper.
"Ohhh! It's precious!!!" Chilli exclaimed sincerely.
"Wait!! There is more!", Bingo added while Bluey came in with a box in her arms.
"We wanted to make this birthday extra special for you!", the older sister explained while thumping her tail excitedly.
Chilli smiled quizzically to Bandit, who limited himself to shrug, so she opened up the cardboard lid with curiosity.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She immediately recognised the fabric bag inside it, and looked at Mort with eager eyes, asking for her father's permission to uncover the relic inside it.
At Mort's subtle nod, she unfolded the cotton bag. Chilli just peeked inside it and that sufficed to give back to her, her mother's swift, soft hands welding the crochet, her smile and sweet scented hugs, and her own childhood giggles…all in one, there, in the span of three seconds, in such a small humble item….
"...It's up to you to finish it, if you want to", Mort said to her, almost in a whisper.
She breathed in deeply, sniffling a happy sob, while putting the box aside with a rapid motion. "The truly important things must come first!", her inner voice demanded, so she opened up her arms and smiled brightly at her daughters, who jumped into her lap while giggling.
"Ohhhh, you two!!!" Chilli exclaimed while hugging her girls tightly. "You two are the best gift I have ever received!!"
The girls chuckled and squealed despite the wetness in Chilli's cheeks; they knew they were happy tears, after all.
Bandit peaked at the box, inside it, a crocheted horse looked at him with button eyes. His rear end was unfinished, but there was a ball of brown yarn and a crochet hook beside it, ready to be picked up again for a pair of nimble hands.
That evening, when it was Chilli's turn to blow out the candles of her birthday cake, she closed her eyes and made only one wish.
"...Give me time, so I don't leave behind any unfinished project…help me to do it mum… thank you….".
—--
"Faster Mr. Toffee! Faster!" exclaimed Bingo while Poppy held onto the brown horse's neck for dear life, and Bluey laughed hard.
Bandit and Chilli watched them from the kitchen window, while having tea.
"Are you sure you should have lended Mr. Toffee, to them, babe?" Bandit asked with a light chuckle. "...after all it was your Mum's last gift to you, her last project…"
She reclined herself on her husband's shoulder while sighing softly, with a content heart.
"Yes, it was… but it's also meant to be a cuddly toy, and my Mum wouldn't have it any other way… besides, now that I have finished Mr. Toffee I have a much greater project in mind…" she smiled.
"Oh? And what would it be?" Bandit asked, his curiosity peaked.
She grinned softly while reaching up for his cheek with her hand, in a gentle caress.
"Them", she simply said, signalling to her daughters with a motion of her head.
"And you, of course!", she added, with a chuckle and a soft kiss.
Bandit rested his head on hers, and sighed.
She echoed his sigh.
They had a lot of work ahead, but it was theirs to finish it.
Life was dear, and the path ahead of them clear