Chapter 9

"Now can we have dessert?" Hanna asked.

Snow looked at the girls' plates. They both ate two slices of pizza. There was only one piece of broccoli left on Hanna's plate and half a carrot on Emma's. "Yes, you can."

"What did you get us?" Emma asked.

"You'll see." Snow went into the kitchen.

Both girls scooted off their chairs and ran to follow their mommy. Their faces lit up when they saw the box she pulled from the freezer. "Rainbow popsicles!"

"You girls don't like these do you?" Snow teased. Even when the girls were their regular sizes, a box of popsicles never lasted more than a few days.

The girls jumped up and down. "We do! We do!"

"Did I hear we have rainbow popsicles?" David asked.

"Yeah Daddy!"

Emma smirked. "But they're just for us."

David stuck out his bottom lip. "I can't have one?"

"I guess we can share." Emma looked to Hanna.

"You get all the yucky yellow ones."

David scrunched his nose. "Eww, banana?"

The girls giggled.

"Dad, that one is your favorite," Emma reminded him.

David winked. "I know."

"Okay girls, which color do you want?" Snow asked.

"Purple!" Hanna stood on her tiptoes and peeked over the edge of the counter.

"Okay, I think this one is purple." Snow held out the popsicle to Hanna. "Can you open it yourself?"

Hanna nodded. "I can do it." Hanna felt for the stick and gripped the edge of the wrapper on that side. She pinched the plastic between her fingers and pulled until the wrapper opened. She reached in for the stick and pulled out the popsicle. "Momma…this is a red one."

"Oh sorry, babe. Here, I'll eat it." Snow took the popsicle from Hanna. "This one is my favorite anyway." Snow pulled out another popsicle and held up to the light. "Okay this one is definitely purple." She reached the treat out to Hanna.

Hanna opened the popsicle and saw that it was the color she wanted.

"Can I have green?" Emma asked.

"Of course." Snow found a green one and held it out to Emma. "Do you need help?"

"No, Mom."

"Okay."

Emma opened her popsicle and put it into her mouth, then remembered she didn't actually like green. "I don't want this one. Can I have blue instead?"

"Emma…"

"Please, Mommy?"

"David, will you eat the green one?"

"I don't know." David looked down at the girls. "Am I allowed to have a green one?"

"Yes." Emma raised the popsicles towards him. "Green is gross too."

Hanna giggled. "You only get yucky ones Daddy."

"Well, I don't think they're yucky." David took a bite of his popsicle.

"Here's your blue one, Em."

Emma crossed her arms. "Hey, you unwrapped it."

"I'm sorry I just did it without thinking." Snow held out the popsicle to Emma.

Emma shook her head. "I wanted to open it."

"Well, I can't re-wrap it, so you'll just have to eat it."

"No. I want a different one."

"Emma, you are not getting another popsicle."

Emma stomped her foot. "But you ruined that one."

"It's not ruined."

"Yes it is."

"Well, it will be ruined in a few minutes when it starts to melt."

"Then I'll wait til it melts."

"Emma, the popsicles are going into the freezer, and they are not coming back out until tomorrow. You either take this one or you get nothing."

Emma stared up at her mommy.

Snow ignored the look Emma was giving her. She set the blue popsicle onto the empty wrapper that sat on the counter. She closed the box, and put it back into the freezer. She turned back around and picked up the blue popsicle again and held it out to Emma.

Emma shook her head.

Snow shrugged. "Fine." She walked over to the garbage can and lifted the lid.

"Wait!" Emma ran over to her mommy. "I'll eat it."

Snow smiled and held the popsicle out to Emma. "Why don't you go sit with your sister."

Emma climbed up onto the barstool next to Hanna and enjoyed her treat.

Snow walked over to her husband, and he put his arm around her. They watched the girls eat their popsicles. They ate them a lot slower now. Blue and purple juice dripped down their hands and covered their faces. They didn't care about the mess and could only smile as their daughter's enjoyed their desserts.

The baby started to fuss, so Snow gave David her empty popsicle stick and went to feed him. David collected the girls' sticks once they were done and took them to the garbage can.

"Daddy, wait!" Hanna called out.

"We forgot to read the jokes!"

"Ahh right." David looked to Emma's stick first. "Why did the banana split?"

Hanna and Emma looked at each other and shrugged.

"Because he saw the milk…shake."

Their giggles made David eager to read the next one.

"What did the mother bear say to her cub?"

The girls' eyes were wide in anticipation.

"Don't go out in your bear feet."

Hanna bounced up and down on her knees. "Do the next one!"

David raised his eyebrows at her. "Sit still first."

Hanna stopped moving and waited.

"Thank you." David looked at the next stick. "How do you brush a bee's hair?"

"I don't know, how?" Emma asked.

"With a honey comb!"

That joke elicited another round of laughter from the girls.

"Okay, last one. Why couldn't the baker buy a new car?"

"Why Daddy?" Hanna asked.

"He didn't make enough dough!"

Snow came back into the kitchen with the baby. "What is so funny out here?"

"The popsicles!" Emma said.

Hanna nodded. "Momma, guess what!"

"What?"

"There was a joke about a banana split and a milkshake."

"Really?"

"Uh huh and guess what?"

Snow smiled. "What?"

"Did you know bees use a honey comb to brush their hair."

"No way?"

Hanna nodded. "Yeah, they really do!"

"I did not know that." Snow handed the baby to David, then grabbed a handful of paper towels and wet them under the faucet.

"The jokes were so much funnier tonight," Hanna said.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, usually I don't find them all that funny."

Snow wrung out the paper towels and walked over to the Emma. She reached a towel towards her face.

Emma leaned back. "What are you doing?"

"You have blue popsicle all over your mouth."

"I do?"

"Yes, and your hands too."

Emma looked down. "Oh."

Snow quickly put the paper towel to Emma's face.

"Mom!" The paper towel muffled Emma's protest. She tried to pull away, but her mom's other hand was on the back of her head, and she couldn't move.

"Just a sec, Em." Snow wiped all of the sticky juice from Emma's face. "Let me see your hands."

Emma rolled her eyes, but stuck out her hands and let her mom clean them.

"Okay, you're next little miss."

Hanna grinned and lifted herself so her feet were on the seat. She put one hand on the counter and the other on the back of the stool. She stood up and jumped to the ground. She landed just fine, but the barstool crashed to the floor. She instantly remembered she wasn't suppose to do that and looked up at her dad. She did not like the look she got in return.