So, Misty's birthday was Tuesday, and I had this story almost ready to go...then I got sick and was in bed all week (:
I still wanted to finish it and get it up though, so here it is!
Aiden and Michelle: 9 years old
Elizabeth: 3 years old
Party Prep
"Hey Mist, have you seen my…uh…what're you doing?"
The gym leader glanced up at her husband and sighed. "Lizzie is trying out different hairstyles on me."
"Ya!" Elizabeth chirped, not bothering to look up from the insanely high and messy side ponytail she was currently crafting. "Is for Mommy's birthday!"
Ash had to choke back a laugh the longer he looked at Misty. There was already another ponytail fastened on the other side of her head, although that one was much lower than the one Elizabeth was working on now. The lower ponytail had a pink bow clipped onto it, and a costume tiara graced the top of her head.
"Don't say it," Misty warned Ash, seeing the impish smirk on his face.
"Why?" Ash asked, one little chuckle managing to escape. "I think you look great! You're a very good hairstylist, Lizzie!"
"Thanks!" Elizabeth trilled, beaming at her father. "I can make yours pretty too! After I'm done with Mommy."
Nervously, Ash tugged at some of his messy black locks. "Nah, I'm okay. I'm not the one celebrating their birthday, after all!"
"Kay," Elizabeth replied, hardly bothered as she returned to working on her mother's hair. She was now reaching for a purple bow and was clipping that one onto the higher ponytail. "There! Perfect!"
Misty quickly glanced at her reflection in the mirror and smiled weakly. "Oh…yeah! It looks great, Lizzie. Thank you so much!"
"Welcome!" Elizabeth squeaked. And then, just like that, she ran out of the bathroom, right past a bewildered Ash.
"She's so energetic," Ash snickered, shaking his head.
"That she is," Misty agreed with a sigh, now fully staring into the mirror. "And I love her dearly, but I look crazy."
"I think you look cute!" Ash countered.
"Yeah, right," Misty scoffed. "You practically laughed in my face before!"
"Because I wasn't expecting it," Ash defended himself. "But for a three-year-old, she didn't do too bad of a job! I'm not saying you should leave the house like that, but I do think it's kind of adorable!"
"Gee, thanks," Misty droned, accompanying her sarcastic response with an equally sardonic smirk. "Anyway, what is it that you were looking for?"
"Oh, right!" Ash exclaimed, forgetting that had been his whole reason for seeking out Misty in the first place. "I was looking for my wallet."
Misty raised an eyebrow. "You can't find it?"
"Mmm…nope."
In turn, Misty groaned and hunched her shoulders forward. "Ash! How have you not learned to keep track of it by now?!"
"I don't know!" Ash cried, unable to come up with any good excuse. He knew it was a problem, but he'd yet to figure out a solution, although he hadn't really tried all that hard. "But I really need it for something…so…I was wondering if maybe you'd seen it somewhere."
Misty let out a frustrated sigh as Ash sheepishly poked his fingers together. "No, I haven't seen it. But I can help you look. And once we find it, I'm permanently affixing it to you!"
Ash furrowed his brow in thought. "I guess that's one way to keep track of it…"
"Where was the last place you remember having it?"
Snapped out of his reverie, Ash blinked hard and stammered, "uh…I'm not sure. Maybe in our room?"
"Convincing," Misty drawled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Well, we might as well go look."
She led Ash into their bedroom, temporarily forgetting about the crazy way her hair had been styled and began to search high and low for his missing wallet. Ash joined her, opening up all of his drawers and even looking underneath the bed. Misty, meanwhile, had made her way into the bathroom, and reappeared after several minutes empty handed.
"It's definitely not in here," she informed her husband, who had turned around with a frown.
"Well…maybe it's downstairs?" Ash meekly suggested.
Misty let out a puff of air from her nostrils. She loved Ash dearly, but he really knew how to test her patience. "You have no clue where you last saw it, do you?"
Before Ash could respond (though the look on his face told Misty the answer), Michelle popped her head into their room and asked, "Dad, are you looking for this?"
She held out a navy blue leather square, causing Ash's eyes to widen. "Yeah, I am!"
Giggling, Michelle flitted towards her father, handing over the wallet. "I found it in the kitchen next to the cookies. Kind of a weird place for it!"
"Oh yeah, I must've left it there when I came home yesterday and decided to have a snack," Ash breathed, taking the wallet from his daughter and beaming at her. "Thanks, Shelly!"
Misty, on the other hand, was stunned. "You're telling me you dropped your wallet for some cookies and just forgot about it?"
"Yeah," Ash admitted a bit bashfully. "I must've been too hungry."
Shaking her head, Misty muttered, "I don't know why I'm surprised."
Michelle laughed again, but when she looked over at her mother, she stopped almost instantly. "Uh…Mom, what happened to your hair?"
Misty seemed bewildered, but when she reached up and touched her head, she remembered what had transpired before she'd started helping Ash look for his wallet. With a nervous chuckle, Misty explained, "I let your little sister style it. She wanted to practice on me for my birthday."
"That explains it," Michelle quipped. "It definitely looks like Lizzie's handiwork!"
"Yes, she's very imaginative," Misty agreed with a twisted smile.
"And girly," Michelle added, inclining her head. "I didn't think I'd ever see you wearing bows in your hair."
Misty reached up and winced a bit when she touched the ribbon with her fingers. "They definitely look cute on Lizzie, but they're not really my style!"
Humming, Michelle glanced over at her father. "What do you think, Dad? Do you like the bows?"
Ash seemed surprised that Michelle was asking him, but he quickly replied, "yeah! I think your mom looks cute!"
"See?" Michelle prodded, beaming at her mother. "That's what really matters! If Dad thinks you look cute, then you must!"
"Not a bad point!" Misty chirped, trying to ignore Ash's impish smirk that she could see just out of the corner of her eye. "Why don't you head back downstairs? Dad and I will be there in just a minute."
"Kay!" Michelle trilled, running out of her parents' room.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Ash chuckled. "Michelle's always been able to tell just how much you and I love one another! And she's totally right, you know."
"Hmm," Misty hummed. "Anyway, why'd you need your wallet so bad?"
"Huh?"
"Your wallet," Misty repeated. "You were actively looking for it, so obviously you needed it for something."
"Oh, no, nothing," Ash refuted, quickly shaking his head.
Misty raised an eyebrow. "You really expect me to believe that? Come on."
"Yeah, cause I mean it!" Ash cried. "And you like to call me nosy…"
"Hey, I'm not nosy, I'm inquisitive," Misty insisted. "Those are two completely different things."
"Are they?" Ash asked sarcastically.
"Hey Dad, could we buy that gift for – "
"No! No!" Ash rushed out, causing his bewildered son to stop in his tracks. With a sigh, Ash slumped forward and groaned, "You three really love coming up here, don't you?"
"Well yeah, cause you're up here," Aiden chuckled before turning his head and realizing his mother was there too. It suddenly made sense why his father had shushed him, and Aiden's laughter became more nervous. "Oh, you too, Mom! Uh…nice…look?"
Misty sighed and pulled one of the bows out of her hair. "Alright, time for this to go."
"Lizzie?" Aiden presumed.
"Good guess," Misty murmured. "Anyway, what's this about a gift? Is it for me?"
"No!" Ash groaned, throwing his head back. "It isn't!"
"You sure about that?"
"Of course, I'm sure!"
"Then who's it for?"
"None of your business!"
Aiden's eyes darted back and forth between his parents, silently watching them argue for a bit before timidly asking, "can I leave now?"
"Yes!"
"No!"
Aiden looked between his parents and sighed. "Okay, that was really confusing."
"Ash, you really don't have to act so cagey," Misty continued, ignoring their son's complaint. "I know you're talking about my gift."
"Then why do you keep bugging me about it?!"
"Because I want to hear you say it!"
"Fine! It's your gift!"
"I knew it!"
"Yeah, you already say that."
Aiden had gone back to watching his parents like it was a ping pong match. "And I thought the weirdest thing up here was gonna be Mom's hair. Guess they didn't do this when Michelle was around…"
Yes, Michelle sent Aiden upstairs to see what the heck their parents were up to. And she teased that he had to see their mother's hair :P
