Light Of My Life
2
Waverly groaned as the crow of a rooster woke him to the morning light.
This was honestly the first time he had ever woken up from a rooster cry-
This was gonna take some getting used to-
"Mom...?" he called for her in the morning, but no one responded.
He sighed, filled with concern that she may have over did it and stayed up late again...
She thinks he doesn't know about that that...
She tries her best.
So he usually doesn't say anything about it.
Much to his disappointed sigh when he found her mother passed out at the dining room table with an empty wine bottle in her hands-
Blue eyes narrowed in disappointment and concern as they trail the connecting limb to her body.
Another habit of hers that...
She thinks he's unaware of.
With a heavy sigh he quietly picks up the mess of a single dish that must have held a sandwich at some point in the night-
...And tossed the empty bottle into the trash.
"Mom...you feeling okay?" he asked her, carefully shaking her awake.
"We;re supposed to go shopping today, remember?" he asked her, "...Ypou still good for that?"
It's not so much that Cheryl drank often.
Honestly she really didn't.
She usually only helped herself to wine at night or a couple glasses through out the day.
It helped her sleep.
He didn't mind his mother drinking a few glasses...
It's when she is alone, and ends up drinking a lot- that his concern grows.
...A lot being a full bottle in a night.
Cheryl groaned as she she was brought to wake and she jumped out of her skin.
"Oh, Wave-" she stumbled in a panic, trying to quickly gather up th evidence of her late night- which seemed to already be taken care of...
"Goodness me, what time is it..." she wondered, pinching the bridge of her nose while rubbing her eyes to try and adjust to the new day.
"It's cool mom...it's still morning, don't worry. You didn't sleep the day away or anything."
"You must be hungry..." She said softly as she slowly stood up from her seat, "Let's see if I can cook something up-"
"We don't have much mom...hence why we're supposed to go shopping today, remember?"
"Oh, right...shopping." she sighed with an awkward chuckle, "I'm sorry dear. old habits."
Wave couldn't help but smile a little.
His mother usually made breakfast every morning...
She was so used to that routine, that she had temporarily forgotted that they currently didn't have any food to cook right now-
"It's cool mom." he chuckled, "You good to still go though?" he paused silently, his eyes shifting to the trash can where he had stashed the empty bottle-
But choosing not to say anything about that...
Knowing full well that it would upset his mother if she found out that he knew...
"...You seem like you were up late last night..." he said softly, "I told you not to work too late you know."
"I know...and I'm sorry." she hummed weakly, "I'm just...so excited to be starting on our new home-something that's only ours, you know?" she sighed, "I suppose I over did it a little...but don't worry!" she stated, "We can still go- just let me freshen up all right?"
"Sure mom." Wave said softly, "Go clean up...I'll go check on Tommy..."
xxx
As he stepped outside to meet the day, Wave could hear his mother singing through the walls from the shower. It always made him chuckle...
The way she did things like that when no one was looking.
She had a lot of spirit...so it saddened him to know that she can so easily slip away into the night from a bottle of wine...
She had a pretty voice too.
It always made him feel comforted...when she sang.
"WAAAH~!" he screamed as he found himself tripping over a massive pile of...something- on the porch.
"What the hell man!?" the boy huffed, "Who leaves deliveries in the middle of the walk way like this!?" he groaned, "...What even is this anyway?" he wondered curiously as he moved to examine the parcel, "It looks like feed or something..."
"Ah, that must be for the chickens!" Thomas's voice rang out in the distance and Wave turned to see his uncle carefully shiffling through the brush with a kind smile.
"Chickens?" Waverly blinked curiously.
"Yes, that's right." said Thomas, "We're gonna struggle for money for a little while." he said softly, "This is a farming town so I bought a couple of hens...you know, to help us get by for a bit." he chuckled, "And so we can have fresh eggs for breakfast...though they're still a bit young right now so...it will take a little while for them to start laying." he explained, "But it will help us out in the long run once they do." he hummed, his pale eyes glancing over to his toppled nephew and chuckling as he reached a frail hand out to help him up.
"Come on, boy." he said softly, "Why don't you come name them?"
xxx
Thomas carefully led Wave toward the small stream that his mother must have uncovered the previous night. just over a small crossing...there looked to be an old little building that was covered in life from the woods.
"What's that, a shed?" Wave wondered as Thomas held his hand to help him not slip over the rocks in the creek.
"That's what I thought too." he chuckled softly, "Until I discovered that it was actually a chicken coop." he explained, "I asked Robin to come take a look at it and see if it needed any damage repairs but she said it was good to go and referred me to a young woman named Marnie who lives just south of us." he said softly, "Apparently she takes care of animals and sells them along with supplies...so I bought a couple hens and some hay."
"I see." said Wave as he was brought into the the fenced area where the coop was place.
"But...why name them if we're just going to eat them?" Wave asked.
"We'll be eating the eggs, boy, not the chickens." he chuckled, "Well careed for hens can lay an abundance of delicious eggs with real good yolk." he explained, "In other words...the better we treat them, the better they'll feed us...and that starts with a universal language that man and critter both understand...called love." he hummed scooping up one of the small chicks and placing it in his nephew's hands.
"So go on then." he said softly, "What are you gonna call her?"
The boy was silent for a while with a brow raised as he held the young chick.
One was a white chicken...and the other a brown one.
"Hmm..." He hummed softly, a soft smile creeping up on his lips as he chuckled a little as the chick's energy.
"I'm thinking, Beverly." he giggled.
"Beverly, huh?" Thomas chuckled, "All right...then how about the brown one."
"Suzanne."
Thomas laughed softly.
"Beverly and Suzanne, huh?" he chuckled, "Two fine names, for two fine hens." he hummed, "Now you make sure you treat these ladies with love and respect, just like any other woman in your life, you hear?"
"Yes, sir." Wave chuckled softly.
"Good boy." grinned Thomas as he softly ruffled up Wave's hair.
"Waverly...are you ready to go?" Cheryl's vouce could be heard calling over the peeping chicks.
"Your mother's calling, kiddo." Thomas chuckled, "You better go."
"All right...but...will you be okay though?" asked Wave.
"I'll be all right being left alone for a little bit, don't you mind me." Thomas chuckled, "Besides...It's not like I'm by myself...I'll be here with the chickens."
"Pff...all right, Uncle Tom." Wave said softly, placing Beverly back down to join her sister.
"Then we'll see you in a bit."
xxx
It was a nice little town.
Definitely a small one.
"Hello! Welcome to Pierre's!" a gentleman greeted them from the counter, "Feel free to take your time and look around- Ahh you must be Cheryl, right?" he asked her, much to her surprise as she nodded.
"Oh...yes I am." she said softly, "I just moved in with my son and younger brother...to that old cottage on the outskirts-"
"Yeah- Mayor Lewis mentioned a new arrival." the man chuckled, "I take it this is your son then?"
"yes, this is Waverly." she said softly.
"Waverly...pff...nice name." a young girl snickered from the other side of the counter, flipping back her purple curls.
Obviously dyed.
She wore a lot of purple and dark colors.
It must be her favorite...
And she also appeared to be no older than Wave himself-
"Abigail, be nice to the new neighbors!" the clerk hushed.
"...You can call me Wave you know...if you prefer it better." he smirked.
"Haha...cool." she chuckled flashing him a grin as she moved up to greet him, "So you moved into that old cottage huh?" she sighed, "It's a shame really...I always liked exploring those overgrown fields by myself..."
"Well you know...there's still plenty of woods to explore." Wave stated softly and chuckled, "I don't think we'd really mind if you wanna come look around or whatever...as long as you're not like setting our house on fire or something."
"Haha, yeah?" Abigail laughed, whiched helped Wave feel a little bit prideful of his joke. Flashing her a smile in return.
"Maybe I might then...if you're cool with it. Later~" she said with a wave as she wandered out.
"Yeah...Later." Wave chuckled.
"Apologies for my daughter, Abigail..." the clerk said softly.
"Oh pay it no mind...she's young." Cheryl chuckled, "I'm just happy that it seems Wave might have a chance of making a few new friends closer to his age here...I was a little concerned that it may have been a retiring kind of town." she chuckled.
"Haha nah. There's not much here but we do try to keep it lively~" he hummed, "I'm Pierre by the way, I'm the owner." he explained, "Anything you need and any questions, let me know."
"Thank you kindly." Cheryl hummed, "Actually, I was wanting to look at some flower seeds to plant in the flowerbeds my younger brother had just unearthed for us the other day." she hummed, "Oh and...could you be so kind as to tell me what crops might be best to try and grow this season?"
"Certainly!" Pierre grinned, "Come on I'll be happy to show you-" he said politely stepping out from behind the counter to show her around the shop and she smiled warmly.
"Thank you, so much!"
To Be Continued