Part 1 (1/2)
Waiting in the Wings.
The Off Screen Series: Episode Seven.
J.A. Armstrong.
Chapter One.
”Uh, no. I don't think so, Sprout,” Emma warned her daughter gently. Vicki looked up and into her mother's eyes and frowned. Emma smiled gently at the toddler, who was already chewing on a chocolate chip cookie. ”I realize that cookies are a major discovery,” Emma teased. ”But, no more until after your Momma gets home,” she said. The mere mention of Addison made Vicki's lips curl up into a smile. ”Mm-hm. You are definitely your momma's girl.” Vicki stretched her arms up, and Emma accepted her gratefully. ”So? What about a swim instead? Want to go put on your duckies?” Emma asked.
Vicki squealed. ”Boat?” Vicki asked.
Emma laughed. ”How is it that you can say boat and not all the other words Momma and I try to teach you?” she wondered aloud, tickling Vicki's tummy.
”Pway boat!” Vicki repeated excitedly.
Emma kept giggling. ”More like fish,” Emma mumbled.
Emma carried Vicki off and into Vicki's bedroom to get her ready for a swim. It was not the first time that Emma had considered she might have given birth to a fish or a dolphin. Vicki loved the water. She fussed when Emma or Addy tried to take her out of the bathtub regardless of how cold the water became, and she squeaked with delight whenever she had the chance to go into the pool. Emma found it amusing. Vicki had no genetic link to Addison, yet in more ways than Emma could count, their daughter resembled her momma.
”Mommy's got to get changed, Sprout,” Emma said as she secured the waterproof diaper around Vicki's waist. ”I sure hope you are done with these before the next little fishy arrives,” she laughed. Vickie giggled. ”That's funny, huh?” Emma asked. Vicki laughed harder. ”Why is that funny?” Emma wondered. Vickie kept laughing. Emma kissed her daughter's cheek. ”Somehow, I think I just will have to get used to double duty,” Emma chuckled. ”Well, you have eight months,” she said with a wink. ”Don't tell Momma yet,” she said.
Emma shook her head at her daughter's cackling as she made her way to the bedroom she and Addison shared to change. She often wondered what Vicki found so amusing. It seemed that nearly anything could make Vicki laugh. Good-natured did not begin to describe the toddler. Emma was grateful that her daughter had always been that way. They had suffered through a few bouts of illness, the occasional bad mood, and, of course, there were a few challenging nights with budding teeth, but overall Vicki was perpetually happy. It didn't matter. Emma had never been happier in her life, and she was positive that Vicki and Addison were the cause.
”Your Momma is going to be surprised, Sprout.” Emma stepped out of her shorts and into her bathing suit. ”I know I was,” she said.
Emma offered her hand to Vicki, and helped the toddler to stand. Vicki started toddling beside her mother, holding onto Emma's hand as they went. Emma chuckled when Vicki wobbled and fell softly on her b.u.t.t. She didn't mean to laugh; Vicki's frustration was evident as she tried to pull herself back up, but the expression on the toddler's face was frame-worthy. ”It's okay, Sprout,” Emma rea.s.sured her. ”There's a reason no one says first time's the charm.' Which, my munchkin, is why your momma is probably not going to believe that another little fishy is on the way,” she explained as she lifted Vicki onto her hip and headed to the pool.
Vicki looked at her mother curiously. ”Mommy?” she asked.
”Yes, sweetheart?”
”Bishy?”
”Fishy,” Emma chuckled.
”I a bishy?”
”That you are,” Emma agreed.
”Momma a bishy,” Vicki said proudly as Emma waded into the pool and retrieved the floaties that sat beside it.
”Yes, your momma is definitely a fishy too,” Emma said.
”Mommy bishy?” Vicki wondered.
”Mommy is a landlubber,” Emma teased.
”Bubber?”
Emma chuckled. ”Lubber. A lover of land,” she explained.
Vicki seemed to consider her mother's words thoughtfully. She was getting ready to turn three, but extremely verbose and curious. Emma credited Addison with Vicki's vocabulary. Vicki had started spouting off basic words at eight-months-old. By the time she had reached her first birthday, she had an extensive albeit creative vocabulary-one that continued to grow by what seemed like the minute. She still only managed to string three or four words together at a time. Emma suspected that was because Vicki, much like Addison, was thoughtful about how words went together. It would not have surprised Emma if her daughter ended up becoming a prolific novelist one day.
”You,” Emma told Vicki. ”Are a fishy. Well, you're getting pretty big so maybe you are a dolphin!” she joked, swirling Vicki through the water.
Vicki laughed. ”Gen, Mommy.”
”Again?”
”Gen!”
Emma repeated the swirling. ”See? A dolphin. Which means you can help teach the new fishy.”
”We get bishy?”
”Not the kind you put in a bowl,” Emma said. ”No. A fishy like you,” she said with another romp through the water.
Vicki giggled. ”Mommy?”
”Yes, Sprout?”
”Has to beed bishy?”
”Yes, fis.h.i.+es all eat.”
Vicki's brow wrinkled in concern.
”What's the matter?” Emma asked.
”Not too much,” Vicki said seriously.
Emma bit her lip to keep from laughing. ”And, not too little,” she said. Vicki nodded. ”Don't worry, sweetheart. Momma and I won't overfeed the fishy.”
”Dey gets big, Mommy.”
”I know, sweetie,” Emma agreed. She and Addison had read Dr. Seuss to Vicki at night since she was born. ”Just a pinch,” Emma promised, Vicki nodded and put her arms around Emma's neck. Emma kissed the toddler's forehead. ”Want to dip?” she asked. Vicki nodded excitedly. ”Okay, let's see if there are any fis.h.i.+es down there!”
”I just don't understand why you won't ask her,” Jeff said.
Addison Blake ran her hand through her hair and groaned. ”Maybe because I would like to stay married,” she finally replied.
”Writing these shows has made you overly dramatic,” he quipped.
Addison leaned back in her chair. ”You think so? You know Em.”