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 Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 7:46 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:39 pm
Easter 2018
Jada was still settling in with the presence of a two year old little hellspawn in her life, and lord above, it was a gift and a trial. In January, when Hope had been returned to her, she'd known that it wouldn't be the easiest experience, but the woman had been holding out judgment on the off-chance there would be something a little bit better than this. But her daughter spoke almost no English and barely spoke Italian, and only knew that the man she had called Papà wasn't coming back. Some days, she clung to Jada like her mother was the only thing solid in the world; other days, Hope screamed for Giovanni until her face turned blue and her throat gave out, the shrieks devolving into helpless sobs, her tiny hands reaching out for Jada at last.
Hope had her own distinct taste and style, and Giulia took to playing dress-up with the little girl much easier than Jada did. Where Jada may have tried to teach her the joys of pants, Hope insisted on dresses, and Giulia was more than willing to treat her new sister-niece like a doll and wander through the stores helping her try things on. Not even shoes were safe- Jada went to get comfortable little jellies like she might have enjoyed, and like Giulia had loved, but Hope threw them out the window and stuffed her tiny feet in the little patent-leather shoes she'd always used to wear. Food? Yet another hurdle, and it seemed that Cookie had Hope in hand in a way that Jada just... couldn't.
The child she'd mourned was a stranger to her, and those things she had lost she couldn't get back, and it threw Jada off-kilter in a way she couldn't explain. Maybe if Jada had given in to the demands Giovanni had made, gotten to know her little girl a few months sooner, the transition would have been easier. For both of them.
Downstairs, legs tossed over the arm of a couch, Jada waited on the kids to come downstairs. She wanted to take Hope to see the Easter Bunny, with Giulia and Aidan- maybe get a cute family picture to give to the shell-shocked grandpa Michael, and to Marlo- some small memory to commemorate their first actual holiday having their... daughter. Christ on a cracker. There were behaviors the little girl exhibited that definitely came down to nature versus nurture- she was so much like Giulia and Aidan had been at that age, but... angrier. Trapped, Jada supposed, in an unfamiliar place. Hopefully getting her settled in with the family would help soon, but she couldn't keep the child locked up.
So, she'd made arrangements to get their pictures, and left her older sister-child in charge of helping Hope find an appropriate “Meeting the Easter Bunny” outfit. It took a while, of course, but eventually came the sound of shoes thumping on the stairs, and Jada lifted her head to peer out from the family area into the foyer. Aidan, looking dapper in a blue suit, and the girls both in dresses. Giulia's was bright- white, and orange, and fuchsia and floral; Hope in a dress that was spotted with sunflowers, with a poofy little orange tulle overskirt, and- And for a moment Jada thought she was going to die from how adorable they all were.
It didn't last long. Hope started shrieking the moment she was in the car, and not even her stuffed reindeer could soothe her. She was only two-and-a-half. The screaming ended at the end of the driveway, but the sobbing lasted all the way to the mall. It took 2 tissues to clean up Hope's face, but those sad blue eyes staring at her were just- it was too much. Aidan and Giulia stayed close, and helped entertain the toddler up through the line. No giggling, but no weeping. It was a bonus.
Then the Easter Bunny saw Hope. And Hope saw her very first Easter Bunny. A wet face buried in Jada's neck, two hands twisted in Jada's hair, and a threatening half-warble growled its way from her toddler's throat. “No, baby, no.” Jada gripped at her , trying to pry Hope out of her hair, “It's a nice bunny. Um, Bene Bunny. Bene Lapin?”
“Lapin is french, mama.” Aidan's voice was amused.
“Well then you Italian-ize it.”
“Do you even know if she actually knows what a bunny is? Just keep talking English.”
“Don't you talk sense to me young ma- aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Tiny hands yanked furiously on Jada's hair, wrapping another strand around angry, chubby fists. “Hope, sweetie, nice rabbit. Look. Look, Aidan and Giulia like the rabbit.”
Aidan and Giulia weren't even looking at the rabbit.
The stuffed rabbit head was starting to look annoyed.
Jada's Easter dreams were starting to shatter.
No. No, this wasn't going to happen. Jada was going to get a picture of Hope with the Easter Bunny if Jada had to sit on the rabbit's lap by her own damn self. Presumably holding Hope, of course, if the toddler didn't flail off with half of Jada's hair in a mad attempt to escape. The woman steeled herself, approaching the giant furred suit with apology written clear in her face. Giulia beat her there, naturally, already babbling to the person inside like it was Christmas and the Easter Bunny brought more than a basket of chocolate, and Hope's small noises of distress were becoming louder, angrier growls as she tugged on Jada's hair, twining her entire arm in her mother's dark curls. The assistants were already trying to get the twins in place for the picture, Hope's face was growing increasingly rebellious as she was brought closer to the white rabbit in its purple suit, and Jada was in no way, shape, or form dressed for an Easter picture.
Twenty minutes later, Jada peered down at the picture in her hand, closing her eyes. There, the Easter Bunny, furry face impassive, giving no physical evidence of the fact that the man inside said rabbit was making a startled squawking noise. Jada, with Hope on her belly, smiling serenely at the camera. Aidan and Giulia, cackling madly. Hope, face bright red, mouth open, angrily screaming at the white-furred cheek of the Easter Bunny.
And she was going to have to pass this picture out? Maybe she could just... save it for embarrassing picture time, when Hope was old enough to start dating? No- she had made a promise that Easter pictures would be had, and shared with all interested parties. Damn. Turning her head, she peered down into inquisitive blue eyes, to the cherubic face with cheek pressed to her mother's shoulder, small thumb tucked in behind her tiny teeth. "Count your blessings I like you," she told Hope, blowing a kiss at her, and listened to her daughter's little giggle.
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:41 pm
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