Nicole chuckled as she focused on the picture of her smiling and missing her two front teeth. “They fell out, as baby teeth do. I wonder what you looked like when you lost your teeth.”
Dane scratched her head. “I don’t remember not having front teeth. Hey, this one? You look cute in a tutu!” A massive smile lit up her face, as she focused on a new picture.
Nicole reached for another cookie. “Oh, I was six here. I swore I was going to be a dancer. So, my mother and father signed me up for lessons. This was my first recital and they were in the front row. I took a jump, landed wrong, and sprained my ankle so badly I never wanted to even look at dancing, so forget doing it.” She tittered.
Dane laughed a little, too. “I never would’ve guessed you were a ballerina.”
“Yeah, for like five seconds. This is where I really shined.” Nicole pointed to the next picture of her as a little girl holding a baseball bat. “I was great at softball. I played first base. My mother always worried I’d get hurt. My dad practically had to tie her down to keep her from running on the field if I collided with an opponent at the bag, or had a ball hit at my head. It was a great time.”
“I never played a sport.” The pictures made it look fun, though. Did most kids play sports? What else did I miss out on?
“That’s all I did as a kid, outside of school. Softball, tennis, I ran track for a little while, swimming, and just about anything I could do. Keep going through the book, I’m sure I have more pictures of sporting activities.”
There were plenty of pictures of Nicole playing sports or being active in some other way. Her family was also in many of the pictures, not just her parents, but her cousins, her aunts and uncles, and her grandparents were also featured. There were birthday parties, holiday gatherings, and simple family meetings. There were so many smiling faces and embraces of all types. Dane guessed that was what a normal family photo album looked like. It was very different from the one that her mother left. She was happy Nicole had such an amazing childhood.
***
Dane lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and gently caressing Nicole’s arm. Nicole was asleep, her head resting against Dane’s shoulder. Dane thought about her mother and found she was still uncertain as to what she would do about Christine. She didn’t feel forgiveness moving within her, but she also didn’t feel a new wave of bitterness rising. It was like she was the same…but, not quite.
Talking with Christine, telling her mother about herself, and learning more about her mother had done something. Unfortunately, Dane couldn’t figure out what that something was. The acknowledgement of that something helped her make a decision. The next time Christine called, she’d try to speak to her. She’d probably still hang up in the end, but it was a step closer than where they started out.
Dane knew, despite her mother’s wishes, they’d never be able to start over brand new. Too much had happened in her life that she knew a mother was supposed to shield a child from for her to just wipe the slate clean. But, it was like Nicole often told her, walking around with that weight on her, carrying that acridity, and finding it necessary to be malicious wasn’t doing her any good. She needed to try to move forward.
“I have to try. Get better. Be better,” Dane told herself. “Be the bigger person.”
Dane felt like she’d resolved the issue, but she was unable to fall asleep. She let thoughts of Nicole and the photos they had gone through play through her mind. She couldn’t help wondering what a normal childhood would’ve been like, growing up with normal, loving parents.
“Would I have stuck with piano and violin more if I had parents that showed up at recitals? Would I have actually tried to play a sport if they suggested it? Would I have stayed off drugs, gone to college, maybe actually tried to make a career out of something?” Dane sighed. Of course, she didn’t have any answers and she’d never know. But, as she looked down at Nicole, she thought having parents that cared and paid attention obviously helped.
***
Kathleen Cardell was busy at work and was disturbed by a call from her assistant. She was about to bark at him, but he informed her there was a delivery for her. Curious, she allowed it and was surprised to find a flower delivery coming into her room. The beautiful arrangement was put on her desk, and she tipped the delivery guy. She studied the flowers and sighed.
“I wish clients would listen when I say don’t send me gifts.” Kate shook her head. She reached for the card with the bouquet and her eyebrows drew in as she saw the card was addressed to both her and her husband. Picking up her phone, she called her husband. “Raymond, sorry to disturb you, but I have a gift here for both of us. Do you want to come see the card or should I read it to you over the phone?”
“What sort of gift are we talking about?”
“An array of flowers. It’s very nice, actually. Not very elaborate, but still nice. It’s almost elegant,” Kate replied with a smile as she looked at the flowers once more. They were definitely eye-catching, and she could tell that some thought went into the arrangement.
“Hmm…I think I want to see this.”
“All right.”
Raymond was in the office less than a minute later. His green eyes went right to the flowers and then to his wife. Kate shrugged.
“These are for both of us?” Raymond asked, as he pointed to the flowers.
“According to this.” Kate held up the card.
“Who are they from?”
“Let’s see.” Kate flipped the card open, as her husband stood by her side. They were surprised by the message and who sent the card. “What do you think this is all about?” she asked, staring at the card as if it was in another language.
“I don’t know what to make of this, but I have to say, the girl is full of surprises,” Raymond replied with a smile.
“She can’t buy my approval.” Kate snorted with a curl on her lip and tossed the card down on the table.
Raymond chuckled and shook his head, but he didn’t say anything else. He took his leave to get back to his work. Kate decided to do the same. Before doing so, she glanced at the card again. The message was simple: Thank you for raising a wonderful daughter and being exceptionally good parents. ~ Danny. A small smile actually settled on Kate’s face, as she turned her attention back to her computer.
Band-Aid
“Hey, baby, do you know what you want to do with the boys this weekend?” Nicole flopped down next to Danny on the sofa. Danny was showering attention on Haydn, playing tug of war with a rope they had purchased from a pet store. She went so far as to growl every now and then, as she pulled on the rope, just to hype their pup up even more. He growled back.
Grey eyes went to Nicole, even though Danny did not let go of the rope. “No, no clue what I want to do with them. Why, do you have an idea?”
Nicole smiled. “I think so, but I want to keep it a surprise. Okay?”
Danny shrugged and Nicole giggled while kissing Danny on the nose. Nicole had an idea she was sure Danny would enjoy with the boys. After all, Danny didn’t have much of a childhood. She had an inkling Danny had never done what she had in mind, which was why it needed to be done as far as Nicole was concerned. There’s no reason for Danny to do without, even if she’s in her twenties now.
***
Thankfully, it was still unseasonably warm when the weekend came around. It wasn’t summer weather, but it was still nice enough for Danny to wear her favorite jean shorts. Nicole had to fuss, though; it was her job as Danny’s partner.
“Sweetheart, please, put on some pants. I don’t want you to get sick,” Nicole said, eyes locked on bare, caramel legs.
“You said we’re going someplace casual. This is casual.” Danny motioned down to her usual attire, a plain jersey on top of a t-shirt and tattered shorts that fell just below her knees. The chain from her wallet dangled at her side, falling to the end of her shorts.
“I know, but summer’s over, baby. Can you change into something before the boys get here?” N
icole practically begged. She grabbed Danny’s hand and ran her fingers up and down her lover’s arm to hopefully help change her mind.
Danny smiled. “Nice try. I’ll be fine. It’s like, 70 degrees out there or something.” She shrugged. “I’ll be fine, Chem. I used to wear shorts in the snow.”
Nicole nodded and conceded, because it was true. Besides, she had only seen Danny sick once and that was due to Danny’s complete negligence toward herself rather than the weather. She let the matter drop as Luke and Thomas arrived.
“All right, time to go,” Nicole announced, as soon as the boys were through the door.
“Go? But, we want to play with Haydn!” Luke gave her a sour face, wrinkling his nose at her.
“He’s not here, buddy. We’re going someplace he can’t come, so he’s with his Aunt Mina.” Danny motioned to the door.
Adam’s face scrunched up. “Where are you guys going?”
“It’s a surprise. Don’t worry, we’ll be back by six,” Nicole promised with a reassuring smile. She didn’t want to waste time with Adam and his separation anxiety today. They needed as much time as possible for her surprise.
Farewells were said as Nicole ushered everyone out of the house, clearly in a rush and with a bag slung over her shoulder. She had made sure Adam brought the boys over before noon. They’d have time to enjoy as much of her surprise as possible, or they could have enough time to find something else to do if her idea was a flop. They drove off before Adam was even at his car.
“Nick, where we going?” Luke bounced in his seat as best he could with the seat belt securing him in place.
“Yeah, where?” Thomas bounced as well, staring out of the window, trying to figure out the great mystery.
“It’s a surprise,” Nicole replied with a gentle smile. She knew that in less than five minutes, they’d ask her that question again. She didn’t mind.
“Do you think all kids suffer short term memory loss?” Danny joked after the question of where they were going was asked roughly once every two minutes, meaning they heard it at least fifteen times before both Danny and Luke figured out where they were headed.
“Hey, this is the way to the zoo!” Luke beamed, showing he actually had an extremely good memory. Adam told Nicole it had been over two months since he took the boys to the zoo. He also said they hadn’t seen much because it started raining. She hoped they’d have better luck.
“We’re going to the zoo? I love the zoo!” Thomas threw his hands up and grinned.
“Well, that’s good. We’re going to try to see the things you guys missed the last time you were here.” Nicole had questioned Adam a little about their last trip to the zoo, but not enough to tip him off. She wasn’t sure if Adam would blab the surprise or not.
“Cool!” Luke declared.
“I wanna see the penguins!” Thomas said.
Nicole smiled. “Then we’ll see the penguins.” She turned her attention to Danny. “Anything special you want to see?” Delight danced through her entire being. She was sure she was preening, probably glowing, because she was so certain she had done something good.
Danny shook her head. “Don’t know what’s here. I’ve never been to the zoo before.”
Even though Nicole expected that, it still troubled her heart. Her stomach dropped a little and her happy aura faltered briefly, but she took a deep breath to settle herself. The whole point of the trip was to let Danny experience something that she should’ve in childhood, she reminded herself. I’m going to show my baby a damn good time then.
“Daddy said he used to go to the zoo all the time when he was little. You was never little?” Luke asked with childish innocence that Nicole thought was adorable.
“‘Course not! Dane’s too big to be little.” Thomas motioned to their aunt with one hand.
Danny laughed, while Nicole focused on finding parking. Luke didn’t argue with his brother, busying himself with staring out the window. Nicole didn’t want to think about Adam getting to go to the zoo all of the time as a child, while Danny had never been. That thought was knocked out of her mind when her girlfriend saw how much parking cost.
“Holy crap! Ten dollars to park the car? Are they nuts?” Danny practically shouted with her eyes wide as she stared at the price. “You’re actually going to pay this crap?”
“I have to. There’s no other place to park and even if there were, it’d be too far for the boys to walk,” Nicole argued.
Danny grunted in response, but didn’t say anything else. Nicole paid for parking, and they each grabbed a boy’s hand as they went to the entrance. Nicole paid for their tickets, took a couple of maps, and they embarked on their journey.
“This place is huge,” Danny said as she unfolded her map. Smoke-colored eyes seemed to shine as she scanned the map. Nicole smiled when she noticed the look in Danny’s eyes.
“And we have until five to see as much as we can. So, onto those penguins.” Nicole smiled down at Thomas.
“Penguins!” Thomas threw his hands up in the air again.
They hurried to the penguin exhibit and found Thomas was too short to see over the railing and bushes used as a divider. Danny picked the child up and put him on her shoulders. He cheered as he watched the penguins playing, and Danny’s eyes sparkled as she tried to take in the dozens of penguins, swimming, sliding, and going in and out of burrows. She took Nicole’s free hand for a moment and their eyes met.
“I’ve never seen penguins in real life. They’re cute.” Danny grinned.
“We’ve got a lot more to see. I hope you have a good time.” Nicole squeezed her lover’s hand.
“I’m sure I will. This is cool,” Danny said, almost as if she was surprised and she’d never considered going to the zoo.
Nicole smiled when Luke insisted on seeing the lions next. Thankfully, the African Safari exhibit wasn’t too far. The boys cheered as soon as the lions were in view. Danny’s mouth dropped open in awe. The look would remain on her face all day.
“What else is there? I wanna see other stuff.” Danny grinned with childish glee, holding Nicole’s hand and squeezing tight.
“If we walk around this exhibit, we’ll see a lot of other animals from the African plains,” Nicole replied.
Danny nodded and hobbled off with Thomas on her shoulders while holding Luke’s hand. Nicole hoped no one thought Danny was kidnapping the boys considering how fast she moved with them. Nicole rushed off after them, not wanting Danny to hurt herself.
They made it to an exhibit where they got to pretend they were on safari, riding a slow roller coaster through a makeshift Serengeti. Thomas squealed when he saw the giraffes and did the same when he saw the elephants. In his enthusiasm, he accidentally hit Danny in the head a couple of times since she insisted on keeping him on her shoulders. Luke was fascinated with the hyenas and their 'laugh.' He spent the whole trip trying to mimic it. Danny was speechless.
“Nick, those were real zebras,” Danny whispered as the ride ended.
Nicole couldn’t help chuckling. “Yes, baby, those were real zebras.”
“And leopards,” Luke chimed in.
“And wildebeests, Nick. They were actually real.” Danny practically bounced on her heels.
Nicole wasn’t sure what to do about her girlfriend’s giddiness. I feel so bad Danny didn’t get a chance to do this as a child, but it’s magical to see her first time. It was special to not just share this moment with Danny, but with the boys, too, even though they didn’t know exactly how amazing this day was. It was just great that all of the Wolfes were enjoying themselves.
They went into the insect house next, since it was close by. Luke and Thomas weren’t quite drawn to the bugs and pulled the couple through the house quickly. Danny had to see as much as she could in fast forward, not nearly as revolted by insects as most people were. A couple of times, Danny actually wandered away from them, almost putting her face on the display glass. The boys tugged her away from the window just as quickly.
Nicole was quite happy with how fast they went through. She wished they had gotten through the Old World monkey house as rapidly. She couldn’t understand how the smell of the monkeys didn’t keep everyone out of there.
“This is so cool,” Danny whispered, as they moved through an outdoor wolf exhibit. She’d had to put Thomas down for a while, but he was content with holding Nicole’s hand.
“They spelled our name wrong.” Luke scowled as he pointed at the sign with the animal names and basic information on the animals and their habitat.
Nicole chuckled, while Danny grabbed the child up into one of her playfully rough hugs. She corrected Luke; while Nicole made sure Thomas had a clear view of the wolves. When they left, Danny grinned widely once more.
“Happy to have seen your spirit animal?” Nicole asked, bumping her girlfriend with her hip.
Danny only nodded. They continued on, stopping for breaks as Danny’s and Thomas’ legs got tired at about the same time. They ate lunch after a couple of hours and went shopping for a few souvenirs while some exhibits were still fresh in their minds. Nicole made sure to purchase a t-shirt with wolves on it for her beloved. They all got matching shirts of parrots in different colors, because they all liked the parrot exhibit.
They took in a few shows, which Nicole paid for, even though Danny protested. Of course, the protests didn’t last long as they got to touch dozens of reptiles, saw the tigers being fed and watched snakes being milked for venom. The boys were interested in it all, and Danny forgot to blink at certain points.
They ended the day at the children’s zoo where they got to pet and feed what most would consider farm animals. Thomas wasn’t open to being that close to the creatures, and neither was Nicole. So, she hung back and took pictures, while Luke and Danny touched everything they could. Nicole made a mental note to get them some hand sanitizer before they touched anything else.
Bandages Page 6