Closer 2

168.

"Do you remember how to hold it?" Brett asked as he opened her violin case and took he violin out. Elise nodded eagerly, almost jumping up and down with excitement. Eddy was setting up the camera stand to be at her height to film her while he was getting it ready.

"Alright, let me just tune it for you, okay?" he told her, plucking the A-string. A moment later, Eddy hummed an A back at him, and he realized the violin was way out of tune. He tuned it to Eddy's A and the other strings to it.

"Can you baba and A with me, baby?" Eddy asked her just as he finished adjusting the stand. "Aaaaa..."

"Aaaaah!" Elise giggled back, being kind of in the right range but definitely not perfect.

"Wow, thank you babygirl," Brett hummed, helping her place the violin under her chin. She took to it like a natural, having watched a bunch of videos of violin playing with baba and daddy.

Eddy went to start the camera just as Brett showed her the rabbit bow hold again and handed it to her.

"There you go, all ready," Brett smiled, closing her violin case and putting it aside. "What are you gonna play for us?"

"Bussy!" the little girl giggled happily, placing her bow on the strings. Baba was quick to help her adjust it to in between the bridge and the fingerboard, but after that she did a great job at bowing on open strings and sometimes even trying to stop some notes. Occasionally she looked up at baba and daddy to see if they were paying attention, which they were every time she checked.

After a bit with the camera rolling, she stopped playing and took her violin off her shoulder. Brett was about to scoot over to grab it, but stopped when he understood what she was about to do.

Eddy was the one to start the applause for her first performance, and Brett followed soon after.
"Good job babygirl," daddy grinned, clapping for her. Li-Li giggled happily, bowing to the applause like she had seen auntie do on video.

...

May normally wasn't one to feel motion sickness, but today was definitely not her day.

"You have to stop, I need air," she told Ray quietly after having tried to fight it, and after a quick look of concern, Ray pulled into a gas station that came up soon after her request.

She quickly got out of the car, bending over the side of the road and trying to breathe her way through it. Ray switched off the engine and came over to stroke her back.

"Want me to run inside and get you some water, love?" he asked her softly, just being concerned for her. She shook her head slightly, swallowing hard.

"No, no. I'm sorry, I just need a moment," she said quietly, squeezing her eyes shut. The world was spinning and she needed it to slow down.

"Okay, love, take all the time you need," Ray said quietly, stoking her back. His poor girl seemed to never be able to catch a break.