The Little Girl Left in the Dark (Elizabeth Olsen X daughter)

Part 20- Car Rides

"Lon-don?" Tatiana tried to pronounce it and I nodded, my tired eyes fixed on the little girl. The flight was a little over 10 hours and I am exhausted from the long trip. Tatiana ended up sleeping for 5 hours or so, when they are this young it is easy to sleep wherever. 

We arrived at Heathrow Airport, London, 20 minutes ago, and are currently being driven to our hotel. It's 11 am right now in the UK, but 3 am for me since we came from San Francisco. Tatiana and I are both in the backseat of a black 7 seater, and a man driving us to the hotel in the front.

"Well done, honey," I praised the little girl after she correctly answered a question and smiled, looking back down to her iPad. Her teacher from kindergarten encouraged me to get her to use Duolingo ABC so she could continue to work on her language skills while we were on tour. Tatiana seems to enjoy it, so why not?

"He has a... h-a-t, hat." she sounded out the word, then looked over the monkey icons to see which of them was wearing a hat. Then she had to pop bubbles with items inside that started with a certain letter. I saw she missed a bubble, with a moon inside, and I leaned over and popped it before it floated off of the screen. "Thank you," she smiled and popped another bubble with a milk carton.

"Do you want to give the screen time a bit of a break now?" I asked suggestively and Tatiana shook her head no. "Please?" I spoke in a firmer tone and Tatiana sighed, pressing the off button. "Thank you," I took the iPad off of her and put it into my handbag. I try to get her to have regular breaks from technology since she's still so young, I don't want her to become addicted to it.

"Can we play a... игра?" she asked and I tilted my head in question, trying to fill the missing word. Game?

"Okay, how about we play I spy?" I asked and Tatiana nodded.

"I've played that before," she jumps in her seat and I hold a small laugh. "I spy with my little eye, something that begins with... s!" 

"Hmm... seat?" I asked and she chuckled, shaking her head. This child only knows the basic words, so it has to be easy but I want to make the game fun for her. "What about skyscrapers?" I asked and pointed to the huge buildings to the left of us.

"Close," she squints her eyes, studying my face. 

"Let me think, Sky!" I exclaimed and Tatiana giggled at the way I said it.

"No!" she shook her head and I quirked an eyebrow.

"No?" I asked, what else could there be? "Oh, sign!" I looked out to a billboard and Tatiana made a so, so hand gesture.

"One of the words is sign," she whispers and I nod.

"Stop sign!" The driver pitched in and Tatiana started to laugh.

"Yes! Wilfred wins!" she throws her hands up and I gasp.

"Oh no!" I laugh with her, I will always remember this precious moment. "Okay, my turn. I spy with my little eye, something that begins with the letter r." I pick an easy one and Tatiana looks out the window, determined to get it right.

"Reindeer!" she looks at me with wide eyes and I start chuckling.

"Do you see any reindeer?" I ask and she looks back out.

"пальто!" she points to my brown coat and I facepalm.

"Yes, that word starts with r, but no," I say softly and Wilfred lets out a small chuckle. Tatiana huffs and looks out the window.

"Road!" she finally gets it and I celebrate, putting my hands up for a high five.

"Good job, babe," I offer and Tatiana smiles, returning my high five.

"Mama?" she asks after a few moments of silence.

"Tatiana?" I return and she smiles at my answer.

"Do you have a mama and papa?" she asks curiously and I nod.

"I do, my mom's name is Jarnette and my dad's name is David." I shared and Tatiana listened attentively. "My mom is a former dancer, and my dad is a real estate agent." I continue and Tatiana smiles.

"What type of dancing?" she asks, curiously.

"Ballet," I let her know and Tatiana's smile grows.

"I like ballet," she comments innocently and I smirk.

"You know, I used to dance ballet too?" I asked and Tatiana's eyes widened.

"What? That's so cool, dude," she says and I freeze, gobsmacked.

"Dude?" I ask and Tatiana nods.

"Tommy always says it," she smiles. Oh, I'm going to kill holland.

"That's nice, honey," I fake smile and look to the front, where the driver has an amused face.

"Can I do ballet?" she asks quietly and I focus my attention back on her, I offer a kind smile to her.

"Of course, If that's what you want," I nod and Tatiana beams, wrapping her arms around me for a hug.

"Thank you, mama, you're the best," she smiles and I giggle, kissing her hairline.

"I know I am," I reply and Tatiana rolls her eyes playfully. God, Tom is really rubbing off on her. "Tell me something about you," I ask and Tatiana tilts her head in thought.

"I used to run through the wheat fields on our farm and spend all day there, making friends with the rabbits." She opens up and I am surprised she was on a farm. 

"Was the farm in LA?" I ask and she shrugs her shoulders. My mind goes on about the new information. Was she driven into the city and left in the streets? A four-year-old can't travel that far without help. "How did you get to the movie set that night I found you?" I question and she goes quiet, avoiding eye contact.

I immediately feel bad for asking questions she wasn't ready for. "Mrs Olsen, we have arrived," The driver turns about and I smile.

"Thank you," I nod my head, opening my door and getting out. I go to the boot of the car and lift out our two suitcases and my bag, walking into the hotel with my four-year-old by my side. I notice the long line of customers, trying to get a room, but go to the express lane instead.

"Hello Ms, how can I be of help this lovely evening," a woman smiled kindly at me and Tatiana waved to her. "Hello, darling," she smiled back at Tatiana.

"Hi, I am here to check in under Olsen, Elizabeth," I tell her and she nods, checking her computer for my booked room.

"Alright, here are the keys to room 837. There is an indoor pool on the top floor and restaurants on the first floor above." She hands the key to me and I nod, giving the key to Tatiana since she seemed to want to hold it. "Would you like some help with those bags?" she asks and I shake my head, smiling at the kind offer.

"No, thank you," I decline and the woman nods, looking down at a few paper stacks and fills some out.

"That's all, if you need anything, just call the front desk from your room. Have a lovely stay here at Leonardo Royal Hotel," she kindly sends us off. I lead Tatiana up to our room and she goes straight to the window, looking down the 30 stories or so from the ground.

"Woahhh," she beams and runs around the room, opening all the cabinets and checking out the bathroom. "This place is awesome!" she runs into the main room and I laugh at her child-like behaviour. 

"It is! We have a day to ourselves, do you want to go down to the pool?" I ask and her eyes light up with excitement.

"Yes please!" she jumps up on the spot and I open my suitcase, pulling out 2 swimsuits. I gave one to Tatiana and she ran off to the bathroom, soon coming out with it on.

I then got changed after her into a modest 2-piece, and we made our way up to the pools, ready to relax and have fun.

20 (Yay!)

10/04/2022

This Chapter was more of a filler, that's why I dreaded writing it so much.