Behind The Scenes

[Chapter Three]

Chapter 3

        

Arriving at the day care to pick up Abbie, I saw that she was sitting and talking with two of the young girls. It warmed my heart to see my daughter making friends, and when the woman who had been looking after her reassured me that Abbie had fit right in with the rest of the children, I knew that I'd function easier leaving her in their care.

The rest of the day flew by; it seemed, in a blur of chaos.

The boxes that remained packed up were the majority of our possessions, and it was a mission and a half to get everything laid out and sorted. Emily arrived home shortly after four thirty, Dustin in tow, and with their help I had been able to get somewhat organized, with everything but a couple of miscellaneous boxes still left unsorted.

Dinner had been a late and simple affair. The four of us decided to just order a few boxes of pizza to curb our hunger. It didn't take long for Abbie's bedtime to roll around once supper was finished, and since he had to work early, Dustin to headed home fairly early as well.

"So," Emily started as she entered the living room, having gone outside to say goodbye to Dustin as he left. "Are you heading to bed soon or are you going to stay awake for a little while?"

I had been sitting on the couch in the living room, scrolling through my phone as the television buzzed quietly in the background, but at the sound of her voice, I looked up towards her. "Umm, I can probably stay up for a while, why?" I replied after checking to see that it was only half past nine.

"I was thinking of putting a movie in," she said, "Do you want to watch anything specific?"

"Well considering most of my movies are still packed away in a box upstairs, I'd say that you can pick." I shrugged before sending her a pointed look. "Just no horror."

"Yea, I remember the last time I watched a horror movie with you," Emily snorted, heading over to the section beside the television that held her DVD's. "I'm pretty sure Greta had to come and make sure that we weren't being murdered at least five times that night - that's how bad your screams were."

"That was before Abbie was even born." I pointed out.

"And have your watched another scary movie since?" she asked, and when I simply looked down, a light and embarrassing blush covering my cheeks, she got her answer. "I rest my case."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, standing up. "I'm going go change into some pajamas. I'll be right back."

Heading upstairs, I first peeked into Abbie's room, which for the most part had been set up and organized before she had been put to bed. Smiling softly, I saw her small pink night-light brightening up the room as she lay sleeping in her bed. Shutting the door quietly, I quietly moved to my room, picking out a pair of pajamas from my dresser before moving in the direction of the bathroom.

Five minutes later I was changed, my hair messily pulled into a topknot, and my face free of make-up as I headed back down the stairs to see my sister sliding a movie into the DVD player.

"You picked a movie then?" I asked, hovering near the bottom of the staircase.

She turned around, nodding. "Yea, it's an action romance movie from last year that I never got along to watching."

"Okay. By the way, do you have any popcorn I can make before we start the movie?"

"Second cupboard on the right at the top." she replied. "I'm going to go change while you make the popcorn."

As she hurried up the stairs, I turned towards the kitchen and after following Emily's directions, I found the popcorn rested beside an unopened box of poptarts. Grabbing a bag, I ripped the package open, plopping it face down in the microwave, setting the timer before standing back.