Fall Down & Smile

Chapter 16

"Peaches for Me"

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If I had my little way

Dawn slid next to me at the dining room table and smiled brightly.

"We need a pet. Maybe a kitten."

I chuckled and sipped my tea idly. "Why do we need a kitten?"

She shrugged. "I thought it would be nice."

I eyed her suspiciously. "Really. And what brought on this need

for a kitten?"

She was about to answer when James came skipping in. "Mommy, can

we get a kitten?"

I cleared my throat and glanced at Dawn who had suddenly found the

hem of her shirt very interesting. "A kitten is a big responsibility,

Sprout."

He nodded. "I know. I've been reading." He produced a magazine

he'd had behind his back and climbed into my lap. "I'm doing a report on

my favorite animal and that's cats."

We glanced through the magazine together and he pointed out

everything he had learned.

"See, Mama. I can take care of her."

Indeed he could. "I'll think about it."

He grinned and threw his arms around my neck. "Thank you, Mama,"

and bounded up the stairs.

Again, I sipped my tea. "Now, what a coincidence you and James

would both want a pet on the same day."

She sighed. "He only thinks of me as the woman whose carrying his

baby sister. I'm not even a friend to him. I'm not around enough to spend

time with him because of the movie. I want to be a part of James' life,

Iya."

"And you thought that getting him a pet would get you some brownie

points?"

She nodded sheepishly.

"Dawn," I took her hands in mine. "You can't expect him to accept

you right away. Give him time. He's going through a huge change."

She sighed. "But I want him to accept me," she got up and took a

peach from the fridge. "It's not like I'm asking him to call me Mom. I

just want him to see me as your lover, I guess or as his friend. The

kisses he gives me before bed are so strained sometimes. He does it just

to be polite," she nervously bit into the skin of the fruit.