Tattoos and Tiny Hearts

Chapter Two

 "Emmy, look at this one! This one has Stitch on it!"

I pulled my eyes away from the pages that I'd been devouring for the last few minutes – or maybe a little longer, I'm really not sure anymore – to Aurora and the book she was holding out to me, rosy cheeks flushed, pale blonde hair pulled back into adorable pigtails courtesy of yours truly.

In her hands, she held a bright yellow and blue book with, as she'd said, a caricature of Stitch on the front cover, wearing a just as brightly coloured Hawaiian patterned shirt.

She smiled almost as big as the creature on the front of her book. "Do you see him, Emmy?"

"I do!" With her cute face, and even cuter excitement, I shared her smile. "Is that the one you want?"

She pulled it back for a moment, looking down at the cover with a careful, yet critical eye. "How many can we get again?"

"We can take out two each." It was more than that, technically. The Library would let them take out four each if they really wanted to, but it was easier for them to keep track of their books this way.

"I want this one, Emmy."

"Just that one?"

"Well – no-" She amended quickly. "I want another one too."

"Go find one. I'll be here." I peaked over her shoulder to where her twin brother was sitting, legs crossed as he looked through a shelf of books. "Did Swift find something yet?"

"He found three things, Emmy." She held up three fingers to emphasize her statement. "He wants three books."

"Are they good books?"

"I don't know – Swifty says they're about bugs."

That – made too much sense. It was his newest obsession. All the creepy crawlies in the world, the more legs and eyes and wings the better.

To be fair, he'd taught himself quite a lot about those creepy crawlies, and made sure to point out the different ones when we went out on walks – frankly, he knew more than I do about bugs on any given day of the week. Especially at night time, when he was supposed to be going to sleep...

"Go ahead and pick out one more." I told her, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead before she scooted away with over-dramatic tip-toe steps to make sure she stayed quiet in the library setting.

They had a half day at school today, apparently something about repairs needed to be done on the school that ended up with all the kids being given the rest of the day off. Other parents and guardians had an outrage when they found out, complaining to the school that they had to arrange babysitters for the Friday afternoon, wondering where their donation money had gone.

I didn't mind, actually. It gave me an excuse to take them to the library like they've been wanting to, and spend time with them outside of the house.

I didn't really feel like being at home right now anyway – it too often felt cold and empty when I'm on my own, and when Blair was there, it often felt rather stressful.

So the library was a great change of pace.

And it's nice to see all the books too – books I've read, books I haven't read but want to, books I'd have never thought I was interested in. Like the one in my hands right now – a story of a girl from a small town accidentally stumbling into a biker bar and falling in love.

I'd never been the biggest fan of love stories – at least, stories where love was the only point. I enjoy a bit of romance, don't get me wrong, but I always found that it's easier to read when there are other things going on. Friendships, drama, loss – sometime to drive the story.