Out of the Blue

Epilogue: Pitter Patter on Hardwood Floors

I heard a creaking sound, followed by some babbling gibberish and another creak of a mattress. A few minutes later, it happened again, only this time she sounded like she was genuinely trying to say something important.

I forced one eye open, and saw Vienna standing up in her crib, gripping the railing for support. Her dark brown curls sprung all over the place, her cheeks a rosy pink, and her white onesie clung to her chubby baby tummy as she stood.

When she realized I was awake, her bright green eyes shone as she got excited and started tapping her feet up and down on her mattress, almost hopping out of her crib. She balanced for a split second before falling back into a seated position in bed. She huffed slightly, and yelled. It wasn't a whine, nor was it annoying, it was almost as if she wanted to say "dammit!" but couldn't yet.

I yawned, and stretched before forcing myself out of bed to attend to Little Miss.

"Alrighty, no need to shout, Little Miss. I'll help you." I stood before her crib, and reached down to free her from her nighttime prison. Once again, she was excited, and kicked her legs while she reached for me. Again, more gibberish talk as if she wanted to have a conversation with me, but I couldn't understand. Oh well, part of being a parent was pretending to understand what your one-year-old was saying, right?

"Happy Birthday my sweet little girl." I cooed, before kissing her tummy, eliciting a laugh from little Miss. I carried Vienna to the bathroom and placed her on the floor before brushing my teeth and washing my face. When I turned back to my daughter, she had crawled all the way to the door, and was trying to stand herself up against the door frame.

"No, no, no. You'll smash your fingers there, sweetheart." I spoke to her before picking her up. She continued to "speak" to me, and it sounded like she was scolding me for picking her up.

"I know, you want to walk. Well," I placed her down on the carpet in the bedroom, "I'd prefer if you walked in here. There's carpet, it's safer." I explained as if she could actually understand me.

She held onto my fingers with both her hands, feet firmly placed on the carpet, and tried to walk. After a beat, she let go, and stood for all but two seconds before she fell back on her bottom. Another frustrated grumble escaped her lips which caused me to laugh.

"You'll get it baby, you'll see." I scooped her up and smothered her cheek in kisses which made her laugh. I carried her down the stairs where I could smell breakfast cooking. My wife was hard at work in the kitchen, working on both breakfast and food for Vienna's birthday party later today.

I walked up behind her, balanced little miss on my hip, and used my other hand to wrap around my wife's waist.

"Good morning darling." I kissed Orchid's cheek.

"Good morning love." She turned her head to kiss me. "And good morning little miss!" She cooed, reaching out for our daughter. I handed her over, and manned the stove while she took Vienna into her arms.

"Happy birthday my little love!" She kissed all over Vienna's face, followed by a garbled response from Vienna. Orchid bent down to balance little miss on the floor, trying to get her to walk. "Come on baby, you can do it. And then we can turn you into a little dancer." Orchid whispered before kissing little miss again.

This time, Vienna balanced and took a step. I turned off the stove, adamant on not missing a single moment. She took another step, then wobbled backwards slightly before Orchid grabbed her hand to steady her. I crouched down a few feet away from Orchid, and faced Vienna.

"Come here, sweetheart." I spoke to Vienna.

"Yes, sweetheart, walk to daddy." Orchid continued. Once she was steady, Orchid took a step towards me, balled her fists, then took another step. Now, she was directly in between Orchid and I.