As Sweet As Can Be

Part Nine.

Elizabeth's POV

My eyes snapped open at exactly 6:53 am. I know that because the digital clock sitting on my bedside table says so. I am used to this, waking up right before my alarm goes off. In fact, I don't even know why I bother with one, but I still won't take any chances of sleeping in. What I am not used to however, is the uneasy feeling that instantly smacked in the face upon waking.

I look out the bay window with my head plush against my pillow, the curtains are half drawn, allowing me to take in the outdoors. The sun is barely up, a navy blue colour evades the sky with stars vaguely scattered throughout it. I lay in bed for a few more moments and take in the quite beautiful sight ahead of me in silence. The back yard stretches out to the size of a baseball field, and several oak trees are randomly placed. The trees outside are fastly becoming more and more leafless as the winter nears. The branches swaying in the cold morning wind and a stray reddish brown leaf flows across my window. I can see clouds above the treeline in the distance making their way to the north, thankfully meaning no rain, for now.

I stay in that position in my bed right until my scheduled alarm goes off at 7:00 am, sharp. I stretch my right arm out to hit the snooz button and let out a tired groan. For a moment, just a split second, I had forgotten about the stranger named Kevin sleeping on a couch in the guest room, and suddenly the uneasy feeling made sense. I stretched out my muscles and let out an exaggerated yawn before sitting up. As much as I feel the excessive need to crawl back in bed and sleep for an eternity, I have a life and a kid that needs to be taken care of.

My left foot made contact with the cold, hardwood floors first, and I get the familiar regret of not buying those oh so comfy slippers my friend, Joanna, boasted about for three whole days. A couple of loose floorboards squeak under the pressure of my weight and I shiver with each step I take towards my bedroom door. Of course I just had to forget to turn on the heater. My room quickly illuminates as I flick the light switch on and exit my room. The house is quiet as I make my way down the hallway, thankfully, the hallway has a nice long maroon rug that my great aunt gave me, meaning that I wouldn't have to endure the coldness against my feet. I look at my son's bedroom door, his name in big blue letters across his door, 'BENJAMIN'S ROOM', because he insisted he needed a sign in case his friends got lost when they visited. I smiled at the memory of him and I sitting on the living room floor using stencils and crayons to make that very sign. The childish grin that took over his face as a sign of pride reminded me of my younger brothers smile when he was a kid.

I opened the door slightly, just enough to peak inside. His turquoise coloured walls seemed to be a couple of shades darker due to the lighting. Small glowing stars and planets on the ceiling illuminate the room in the tiniest way compared to the starship that hangs above his bed. He layed there wrapped up in his Buzz Light-year blanket while hugging an old stuffed bunny I got him at birth tightly. The sight warmed my heart in a motherly way. I carefully closed his bedroom door and let him sleep peacefully with a small smile on my face.

As soon as I got to the kitchen downstairs, I started a pot of coffee. Coffee is a morning essential for me, it always has been, and always will be. As I waited for the alarm to go off signaling that my coffee is ready, I looked out the kitchen window above the sink. My small, currently unused garden seemed to be frosting along with the blades of grass due to the chilly November morning air. I have always loved this season the most, the transition of autumn to winter. It fascinates me how the trees can go from fully leaved to almost none at all within the span of a couple months. Benjamin loves this season also, he loves to go outside and rake up leaves to jump in. He says the snow is coming soon, and I believe him because of how cold it has been lately.

I began to quietly hum to a song that I cannot seem to remember the name of. The light sound of my humming filled the room as I checked the clock on the coffee percolator. 7:12am. The sky became a few shades lighter than earlier and everything was almost perfectly visible. With the moon still high in the sky, just lacking it's usual shine, the sun started to make an appearance. As if it were saying; I still see you, but it's time for you to go.

Beep beep beep

The alarm of the coffee percolator startled me from my thoughts and silenced my humming, causing my body to do some type of awkward spasm. I pulled out a cup that had two daisies printed on the side out of the cupboard, added two teaspoons of sugar, and a random amount of coffee whitener. I stirred my coffee until I felt no more sugar crystals at the bottom of my cup. It burned my bottom lip as I lightly sipped at my beverage, causing me to hiss at contact.

I left the kitchen with my mug in hand and a blueberry bagel. The living room was dark as I entered, the curtains were closed and all the lights were shut, no sound but the pad of my feet against the hardwood floors and my breathing. I pulled open the curtains to the main window and let the natural light seep into my home. There's something about natural sunlight that makes me feel a whole lot more alive. I sipped my coffee at a slow pace as I stared out to my front yard. Lincoln layed outside next his doghouse, sleeping I assume. The swings swung themselves with the early breeze. Everything seemed so calm this early in the morning, it made me want to go lay in the grass and read a book, but this cold Canadian morning weather can, and will prevent that greatly.

I sat myself down on the rocking chair placed by the window. My mother had given it to me when I first moved into this house. I received a lot of gifts that day, like the long maroon rug that keeps my feet warm, the coffee percolator that always seems to have some type of daily use, my rocking chair that I absolutely adore, a new bed for Benjamin that he absolutely adores and a grandfather clock that came from who else other than my grandfather. Out of all those gifts, the rocking chair is probably my favourite, and don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful for everything I have, but the rocking chair just seems to have a whole lot more sentimental value than the other stuff. My mothers grandfather, my great grandfather handcrafted this particular chair in the early 1900's and it has been passed down to me. Supposed to go to my brother, but since I moved out before him, it went to me.

Before I knew it, the moon was gone and the sun was up. My formerly full cup of coffee seemed to be empty and the delicate sound of Benjamin's feet padding down the stairs filled my ears. It is now 7:48am.

"Elizabeth." His voice was full of pure tiredness and innocence. He rubbed his eyes with the long-sleeves of his batman shirt with a frown dead set upon his face. "I had a nightmare."

Despite the pang at my chest was undeniably there, I rushed to my feet and over to my son. My heart ached for two reasons; one, no matter what, he will not call me mom, two, the sound of fear in his voice nearly had me over the edge. I pulled him into my arms for a hug as I layed a gentle kiss on top of his head.

"It'll be okay, you'll be okay." I spoke softly as I ran my fingers through his soft dark blonde hair. One of the hardest thing about being a mother is probably when your child is hurting and in pain but there is only so much you can do. I felt the wetness of his tears against my side as he quietly weeped beside me. I walked with him back over towards the rocking chair and sat him down on my lap. We rocked back and forth slowly until I noticed his eyes getting droopy. The sound of squeaking from the chair and soft snoring from Benjamin took over the silence and he remained asleep.

***

For some odd reason, I really liked writing this chapter lmao. Also, apparently it hasn't occurred to me that I still had not yet chosen where this story is actually taking place, so Canada it is.

-Naomi