The Hadyns [ON HOLD]

Chapter 1 | I Want My Hair Like That, Too!

VALERIE

  *Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!*

 I turned and opened my eyes. I squinted as my tablet lit up. I got up and sluggishly walked to the bathroom. "7:30am" I said as I looked at my reflection in the mirror and smiled. Today was going to be a good day and I could feel it. I grabbed my toothbrush, rinsed it, then reached for the toothpaste. 

I was about to squeeze it onto my brush when I noticed something strange. "Crest? What the...? What happened to colger?" I walked out of the bathroom and saw Eric sitting up in bed. "You didn't snooze the alarm..." he said, his voice groggy, as he rubbed his eyes. 

"Eric." 

"Yes, honey?"

"What happened to colger?" 

"What?" He looked at me as though I was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. "What's colger?"

"Colger. You know. That toothpaste brand I like." I replied as though it was obvious.

He looked at me then started laughing. I honestly didn't understand what was so funny. His laughter got louder and more intense until he was lying on the bed, dying of laughter. 

"What's so funny?" I asked. 

He calmed his laughter down and wiped away his tears of amusement. "Val, I think you meant Colgate. There's no toothpaste brand called Colger." he replied, trying to contain any more possible laughter. 

He wasn't doing a very good job.

"Colgate, Colger, colder. Same difference." I sighed as I sat down on the bed. He rubbed my back in circles. "Colga...colga...colda...You're so cute, Val." he said, chuckling again. He hummed as I turned around and looked at him. "How am I cute? And were you mocking me?" I asked, feeling a bit offended. He shook his head and smiled at me, "I just love your accent..." I couldn't help but smile back as his smile was contagious and gorgeous all the while. He leaned in and pecked my lips, but we both quickly moved our heads back. 

"Morning breath, beautiful?" he asked, eyeing me with amusement.

"Yours smells worse than mine." I shot back, walking back to the washroom.

"Ouch." he said, but I could tell he was smiling.

****

"Okay, only one boiled egg, alright?" I told the kids as the rushed to the dining table. Today, Eric and I had made pancakes as promised. The kids had been bothering me about it for hours. Apparently, their dad had said no when they asked him, which is why they asked me. "I didn't say no," Eric told me, placing plastic forks and knives on the table, "I told them to ask you." I laughed when he said that. They always jumped to conclusions.

"Mommy?" Prim asked me as she shook my arm. I looked down at her and smiled, "Yes?" She looked around the room, at the table, then back at me. She looked back at the table and her eyes focused to where the pancakes were. "Where are the waffles?" she asked, her eyes still focused on the same spot, the pancakes. "What waffles, hun?" I asked, kind of confused. Who said anything about waffles. 

Josh looked at me with a 'Don't act like you don't know' look. 

"Mommy," he started, "The waffles!" he stated, as though there was something I was acting like I didn't know. 

"What waffles are you talking about?" I asked them once again, totally lost now. 

"Daddy told us you'd make us waffles." Nosh said, looking down at his rubix cube.