7 DAYS

Day 4 - FLOWERS & STARS

~ Morning ~

Kayla was busy setting up some bowls on the table and Katie was making breakfast, chicken porridge, and homemade garlic bread.

"Ma."

"Yes Kay?" Katie arranged the bread neatly on a small basket.

She looked at her nervously. "Do you ever want to meet Pa again?"

That question stopped her and made her raise her head. "No, I don't. Do you?"

Kayla shrugged.

"You can. She is still your Pa, but I don't have any business with him anymore. He is my past, I am so glad he is out of my life and I have no intention of seeing him, ever again. The only good thing he had ever done to me was you."

"I understand." There was a sound of a car entering the car park. Kayla hurriedly finished her task and walked to the front door, joining Jacob who opened the door. Her smile widened when she saw Frank and Jane his wife, who was holding Sharon, their almost four-year-old daughter in her arms, walked into the house.

Without any words, she waited for her turn and held Frank then Sharon tightly. "Hello Pumpkin," she whispered as Jane was handing Sharon over to her. "Oh wow wow... you look so beautiful."

"Hi." Sharon's chubby arms wrapped Kayla's neck.

"Oh Pumpkin, I missed you so much." She repeatedly kissed Sharon's cheeks and brown reddish hair. "Are you hungry? Yes? Let's go to the kitchen, say hi to Nana then we grab something to eat, okay?" She walked to the kitchen, holding Sharon. "Hi Nana, look who is here. Someone is missing you."

Katie wiped her hands until dry then kissed Sharon's cheeks.

"Nana," called Sharon with her cartoony voice.

Katie gave her a piece of oatmeal choco cookie and Sharon chewed it happily, leaving some crumbs in Kayla's and her cloth.

After ten minutes holding Sharon, Kayla felt her arms started feeling numb. Sharon had finished her cookie and drank water. "Hey Pumpkin, wanna run in the backyard?" She put her down and opened the door that led them to the backyard. She didn't need an answer for that question, as Sharon already ran into the grassy backyard. She followed wherever Sharon ran. Once in a while she grabbed and tickled her until both of them fell to the ground with laughter. "Oh, your cloth is dirty now. Bet your Dad is going to yell at me." She kissed Sharon's chubby cheeks.

"Auntie, I want that red flower," said Sharon all of a sudden, pointing at the red flower in the pot, not far from them.

"Let's go there." Kayla held her tiny hands and they both walked to the flower area, the area where Katie arranged all the flower plants nicely based on the color. "This flower is rose, it has different colors. Do you like the red one? Red rose." She smiled when Sharon nodded her head. "Don't you think it will be better to leave the flower there?"

"I want red rose," she demanded, looking at Kayla and the flower back and forth.

"Rose has thorns." Carefully, she held the spiked rose stalks and brought it closer to Sharon's nose. "It smells nice, right?" She let Sharon touched the flower.

Sharon's face was beaming and she smiled. She wanted to touch the stalk but Kayla quickly stopped her. "It has thorns, it will hurt you, be careful." To distract Sharon's mind, she took her to the white flower section. "This one is also rose, white one. And the smell is also nice." Kayla did the same thing to the white rose. "You love it?"

"Love it." She clapped her hand cheerfully. "I loooove flowers."

"You do? Now, let's leave the flowers there, so you can see and smell them later when you want to. Do you want to go back inside?"