If Walls Could Talk

Five

"Hey, Roy." Skye stops him as he heads for the door, glad Calum slipped out of the house first.

"What can I help you with?" He turns.

"Did the old nanny have any arts and crafts stuff for Nika? Crayons, paper, anything like that?"

"Hall closet outside Nika's room has all that type of stuff that Nika couldn't have access to all the time." Roy nods.

"Thanks. Still trying to map out where everything is in this house." Skye nods.

"No worries. I have to head out though, I'll see you guys tonight for Cal's party." Roy waves before leaving.

"Nika! Wanna do something super fun?" Skye calls through the house loudly.

"What is it?" The little girl runs down the hall, sliding slightly on her socks.

"Well, apparently tomorrow is your dad's birthday. Should we draw him a picture on a card from you?"

"Colors!" She nods excitedly.

"Lets see what we can find in the closet and make him something fun." Skye grins, taking her small hand and heading back the way she had come.

It takes a minute for Skye to figure out the organization of the closet, but after a few wrong grabs she finds all the things they will need to make a fun card. Crayons, markers, colored paper, and so on.

"Lets go to the kitchen table and make it." She smiles at Nika who is waiting eagerly at her side.

"Can we draw daddy and me?" She asks as she climbs onto one of the chairs.

"Ya, what do you want it to say? Happy Birthday Dad? Or something else?"

"Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you!" Nika giggles, grabbing a pink paper off the stack. "I like this one."

"We can use that one. Do you want it a big picture this way? or folded like a card?" Skye asks showing her the different options.

"Big!"

"Okay, tell me if I'm drawing you wrong okay?" Skye smiles, turning the paper vertical and drawing a quick stick figure doodle of Calum and Nika. Writing her words out across the top of the paper in an arch.

"I love it!" Nika squeals.

"You want to help me write your name on it?" Skye asks her before putting the last word.

"I don't know how." Nika's face falls.

"I will help you, come here." Pulling Nika onto her lap she helps position the marker in her small hand. "So Nika is spelled N-I-K-A." She helps her carefully draw each letter as she speaks it, the letters coming out shakily and not proportional to the other words on the page.

"I did it!" Nika yells excitedly.

"Good job. Now, you have to do the fun part."

"What fun part?"

"You get to use all these crayons to color the picture for daddy." Skye grins, sliding her off her lap and back to her own chair, opening the pencil box full of crayons for her.

"I'm going to make it pretty." She grins, carefully analyzing the box of colors before selecting her first one.

"Should I make us some lunch while you do that?" Skye asks, noticing it is already nearly noon.

"Grilled Cheese!" Nika looks up excitedly.

"Sounds like a great lunch to me. Should we have apple slices or carrot sticks with our sandwiches?"