𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 (𝐖𝐋𝐖)

𝟏𝟗

♕
𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑠' 𝑝𝑜𝑣
-𝑀𝐸𝑅𝑅𝑌 𝐶𝐻𝑅𝐼𝑆𝑇𝑀𝐴𝑆 -

"No way!" Ariella screamed at the top of her lungs, eyes widened with surprise.

I smiled and took a sip from my hot chocolate as I watched her admire the tent. The playhouse was pink and LED lights hung from the inside ceiling of it. It was sheer material and big enough to fit whatever was needed for her princess tea parties.

I'd picked up the gift the minute I saw it.

I knew how much she'd love it.

Aurora laughed at Ariella's reaction while placing a kiss to the top of my head, "What do you say, princess?"

The fascinated young girl seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in while observing her present and ran towards me. Arms spread open and giggles leaving her mouth.

I, wary of the hot drink in my hand, engulfed her into a hug. A repeat of the phrase 'thank you' left Ariella's mouth as she tightly squeezed my torso.

That's pretty much how the rest of our morning went; Ariella grabbing a present from underneath the tree, then squealing in happiness once seeing what was behind the wrapping before shifting over to Aurora and I for hugs.

Eventually, there were only three presents underneath the tree. And just as I thought Ariella was going to tear apart the neatly wrapped gift that she had picked up— she instead placed it in my hand.

"What's this?" I asked the young blonde with furrowed eyebrows and a small smile.

She stood rocking on the tips of her toes and a tilted head, "It's for you."

The feeling of Aurora's hand settling on my shoulder caused me to turn at an angle to see her face. She was giving me an encouraging look, leaving a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"Open it."

So open it I did.

I softly pulled at the wrapping paper to be cautious of what was underneath it. At first I had no clue what the scribbles on paper were, but then it all clicked to me.

It was a hand drawn picture of Ariella, Aurora, and I. We were thin stick figures with heads too big for our bodies lying in a field full of sunflowers.

Tears had began to blur my vision the moment I peeped the word "Mamma #2" written in pink crayon above the stick figure version of me.

I awed and pulled Ariella into our hundredth hug of the day, allowing myself to pathetically bawl my eyes out.

It meant a lot to me that she considered me as a mother. I didn't care that she wasn't biologically mine or that Aurora and I weren't married. Ariella has such a big heart, and it just makes me happy that she was able to squish me in there with the thousands of other things she has love for.

"Do you like it?" she muttered into my pajama shirt in the softest voice one could have.

I unwrapped my arms from the little girl and let myself be eye level with her.

"I adore it."

And then we smiled into each other's faces.