*Grace's P.O.V*
"Enough, Grace. No more pouting! You were the one that hid from us and you are lucky you only got a timeout! You have no idea how scared you made me when you did that!" Mommy snaps at me, making me flinch as she puts the sippy cup I refuse to take into my booster seat's cup holder.
I do feel bad about doing that but it's not my fault they were taking forever! When mommy finally finished eating, she still had to change so left me in daddy's hands. Daddy also still had things to do so left me to play on my own. I played for a while but mommy never came back and kept telling me she was almost ready. So I did the very big girl thing and helped by getting myself strapped into my car seat on my own. That way there was one less thing they had to worry about!
Except I forgot to tell them I was doing that and I got stuck in the booster seat because I did the straps wrong and couldn't get them undone. Daddy eventually found me and saved me, giving me to a very angry mommy who checked me throughly for owies, even though I was safely in the car, before sticking my nose in the corner for an eternity!
"No! You forgot me and left me in timeout forever!!" I tell mommy and daddy defiantly!
"And how exactly did I forget about you while I was doing your hair, while you were in timeout? A favor I'm regretting since this is the thanks I get for helping us leave on time." Mommy says, dropping my bag on the floor next to me and actually claiming in to sit next to me.
"Well... well... we aren't early or on time! We are late! So late they are probably closed and all the animals asleep!!" I proclaim, struggling to think of anything else to say after her valid point.
"What time does the zoo open, Grace?" Mommy asks suddenly and I have to think real hard to remember.
"...8?" I ask, hoping to be correct.
"Yes, they open at 8. And how long does it take to get there?" Mommy asks next, making me think again.
"30 minutes?" I ask, not really sure.
"Close enough. Now what time is it? Because I see it's 7:30 so that would mean we will arrive when exactly, Grace?" Mommy asks as she buckles herself in, making me falter.
"... Open." I mutter under my breath.
"What was that? I didn't hear you, baby..." Mommy asks, making me repeat myself even though I know she heard me!
"When they open..." I repeat a bit louder, defeated.
"That's right. When they open... It's almost like I know what I am doing after all these years. Like I was about to wake you up with plenty of time to get ready before you just happened to wake up on your own before you needed to. Like even after all these distractions this morning, I've kept track of the time so we wouldn't be late..." Mommy informs me, giving me an expecting look.
"Why back here?" I ask instead, changing the subject instead of saying what she wants me to.
"Because she wants to be a passenger princess just like you but she doesn't understand that there can only be one! Tell her, Gracie! That position is already taken!" Daddy says as he finally climbs into the driver seat, butting into our conversation.
"Stop encouraging her. Plus, I'm not a passenger princess, I'm the passenger queen! Everyone knows the mother of a princess is a queen! Tell him, Gracie! If he's going to lecture us, he better at least get it right first!" Mommy says with an eye roll before taking my hand and giving me a wink.
"By that logic, I'm a passenger king then! Cause the father of a princess is a king! Or are you going to claim something else now?" Daddy asks with a challenging glare.
"That's not true!! You can't be a passenger king! Daddy's aren't allowed! Daddy's are... Daddy's are..." I try to say but get stuck coming up with something clever.
"...a driving king!" Mommy cuts in and says, saving me.
"Yeah! A driving king!! That's what you are, daddy!" I add in, happy with mommy's answer.
"Now let's go, driving king! Your princess and queen have a very important date at the zoo you are making them late for! It's just so hard to find good help these days... Isn't that right, princess Gracie?" Mommy continues the bit with, making daddy mumble to himself and me giggle as daddy starts to pull away. As he is pulling away though, I remember what I am forgetting just in time!
"Wait!! My hat!! I need my hat!!" I shout, making daddy slam on the breaks as I fumble trying to get the stupid straps undone as I remember about my forgotten hat. Taking my hands in hers, mommy waits for me to calm down before saying anything else.
"Straps stay on. You are not the one going back in for multiple reasons we are not getting into. What hat?" Mommy states, removing my hands from the straps but continuing to hold them before asking. Thinking about the hat, I do my best to answer her question.
"The giraffe one! The giraffe one from the zoo!!" I tell her, hoping that will be enough information to retrieve it.
"Which hat? You don't have a giraffe hat..." mommy states, making me chew my lip in nervous thought as I try to think how to describe the hat better. This causes mommy to of course dig out a paci from my bag and force me to accept it, distracting me as I don't want a paci! I want my hat!
"Do you mean MY giraffe zoo hat by chance, Grace?" Daddy says after putting the car in park and looking back at me with a raised brow that makes me look away.
"Maybe..." I admit, still looking away.
"Grace..." mommy says, drawing out my name in that way that usually means I'm about to be in trouble.
"It's daddy's... but I always wear it at the zoo! I can't go to the zoo without it!!" I plead with them, giving mommy my best puppy eyes ever!
"What are you supposed to do when you want to use someone else's stuff, Grace?" Mommy asks, arching her brow at me. Seeing that, I know I'm in trouble and not getting my hat. Why couldn't I just remember about it early!
"Ask..." I mumble in response, dropping my head in defeat. When silence is my only response, I look up to see mommy and daddy looking at me with an expectant look on their faces. Confused at first, I realize what they are waiting on.
"Can I please wear your hat at the zoo, daddy?" I ask, trying to be extra nice in the process.
"Yes, baby. You can wear it. Thank you for asking." Daddy says, making me beam until I realize I have no idea where it is! Looking at mommy for help, she just rolls her eyes at me.
"I'll get it..." mommy volunteers, before exiting the car. When she returns, she has my hat! Throwing it on top of my bag, I see the other thing in her hand and turn away!
"I'm not..." Is all I can get out before mommy twists my head back to face her and sticks the bottle into my mouth. Holding it there, she checks my straps with her free hand and finds a couple loose. Tightening them, she glares at me so I begin drinking because I in fact did loosen them and am afraid of what she might do.
"Won't nap! Can't nap!" I tell her past the bottle, knowing her trick of always giving me warm milk from a bottle when she wants me to nap!
In response to my statement, mommy goes one strap at a time and makes them extra tight with her free hand, almost daring me to comment or complain about it with her look. I wisely keep my mouth shut though and focus on just staying awake.
Deciding it will be okay to blink and that I don't have to keep my eyes wide open, I blink and open my eyes to daddy paying the parking attendant the parking fee!
We are here? Already? How!?
YOU ARE READING
The family's baby
FantasyWhen Grace returns home from college, it doesn't go like she thought it would. With her past still haunting her everyday choices, she discovers a side of herself kept hidden from everyone but her mother. Forced to experience that side more fully now...
