Lisa realized very quickly that once they got Presley to start talking, it would be difficult for her to stop.
"What's that?" the tiny girl asked, pointing to the box of cereal Lisa had brought over from the kitchen. Presley was seated in the dining room, sitting on a small booster seat so that she could reach the table.
"Fruit loops," Lisa read off the front of the box, nodding softly. "Are these okay? We are out of muffins...." She set the box down on the table, biting her lip.
"I like these," Presley nodded, giving Lisa a crooked smile. She lifted her bowl in the air, looking at the girl hopefully.
"Good," Lisa giggled, opening the box and carefully pouring a small amount of cereal into the bowl. She slipped back into the kitchen, putting the box back in its place and retrieving a jug of milk.
Lisa paused when she walked back into the dining room to find the cereal dumped out of the bowl. She raised an eyebrow, watching as Presley carefully separated the pieces of cereal into separate piles. One for each color.
"What are you doing?" Lisa asked, tilting her head to the side.
Presley paused, a blue fruit loop in her fingers. She looked up at Lisa and then back down at the cereal. "Putting them with their friends," she nodded, continuing to organize the small pieces.
"Oh," Lisa laughed softly. The Thai girl sat down at the table, watching as Presley carefully added a blue fruit loop to the blue pile.
"Close your eyes," Presley giggled, looking up at Lisa. The older girl raised an eyebrow, but did as she was told.
Lisa waited as she heard Presley lean over the table, pressing something against her lips. "Eat it," the small child giggled, poking Lisa's cheek with her other hand.
Trusting the girl, Lisa opened her mouth and allowed her to place a single piece of cereal on her tongue. Opening her eyes, Lisa chewed for a few moments, giving Presley a questioning look.
"What color does it taste like?" Presley giggled, sitting up in her seat slightly and looking at Lisa with a curious expression on her face.
"Color?" Lisa laughed and raised an eyebrow. "How do you taste a color?"
The tiny girl giggled, plucking a blue fruit loop from the pile and popping it into her mouth. "Like this!" she smiled widely. "It's blue."
"What does blue taste like?" Lisa asked, a soft smile forming on her lips. Presley paused, debating this for a few moments.
"The sky," she giggled, clasping her hands together.
"What does the sky taste like?" Lisa couldn't help but laugh, watching as Presley's expression fell slightly as she pondered her question.
"Like blue fruit loops," the caramel girl finally spoke up, giggling and offering Lisa a piece of cereal from the pile.
"Makes sense," Lisa smiled softly to herself, enjoying the smaller girl's conversation. She accepted the offering, popping the piece of cereal into her mouth.
"Can he try?"
Lisa lifted her head, looking at Presley who was pointing to something below them. Glancing down, Lisa giggled when she saw Louis circling around their feet. "Sure."
Smiling excitedly, Presley carefully selected an orange fruit loop and set it down on the floor in front of Louis. Lisa then snapped her fingers, gaining his attention and making him sniff the piece of food on the floor.
Instead of eating it, though, the large white cat tapped it with his paw, sending it scattering across the floor. Turning playful, Louis pounced forwards, causing the small piece of food to fly under the table.
Presley burst into laugher, finding Louis's antics amusing. "You're supposed to eat it, silly!" she giggled, leaning her head under the table and watching as the cat pawed at the piece of cereal.
"He is crazy," Lisa laughed softly, an affectionate smile spreading across her face.
"What's your favorite color?" Presley turned back to Lisa, surprising the girl by changing the subject so suddenly. Laughing softly, Lisa shrugged.
"Yellow," she nodded, giving Presley a small smile. "What is yours?"
"I don't have one," Presley glanced back down at Louis.
"Why not?" Lisa raised an eyebrow.
"Cause' I don't want the other ones to get jealous," Presley nodded confidently. "I don't wanna make em' sad."
"Oh," Lisa giggled, amused by Presley's logic.
"On my birthday my cake had rainbows on it," Presley remembered, sitting up straighter and nodding excitedly at Lisa. "It was this big," she explained happily, holding out her hands.
Meanwhile, Chaeyoung had been stirred awake from all the commotion in the dining room. At first, she was confused when she woke up alone, but she quickly remembered the events of the night before.
Hearing Lisa and Presley's soft voices coming from the dining room caused a small smile to spread across her face. Everything was starting to feel normal again.
Yawning, the blonde girl brushed her hair out of her face and wandered into the dining room. She leaned against the doorway, watching as Lisa attempted to toss a piece of cereal into her mouth. It bounced off of her nose and rolled onto the floor.
Not yet aware of Chaeyoung's presence, Lisa giggled and grabbed another fruit loop. But when she saw Presley's gaze was focused elsewhere, she turned around to look where the other girl was looking.
"Morning," Chaeyoung laughed softly, her voice quiet and raspy from just waking up. Her lips curved into a soft smile when Lisa laughed quietly.
"Hi," Lisa giggled, glancing back at Presley. "We were eating breakfast."
"I see that," Chaeyoung laughed, leaning against the back of Lisa's chair and placing a kiss into the top of her wife's head. She reached over Lisa's shoulder to check the smaller girl's phone, furrowing her eyebrows when she realized what day it was.
"Shoot," the blonde girl whispered under her breath, running a hand through her hair and standing back up. "I told Toby we'd watch Lucas today while he drove Maia up to see her mom..." she bit her lip.
Lisa nodded softly and glanced at Presley, who was looking at them both curiously. Standing up, Lisa gave Chaeyoung a soft smile.
"I can get us ready," she nodded in Presley's direction. "Call Maia and tell her we will be there soon."
"Have I ever told you I love you?" Chaeyoung laughed softly, leaning in and kissing Lisa's cheek. She was relieved that Lisa didn't mind that she'd had something scheduled for them. Her wife just smiled, looking down to hide the blush on her cheeks.
"Good morning, kiddo," Chaeyoung smiled, turning to Presley and bending down to match her height. She ruffled her caramel color hair, earning a shy giggle from the girl. "You're gonna meet some new friends today. I know they've been dying to meet you."
"Are they nice?" Presley asked, a curious smile on her face. Lisa nodded from behind Chaeyoung.
"Super nice," Lisa laughed softly, slipping past Chaeyoung and gently taking Presley into her own arms. "But we have to hurry up and get ready, because they will be waiting for us."
Shooting Chaeyoung a soft smile, Lisa gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing out of the dining room, taking Presley into the bedroom to get ready.
Not soon after, Chaeyoung was dressed and waiting on the couch for the other two girls to finish getting ready. Quick footsteps brought her attention away from her phone, and she looked up just in time to see Presley hop into the living room. The smaller girl was adorning a bright yellow sweater, which fit her like a dress. Chaeyoung realized it must have been Lisa's.
"You're s'posta to help me with my hair," Presley said shyly, standing in front of Chaeyoung and tilting her head to the side. "I don't know how'ta do it."
"C'mere, goof," Chaeyoung laughed, setting her coffee aside and pulling Presley into her lap. Almost effortlessly, she pulled the girl's hair up into a loose bun, securing it quickly and turning on her phone's camera so Presley could see herself. "Like it?"
Presley simply giggled, making a funny face at herself in the camera and looking up at Chaeyoung with a wide smile on her face.
"I'll take that as a yes," Chaeyoung laughed, sliding her phone into her pocket and hopping to her feet. She scooped Presley into her arms, making the smaller girl laugh.
Raising an eyebrow, Chaeyoung spun around in a circle with the child in her grip, causing her to laugh even harder. Laughing along with her, Chaeyoung flipped Presley upside down and pinched her stomach, making the smaller girl squeal playfully.
When Chaeyoung pulled her back upright, she was met with her wife leaning against the doorway, an eyebrow raised.
"We are going to be late," Lisa scolded her half heartedly. Presley looked back and forth between the girls.
"Party pooper," Chaeyoung mumbled, pouting playfully. Presley giggled, keeping her arms wrapped around Chaeyoung's neck as the girl bent down to retrieve her bag from beside the door.
"How is her mom doing?" Lisa asked, slipping on her shoes and shivering in the chilly fall air as they walked out to the car. Chaeyoung glanced at her wife, passing Presley over to Lisa so she could buckle her in to the car seat.
"I don't know," Chaeyoung bit her lip, sliding into the driver's side of the car. "Toby says Maia doesn't talk much about it."
"Oh," Lisa nodded softly, helping Presley get adjusted in the back of the car and hurrying to buckle herself into the passenger seat. "Do you think she is....? She is...."
"I don't think she's doing well," Chaeyoung whispered. "I've never seen Maia so upset over something."
Lisa nodded quietly, relaxing back into her seat and letting her thoughts wander as they made the drive to their friend's home.
Once they finally arrived to Maia and Toby's house, Lisa hurried around the back of the car to take Presley into her own arms. She could sense that the smaller girl was shy, especially around new people.
They'd become so acquainted with their friends that it was normal for them to let themselves into their house. Chaeyoung held the door open for Lisa, slipping into the house behind her.
The moment they stepped into the living room, they were practically swept up in a tornado. Lucas was immediately passed into Chaeyoung's arms by Maia, who didn't even acknowledge the girls as she quickly gathered her things and slipped past them out the door.
"Ignore her," Toby appeared, almost out of nowhere, carefully handing a list of phone numbers to Chaeyoung and giving her an apologetic smile. "She's just stressed."
The blonde girl nodded, adjusting a sleeping Lucas in her arms and looking down at the paper in her hands. Meanwhile, Toby gave Presley a small wave, smiling at the small child.
"We'll have more time to get acquainted later," he nodded in Presley's direction, acknowledging Lisa with a quick smile. "Wish us luck," he laughed nervously, giving the girls one last wave before slipping out the door.
"What's he need a wish for?" Presley broke the silence as the door was pulled shut, leaving the three girls alone with a sleeping Lucas. Lisa set her down, allowing her to study the unfamiliar room.
"I-I, uh," Chaeyoung stumbled over her words, still confused by how worried Maia had appeared. "I don't kn-,"
"Sometimes people make wishes when they need a reason to keep believing," Lisa said softly, interrupting Chaeyoung. "Sometimes it is all they have to hold onto."
"If you wish on a shooting star, it always comes true," Presley nodded excitedly, a small smile on her face. She turned to look out the window, frowning when she realized it wasn't nighttime.
Chaeyoung reached over and squeezed Lisa's hand, causing the smaller girl to look up at her with a soft smile. The blonde girl knew well enough that Lisa had relied on only wishes for a long period of time.
And Lisa smiled back at Chaeyoung, because she knew her wish had come true.
Chaeyoung was distracted by a tug on her sleeve, bringing her attention away from Lisa and down to Presley, who was looking up at her hopefully.
"What's his name?" the girl whispered, pointing to the sleeping boy in Chaeyoung's arms.
"Lucas," Chaeyoung said softly, kneeling down next to Presley. "He's gonna be a year old soon," she added with a shy smile.
"Why's he sleepin'?" Presley tilted her head to the side, reaching out and feeling the sleeping child's hair. "Is he a baby?"
"Kinda," Chaeyoung giggled, looking up at Lisa who was just as amused by the situation.
"He needs to wake up," Presley nodded, sure of herself. "I wanna play with him."
Chaeyoung and Lisa exchanged glances, hoping the rest of the day would go this smoothly.