Pov y/n
"Mama!"
I quickly turn around to see Rose approaching me.
She looks like she wants to run but since we're in an indoor pool, running is not allowed here and she just walks quickly. I crouch down to be on the same height and her arms wrap around my neck, hugging me tightly.
I wrap my arms around her back and hug her back.
It may only have been two weeks since I last saw her but it feels like a way too long time. When she lets go of me, she smiles happily at me.
"I'm back from vacation." She tells me and I brush over her tied up hair.
"I can see that, sweetie, and I am very happy to see you again. I missed you." I reply honestly and she smiles and nods.
"I missed you too. You would have had so much fun in Canada. We went sledging but the hill was higher than in the park, so the way was longer. It was so much fun and it went so fast!" She tells me excitedly. I chuckle at her excitement and get back up.
"You can tell me all about it in a bit, okay? Let's just get in the water first because I'm getting a little cold." I suggest and she nods.
It's Friday and I had my diving training today, so it fitted perfectly to meet with Rose for another swimming lesson.
Ever since I was here with her for the first time, we had multiple sessions where we slowly worked our way towards her being able to swim.
It was always a lot of fun and I looked forward to every single time.
Rose improved over time and I think we are close to our goal of her swimming all by herself without any floaties.
I look from where she came, seeing who brought her but I don't see anyone.
"Who brought you here, Rosie?" I ask as we enter the water in which she is still able to stand. Rose looks to where she came from.
"Dad's girlfriend. She drove me here and waited for me to change and then I came into here." She tells me, shrugging as if she doesn't care and she probably doesn't really but I do.
Who let's a child go to the pool all by herself without waiting until they see the person who will look after the child? What if I wasn't here already or still in my diving training?
Rose would have been here alone and if it comes to worst, she could have fallen into the pool.
I mean, there is a lifeguard here but still, it's irresponsible and makes me want to yell at her dad's girlfriend. But I take a deep breath and push that thought away, this is not relevant anymore.
Rose splashes around the water a little, giggling to herself.
As so often, she wears her yellow bathing suit with white dots. She also has a pair of goggles on her head, so the water won't sting in her eyes. I kneel down, so my whole upper body isn't out of the water.
Rose splashes around a little more before turning to me.
"Can I tell you more about the vacation now?" She asks and bites her lip in excitement. I smile and nod.
"Go ahead, little dolphin." I encourage her and she claps inside the water, splashing some at me and giggling. I pretend to be offended and she giggles even more.
"When we went sledging, I was so fast, I was almost scared I would tip over but I didn't. But I had to pull the sledge back up all by myself because Dad and his girlfriend didn't want to ride with me, they took pictures of the nature around and themselves." She almost sounds a little dismissive and I understand that.
"We stayed at a hotel and I had my own room. There was a door to Dad's room but I still had my own. And there was a huge bed inside, just for me." She tells me, her eyes sparkling at the memory and she stretches her arms to the side to show me how big the bed was. I smile a little and nod for her to go on.
"They had breakfast there and they had pancakes every day but Dad said I can't have them every day." She huffs a little and lets her hands drop into the water.
"But the other things were also yummy but dinner wasn't. Dad often ordered fish or lobster but I don't like that and I felt bad because they live underwater and you work for them to stay there." She looks at me and I have to hold back a little chuckle at her wording.
Of course, she is still a child and doesn't fully understand what I do, so her description of my job is pretty cute.
"I told him that he shouldn't eat so much from the sea because he makes your job harder but he just looked at me unimpressed. He said that your job is probably very small and a scam." She tells me and takes my hand, waving it through the water.
I raise my eyebrows at her words. My job a scam?
Wow, that really is just rude. I know he didn't like me but I didn't know he would show that towards his daughter.
"What is a scam?" Rose asks and looks from our hands up to me. I take a breath and think about how to answer that.
"Well, it is when someone says they do something for a specific reason, but it's a lie and just a cover up because they actually do something else." I explain but Rose's confusion only seems to grow.
"For example, if you ask your Mom for money to buy ice cream and she gives the money to you, believing you will buy ice cream with it but you actually wanted it to buy new toys. That's called a scam." I try to transfer it into Rose's world of thinking. Rose nods slowly and thinks about it.
"So it is lying about the intention behind something?" She asks and I nod, kinda happy she understood what I meant.
"Yes, you could call it that." I agree and she purses her lips and looks at me.
"So, my Dad thinks you don't actually help the creatures in the sea?" She asks and I press my lips together for a second before putting on a more neutral expression, no need to show Rose that I am kinda mad at her dad.
"Yes, that's what he meant." I confirm and Rose frowns a bit.
"But...you do do that, right? You help fish?" She asks and her voice almost sounds disappointed as if she expects me to tell her she's wrong. I brush a hand over her hair and pull her a little closer.
"I do help the fish. I do research on how they are living in the moment and what we can do to make them live better." I tell her and she releases a little breath, leaning against me.
This seems to have bugged her more than she expresses apparently because she lets me hold her for a little while.
I kiss her hair and rub her back, giving her some comfort while she processes. When she pulls away again, she seems better again and takes my hands.
"The hotel also had a pool in the basement and Dad said he could teach me to swim as well because I couldn't meet you." She tells me and I nod, showing her I'm listening.
"And how did it go?" I ask and she shakes her head a little, playing with my fingers and dunking them under water.
"He is not a good teacher. He was impatient after a few tries and told me to try again. I think he was mad that I couldn't do it. And then it made me frustrated but he didn't seem to pick up on that and when I started crying, he said maybe it's better to stop for the day." She tells me and a bit of sadness washes over her face.
Anger starts to boil inside of my veins at her words. How can her dad be mad at her for not being able to swim just yet. She already made such a process and I am really proud of her for that. And hearing it made her cry, breaks my heart and makes me want to punch him in the face, more than once, considering the other things he already pulled.
Of course, I don't know that but it almost sounds as if he was jealous that I am teaching Rose how to swim and that he wanted to be the one she was with when she did it the first time all by herself.
"I am sorry to hear that, sweetie. I am sure you did great, no I know it. You made such a progress during the last few weeks and I am very, very proud of you.
I know it can be frustrating when something doesn't work and it is okay to feel that way. Just try it again another time then when you feel like doing it again.
It is totally okay to be frustrated and to feel that way, everyone does. The most important thing then is, to take a deep breath and if it doesn't help, to stop pushing and trying later again." I assure her and her eyes dart from our hands to my eyes.
She processes my words and I let her do that, not pushing her into anything.
"But he seemed mad." She almost whispers and it breaks my heart.
"I am sure he was just frustrated as well but it is not your fault at all. Please don't think that. You did your best and if he didn't see that, then that's sad but has nothing to do with you." I tell her softly and she nods slowly.
"Okay, thank you, Mama." She says and wraps her body around mine. I hold her close and kiss her temple.
"You're welcome, baby." I reply.
She lets go of me.
"Can we still try today?" She asks and I smile encouragingly.
"Of course, we can." I agree and she smiles now as well.
We get out of the children's pool and enter the deeper one after putting her floaties on that I have in my bag. I learned not to rely on her dad to bring some, so I brought her some myself.
I carry her on my hip until we are out of the way for other people to enter the pool.
"Ready?" I ask and she nods. She already leans over and I chuckle silently, placing my hands underneath her and holding her up, so she lays flat in the water.
Rose pulls her goggles down and starts to do the movements we talked about. By now she does them pretty well and can do arms and legs at the same time, which I am proud of about.
I can feel that the movements push her forwards and lower my hands a little, walking by her side as she slowly swims forward.
Internally I cheer loudly but I don't want to distract her.
When her movements slow down, I quickly place my hands back under her, so she won't dip under. I lower her into the water, holding her up under her arms a little. She looks back from where we started and to me, then back to the start. Her eyes grow big.
"Did I do that?" She asks and points towards the beginning. I grin proudly and nod.
"You did indeed. You swam all that way over here without my help." I tell her and her eyes grow and her face lights up. She cheers and kicks her feet in excitement, making my heart fill up with warmth and love.
"You did so great! Well done!" I praise and kiss her cheek. She has a huge grin on her face and wiggles excitedly in my loose grip.
"I just swam! All by myself!" She exclaims and I celebrate a little with her. Her happiness is always so contagious and I wouldn't want to have it any other way.
"Can I try it without the floaties now?" She asks and I nod, moving us towards the edge, so she can hold on to it while I carefully remove the floaties, placing them on the edge.
"It is different without the floaties, okay? It may not work as great as it did with them but that doesn't mean you can't get there, alright?" I tell her and she nods excitedly.
I nod as well and move us away from the edge again. She leans over again and I hold her up to lay flat in the water again.
My hands stay under her belly as she starts to move her arms and legs but I can tell she's hesitant and when she stops, I take her gently and sit her on my hip. Her arms wrap around me, as well as her legs.
"It is scary without floaties. What if I can't do it? What if I go under?" She asks, her lip quivering a little. I rub her back.
"I know it's scary and it's okay to be a bit afraid. You can do it, I know it. And if not today, then one of the next times. You already did so great today and I am so proud of you for that. And about going under, don't worry, I will always be by your side and hold you, you are not alone. Even if you can't feel my hands under your belly, they are still there and if you start to tip under, I will hold you up, I promise." I say and Rose looks at me, her lips still trembling a little but she nods.
"Take a deep breath with me, okay?" I ask and visibly breath in and out. Rose watches and does the same and after a few times, her lips stops to tremble.
"Wanna try again? And remember, I am here with you." I assure her and she nods, so I slowly reposition her.
Her movements seem more confident now and I let her do them for a few moments, feeling her pushing forward.
I slowly walk next to her as she swims slowly forward. When I lower my hands, she swims a few moments before dipping under a little, so I quickly push her back up.
But she doesn't seem to mind and doesn't hesitate to continue.
We make our way through the pool and every time she dips a little, I push her back up until she seems secure and I let go carefully.
In the beginning, she dips a few more times but as we go on, she seems to get the hang of it and barely dips under until she doesn't at all anymore. She reaches the edge and holds onto it, turning her head to me, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Did I do it?" She asks and when I nod in confirmation with a smile, she grins widely and cheers.
Pure pride fills my heart at how great she did and right now, I couldn't be happier.
"You did so amazing, sweetie! I am incredibly proud of you!" I say and pepper her face in kisses. She giggles and scrunches her nose up adorably.
"I really did it. I swam, Mama!" She exclaims and I cheer with her.
"You did, little dolphin, you did!"
She wiggles excitedly and pushes herself off the edge towards me and I catch her.
I spin us around, making her giggle. She squeals when I lift her out of the water and throw her up a little before catching her again. I do that a few times and her pure laugh is all I need to be the happiest person right now.
"I am just like you!" She says when I sit her on my hip again to go get the floaties, since she just swam a lot and seems a bit exhausted.
"Yes, you are. You did so great!" I praise her and she grins proudly at me.
"But you know, swimming is exhausting." She tells me and I nod.
"It is. That's why it's important to know when to stop because we don't want to overdo it, right?" I ask and she nods. I put her down onto the step and she walks out of the water.
"Can we play in the lower water a little more?" She asks and I agree, leading her to the child's pool again.
There's a slide there and she laughs every time when she slides it down. We splash around some more and I chase her through the water. She laughs when I catch her and tickle her.
Eventually, it is time for us to head out because I can tell her body gets a little cold.
I grab a towel and put it around her before grabbing our bags. At least, her dad's girlfriend remembered to put Rose's bag next to mine.
We go to the shower and wash the chlorine out of our hair and off our bodies before going to a changing room. For a second I am not sure if I should go in the same one as Rose but when she takes my hand and pulls me with her, I follow her.
I've never seen her without clothes and wasn't sure if she would mind but it doesn't seem so.
I help her out of her bathing suit and to dry off before putting on her clothes. She goes out of the changing room, just to go the few steps to the hair driers they installed on the wall while I dry off and change myself.
After that I dry my hair as well and comb hers and make two braids when she wishes for them.
She takes my hand and happily skips next to me.
"Dad said I can spend the next weekend with you. He agreed on the every other weekend rule." Rose tells me excitedly and my heart beats a little faster when I remember the short chat I had with her dad about this topic.
I don't know what changed his mind but I'm not complaining, I get to see her every second weekend and depending on what's planned, maybe during the week as well.
"That's great, I am so happy about that!" I say and Rose nods and grins happily.
"You know, it'll be my birthday." She tells me excited and I nod.
"I know, sweetheart and I can't wait to celebrate it with you." I say and she bounces in excitement.
I talked to Scar about it and we made some plans for that day because Rose wanted a birthday party and who am I to not give that to her.
But we will work out the further details during the week.
When we get out of the facility, I already see Rose's dad waiting in the parking lot. I walk Rose over, putting on a fake friendly smile.
"Dad, I did it!" Rose exclaims and jumps up and down next to me.
"That's great Rose, I am so happy for you." He says and smiles at the girl before looking up at me and I swear, if looks could kill, I would be a dead woman.
So, he was jealous that I am the one teaching Rose to swim and he doesn't seem to like it at all that she did it while being with me instead of while being with him.
Satisfaction fills my body and I can't help it but to smirk a little. He shoots another glare at me and almost rips Rose's bag from my hand.
"We will see you next weekend, when I drop her off." He says and brings the bag to the car.
Rose says goodbye and hugs me tightly before giving me a kiss.
My heart soars a little at that and I give her a kiss as well, wishing her a good evening and good night before they drive away.
Well, I'd call that a successful swimming lesson.
A/n: Rosie finally did it! XD
And I know, a lot of you want some drama between and Rose's Dad ;)
Thanks for reading and love to you all <3