Morning Chaos

Participants:

kaylee_icon.gif

Featuring appearances by:

carl_icon.gif kaylee-emily_icon.gif hannah_icon.gif joseph_icon.gif

Scene Title Morning Chaos
Synopsis Just a small snapshot of a day in the life of the Sumter household
Date July 19, 2018

The Sumter Home


“Mommy.”

It was morning… already?!?

“Mommy.” Comes the soft whisper of Carl. Sounding vaguely guilty and highly curious. “Are you awake?” Kaylee can feel him shifting closer and feel his breath on her face, as he gets a better look at her face, as if it could tell him all. Unconvinced, a finger moves to poke at her cheek to double check.

This gets a fake groan from that telepath, who pulls the blanket over her head. The action covers the smile that creeps across her lips. “Mommy!” Carl sits up and puts hands on his hips. Kaylee knows without looking. Just like his father.

The edge of the covers lifts high enough that if he wants he can crawl under, too. “Fine, I’m up now. Come on.”

There is a bounce and shift of the bed as Carl scrambles to climb into that space. Lowing the blanket over her head again, Kaylee cracks an eye open and sees her son laying there with sleep mussed hair, sticking at odd angles. A small fist is tucked under his cheek, the blanket sagging enough that he has to keep pushing it up. Those soulful eyes stare at her. He was definitely his father’s child, even if there was some of her in that mix too. It makes her smile. “Mornin’ munchkin,” she finally manages sleepily, tucking her own hand under her cheek.

“Mommy.” Uh oh… there was that tone. “Why are you still sleeping? The sun is up. See?” Carl flings the covers off their heads and turns his head towards the bright sunlit window. “The day is wasting.” It was sadly true, her only genetically-related child… a morning person.

“You sound like daddy,” Kaylee complains lightly, with a hint of amusement. There is a half-assed attempt to pull the blankets back over her head, which Carl prevents with a flat look.

“Well, Daddy said I should tell you that.”
“Of course, he did.”
“Said you might need remindin’.”
“Did he now?”
“Uh huh. He was right.”

Those sage words finally get her eyes to snap open and she looks at him with an incredulous expression. “Carl Eli Sumter!” Though she is using his full name, she can’t help but chuckle. “Just for that sass!” An arm drops across her son and gathers him and the comforter to the telepath. There is a yelp from the six year old and he falls into hysterical giggles as Kaylee bear hugs her baby boy.

Making kissy noises at his temple gets even more squeals of indignity, which brings the dogs running, in a chaotic chorus of sound. Or at least two of them are running. Max and Missy come barreling into the room and up on the bed with excited barks and the clicking of nails on hardwood. Those poor floors, with three dogs and three kids, it never stood a chance. Alicia follows at a much slower pace, but doesn’t jump on the bed. Old joints don’t let her be a spry as the younger pups.

The chorus of dogs reverberates through the house, all three having loud bullhorn like voices. And having all of them going off at once — If anyone had been asleep, they aren't now. Or the neighbors either.

On the bed, Kaylee and Carl are both reduced to laughter and giggles. With the arrival of the pup siblings, comes the onslaught of affection. Mother and son are reduced to fending off slobbery dog tongues as they show their humans how much they love them. Meanwhile Alicia busies herself with sitting at the foot of the bed, a paw resting on the edge of the covers, as if wishing to join, but the thought of the effort being too much. Alas, she can’t so she decides to adding her two cents into this conversation with deep barks. She can’t lick them, so she’ll tell them.

“Dad! Kaylee’s up!”

Hannah’s excited voice cuts through all the noise, offering that rather obvious observation to her father downstairs. Once that news is offered up, she follows her big sister Emily, who is already jumping onto the bed excitedly.

Reaching for Max’s collar to pull the enthusiastic dog off her baby brother, Hannah gives her step-mother mildly disapproving look. “Come on, sleepy head! You sleep too much,” she huffs out. Of course, she like everyone else was still dressed in pajamas with messy hair.

Next to her Emily, with long blonde hair pulled up into a messy braid, signs «Yeah! We are going to miss the new puppet show and I need a new book.» It always hit Kaylee how fast her adopted daughter was growing. She was even wearing a little bit of makeup. She wasn’t looking forward to the boys starting to notice her… or Emily noticing them. For now, she take some comfort that the blond girl was still interested in the puppet shows and story hours at the library.

And she had promised the library today.

Looking at each of her children, Kaylee couldn’t help but feel like her life was full. Well, of course, like many mothers there was that nagging desire to grow the family by just one more. Not something she’s told anyone really. Still, she was at her happiest in these moments. The ones spent with family. With her husband and her kids. Times when she can shut out the darkness of the world beyond those walls.

Little did these kids know what was happening in the shadowed corners of their lives, away from their innocent eyes. Things that they will, hopefully, never had to know about or experience. Things that their parents knew too well. Things they planned to shelter them from as long as possible.

After one more motherly kiss to his dark blonde head; Kaylee lets go of her son, gives him a gentle shove, and playfully covers his head with the comforter. Fine. She'd get up and start the day! Pushing herself up into to sit, each of the kids is eyed in turn; a mental note made at the state of them all. Still in their pajamas. “You know, for kids who are excited for the library, I don’t see y'all ready to go!” She gives a clap of her hands, “Let’s go or I’ll leave you behind!”

This causes a predictable explosion of action from all three kids who move to rush off and start getting ready for the day. This of course, sets off the two younger dogs, who chase after the kids barking with excitement. All of them barely missing the man of the house, who has to dodge the lot of them and not spill the mug of coffee he brought up for his wife. The telepath has to stifle a laugh at the image it creates.

“My hero,” Kaylee sighs out lovingly to Joseph when the mug changes hands. The fair and rather rumpled maiden offers a kiss in thanks for his efforts. Beyond the doorway, the chorus of voices start the morning rituals of complaints and arguments; punctuated by the barks of dogs who are trying to help.

It was a noisy house, but it was her home.

Something Kaylee would protect with her life; but she can only hope it never comes to that.

There is an awful lot of living left to do, yet.


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