Mother’s Day

There was a bit of whispering and some soft footsteps on the wood floors that Mother’s Day morning. Charles and his four year old daughter, Chelsie, were attempting to surprise his wife and her mother, Elise, for Mother’s Day.

“Is she awake yet?” Chelsie asked. Charles shrugged his shoulders. They tiptoed and peeked around the corner of the bedroom door at Elise, who was indeed awake now. She smiled sleepily at them.

“Happy Mother’s Day!” they both said, and jumped in the bed next to her. Lots of hugs and kisses ensued.

“I’m going to take a shower. I won’t be long,” Elise said, slipping into the bathroom. They heard water running.

That was their cue. Chelsie took the book her mother was reading, and opened it to the current page. Charles handed her a bouquet of flowers, and she laid them down on the pages of the open book. Charles took a new magazine that he knew Elise would enjoy and laid it on the bed. On the magazine, they laid a tempting slice of mango cheesecake, Elise’s favorite. Who says you have to have eggs and bacon for breakfast?

“This looks beautiful,” the little girl said, “I hope Mommy knows how much we love her.”

“I’m sure she does, sweetheart,” he replied and went into the kitchen to nurse his coffee and to wait for Elise’s shower to be over.

When he heard the water stop and the bathroom door open, Charles went into the bedroom and was greeted by a different tableau than the one he had arranged. Elise, wrapped in a robe, and he looked at their bed. Sissy, the kitty, was snuggled up under the covers in the spot where Charles had envisioned Elise laying.

“Surprise!” yelled Chelsie, “Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy. Isn’t this beautiful?”

“Yes, it is very lovely. Thank you so much, my two loves. Is Sissy keeping my spot warm?”

“Well,” Chelsie said, “Sissy is a mother, too. So I thought she deserved some Happy Mother’s Day love, too.” Elise smiled. She loved her daughter’s heart.

“Is that mango cheesecake I see there?” Elise asked and they nodded. “Well, I’m not sharing it with Sissy!” she laughed. They all piled back in bed with Elise in the honored place, Sissy cuddled in Chelsie’s arms. Charles and the little girl watched as Elise delighted in her flowers and in the love of her family. And Sissy even got a little lick of cheesecake, after all.

The image below is from Viktorya Sergeeva🫂 on Pexels.

Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #317