"I'll be back soon. Remember that Dominic is coming over today, and please get Tempest ready and her room tidy before I get back." I kissed his cheek, as he blinked.
"Dominic?" he asked, puzzled. I sighed.
"He'll be over around 11 when his parents drop him off. I did say--" I stopped myself, shaking my head and picking Thora up. It was no use talking to him before he'd had breakfast. He'd been woken up by Thora last night, too, which hadn't helped.
It was time to head off. I rested Thora on my hip as we walked out of the door, feeling a sense of guilty relief as the door shut behind us.
The park over in Oasis Springs is one of Thora's favourite places to go, and she began shrieking once she realised where we were going.
"Park! Park!" she squeaked, and squirmed in my arms.
Once we actually got there, I was exhausted, having walked across to Oasis Springs with an overexcited toddler. It became very difficult to hold onto her, but I somehow managed it right up until the point where she saw the big toddlers' gym, at which point I had to put her down anyway. She was off and running towards it immediately.
"Pit!" she screeched, loudly, and immediately clambered into the ball pit, flailing about happily. I smiled, watching her.
Thora's energy is one of the best things about her. I can only hope she keeps that happy glow about her all of her life.
But as I was watching, I remembered how sweet Tempest had been as a child. My smile dropped as I remembered my dear little storm, wandering about the house, when the house had been so tiny. How much she'd helped me through everything.
And now? Now, we were getting along brilliantly half the time, and the other half, we were arguing. I remembered how much I used to argue with my brother as a child, and wondered for a second if I'd turned into as horrible a parent as my mother had been.
It was difficult to shake the thought from my head.
Thora being Thora, she got hungry after an hour in the ball pit, and I took her inside the park's little café for a sandwich. For once, she didn't make a mess, but devoured the sandwich in large bites for one so small.
Once she was done, I let her wander off to the kids' bookshelf, and sat down, only to be joined by an elderly but sprightly looking lady.
"My dear, are you quite alright?" she asked in a cut-glass English accent. I started and stared at her for a moment.
"Oh...yes, I'm alright."
"They're easier to deal with than the older ones," I found myself saying, sighing deeply. I'd not wanted to open up to that extent, but the lady was nodding.
"I'm guessing you speak from experience, dear. Do you have another child at home?"
"Oh, yes. An eleven-year-old daughter. And I can't seem to get along with her like I used to at the moment. She's so rude, mostly, and she'll behave badly, and no matter what I do she doesn't seem to care."
"Oh, my, that is a difficult age. My Rachel was a terror."
I nodded, enthusiastically. "And she thinks I'm the worst! Oh, and her father doesn't stand up to her, most of the time."
"Well, I bet it's hard for you to do that, too." She patted my hand. "You'll pull through. Don't worry about it. All you have to do is give her some space and keep your temper."
"Ah, well...I've the suspicion she inherited mine." I grinned sheepishly.
"Then you must know what it's like to be that age. Confusion, unhappiness, the lot. Like I say, give her space." The woman nodded to herself. "Rachel's a very lovely girl, these days. Hardly ever loses her temper, two kids, and a man who loves her as much as he does the babies."
"Sounds like she has a good life." I smiled at the woman. "Sorry, what was your name?"
"Ella. I'm Ella." She smiled warmly. "And you?"
"Astrid."
"Goodness, that's a pretty name. I hope your little girls have names half as pretty."
"Tempest and Thora." I felt proud as I said them, and Ella nodded in approval.
"Simply beautiful. I always love hearing beautiful names. There's a little girl near me, and her parents named her Star. Isn't that lovely?" She smiled that warm, welcome smile again.
"I always wanted to be called Guinevere, when I was little, rather than Ella. I always liked the sound of the name. But Cassandra - now, there's a beautiful name." She nodded again to herself.
"Thank you for the advice." I smiled back at her. "I sorely needed some."
"Oh, I know. I'm a mother. I can tell another mother from five feet away!" she joked. "We always need advice, really. Parenting doesn't exactly come with an instruction manual."
"We're okay, really, aren't we, baby bunny?" I asked her, fondly. Thora stuck her tongue out.
"Fair comment."
As we arrived home, I could hear excited chattering just from standing outside the house. Dominic's moms had dropped him off early, so it seemed, and Tempest and he were already chattering nineteen to the dozen, and given all the weird phrasing, I was guessing it was, once again, about Voidcritters.
"Missus Astrid?" Dominic asked me, as I walked through to Thora's room with a sleepy Thora in my arms. "Can me and Tempest play on my Battle Station?"
I looked over my shoulder - right into Tempest's puppy eyes. Damn it. It didn't help that Ella's words rang through my head at that exact moment.
Give her some space.
"Set up in the kitchen, Dominic. I'll put Thora to bed." I smiled at him, and he grinned at Tempest, who looked stunned and happy.
Not only did they have a fantastic time, judging by the noise from the kitchen, but Tempest later proudly told me she won.
I like to think that today, I also won.
Maybe I'm getting the hang of this, after all.