Hiiiiii! Hiii mummy!
- @eight-from-the-maze
"Sweetheart, hello!"
Sandra looks down at him, cupping his cheek with an adoring smile. There's a fleck of paint on her brow from where she's painting one of the walls a dark reddish-pink.
"You alright darling?"
Yeah! I missed you! Can we go to the park?
Her heart gives a harder thump in her chest.
"I've just got to finish this last bit of wall first, and then we'll go to the park alright? You've been so patient Arthur and I really appreciate it."
Can I help? *he plants his hand on the wall and smears paint around*
"Oh! Oh Arthur, be careful!" Carefully Sandra picks him up and starts walking over to the bathroom with Arthur on her hip, shaking her head and chuckling under her breath. Her hand curls around his wrist, not in a rough hold but just to stop him from wiping the paint anywhere.
"I appreciate your help love, but that paint will stain your clothes if you're not watching. Come on, let's go wash your hand."
Oh. I want to paint! Can I paint?!
"The wall? Oh um, I can find another brush if you'd like so you can help paint the wall. We're only doing this one, so you have to remember that sweetheart. We'll just wash your hands first, and then you can paint. Sound good, Arthur?"
NOooOoOoOo! I wanna use my hands!
Sandra sighs, kissing his forehead as she washes the paint off his hand.
"I know you want to Arthur but makes the paint look uneven on the wall and it's messy. You want to go to the park still right? We can't be covered in paint when we go."
But-but-but hands.*he frowns*
"Sweetheart, look at me please." Meeting his eyes, Sandra's face softens. "Hey, I'm sorry. We can paint with hands another time, it's different than painting a wall. You have to listen to me please, alright?"
But I wanna paint with my hands, mummy. Can I, pretty please?
She closes her eyes and counts to ten in her head, rubbing her cheek.
"Arthur, please. I've said no already, asking repeatedly won't change my mind."
Standing straighter again once they finish washing his hands, Sandra runs a hand through her hair as she leans against the sink, trying not to show her tiredness.
Why not, mummy?
"Because I'm your mother, and if I don't want you to paint the wall with your hands then you won't paint with your hands!"
By now, her exhaustion has caused her patience to wear a little thin. Hands going to her hips, Sandra sighs heavily.
"Come on, love. Please don't make this difficult. The more we go back and forth, the less time we'll have for the park."
"Arthur for goodness sake!"
Her tone sharpens a bit as she frowns.
"You'll use a big brush to help me paint, or you can go play in your room until I'm done. Please stop asking me why, you know I don't like it when you ask over and over."
"Oh my god-"
In a flash she takes his hand and walks him through the house to his room, pursing her lips and shaking her head. "I've got enough on my plate right now, I'm too tired for this-" Sandra mutters, her breath hitching for a moment in her frustration as they walk into his room and she stands in the doorway, pointing to Arthur's bed.
"Go sit down, Arthur. You're staying in your room while I paint, and then after we'll go to the park. I love you, and I-I won't be long. Stay here."
With that she turns away, a shimmering gleam in her eyes only visible for a moment before she shuts the door behind her, walking down the hall and trying to take a breath as a tear of annoyance and exhaustion trails down her cheek.
M-mummy! Don't leave me here! I wanna help! *he knocks frantically on the door* Mummy! Please!
She goes and sits down at the kitchen table, putting her face in her hands as her vision blurs with tears and spill over.
"So tired..." Sandra whispers quietly to herself, putting her glasses on the table. "Fuck."
Faintly she can hear the knocking from Arthur on his door, despite the fact it's unlocked and he can leave his room quite easily. She doesn't have the heart to properly punish him, even if Arthur can drive her up the wall with his questions.
Not after what they went through.
*he pounds on the door*
From the force of the pounding knocks the door swings open, having been on the edge of shutting when Sandra shut the door behind her.
Sandra sits there at the table, blonde hair fallen partially over her face as she tries to pull herself together but failing miserably from the lack of sleep and stress of the past few months overwhelming the woman.
Mummy? *he runs up to her and hugs her*
"H-Hey, sweetheart..."
There's no more frustration in her voice when she feels little arms wrap around her; why would she get mad at her son for leaving his room to hug her? Sandra shifts a little in her chair, giving space for Arthur to climb into her lap as she returns the hug.
It's probably tighter than it needs to be, but Sandra doesn't care. She wipes her eyes on her sleeve, trying to be strong in front of her son even as exhaustion pulls at the edges of her vision.
Are you ok, mummy?
She nods slightly, shifting her glasses to rub at one of her eyes. "I'm sorry love," Sandra murmurs, kissing his hair as she sits back in the chair, arms wrapped around Arthur so he doesn't fall off her lap. "Mummy's very tired, I haven't been sleeping very well. I just needed a second..."
Can I help? *he looks up at her*
"Help with what, Arthur?"
Sleep?
Sandra rubs her eyes and chuckles again, feeling a fuzzy warmth start to grow in her chest.
"Oh you're so sweet, love. I'm not sure there's much you can do to help me sleep better. Going to bed at 8:30 when it's your bedtime will certainly help though so we don't stay up too late and be grumpy in the morning..."
*he laughs* I do!
"I know you do, but it's always good to be reminded! Now..."
Sandra brushes back her hair and looks at Arthur, tilting her head with a little smile. Her hazel eyes still look exhausted but have a little shine to them.
"Do you want to go get ready for the park? This wall...it can wait. I've only got a bit left to do anyway."
Park! Really!?!
"Yep! Go put your warm coat on and some sneakers Arthur, it's been pretty chilly outside and we can't have you getting sick before you start school next week."
Kissing his forehead, Sandra slides him off her lap and shoos him off towards his room with a soft smile. It gives her time to reacquaint herself and fix up her appearance for a second before it's time for the park. Rubbing her face again, Sandra makes a reminder in her head to look for something that might help with her exhaustion and nightmares around town.
I don't want my coat though! It's not that cold, and the coat is uncomfy. Mummy, please, I don't want to!
"Alright," Sandra relents, shaking her head and smiling. "You don't have to wear it right now. I'll bring it anyway to keep in the car because I know you'll get cold love. Are you going to bring any toys for the sandpit or to play on the grass?"
Ummmmmmmm. Can I have the bucket?
"Of course, let's go get that!" She walks over to the toybox and pulls out the blue bucket and spade, holding them out to Arthur.
"Is that everything you want sweetheart? I'll quickly make us some hot chocolate to bring to the park as well, it seems quite cold this morning..."
Yaaaay, hot chocolate!
After making some hot chocolate to put into thermos cups, Sandra slips on her navy coat and grabs her keys and handbag, her hand steady on Arthur's back as they leave the house to start making the short trip to the nearby park.
"Come on Arthur, hopefully you'll be able to play with some kids at the playground too!"
Maybe there she'll be able to have a few moments to breathe without the stress of the world on her shoulders.
Yeah! *he hugs her leg*
