Up Up Down Down Left Right GG

Walking in was nearly like a breath of fresh air, her own little sanctuary, where she was not just Jennifer Tilly, but also a vivid echo of her old self. Tiffany smiled quite warmly at the decor, quite absorbed with it and herself before excited little yells reached her ears.

“Mom!!”

Two carrot topped little terrors rounded the corner from where they possibly were in her lavish kitchen. All things considered they probably had only been home an hour before her. Be it she was gone for a day or a week, she was always glad to see them. “Glen! Glenda!” She crouched to better receive their affection, even if she only received the direct line of it from one of her precious children. Glen ran into her arms, hugging her tightly as he came close, and she gave a dramatic kiss to the top of his head with a loud ‘mwah’ noise to go with it. “Hello, sweetfaces~!” She trilled.

Glenda didn’t quite get as close to hug, but she was still fairly close, and looked quite expectant. It was in recent months Glenda hadn’t been rushing into her arms, but she figured it was just her being stubborn for the sake of Glen. Or something equally as silly. “Hi, Mom.” she responded calmer, not as enthusiastic as Glen clearly was.

“Hi, Mom!” Glen was far more ecstatic, grinning from ear to ear. A little momma’s boy in and out, she always loved it. “Did you win?” He didn’t know the full ins and outs of poker, she hadn’t decided to teach them just yet, but his excitement was contagious.

“What do you take me for?” Tiffany stood up, feigning offense as she put the back of her hand to her forehead. “Of course I won.  Your mom is just the best.” She grinned after, quite proud of herself. After ruffling his short curly little head of hair, she had little issue stepping up closer to Glenda, folding her arms to mimic  her daughters pout. “And where’s the enthusiasm seeing your mom, huh?”

Glenda grimaced a little at being asked, and avoided her gaze. “Do you even remember what’s coming soon?” She asked.

The question wasn’t entirely out of the blue, and Tiffany did have a nagging feeling that there was something soon that she was blanking on currently. Especially now that her daughter had mentioned it. She racked her brain quickly, glancing off to the side herself before trying to meet that of her daughter’s. “Oooof course I do.” She trailed the word, trying to respond without if being weird she waited so long. “I sure do. I could never forget such a special day.”

That made Glenda a little more tense as she shifted around. “Then why don’t we have invites to hand out to our classmates yet?”

Invites. Invites invites invites. What needed an invite? Tiffany felt the guilt slam into her like a freight train once she finally connected the dots. It was March and they needed invites for classmates. How in the fuck did she forget their birthday!? She needed a recovery, and quickly, and she managed to think of one quickly enough that she was almost positive it was fully believable. “Well, I wanted to make sure I could get you extra special, extra sparkly invitations!” Tiffany said, making a grand gesture with her arms as she smiled, hoping to sell it and sell it well. “Those things take time, you know. And the invitations just have to match the theme!”

Glen managed to pull himself up closer to the side of his sister, his enthusiasm for her return fading a little as the topic became apparent. “Our birthday is this weekend… will they be ready before Friday?” He asked, almost a little meek in doing so, while Glenda seemed a little more scrutinizing in her little tiny gaze. If Tiffany wasn’t so sure she got such a stink eye from her, she’d be more upset she had it to begin with.

“They sure will.” Tiffany lied through her teeth. She’d have to get them custom ordered, made, and picked up before the end of their school day the next day, otherwise they weren’t going to have any to hand out at all. Not only that, but she needed to actually plan a fucking party to begin with. She hadn’t done that, and the guilt nibbled at her. Just a little.  Surely it could be made up by having a bouncy castle and one of those face painters that worked fairs. “Don’t you worry those pretty little heads. You’ll have your best birthday yet!” She assured, leaning to reach both of their faces. “Okay?”

Without restraint, Glen did lean into and nuzzle into her hand, whereas Glenda flinched away. Odd. “Okay, Mom!” Glen was quick and eager to accept the seeming promise.

Glenda wasn’t. Instead of taking the hand to her face, she reached out her own hand, sticking out her pinky. “Pinky promise?” She asked instead, her face quite serious. For a seven-almost-eight year old, it was kind of scary, even if her unruly mop of red hair tied into a ponytail made her dramatically less so.