#rrl01d30

Gen One, Day Thirty

“What seems to be the problem here, ma’am,” Johnny asked as Robyn called him into the room. She hated giving in to Eris’s demands like this, but sometimes she didn’t have an hour to sit there and try to negotiate with a toddler. And since she was a daddy’s girl, Johnny was always good at getting Eris to do something she didn’t want to do. 

Robyn looked at Johnny, a bit exasperated. “Eris wants to play with Mommy’s make up, but we just finished getting a bath for the day.” 

“Ahh, a real predicament. Well, let the Sheriff handle it, little lady.” Robyn rolled her eyes lovingly at him as he crouched down in front of Eris, giving her the sternest cowboy sheriff look he could muster. Eris giggled and waved her arms at him in excitement. The two of them had been watching Western movies all week and while Robyn thought she was a little young for them, Johnny assured her he hadn’t picked any of the gruesome ones. 

“Now you listen here, pilgrim,” Johnny addressed the toddler and Eris squealed with delight at his best cowboy voice. “There’ll be no make up on the premises tonight.” 

Robyn sighed, playing with his hair as he kneeled there. “She’s going to grow up talking like a cowboy if you keep that up.” 

Johnny chuckled and dropped the act, giving Eris a look. “We can’t play with makeup tonight, Eris,” he said and got the slightest of pouts from Eris. He was a rock, though, unswayed by those puppy eyes. “But I bet Mommy will play dolls with you if you ask nicely.” 

Robyn glanced at her daughter to see if the toddler would go for it instead of the demands to play with things she shouldn’t be playing with. 

“Dollies, mommy?” Eris asked. 

“What’d we forget?” Johnny countered, butting in before Robyn could accept. 

“Please?” Eris added on giggling when Johnny made a noise of excitement that she was actually getting pleases and thank you’s. 

Robyn chuckled. “How could I say no?” 

Gen One, Day Thirty

As Robyn and Eris played dolls upstairs, she head Johnny’s guitar strike up from the bottom of the stairs. She gave a laugh, looked at Eris who clapped her hands and picked up her daughter, slowly carrying her down with her to see what was going on. 

Johnny was at the bottom of the stairs, playing his guitar. It wasn’t perfect, but she could tell he’d been practicing. The aroma of a nicely cooked meal wafted up to her and she got to the bottom of the stairs, lifting her brow at Johnny for an explanation, wondering what had put him in the mood for such a romantic evening, including a show. 

“Hey, Bug,” he greeted her while he played, like he was an old school performer just playing away, not bothering to be embarrassed by any of the wrong notes our out of tune chords he was striking. “This song’s for you.” 

Gen One, Day Thirty

Robyn could clearly tell that Eris was going to be a daddy’s girl. The two of them were like two peas in a pod and while she played around like there was some jealousy there sometimes, she found herself so incredibly happy about it. Johnny had been on a slippery slope almost a year ago, but they’d gotten him the help he needed early enough and she was proud of the way he’d turned himself around. 

Instead of spiraling downwards, he’d joined the Veteran’s group she’d asked him to. They’d put him in touch with a good psychologist that he’d been a little hesitant about seeing at first, but after those first few visits, he’d seen the benefit in it. While he’d seen them frequently at first, he’d gone down to one visit a month now. 

Their relationship was stronger than ever for it, too. Part of her involvement in it all was learning how to get him to open up when feelings started to get the better of him. They’d both laughed about it, because it had never been a problem for them at first, at least not from what either of them had seen. But they were learning how to read each other when something was bothering them. Learning how to talk it out instead of just shut it down.