This short fic is inspired by a wonderful piece of Dresden Files art drawn by the amazing @drawsdenfiles after I requested some wholesome domestic art. This short fic is to serve, also, as a Thank You to this artist. So without further ado, here’s; Read-A-Long:
You know what the worst part about getting a cool limited edition hardcover book with a fancy sleeve is? If something gets on the paper sleeve or if it tears then it’s all ruined. That sucks. It extra sucks when your parents get you that copy. What you end up having to do as a result is take off the paper sleeve, place it nicely on your desk safely in your room, read the book wherever you go whenever you can, then when you’re done put the sleeve back on and put the book back.
It’s a lot of work to keep it in a nice condition. You know? My parents say I shouldn’t worry too much about it, that it would be okay, but it looked super cool and I didn’t wanna wreck it. The book was a cool limited edition version of The Hobbit, and with the sleeve off the hardback was all purple. I would’ve preferred red, but purple is okay. I guess.
I was sitting on the couch in the living room just about to finish the first chapter when Mom came into the room. Most people when they look at the two of us give a double take before shrugging it off. Probably because there were zero physical similarities to us. Aside from my height. She had golden blonde hair to my dark brown and bright blue eyes to my…well, dark brown. Her skin was much lighter than mine, and she was wearing her pajama pants and an orange polo shirt. Mister the cat was in her arms and he was purring up a storm. Mister really liked Mom. Her name was Karrin Murphy, and she wasn’t my biological mom, but she wiped my tears when I cried, encouraged me when I wasn’t feeling confident, and always told me she loved me. So, to me, she was my mom.
Dad and I had been living with her for a year before I started calling her that though, and that was just about a month or so ago. I mostly waited so long because I was nervous about what she’d think or if it’d upset Dad. Like usual I had been worried over nothing, although they both cried. I think Dad still misses my bio-mom sometimes. I didn’t remember her too much, and whenever I tried my head hurt.
“Hey, sweetpea,” Mom said when she saw me. Her voice was very soft and soothing. It wasn’t like that all the time. Sometimes she can get really firm and sound like an action hero, like Dad does, but there are times like right now when her voice sounds like a lullaby. “You reading the book we got you?”
“Yes ma’am,” I said. Then something occurred to me and I quickly added. “I finished my homework first!”
Mom gave me a look with her blue eyes that made me feel warm and fuzzy. “Baby, it would be okay if you hadn’t. Just as long as you finish your homework on time. It’s okay to take breaks.”
I smiled and tapped my leg a little. “Do you wanna join me?”
“Sure, honey,” she said. “Your father should be home from the storage soon with Bonnie. Then he can join us, too.”
Mom sat down next to me and Mouse got up from where he had been lying by my feet. He stalked over to her knees and rested his chin there. Mister did the cat equivalent of frowning at him, but never stopped purring. I think he was too busy loving the preening Mom was giving him to care about Mouse. Mom scratched behind my dog’s ears and he started wagging his tail against the coffee table.
I opened my book to read it again, but…there was something I wanted to do. Dad did it for me a bunch usually, but I hadn’t asked Mom to do it yet.
She could tell something was up so she asked what was wrong.
“Do you wanna read with me?” I asked.
She blinked. Then smiled. “Sure, Honey, I’m not sure my voices will be as good as your dad’s though.”
I snorted a little. “That’s okay, Mom. Having you read with me is just as fun.”
The same thing that happened just then was what had been happening whenever I called her that lately. Her smile became something so nice that I thought she looked like an angel, and her blue eyes sparkled in such a way I thought she’d cry. Not because she was sad, that looked very different from this.
“You’re right, Maggie. It is just as fun.” She scootched closer, something that was much easier to do now that she had her casts off, and looked over down at the book. “Where do I start?”
I pointed. “Right here. They’re describing dragons.”
“Ah,” Mom noted. “Okay, do you want me to read this part? Or do you?”
“I’ll do it,” I said confidently. And I was. I remembered what voice I liked from the cartoon I watched with Dad. Mom and I traded roles as we went, the voice she picked for Gandalf made me giggle. Which just made her exaggerate it more. We were just getting into the second chapter, when I heard the front door unlock.
We stopped reading to watch Dad walk into the house holding his staff in one hand and his keys in the other. He shut the door, unloaded the backpack he was wearing and put his cool cape-like coat—I forget what they’re called, but I know I’ve heard them say it a bunch of times— on the coat rack.
“Hello, ladies,” He said, pausing when he saw us. “Whatcha dooooin’?”
“Reading The Hobbit,” I said, and I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice. “Mom’s even doing some of the voices with me.”
Dad gave Mom one of those cheeky looks he gives her all the time. “Oh really?”
“Yeah,” Mom said, then thrust her chin up, “And I think I’m doing pretty well.”
“Oh well now this I gotta see,” Dad laughed. He pulled a wooden skull with a pink bow on its…uh…head out of his backpack. The eye sockets had glowing green flames for eyes and they scanned the room until they fell on me.
“Maggie!” My sister said.
“Hey, Bonnie! Wanna come read The Hobbit with us?”
“Yes,” She said very simply. A lot of things were simple for her. That’s why Dad had started taking her to his storage unit. Mom said he used to have some kind of lab, but it burnt down, so he uses an old storage unit that he owned back before he saved me as his new lab. It was there that Dad had been working on his wizard stuff and teaching Bonnie.
Some lessons could be taught at home, some were done at the unit.
Dad sat down on my left and he rested his hand on Mouse’s head. The big teddy bear panted and wagged his tail.
“And Bonnie goes…” He placed Bonnie on my head where she, somehow, remained still and balanced, while he stretched his long arm to rest it on Mom’s shoulder. They made eye contact and that fuzzy warm energy filled the air between them. I don’t know if it’s because my Dad is a wizard that I could feel that or if that’s normal. Either way, it was clear how much they loved each other. Mom even started blushing.
“So, where were y’all?” Dad asked.
Dad’s already present smile widened. “Aaah, Roast Mutton. Get ready for my expert voicework.”
Mom blew a raspberry. “Who says you’re doing it? Maybe I’m the new voice master.”
“Maybe we can all do it?” I asked.
Dad pursed his lips. “That sounds like an amazing idea.”
“What about me?” Bonnie asked.
“I have an idea,” Mom said. “Bonnie, honey, why don’t you bring the atmosphere?”
“Well, I’ll do the narration, and whenever I describe a scene, Bonnie, you will create the audio. The sounds, like we’ve practiced,” Dad said. “Okay?”
Dad did the narration in his normal voice, but whenever the dwarves showed up he did a gravely voice that had a hint of an accent. Mom tried to do the same and Dad’s eyes bugged out of his head. I don’t think he’d ever heard her make voices like that. It looked like he fell in love all over again. When Dad got around to describing Bilbo discovering the trolls camp, I could suddenly hear it. Like actually hear it. The rustling of trees and the burning of a campfire. Even the stomps of the trolls.
I couldn’t help but gasp and tried to look up at Maggie with my eyes. “That’s amazing, Bonnie!”
“Very good job, Bonnie,” Mom said.
We continued through the chapter, with Dad reading for the troll named William, I read for Tom and Mom read for Bert. It was a lot of fun going through the chapter together. I don’t think about it often, but sometimes I think about how sad I used to be. I used to cry about it, but Mom and Dad sat me down once and told me that we all go through hard times, and bad things can happen to any of us. But what was important was where I was now, and what I would do with the joy I had in my heart and the time I’ve been given.
I think spending that time with my family was the best way I could possibly spend it.
The art that inspired the piece:
