Before we had dropped off to sleep the previous night, I texted mom to let her know that we didn't expect breakfast every morning.
Sophie and I slept in, until the angry orange sky-ball growled that we were sleeping the day away.
We got up, showered together, and hit our favorite drive-thru for a late breakfast.
My sister texted me to say that she was tied up at work and couldn't get away to go visit Alan's day care. She was supposed to be the story reader and take snacks. Sophie said we'd go. I asked my sibling what snacks we should grab and we ran by the store.
An hour later, we pulled up to the church where a bunch of kids were playing in a fenced-in yard. I handed Sophie her cane and grabbed the snacks. She growled at me but took her hateful crutch. Then she held it in her hand and stuck her finger in my back-pocket, trailing behind me as we walked over to the play-yard.
"Aunt Sophie!" Alan yelled, recognizing us.
"Don't mind me, dear nephew, I'm just the seeing-eye horn-dog," I thought.
Sophie laughed, obviously reading my mind. Add ESP to her list of talents.
A few minutes later, Sophie and I were escorted inside and installed in our seats of honor, like royalty, surrounded by eager faces.
One of the teachers brought a book over.
"Ms. Johnson," Alan said, "Sophie's eyes don't work."
"I know, Alan," she replied kindly. "I brought her a special book that you read with your fingertips."
"No way!" he gasped.
"Can I see?" a freckled, redheaded cutie asked.
"I want to see!" said a little boy.
"Me too!" said another.
"Alright now," the teacher called out, preempting the rest of the voices before they could chime in. "If Ms. Sophie says it is okay, I'll have her sit on the floor with you - and you can watch her read with her fingers."
"Help me down," she whispered to me. The book was shaking in her hands.
I placed my girlfriend in the middle of the circle of fidgety youngsters - her tiny subjects. Every eye in the room was on my princess.
I pulled out my phone and took pictures as she opened the book, announced the title to them, and started reading the story.
The children would look at her face - and then at her finger, tracing its way along each line - and turn their head to ask their neighbor how she was reading with her eyes closed. There was a significant amount of shushing from the four helpers until the kids became fully entranced with the tale about a tower, a princess, and a dragon.
Once Sophie had finished the story, we moved to the tables and shared the snacks we had brought. Sophie held the tray as Alan led her around the room. He handed a snack to each of the students. I snapped a few more pictures.
Once the sugary treats started working, we had little monsters running everywhere. It was chaos - a maelstrom of giggles, shouts, and laughter. Their joy was infectious. The teachers ushered the wild mob back out to the playground. Sophie and I trailed along behind.
One little girl - who either had the highest tolerance for sugary snacks - or who just expended it in a different way, came over to ask Sophie how she could walk with her eyes closed. Sophie told her that her eyes weren't closed - they just didn't work right. The curly-headed urchin still wanted to know the answer to her question. I bumped Sophie's hand with her cane. The blind woman glared at me. I snickered and she whacked me with the despised device.
The tiny darling took Sophie by the hand and my lover walked her around the concrete sidewalk, showing her how the cane worked. The next thing I knew, the little girl had the cane in her hand, her eyes slammed shut, and she was guiding Sophie along the path - with a tiny bit of coaching. I dug out my phone and took a picture of the blind girl leading the blind girl.
They navigated the path without incident and then several other kids wanted to try it. The little blonde lass kept a hold of Sophie's left hand and coached each new student through what they should do. My princess was just along for the ride. The small blonde darling seemed a bit bossy but she actually did a good job of keeping each new navigator on-task - and keeping Sophie on her feet.
When the kids tired of that game and headed off to something else, I retrieved my lover from her curly-headed cadet, thanking the child for taking such good care of my girlfriend. She hugged Sophie's leg and ran off to join her friends.
As we got ready to leave, a couple of the teachers asked me if I could share the photos with them. I created a cloud-folder, copied the pictures into it, and texted them the link.
Each of the adults came over to thank Sophie for sharing with the kids.
As soon as we were outside, she beat me with her cane as I laughed at her. I tackled her in a hug and covered her with kisses. She growled - but finally let me taste her lips.
"You're going to be an amazing mom," I told her. ".. and my mother is gonna shit kittens when she sees all these adorable pictures. I expect sis will be over tonight to visit. Dad's bowling may get postponed again."
She bit my face as I helped her into the truck.
I sent the link for the cloud-folder to my mom & my sister and then started the truck. I hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot before they were arranging our evening.
"Will your sister be able to come to the wedding?" Sophie queried, as we headed down the road.
"We can ask tonight. Why?" I asked.
"Alan could be the ring-bearer," she suggested.
"Rey would be the flower girl?" I inquired.
"That would be cute," she agreed. "She's too young though."
"What if Alan pushed her in a stroller?" I suggested.
"My mom will be the next one shitting kittens," Sophie said. "That's perfect."
When we got to the house, I sent her mom the link - along with the text "Your daughter visited my nephew's daycare class today."
A few minutes later, I got a stream of hearts back from her.
~~~