Being Mommy

“Ty! How did you get here?” Cecilia exclaimed.

“Don’t know. Where is here?” the little dragon-fly asked.

“This is my home,” she said. Her mind was racing a mile a minute. How could the little creature from her dream follow her out of it? Now that she was back home, how could she get Ty back to his home? What would she do with him in the meantime?

Ty interrupted her thoughts. “It’s a lovely home! Is there anything here to eat?” Apparently his appetite hadn’t been affected by this sudden surprise.

“How can you think about food right now? We have to keep you hidden - my mom will freak out if she sees you!” Cecilia was frantically trying to figure out what to do next. Suddenly it dawned on her: Grandpa could help! “I need to talk to Gran–” her words were cut off by the call of her mom from across the house.

“Cecilia! Are you awake yet?”

“Yes, Mama. I’ll be right there!” she answered back. She lowered her voice to a whisper and said to the dragon-fly “Here, hide in one of my shoes for now.” She took off her Grandma’s shoes and held one up for Ty. Being of an easy-going nature, he happily complied. After climbing down into the toes of the shoe to keep himself hidden, he popped his head back out and looked at Cecilia.

“I’m really hungry… maybe just a snack?” he smiled up at her. He was so cute and sweet, she couldn’t help but smile back and giggle a little.

“I’ll go get something from the kitchen. Just stay down!” Just as she was finishing the sentence her mother walked into the room.

“Who are you talking to, honey?” her mom asked her.

“What? Oh, nobody, I was just talking to myself,” she quickly replied. “I’m hungry. Can I have a snack before dinner?”

“Sure. Have a few crackers. But don’t eat too many or you’ll spoil your dinner!”

“I won’t!” She picked up the other shoe and jumped up off the couch and headed toward the kitchen.

“Why are you taking your new shoes with you?” her mom asked.

“Oh,” she stammered, looking at the shoes. It did look a little suspicious. “I guess I’ll put them away.” With that, she turned around and walked to her bedroom, holding her breath until she had made it inside and closed the door.

“Is it safe to come out?” Ty whispered, peeking out of his hiding spot.

“Yeah, come on out,” Cecilia watched him crawl out and spring up into the air. He flew all around her room, looking carefully at everything he could see. She put the magic shoes back in their box and put the box into her closet. As she opened her closet door, Ty flew over to her and looked inside the closet.

“What’s in there?” he asked, flying a little closer and peering inside.

“Just my clothes and shoes and toys and stuff like that,” she told him. She opened the closet door all the way so he could see inside easily. Realizing there was nothing especially exciting in the closet, he resumed his inspection of the rest of the room. She was about to close the closet door, when her eyes fell on her favorite pink purse. It was small, made for a kid, and had beautiful pink, blue, and purple sequins lining the seams. The shoulder strap was made from the same pink satin material as the rest of the purse.

“This is perfect!” she exclaimed, pulling the purse out of the closet and showing it to Ty.

“It’s quite lovely, I agree,  but how is it perfect?” he gave her one of his sideways looks, tilting his head just a little. Every time he did that it made her want to laugh. He looked so confused!

“It’s a perfect hiding place for you! This way I can take you to Grandpa’s house and no one will see you!” Cecilia was so proud of herself for thinking of the purse. It truly was a perfect plan! Certainly Grandpa would be able to help her.

Ty looked at the purse and seemed to be considering her plan. After a few moments, he looked at her, smiled, and said “Alright, let’s go see Grandpa!”

She opened the purse up and held it up toward Ty. He flew onto the top, landed quietly there, and hopped inside. “Don’t close it, I need air!” he looked up at her from the purse nervously.

“Okay, but no more talking,” she answered. She gently placed the purse on her shoulder and opened the door to the hallway. She peeked out and yelled “Mom! Can I go to Grandpa’s house?” Grandpa only lived down the street and she rode her bike to his house all the time.

“Is your room clean?” her mom asked.

“Yes!” she yelled back.

“Alright, but be back by six o’clock for dinner!”

She looked back down at the purse and made sure that Ty was well hidden, then opened her door fully and walked as quietly as she could toward the front door. Luckily she didn’t cross paths with anyone on her way there. At the front door, she slipped on her sneakers quickly and made her way outside.

Her bicycle was leaned up against the house just outside the garage door. It was a pretty bike: glittery purple with a lavender banana seat and a little white wicker basket tied to the handlebars. A plastic flower was attached to the front of the basket. Whenever she rode her bike around the neighborhood, she always felt like something special.

But today, her feelings were mixed. She definitely felt special; she knew that nobody else had a dragon-fly hiding in their purse! But she also felt a little panicked still. She was responsible for Ty now and she had to get him home. What she couldn’t understand was why Ty wasn’t nervous. He seemed to be having a great time! She looked down at him again, and found him sitting in the purse, inspecting the zipper with great interest. What a strange creature he was!

Suddenly she decided that if Ty wasn’t going to worry, then neither would she. Grandpa would have a solution for them, she just knew it.

Now that she felt a little better, she grabbed her bicycle and hopped on, careful not to shake Ty around too much. She gently placed her purse in the basket, and just as gently began peddling. She rode out onto the street after checking for traffic and headed toward Grandpa’s house.

Within minutes she was there. She slowed to a stop, again making sure not to make too many harsh movements for Ty’s sake. She leaned the bike up against Grandpa’s house and picked up her purse. She saw that Ty was looking up at her and smiling. She smiled back, and then put the purse on her shoulder. She walked up to the front door and knocked.

After a moment the door opened. Grandpa’s eyes lit up like they always did when she showed up to visit.

“Cecilia! Give me a hug!” Grandpa exclaimed, holding out his arms. His look changed when she didn’t immediately run into his arms like she usually did. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked with a worried look on his face.

She was about to ask if she could come inside and talk to him when a little voice piped up from just below her elbow.

“Milton! How are you? I haven’t seen you in years!”

Cecilia looked down at Ty, then back up to Grandpa. Grandpa’s eyes lit up again and his smile returned as he saw Ty sitting in her purse.

“Ty, my good man! It has been a long time!” Grandpa replied to the little dragon-fly.

The look on Cecilia’s face must have made her confusion quite obvious, because Grandpa quickly put his arm around her and said “Come on in, honey. It’s time to have a little talk. I have so much to tell you!”

She walked into Grandpa’s house, still confused but also excited to know that Grandpa would be able to help her.