Page 104 of Three Not-So-Little Words
I'm not quite sure how to describe the look on her face. She looks surprised and somehow honored.
“You did that forme?" She asks.
Instead of directly answering her, I say, "Colton, why don't you see if Ronnie wants to sit down at the table, so you can show her what you got?”
Immediately, he grabs Ronnie's hand and leads her to a chair. She looks completely confused but just goes with it. She stares at me, silently asking what's going on, but I give her no hints.
First, he walks to the couch and brings back a fuzzy blanket with Spiderman on it and the giant teddy bear his grandma got him. He's barely able to carry both of them at once.
Pushing them into Ronnie's hands, he tells her, "Here's a blanket so you don't get cold, and a stuffy so you don't get scared.”
"Whoa! That's awesome! Thanks, little dude."
Without replying, he runs over to the coffee table and returns with two action figures. "And here are some toys for you to play with."
In typical Ronnie fashion, her quick, witty response comes out almost immediately. “I love toys! I brought some of my own."
"Superheroes?"
"I like to think so!"
She doesn't quite get her jokes won't quite land with a six-year-old…until he says, "Can I see them?"
The tip of her tongue licks her top lip as she tries to think of an answer. "Maybe later. They are... tired.... from doing all of their good work."
Nice save.
"Maybe we can play with them tomorrow," Colton says,
"Sounds great," Ronnie agrees.
I jump in. "Colton also made sure we were stocked up on some of your favorite snacks, and we ordered your favorite Chinese food for dinner.”
“I feel honored," she says,
“And just one more thing."
Colton looks confused, so I gesture to the kitchen counter, and he quickly remembers and goes to grab the flowers. He comes back and hands Ronnie the giant bouquet.
Her eyes light up. " You got me flowers?"
Colton excitedly nods.
It isn't often that I see Ronnie show some raw emotion. She's usually all sass and confidence. But in this moment, she wears her emotions all over her face.
Staring at the bouquet, she says, "No one has ever given me flowers before."
"Never?" I ask.
She still doesn't look at me. "No. Never."
Colton says, "My mom used to love flowers."
One thing I always tried to instill in Colton was the urge to take care of and support his mom. She was a saint, and I wanted him to recognize that. So, whenever I would take him back home, we would bring her flowers.
Every time.
Colton's statement pulls Ronnie out of her thoughts.
