✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

90. Baby Steps

The other presents were all just as exciting. Tess did her best to open hers quickly, so she could get back to looking at what Ffrances had received. At the start of the day she hadn't been sure how well she would do having a baby sister, but now she was having the time of her life. Every time some little problem cropped up it felt so good to find a solution. This was satisfying in a way that went beyond the simple joy of receiving gifts. Helping someone else turned out to be a lot more fun than she'd ever expected.

There were all kinds of smaller things for them to play with. Tess started with the little boxes, because she felt like they might have some of the more interesting things in. And Ffrances did too; or perhaps she was just picking the shiny boxes that she could grasp in one hand. She was having fun either way, and Tess was sure that this was exactly what she had been looking forward to. She didn't need to think at all. Tess didn't think she could do that herself, but she could probably understand the desire well enough to find things she could say to help her little sister have the most fun ever.

That included sharing, of course. When she was helping Ffrances to open one of her presents, Tess would do as little as possible, supporting it so that Ffrances could feel like she was pulling back the paper herself. And she would peer at the box inside, giving Ffrances the cues that she should be excited, and try to guess what it was. And when Tess came to open her own presents, she would make sure that Ffrances could always see the box as it was revealed. She would mumble guesses about what it could be past the pacifier that she couldn't quite spit out; and invite her little sister to make guesses of her own. It was exciting for both of them, and being able to share every moment of joy and curiosity made it so much more enjoyable.

"You like looking at each other's toys, don't you?" Gabby commented from her armchair. She was watching while the two little ones opened their presents, and Tess was starting to get so caught up in helping Ffrances that she almost didn't notice the older girl. Now she turned to look at Gabby, and nodded excitedly. She didn't say anything; it was still hard to talk and easier to keep sucking on her pacifier, especially if she wanted to help herself feel extra little.

"That's not unusual," Gabby said. "Just shows that you're being a good sister. It's always exciting to share. And you know, sometimes little ones get even more excited about the other one's presents, and even envy them a little so you'll think about trying them. It's all part of wanting to play together."

"Yeah," Tess said, managing to speak past the pacifier this time. And then she realised that Gabby was trying to help them feel little again. Helping the little ones play. Tess thought she could tell Ffrances to feel that one, to help her get even more excited about the presents. It would help to make sure that she didn't feel left out if Tess got something that wasn't so babyish. But then she thought again, and she realised that if she was playing with the little one, those same words would help her to enjoy it more. Her thoughts were still a lot simpler than they were when she was feeling grown up, and it was really interesting that she could feel the difference, but she felt like she was super smart for realising this was a good idea.

"Yeah," she said, smiling to Gabby. "We are that little."

The next little present was a stovetop. A toy one, about the size of a box file, with a couple of rings on top with red plastic bits that flipped over when you turned a knob to give the impression of turning the heat up. It came with a couple of plastic pans about the size of a saucer, and Tess found herself laughing about how simple the design was. But it would be good enough for a kid to play with, she was sure of that much. After a moment thinking, she told Ffrances that it would be fun to play with a toy, and they could get carried away and excited, like kids learning to do the real thing.

"Wow," she mumbled, after coming up with the right words. She wasn't sure if she was doing this right; but she felt good. It was a challenge to phrase her ideas for how a child should behave in a way that wasn't confusing at all. But when she said it, she felt really proud of how well she had done. And she was sure now that this was something she wanted to do more of; making the decisions, and making sure that everything was fun for the baby.