Taking Chances

Twenty nine

"... When I tell you I nearly had a heart attack... Argh... I shudder even at just the memory of it..." I shake my head trying to erase the memory of Anna scaring me as I finish telling Zhoya about the Anna Saga.

It's a Friday evening and we are at my apartment.

I see the mirth in her eyes before her body collapses on my lap and I feel her body shaking before she bursts out into the loudest laughter I have ever heard from her.

She lifts her head still laughing. Her sweet laughter wafts throughout my apartment and I wish I could put it inside a jar that I would open on the days I feel low.  

"I... I'm... I'm... So sorry, but this is so fu.. f.. funny..." She gasps in between breaths trying to stop laughing.

By now tears of laughter are streaming down her cheeks as she tries to stop laughing.

I would let that cat scare me all over again if it means I get to see her laugh like this when I tell her about it.

I am just looking at her with amusement, trying to figure out how that cat scaring me like that is in anyway funny... I guess she and Sam have the same sense of humour.

About ten minutes later she calms down and goes into the kitchen and comes back with a glass of water. Her body dehydrated from all the laughter.

She looks at me once and breaks into a fit of laughter again. Some of the water spills and she shakily puts the glass of water on the coffee table. She falls onto the couch and starts laughing all over again! I can't help but join her.

After a series of breaking out into fits of laughter she finally calms down again. She drinks her water and looks at me... Barely containing herself from breaking out into laughter all over again.

Wow... I suppose this evening is an evening of laughter.

"Oh baby... I had never laughed till tears leaked out of my eyes before... I didn't even know I could laugh till tears came out of my eyes..." She says her voice hoarse from all the laughter.

"How is it any funny?" I muse

She laughs again.

"Everything... From how you jumped, to you being so scared of a little kitten... To the fight about Anna's pronouns... And the way the cat just went back under the chair aft.. a... After scaring you like that..." She finishes off laughing again!

"Well at least there are people finding joy out of the whole ordeal... Finding joy out of my trauma..." I sigh

Her body shakes with hidden laughter. "Okay I'm sorry mama..." She says brushing my arm trying to pacify me...

I roll my eyes.

Moments later she is lying on the couch, her head on my lap. Her face flushed with redness from her laughing session. I run my hand through her hair watching the news as she tells me about her week and a basketball game she has with her colleagues tomorrow.

"You are so beautiful, you know that?" I softly tell her

She lifts her Tee to hide her face with it and in the process showing her lean belly. I chuckle at her shyness and lower my head and peck her showing stomach.

"Stoooop..." She giggles

I focus my eyes on the news playing on the TV and continue to stroke her hair. I feel her shifting to watch the news with me.

After a few moments she talks softly. "It feels strange hearing you call me beautiful... I don't remember being called beautiful for the most part of my life... The girls at the orphanage used to say that I looked like a boy. I assumed it meant I wasn't pretty..." She ends with a small chuckle