A Melody Of You

Grace

I smile as I watch my mother look after my children. She happily laughs with them and then looks after my brother's baby girl. My sister-in-law does a warm chuckle by my side and says, "Your mother seems to be getting much better."

I give her a nod. "She sure is. I'm glad. My father's death was hard for all of us."

"How about you? Your brother complains that you never answer your phone."

I laugh at this. "Does he know I homeschool my daughter, I'm trying to potty train my son, and I'm eight months pregnant?"

She does a small laugh and nods. "He misses you. What can I do? You should pay him a visit soon."

"I will. We see each other every Sunday at church though!"

"He says it's not the same. I think he wants a one-on-one."

I turn off the faucet and scoff at her. "Really? So he hasn't grown tired of me yet? Okay then. I will show him."

She laughs and finishes putting away the last of the dishes. "You two are quite interesting siblings." She then checks her watch and gasps. "Oh my! I'm late! Mrs. Kim, I have to pick up my daughter from school. Do you mind--"

My mother waves her words away and gives her a bright smile. "Don't worry! Go! Don't go too late!"

She gives her a thankful nod and runs out. But there's a reason why I liked her so much when my brother first brought her home. She is a lot like me and I know she will come back with wide eyes when she realizes she forgot her phone and keys. So I pick them up and stay near the door to hand them to her when she runs back in. She does a thankful chuckle and gives me a quick hug before running back out.

"Mommy!" My daughter stands from lying on the ground with booklet in hand as I sit on the couch. "I'm done. Can I play with grandma now?"

"It's reading time now," I say as I look through her work. She gives me puppy eyes and my heart melts. So I give her a nod and she happily joins my mother with the babies.

My mother briefly looks at me as I sit back and close my eyes for a moment. "Would you like to take a small nap? I can look after the kids."

I hesitate but my mother knows me too well. So I give her a warm smile and stand. "Thank you, Mom. If you need any help, just shout out to me."

"Don't worry about us. You go ahead and rest, hun."

I walk into my old room with a tired sigh. I'm always taken aback every time I step into this room. It's nostalgic to walk in and see all the little things that made me into the woman I am now. I even run my hands over the small piano books with the notes for my favorite musicals. I look at the small medals for each performance I did and at the posters that hold a piece of my heart. I lay on my very first bed and let a smile slip on my lips.

It's always so good to be home...

My large belly begins to move and I do a small chuckle as I run my hand on my little girl's strong kicks. "Comfortable, isn't it? I know. I loved being here. Someday...you can see this room, too. Perhaps...you may even be a ballerina like I once was!"

She responds with a series of strong kicks that make me wince, but I still chuckle. "I like the thought of that, too."

With the silence of my old memories in this room and the movements of my little ballerina, I am put in a deep sleep. However, my sleep is interrupted by the vibrating sound of my phone in my pocket. It startles the baby and she gives me a kick that makes me jump.

"Calm down now," I say with a groan as I sit up and take the phone out of my pocket. While grumpiness tries to set in, I can't help but smile when I see that it is my husband.