Hidden Burdens

Conflicting Thoughts

Ben and Kimmy were the first ones to arrive at the visiting center. Because of the special occasion, there was only one lady sitting behind the desk this time instead of two. 

Ben helped carry in the drinks, but passed them off to the lady, assuring Kimmy he would be waiting outside in the truck. The lady then led Kimmy to the back room. 

Kimmy was left alone while she waited for Wilma and her family to arrive. The lady had set the drinks on the table, so Kimmy set her mother’s gift with them. She carried her soda over to the shelf of toys, setting the Styrofoam cup on the floor as she sat back on her heels. 

Kimmy scanned the various toys. They all were basic toys, including various kinds of dolls. Some of the toys even looked like they were older than her. 

A slide for toy cars caught her eye. She rose on her knees long enough to pull the toy down, along with a green car. The toy was clearly for toddlers, but something about watching the green car slide down the spiral ramp seemed to satisfy the older kid. Maybe that was why Zach loved to go down the slides whenever they visited the playground.

As Kimmy watched the green car zoom down the ramp, her mind drifted to think about Ben once more and what he had said on the way there. How kind he tried to be, and how much Ben would apologize when he wasn’t. The things he would do, no matter how small. The stuff he was teaching her.

Though she hated to admit it. Ben really was the dad Kimmy wished for hers to be. 

The door opening behind her startled the kid. She turned in time to see Zach marching in first, instantly spotting the sodas. 

Kimmy quickly grabbed her soda and shot over to beat him there, to make sure Zach grabbed the right one. Besides, if he held his own drink Zach would rip off the lid and spill the drink all over himself while chugging it down, making a huge mess in the process. It was those quirks of Zach’s that set off their mother. 

Kimmy held the drink while her brother took a long gulp of Sprite until he was satisfied and went to grab a toy to play with for the hour. 

Wilma was the only one to officially greet Kimmy and ask how she was doing, which the kid gave her a thumb’s up. The lady had come to accept any gestures Kimmy gave as long as it was some kind of response.

While Wilma got set up at the table, Kimmy passed Stella, the Pepsi. It wasn’t much of a surprise when instead of a thank-you, Stella questioned why they hadn’t gotten cherry Pepsi instead. There was an urge to remind her mom to be grateful for Ben bringing them anything at all, like Stella expected of her. She decided to keep it to herself. Instead, Kimmy nudged the gift bag with a flowery pattern closer. 

Stella pulled out the purple tissue paper John had helped Kimmy stuff inside the bag to make it look nice and presentable, sending the card Kimmy had made in school and signed both hers and Zach’s names flying into the air. When it landed face down on the table, she slid the card towards the edge so it would be easier to pick up, and looked it over. 

Mr. O’Reilly had given the students various craft supplies, including different colored construction paper, and let them make the cards any way they wanted for a simple Mother’s Day craft as a break from school work. So, Kimmy had just drawn the good-looking guy from the Final Fantasy game Stella was obsessed with. Kimmy had shown John for his opinion, who thought the card looked really good despite not knowing who the character was. But when Stella saw it, she pointed out the mistakes and how the sword was too small compared to his body and should have been longer. Kimmy knew she still needed to work on size and proportions. The least her mom could do was point out what Kimmy did right, as well, but Stella just placed the card on the table again to look inside the bag.