Bloom

A Mother and Her Children

"If I remember correctly, Father said it was supposed to be a beautiful day today." Gardenia smirked as she finished wringing her hair, flipping it over her shoulder's as she came to stand by Adeline.

"Father is not a forecaster, Gardenia," Adeline smiled weakly, glancing at the sky once more when a rumble of thunder shook the gazebo.

"How long will this storm last? It seems to be never ending!" Gardenia complained as more rain pelted the roof of the gazebo, the surrounding trees drooping under the weight of their dripping blossoms.

"Hush! Look," Adeline pointed several yards away, at the edge of a thicket, where a doe was cautiously poking her head out of the underbrush.

Her ears were erect, twitching in different directions at any sound. The rain became a light drizzle as she moved one long leg forward, stepping onto the Williams's property. She paused, turning her head to look straight at Adeline and Gardenia. Her deep brown, nearly black colored, eyes peered at the girl's with curiosity as her ears twitched again.

"What is she doing, Addie?" Gardenia mumbled under her breath as the doe continued to stare at them.

"Watch," was Adeline's terse reply as the doe turned her head away from them, looking back into the thicket. Slowly, two fawns crept out of the thicket, their gangly forms and bright white spots contrasting drastically with the greening landscape.

"She has children!" Gardenia squeaked, her face openly displaying her shock and fascination.

"Yes, quite charming, are they not?" Adeline murmured, sitting down on the stool as she picked up a paint brush, dipping it in brown as she began to outline the doe's body.

"Are you painting them?" Adeline smiled at Gardenia's question, painting the mother's head and ears.

"Why yes, they would make a stunning painting, do you not think so?" The doe moved her head towards Adeline's direction, her dark eyes innocent and calm. The fawn's followed their mother's line of vision, their eyes vibrant with anxiousness and endless energy. The doe looked down at her children, briefly nuzzling them with her head before she continued her journey through the vibrant spring surroundings.

"Oh no," Gardenia flushed,"they do make a stunning painting."

"Addie! Gardenia!" Iris came barreling through the crabapple blossoms, the branches shaking violently as water was sprayed in nearly every direction. The doe's head turned sharply towards Iris's running form as the mother turned around and sprang back towards the forest, her white tail flashing in the air. Hurriedly, her fawns followed her as quickly as they could, their exit less graceful.

Iris, out of breath and wet from the drizzling rain and dripping branches, clamored up the gazebo steps as they screeched in protest. "Father and Mother have been worried sick searching for you two."

"How did you find us?" Adeline asked without looking at Iris, her eyes still fixed on the spot where the doe and her fawns had disappeared.

"How did I? Lewis. He told me," Iris gasped for air, "that you were painting here so I assumed that Gardenia would be with you as well." She leaned up against the gazebo's railing, clutching her heaving chest.

"You frightened the deer," Gardenia glowered at Iris.

"How was I to know you two were gawking at deer? Father and Mother are waiting for us. Come on!" Iris began walking down the gazebo steps as Gardenia slowly followed behind.

Adeline surveyed her painting, noting that all she had been able to paint was the mother's brown form. The landscape was white behind the doe, her fawns not having even been outlined yet. She huffed in irritation, deciding that even though it was not her best work, she would name it none the less.