Ellen's POV
The moving truck pulls up to the curb of our new house. The house is nice. Very big. There's two whole floors! And a pool!
My bedroom has already been painted a pretty pink and decorated with princess stuff. So I guess it'll be pretty cool living here.
I'm afraid of starting school though. All of my preschool friends are still back in Boston and I'm stuck here.
I look at the houses near my house. They look similar to mine.
"Here you go sweetie." my daddy says, handing me my box of barbies. I smile as I receive the box and put it on the sidewalk. I dig through it, trying to find my new Barbie that mommy got me yesterday.
I pull out the blonde haired toy along with her boyfriend, Ken. My imagination starts to conjure up new adventures that Ken and Barbie can go on. Skateboarding down the side of a mountain, skydiving, maybe even attend a royal ball!
Once I start playing, a small pair of shoes appears to the right of my line of view. I look up to see who the shoes belong to and see a young boy with curly black hair and glasses. He smiles, showing his two missing front teeth.
"Hey. Where did your teeth go?" I ask him curiously.
"The tooth fairy got them." he tells me.
"The what?"
"The tooth fairy. You've never heard of the tooth fairy?"
I shake my head no, my two braids flopping onto my back.
"I still gots all my teeth." I tell him, pointing to my teeth.
"When one of your tooths falls out, the tooth fairy comes to take it and gives you money or candy." he tells me.
"Woah. Candy?" I ask, excitedly. He nods.
"Did you just move here?" he asks, pointing to my house. I nod.
"Yeah. My bedroom is pink! Like the color of my ribbons." I tell him, showing him the bows tied to the ends of my braids. He makes a face.
"Pink is for girls."
"Nuh uh! Pink is pretty. Boys can like pink too."
"No. Boys like blue. Because it's a boy color."
"Nuh uh! Girls can like blue too!" I say.
"No way! Girls have coodies!"
"No! I like blue and I don't have coodies." I say, my eyes filling with tears.
"Yes you do! All girls do."
I start crying at his accusation. I look at his face and see that he looks sad.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it. Please don't cry." he says, patting my shoulder. I stop crying and look at him again. The boys at my preschool were never this nice to me.
"I'm Patrick. I live right there." he says, pointing at the house next to us. "If you don't cry, I'll let you come over and play on my playground." he says.
"Okay." I say, getting up and grabbing the two barbies I had abandoned. I put them in my veggie tales backpack and slide it over my shoulders.
"What's your name?" he asks.
"Ellen." I say quietly. He leads me to his backyard, opening the gate and holding it for me.
I walk through and stare at the giant playground with a tube slide and a sand box.
"You wanna play in my tree house?" he asks. I shrug.
He walks toward a large tree with a ladder. We climb up it and enter the secret house.
I open my bag and take out the two barbies.
"You wanna play with me?" I ask him. He looks at the barbies for a long time before saying, "It's a girls game."
"I won't tell anyone. Please?" I ask. I slide the boy Barbie toward him and he slowly picks it up.
I smile and tell him about my ideas for the barbies. We discuss the possible adventures very deeply. Debating which idea would be more adventurous. In the end, we decide on jumping off of cliffs into the ocean to swim with dolphins and dragons.
We play in the tree house until Patrick's parents call him in for dinner. He hands me the Barbie.
"Thanks for playing with me Patty." I say smiling.
"I had fun. Wanna do this tomorrow too?" he asks. I quickly nod and grab my backpack. I hesitate.
"Patty?" I ask softly.
"Yeah Ellie?"
"Do you mind if I leave my barbies here?"
"Nope. This tree house can be ours to share. But no one else is allowed up here. Okay?" I nod and smile at him.
I set my backpack down and we carefully climb down the ladder.
"Goodnight, Patty."
"Goodnight, Ellie."
I walk out of their backyard and run home, excited about my new best friend.
I walk inside and see my parents pacing the house. My mom spots me and rushes toward me, sweeping me up into her arms.
"Oh Ellen. Where did you go? We were so worried! Joseph, I found her!" she shouts to my dad. Daddy runs down the stairs and grabs me from my mothers arms.
"Ellen, don't ever wander off okay? You don't know the neighborhood. It's dangerous!" he says sternly. I nod my head and he kisses my forehead.
"Kathleen. Time to take your pain medicine." my dad says to my mom. She sighs and nods.
My dad takes me upstairs to start a bath for me.
"So where did you wander off to, pencil?" he asks, using the nickname that my sister, Maureen, gave me.
"The boy next door has a tree house. We played up there."
"Ah, and what is this boy's name?"
"Patrick." I take off my pink dress and slip off my underwear as daddy removed the ribbons from my hair and places me in the bathtub.
"Daddy can I have a Barbie please?" I ask. He reaches into my bath time toy box and retrieves a mermaid Barbie.
"Thank you. Daddy?"
"Yes princess?"
"Do girls have coodies?" I ask. He laughs.
"No sweetie. Boys do."
"Oh. But Patty told me that girls do."
"He was just being silly, El."
I play with my mermaid doll while my daddy washes my hair. He picks me up and carries me out of the bathtub to dry me off. I slip on my pajamas and run to mommy's bedroom with the hairbrush.
"Mommy! Time to brush my hair!" I shout as I jump onto her bed. She smiles at me and slips off her reading glasses, placing them beside her book on the nightstand.
Gently, she pulls the brush through the tangles in my hair while humming a soft lullaby.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, darling?" she says softly.
"If boys have coodies, and you and daddy are married, then do you have coodies too?" I ask her.
"Well honey, if you truly love the boy and he loves you back, then the coodies go away. They disappear."
"Oh."
"All done El. Do you want daddy to tuck you in?" she asks.
"Can you do it this time?"
She smiles at me and nods, getting out of bed. She picks me up and carries me to my room. Once she tucks me into bed, she kneels on the ground beside me.
"Close your eyes El." she instructs me. I do as she says.
"Heavenly Father, I thank you for this beautiful day you have given us. I pray for Ellen as she sleeps tonight. Keep away bad dreams and help her sleep peacefully through the night." she pauses in her prayer before instructing me once again, "El, your turn."
I recite the bedtime prayer that I know by heart.
"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen." I say quietly.
"Amen." my mommy repeats. "Thank you Ellen. Goodnight. I love you." she says before placing a kiss on my forehead.
"Night mommy. Love you."
She turns on the nightlight and shuts off the main light before closing the door behind her.
Once the door is closed, I hop out of bed and open my window. I look up at the stars and breathe in the fresh air.
"Ellie?" I hear Patrick say. I look at the house that my window faces. I see Patrick leaning out of his window that is directly across from mine.
"Hi Patty!" I whisper, smiling.
"What are you doing up?" he asks.
"I like to look at the stars."
"Why?" he asks curiously.
"It's just strange how large the sky is and how brightly the stars shine once the sun is gone. Where do you think they go during the day time?" I ask.
"You're very smart, Ellie." he says smiling.
"Patty, do you believe in God?"
"Hm. I don't know. I don't think so. My parents have never mentioned him."
"Oh. Patty guess what my mommy told me today."
"What did she tell you?" he asks.
"She told me about coodies and how they work."
"Well how do they work?" he asks.
My bedroom door opens and my daddy walks in.
"Ellen Kathleen Pompeo. Why are you out of bed?"
I turn back to Patrick.
"I'll tell you tomorrow, Patty. I gotta go. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Ellie."
I shut my door and jump into bed. I pull my covers up to my chin and smile innocently at daddy.
"You were talking to your friend?" he asks, looking out my window.
"No. I was in bed." I say cheekily. He smirks at me and I giggle.
"Okay. I'll pretend that you were. As long as you promise not to get out of bed again. Okay?" he asks. I nod. "Goodnight Ellie."
"Goodnight daddy." He kisses my forehead and walks out. I close my eyes and think about the stars.
***
"Ellen. Wake up, sweetie." I open my eyes and see my daddy sitting on my bed. I sit up and push my hair back.
"Your mommy and I have to go to work. But the young neighbor girls have agreed to watch you today. Alicia and Mary."
I recognize the names as Patrick's sisters. I jump out of bed and run to my closet.
"Can I dress myself today daddy?" I ask.
"I guess so. I'm going to start the bath. Come to the bathroom when you're ready." he says, leaving my room.
I pick out a pretty pink dress with monkeys on it. The bottom of the dress poofs out like a tutu.
I run to the bathroom with my dress in hand.
"Daddy I'm gonna wear this one!" I tell him holding it up proudly.
"Very pretty."
"Do you think Patty will like it?"
He chuckles.
"Yes darling. He will."
I wash off quickly with a little help from daddy. Once I dry off, I slip my underwear on and pull my dress over my head.
I run to my mommy's room with the hair brush.
"Mommy! Time to brush my hair!" I say running to her bathroom.
She smiles and sits me on the stool in front of the mirror.
"You look beautiful El. What do you want to do with your hair today?"
"A ponytail with a bow, pwease." I say.
She gently brushes my hair and hums a tune. Once she ties it with a ribbon, she helps me off of the stool.
"Daddy is going to walk you over. I'll see you soon, Princess." she says, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
I run downstairs and slip on my pink flats.
"Daddy can we go?" I ask impatiently. He jogs down the stairs and holds his hand out for me.
I grab it and we cross the yard and knock on Patrick's door.
A young girl with curly black hair opens the door.
"Hi Mary." I say waving. She smiles.
"Hey, El. Patrick is still sleeping in his room upstairs." she says, opening the door wider to let me in.
I run through the house and up the stairs. I find his room and quietly open it. The walls are painted dark blue with glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. His bedsheets match his walls and have rocket ships on it.
I crawl into his bed and start to shake him.
"Patty." I whisper. "Get up and play with me." He groans and rolls over, sitting up. He sees me and smiles.
"Hi Ellie."
"Get up so we can play!" I tell him. He gets out of bed in his pajamas.
"You gotta get out so I can change. Mommy says that no one is allowed to watch me undress."
I leave the room and wait outside of his door. A couple minutes later, he opens it, fully clothed and we run outside to play.
