Game Theory × NH

nine months of hell

Lynn

Little Jemma Layton was the cutest thing in the world. She had striking red hair pulled into two ponytails like her mother's and the brightest blue eyes in the world like her father's. The freckles on her chubby cheeks against her ivory skin extend to her neck and down her arms and tummy and all the way to her toes. She was only two-years-old and already loved taking advantaged of her new ability to walk and make sure to get into every kind of mess she possibly could.

"Jemma Ann, get your little butt over here!" I shouted.

Right then, Jemma pulled on the edge of my makeup bag and I watched helplessly as everything inside came crashing down on the floor at her little feet.

Jemma just looked at the mess with wide eyes. "Uh-oh."

Kneeling down on the floor, I sighed and grabbed the makeup bag. "Yeah, uh-oh."

I started picking up the brushes and eyeliners and dropping them into the bag. Not even a moment later, Jemma started doing the same. One by one, she helped me clean up her mess and that tiny bit of anger I might have felt, instantly disintegrated.

"You're a little villain," I told her with a laugh. "But it's really hard to get mad at you when you're so darn cute."

After we cleaned everything up, I picked her up and headed down the hallway to the living room. I looked at the clock on the far wall and saw that it was shortly after six in the evening. Jamie and Jace told me that they would be back by seven, so that meant I have a whole hour left of running around the house to keep her out of trouble.

"What's she getting into now?" Niall asked from the couch. "Seems like she's gotten into everything, what else is left?"

"My makeup, apparently" I told him. "What are you watching?"

Niall looked back at the TV. "I'm not even sure, I'm channel surfing right now."

I rounded the couch and motioned for him to scoot over. I sat Jemma on my lap as Niall continued to flip through the different networks, finally landing on an animated movie that Jemma got excited about. She settled between the two of us and stared at the TV as the talking animals took her full attention. Minutes turned into a half hour and the next thing I knew the three of us were lying on the couch, half asleep and snuggling close.

Just then, the front door opened and stepped in Jace and Jamie. The moment Jemma saw her parents, she sat up with a huge smile splitting across her lips and her arms went up in the air.

"There she is!" Jamie shouted, walking the length of the room to her daughter. She grabbed her from our laps and propped her against her hip. "Seeing your smile always makes my day better."

"How was the date?" I asked, sitting up on the couch.

"Horrible," Jace grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "We were about to go check out the botanical garden when it started pouring."

Jemma rubbed her eyes and pointed to the door, clearly stating she was tired and ready to go. "Alright, baby," Jamie soothed. "Let's go and put you to bed. You've had a long day, haven't you?"

"Wait, before you go," Niall interrupted and walked up to them. "Jemma, what's the best football team in the world?"

She blinked at him for a moment and looked from her mom to her dad before going back to Niall. "Iwerwand," she said through a tired voice.