In My Shoes
Chapter 1
Our second morning in Moonlight Falls was uneventful. After expressing his unhappiness at our low amount of funds, Shawn set to work on a large canvas. The easel came from our college dorm room, and looking at the (cheap) wooden structure reminded me of our happy, carefree times back then.
I set off to teach our daughter to walk. I may just sound like a nurturing mother, but she really does get the hang of things very quickly. She was able to walk a few steps without falling only a half hour after the "lesson" had begun.
Just before noon, the contents of Ashlee's diaper had introduced themselves to my nostrils, and she was shrieking with hunger, refusing to go a step farther. After feeding her and changing the disgusting diaper, I had a quick plate of autumn salad.
After finishing his painting, Shawn joined me briefly before I set off teaching Ashlee to talk. However, the late night I had had before caught up with me, and I only managed to teach her a few words before my eyelids began to droop.
"Shawn, can you please take care of Ashlee? I think I need to retire early."
"Sure, honey. Go off to bed," was his sweet reply. And after a kiss on the cheek, I did, in fact, drift off.
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Over the next couple of days, we fell into a nice, simple routine.
Shawn cooks often, as I take care of Ashlee in the morning, and neither of us want to wait until eleven to eat breakfast. He's especially good at pancakes and waffles, although I prefer macaroni and cheese (he likes pancakes the best).
Everyday, I made sure to take care of the small garden in the back yard. The house had come with a few small Red Valerian plants, and a fully grown apple tree. The tree bore juicy, brick-red apples, while the Red Valerian flowers were highly fragrant and beautiful. A tomato plant and a few more Red Valerians joined the bunch shortly after.
Taking care of the bees in the beehouse we had purchased also took a few minutes. Smoking, cleaning, and feeding the bees were very important. However, the hard work paid off - the honey was sweet-tasting, but not so much that I wasn't able to drink it pure!
Shawn spent his afternoons at the junkyard ("Scrap yard," he'd insist) rummaging through piles of, well,
junk, to find scrap. The Theatre had called him late last night asking for scrap, and he's been obsessed with collecting more. "It'll be useful for when we have enough to buy my Workbench," is his mantra.
The days quickly approach the high-80s in the late afternoons, and I may or may not have bought an ice cream cone to enjoy on one of those days. What? It was very good - strawberry ice cream with sprinkles on a sugar cone can never fail to please me.
When it slowly turns to evening, I'm able to let Ashlee quietly play with her dollhouse or Rags, while I read in the nursery. It's nice not being busy all the time, but I miss the social aspect of college - and school itself, really. You only have so many books to read in a few days. Ashlee doesn't care though. She's perfectly content ripping the heads off of her dolls and smashing them together. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not.
The toilet and sinks around the house have already acquired coats of grime, and I make sure that the house is neat before I use any of the appliances. I'm not a neat freak, but if you think about it, if you use a dirty toilet, you're
using a dirty toilet.
Potty-training Ashlee wasn't fun, and stunk the entire house for hours, but a sense of pride stole through me when she learned the final skill of toddlerhood.
Shawn stood right behind me, and as I turned to see the presence over my shoulder, he pulled me close into a loving kiss. Looking into each other's eyes, we didn't need words to express our amazement at the life we had created together almost five years before.
Shawn and I have an unusually strong love for each other. I always thought that we were a perfect match for each other. We both have a tendency towards...not-so-good doings, and we both are eco-conscious of our surroundings. This may explain why we ended up making out in the nursery, which led to...other things, if you know what I mean!
We've recently experienced a full moon, and I swear that I heard a wolf howl at six o'clock sharp. I had been outside gardening (pretty late, at maybe nine) and I heard a strange noise and felt a presence behind me...oh, I didn't stick around. I burst inside and sat on the couch, heart pounding.
Something is different about Moonlight Falls.
Author's Note: This is a slightly different writing style, which you may have noticed. Let me know which you like better.
