Yesterday evening I received a call from The Handsome Prince. He was heading to C.C. Slaughter's and asked if I would join him. He mentioned he had also tried to reach Hot Toddy to no avail. Personally, I knew Hot Toddy was entertaining a certain Pony in The Vortex and probably wouldn't be taking any calls.
I was amidst trying to get dinner on the table for a certain Aries I know and love. You may (or may not) know the drill. It's the what's-for-dinner question every night at which point I take a breath and prepare myself for the struggle that ensues. "I'm baking chicken." "Chicken. . . oh maaan. Why do we have to eat chicken?" "Because we're hungry?" "Mahhhhm, that's not what I mean and you know it." "Chicken is good." "No it's not. Why can't I have McDonalds?" "McDonalds, good gawd, you can't eat McDonalds every night." (c'mon, Mom - you've got to do better than that). "I'll bet I can eat McDonalds every night." "Auburn Aries, it wouldn't be good for you." "Who cares, tonight, chicken is yucky."
Moving on.
We ate dinner (I guess when you compare eating chicken Mom made against eating, say, NOTHING, chicken isn't so bad), and then I called AAries' Fairy Godmother to see if she was up for a little visit while I head off to have
I was greeted with a big smile from THP. We sat and talked for a bit and resolved some "grown up" things. Or maybe I made matters worse...hmm... in any case, we did it over a couple of drinks and in an adult (pornographic) atmosphere. Good talks are done best without being asked where ones' Barbie is at or if the latest piece of artwork is pretty. I only had about an hour so the visit was somewhat brief.
The Math Whiz joined us and the three of us left. I was going to give the boys a ride home once I had picked up Auburn Aries. Funny thing is regardless of how close Aries is to her Fairy Godmother, the minute she found out THP and The Math Whiz were in the car, she was out the door like a shot.
Each one of the boys holds a special place in Aries' heart for very different reasons. The Math Whiz does because he has what she calls "the coolest dog EVER." In Aries' eyes, we are the official backup dogsitters in the event The Math Whiz needs to run an errand -- or gets sick of the dog. Whichever comes first.
THP, on the other hand, engages Auburn Aries on a level that is so lighthearted and fun that she becomes transfixed on every word he speaks and she works especially hard to make him laugh. She can't get close enough to people like THP or Hot Toddy. It doesn't matter to them that she is almost eight years old and has the potential to be a pain in the butt. She is an extension of me and that's what matters.
As we headed toward The Vortex, Aries just chattered away. The Math Whiz engaged her in conversation much the same way her Fairy Godmother does (both being Virgos). He's lighthearted with her but logical and Aries is a strong enough personality to take him on.
As we pulled in front of the house, we noticed Pony's truck which would mean Hot Toddy's Toaster Oven was still up and The Vortex was open. I no sooner finished the question, "Do you want to see the Vortex and say hi to Tod---" before Aries was out of the car and crowding THP at the door to get inside.
Aries had never been at The House before nor had she ever seen The Vortex though she knew it existed. She walked in and headed straight for it as though there was a trail of Maker's Mark bottles to guide her there. I managed to get in front of her and take her by the hand. I opened The Vortex door and caught Toddy and Pony completely off guard. I suspect I was the last person they expected to see at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night. Once I had their full attention, I stepped through the door presenting Auburn Aries.
They were as excited to see her and she was them. All she could do was laugh and give hugs. She was glowing with excitement. The energy was so fantastic. I stood and watched my daughter interact, once again, with these men who have become so important in her little life. I guess when you're Mom is a lesbian the number of men that are actually around diminishes greatly. Until the last few months for AAries. She has found comedic relief in The Boys and cannot stop talking about them.
While I attempted conversation with Hot Toddy and Pony, I watched as The Handsome Prince and AAries fed off each other. He had her laughing so hard. She was absolutely comfortable in her own skin. There was no issue of being taller; no issue of weight; no concerns someone wouldn't like her. The horsed around back and forth and THP was laughing every bit as often and as hard as Auburn Aries.
Then it started. It was as though Aries was on a stage. She began to dance around. She was laughing at her own comedy. She was out of control. "Wait, wait" she shouted as she placed one hand in front of her as though holding a pair of reigns - She began to chasse' around The Vortex pretending to be a horse while she smacked her little bottom with her other hand, all the while laughing uncontrollably.
When she was done with that maneuver, she made faces.
Once the faces faded away, she reached over and pretended to twang my bra straps through my shirt like a standup bass, singing a local country station 99.5 The Wolf's the morning theme song, "Mike and Amy, in the mornin', in the mornin'" plucking each time she said mornin and on the off beat. All we could do was laugh.
Have you ever seen Charlie's Angel's? The first one? Where Cameron Diaz is in her bedroom wearing Underoo's doing little circles with her butt???? That was my daughter. Wiggling her butt and laughing with all of her might. It was incredible.
Hot Toddy got ahold of himself long enough to go inside and reappear with some toys he had been saving for her as a gift. She clutched them to her chest and was so excited. She threw her arms around his neck, thanked him and told him she loved him. He probably had some idea of how excited she would be but I never saw it coming so it moved me. Here are these men, "My Boys," who have touched my life in such a way that it's only enhanced who I am as a human being, and they've embraced my daughter the same way.
It was 30 minutes in The Vortex that I will never forget.
I finally managed to get Auburn Aries out of The House and home. She was so excited I put her in bed with me to make sure she would get to sleep. She put her new toys on the night stand so they'd be there when she woke up. And rather than hear her say "Morning Mommy" her first words were, "Are we going back to The Vortex tonight?"
Hmm.. if I had a nickel for everytime I've wondered that myself!
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