Stolen Lullaby

Love and War

April 3, 2027

"Wake up you guys, do you know what today is!?" Sophie burst into Taylor and Joe's bedroom and started jumping on their bed. Joe cracked one eye open to look at the clock which blared 7:00 am.

"I don't know, why is this day special?" He mumbled trying to pull the covers over his head.

"Today is MY BIRTHDAY!" Sophie shouted grabbing a pillow and starting to hit Joe with it. From the girl who would never willingly wake up earlier than 9:00 am even on Christmas morning she somehow jazzed herself enough to become an early bird for the day.

"Mommy do you know how old I am today?!" She said patting Taylor on the shoulder.

"I have no idea... are you 30?" Taylor muttered into her pillow still refusing to open her eyes.

"No! that's sooo old Mommy you're silly."

"Are you turning 2 then?"

"No way I'm not a baby! Guys I'm five! That means I'm almost grown up." She continued to joyously jump up and down on the bed until they had not choice but to get up and follow her down to the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat now that you're almost grown up?" Joe yawned rubbing his head.

"I want waffles with lots of whipped cream please!"

"Your wish is my command." He said assembling the ingredients to start the waffles.

"The kitties need some breakfast too." Sophie proceeded to grab the whip cream canister and spray huge dollops into the cat's dishes. Normally this would be a big no no but since it was her birthday they let it slide.

"Don't get used to it." Joe told the cats as they purred at Sophie's feet.

After breakfast Taylor lay down on the couch to rest for a while. Certain smells still made her nauseous and made her morning sickness flare up. Sophie brought her an empty bucket and a hand towel.

"Here mommy I bought you a bucket if you need to throw up. Is the baby making you sick again?"

"Thank you, Sweetie, yes the baby sometimes makes me sick in the morning but I'll fell better for your party this afternoon."

On Sophie's last birthday she had asked for a baby brother or sister. It had caught them by surprise that she wanted a sibling because she seemed to like having all of their love and attention to herself. Truth to be told they themselves had never given serious thought to having another child before she brought it up. What they had gone through when Sophie was a baby had been so traumatizing the possibility of having another wasn't even on their radar. They joked when she told them she wanted a sibling that they had hoped she was going to ask for a pony but it did bring the serious conversation later of if they wanted to try. They weren't getting any younger and Sophie was independent enough that she could help out. After months of trying and with no success they thought maybe their time for more children had past and Sophie would be their one and only. It stung a bit to think they couldn't give her a brother or a sister since both of them were so close to their own brothers. But around Valentine's day Taylor started to feel severely fatigued and couldn't keep any food down, the same symptoms she felt when she was pregnant with Sophie. Daring to hope, she and Joe had sat on the bathroom floor with a pregnancy test and a timer. When the timer sounded that time had elapsed they nervously checked the test to see a plus sign looking back at them. Squealing with happiness they hugged and danced around the bathroom. This pregnancy added a layer of bliss to their lives that  they hadn't allowed themselves to want in the years they were forced to spend without their daughter.

Sophie was the type of kid who decided that everyone she met was her friend. She had handed Taylor and Joe a birthday party guest list that was so long it seemed more like the size of a small wedding then a child's birthday party. They carefully had to go through the list with her and cut it down to twelve kids which was somehow negotiated back up to 20. The theme for her party was an Alice in Wonderland tea party. Their backyard was decorated like Alice's world of whimsical fantasy with lots of treats and games for the kids to go crazy with. After games and playtime everyone sang happy birthday while Sophie beamed over her teacup shaped cake.