Troian Bellisario: Just Me & My Girl

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

The Next Day
*Troian's Pov*

"Alright Aspen, let's go get you dressed." I say as I clean up the dishes from breakfast.

"Then Keegan will come?" She asks excitedly.

"Yes baby," I reply "Then Keegan will come." I convinced myself to invite Keegan over so I can ask him about...the thing. Even if I just talk to him about the party, it'll still bring me closer to knowing how possible it is that he's Aspen dad. Keegan just thinks he's coming over to hang out with me and Aspen.

"Mommy?" Aspen says, snapping me out of my thought "Can we get a doggy?"

"Aspen, I'm afraid that the answer is still no. I just don't think we're home enough to take care of a puppy." I answer.

"But we can bring it to your work." She begs, her eyes pleading.

"I don't think that'll work either." I admit as I put our dirty plates into the dishwasher.

"But mommy!" She groans frustratedly.

"But Aspen!" I copy sarcastically, knowing Aspen hates when I do this. She scrunches her face up and crosses her arms angrily in front of her.

"Oh come on Asp, don't be mad." I say. She sighs before looking back up at me.

"Pretty pretty please can I have a puppy? I promise I'll take good care of it mommy." Aspen begs quietly.

"I know you would take great care of a puppy, but the thing is, we're not around enough to give it all the attention it needs." I sigh "Would it be fair if I left you home by yourself all day while I was on set?"

Aspen looks down at her lap for a few seconds before answering with a barely audible "No."

"So would it be fair for a puppy to stay by itself all day?" I ask. Aspen shakes her head slowly.

"Look sweetie, I'm not saying the answer will forever be no, but for now, it's gonna have to be." I tell her. Aspen looks up at me, the expression on her face almost neutral.

"Okay mommy." She answers finally. I smile, happy that I got her to understand.

"Let's go get you dressed, Keegan will be here soon." I say as I glance at the clock.

"Mommy?" Aspen asks.

"Yes?" I reply.

"Can I get dressed all by myself today?" She asks.

"If you'd like to." I reply, feeling both happy and sad. My little girl really is growing up. It seems like just yesterday that I was changing her diapers.

Aspen runs upstairs, leaving me alone to my thoughts. Whoever Aspen's dad is, I feel bad that he isn't apart of her life in the way I am. She truly is an amazing little girl, and I'm so thankful to be her mom.

"Mommy! Look!" I hear Aspen yell as she comes down the stairs. I turn to face her, and can't help but let out a laugh when I do.

"Aspen what are you wearing?" I chuckle. She has a skirt on as a shirt, green leggings on her arms, as well as a pair of grey ones on her legs. Not to mention the purple scarf wrapped around her waist and knee-high wool socks on her feet.

"I made my own outfit!" Aspen says proudly. I walk over and pick her up, then give her a big kiss on the cheek.

"It's beautiful baby." I smile. Aspen giggles, making me grin even wider.

"And look at this!" Aspen says, squirming so I set her down. Once I do, she pulls a wool sock off one of her feet, revealing a mitten underneath.

"Why do you have a mitten on your foot?" I laugh "And underneath a wool sock, isn't it too hot?"

"Yes," She replies sheepishly "I'm taking it off now."

"Wait!" I say quickly "I want to take a picture first." I grab my phone and snap a picture of my daughter, laughing lightly to myself the entire time.

"Now," I say "Your outfit is wonderful sweetie, but I don't think it's quite right for the weather. It's too hot for mittens and wool socks. Will you come upstairs with me so we can pick out a more weather appropriate one?" She nods, and together we go upstairs to her room.

Aspen and I pick out an outfit together, me deciding on the shoes and shirt, and Aspen on the hat and shorts. My absolute favourite shirt of Aspen's right now is her black tank top with the word 'sup' written in big white letters.

"I like this outfit better mommy." Aspen declares happily.

"Aww Asp, your other one was nice too." I tell her. I want my daughter to know that she's allowed to like things that not everyone may feel the same way about, even if it is putting mittens on your feet. If Aspen finds that fun, then I want her to go for it, no matter what people may think.

"Is Keegan almost here?" Aspen asks sweetly "I drew him a picture."

"That's so nice of you baby, I'm sure he'll get here soon." I say "Can I see the picture?" She nods, then grabs my hand in both of hers.

"It's in the playroom." She says, pulling on my arm. I walk with her to the playroom, where most of her toys lay haphazardly on the floor.

"Remind me that we should clean this room later." I say not only to Aspen, but also as a note to myself.

"But I like it like this mommy, that way I can see everything." Aspen tells me.

"But you can hardly walk in here." I laugh, stepping over a Barbie car.

"Yeah you can, you just have to jump over some things. It's way more fun this way!" Aspen exclaims.

"Whatever you say," I chuckle "It is your playroom." We come to Aspen's colouring table, where loose crayons and markers lay over unfinished pictures.

"Why don't you use the organization station that Shay got you?" I ask, talking about the big rectangular container with different compartments for art supplies. I have to say, it is pretty convenient, especially for a girl like Aspen who has way too many art supplies.

"I do use it." Aspen retorts "I just forgot to put these markers back in it." I just nod, not bothering to say anything back. Aspen stops in front of what we call her 'art wall'. It's a magnetic wall where she hangs up most of her artwork, that way we don't have to use hundreds of thumbtacks, but instead just regular refrigerator magnets.

"Here's Keegan's picture!" Aspen says happily, taking a piece of paper off the wall. She runs over to me and places it in my hands, grinning proudly. I look at my daughters picture, not sure if the three people drawn are who I think they are.

"Is that..." I trail off, studying the picture again.

"It's you, me, and Keegan." Aspen declares. I nod, my guess having been right.

Aspen's picture is adorable, and it was so nice of her to make it for Keegan. She even opened her new box of 64 crayons for the sake of this picture. I just can't overlook the fact that Aspen drew us all holding hands. We look like we're going for a walk in some kind park, the smiles on our faces wide. It's just the way she drew it, she makes us look like we're a family.