3D – Just One

Jonathan was sitting on the couch with his eyes fixed on the phone in his hand. He had been engrossed in whatever he was looking at for a while, and Skyla decided to find out what it was. She sat down next to him, and he looked up from the screen and smiled.

“What’s that?” She asked.

“Oh… I was just looking at some land.”

“Oooh, see anything you like?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “They all look the same to me. I suppose I just need to figure out where I want to be and just pick one.” He sighed. “Willow Creek, or Oasis Springs…”

“Not Newcrest?”

“No. Not Newcrest. At least not right now. I’m not brave enough to even step a foot in that town.”

She held his hand. “I don’t think anyone blames you, but…when you’re ready, of course.”

He squeezed her hand. “Did you want something?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that a curator is going to come by tomorrow and take the paintings.”

“Oh! That’s great. All of them?”

“Well, no. There’s just one I’d like to keep…” She said carefully.

He smiled and wondered why she was treading so lightly. “Your mother…”

She nodded.

“Sky…of course you should keep that one. You didn’t think that I was gonna—

“No, of course not. I…honestly, I don’t know why I’m behaving so weird. I guess the baby has me all messed up.”

“Speaking of the baby…” He pointed his head in Maya’s direction. She was hovering nearby and didn’t look very happy.

Skyla looked in her direction and saw her pouty little face. Jonathan said he would talk to her, but she told him that she should talk to her. “You’ve never been an only child.” She got up and waddled over to Maya and put on a big smile. “Hi pumpkin! Why do you look so sad?”

“I don’t like the baby,” Maya said.

“But you haven’t met it yet. How do you know you don’t like it?”

“Because I don’t!”

Jonathan got up to serve as backup, but Skyla told him it was ok and she could handle it.

“Ok,” Skyla said. “That’s fine. You don’t have to like the baby, but I hope you change your mind. I’m going to need your help…” She could tell Maya’s interest was piqued even though she didn’t say anything. “Babies are a lot of work, and I’m going to need all the help I can get. Especially from you.”

“Me?”

“Oh yes! Big sisters are very important!”

Jonathan smiled at this performance from behind. He thought Skyla was right. He would have taken this conversation in a completely different direction, and it may not have worked.

“What do I have to do?” Maya asked.

“Well…you can watch the baby while I’m asleep and wake me up if it cries…”

“I can wake you up?”

“Of course. Babies can’t do anything for themselves, so when they need something they cry and someone should help them right away. I need you to be my helper when daddy’s not here, ok?”

“Ok.”

Jonathan and Skyla breathed a sigh of relief at the crisis they averted.

Then Maya asked, “what else can I do?”