Chapter 28: Little Timmy

Chapter 28

Little Timmy woke up in a good mood. Even the stars pasted on the ceiling looked bigger, and it was all thanks to the big red bunny he had dreamt of the night before. It was just the softest and biggest red bunny he had ever seen; bigger even, than his own bunny, which really wasn't very big to begin with, and of course, it was bigger than Baby, his ebony skinned doll, who was smaller than his own Bunny.

So Timmy was happy because he was sure that no one, not even Micha and certainly not Liam, had ever seen a bunny quite so big and quite so red. He hummed to himself as he lay there in bed, looking up at the pretty stars on the ceiling. He liked them better when it was dark, because then they were bright and they made him happy.

"The staws no haf light Micha." Timmy whispered, knowing full well that Micha was fast sleep beside him, but feeling that it was necessary to let him know nonetheless. He couldn't understand why the stars, which were bright and beautiful at night, had not an ounce of light during the day. It confused him, and though he had asked Micha and his daddy on more than one occasion, nothing they said made him understand it any better.

If they had light at night, then they should have light in the day. Even as Little Timmy debated this in his mind, images of the red bunny popped up and pulled him away from his all too important thoughts. It had been the best red bunny he had ever seen and he wanted to go to school so he could tell Liam all about it.

Liam, he was sure, would be so excited by the news. After all, Liam loved bunnies almost as much as Timmy did but all Liam had to play with, was a bear that didn't even have big floppy ears. In Timmy's small and innocent world, it was a tragedy.

"Wed bunny, wed bunny, wed bunny." He sang quietly as he looked up at the stars. He stuck his feet into the air and noticed, for the first time since waking, that he was wearing clothes. He frowned, before promptly pulling them all off his body. When he was done, he rolled them up into balls just the way he had seen Micha do it, but with nowhere to keep them, he dropped them onto the floor by the bed.

He then stretched out again on his back, this time feeling much better and less itchy. He once again stuck his little feet into the air and touched his toes with his fingers. He wondered if the red bunny was just as soft as his own bunny. He glanced at his long time friend and considered, then considered some more, until he finally reached across and picked him up. He tested his bunny by squeezing his fat, furry belly, then he closed his eyes and scrunched up his nose to think.

After a while, he came up with his answer; red bunny was softer than his own bunny. Little Timmy was impressed.

He then glanced at Micha, who was still deep in sleep, and after but a moment's consideration, he rolled and rolled until he was pressed up against Micha's side. He closed his eyes tight and held very still so that Micha wouldn't wake up, because if Micha woke up, he would brush Timmy's teeth and Little Timmy didn't want anything to ruin his happy morning.

Satisfied that Micha was still dreaming, he climbed carefully onto Micha's back and lay there, pressing his fat cheek against the nape of his neck. This time, it took him but a moment to find his answer; Micha was much warmer than red bunny.

This realization did nothing to dissuade Timmy from his interest however, because he had long ago discovered that the people who gave the best hugs were a whole lot warmer than normal. Eventually, red bunny would get warmer. He sat up in Micha's back and reached out with his tiny hands to grab Bunny and Baby off the blanket, then he tucked them carefully under his arm and slid off Micha and onto the floor below.

He made sure to be extra quiet as he ran across the room and took great care when closing the bedroom door behind him. Out in the hallway, he shifted his friends in his hands, so that he held Baby in one and Bunny in the other. Together, they made their way slowly but steadily down the stairs and into the kitchen.

One very important thing Little Timmy had learned about the kitchen, was that in order to reach the sink, you had to find a way to drag the stool over to the other side of the counter. Luckily, Timmy had long ago mastered the art. Without hesitation, he deposited Bunny and Baby onto the floor and proceeded to do just that.

The very tip of his tongue was pushed against the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on his task. He pushed with all his might, pausing only when he reached the bend and was forced to adjust his grip to get the stool to the finish line. When it was finally in position, Timmy grabbed Bunny and Baby from where he had left them on the floor, and climbed onto the stool.

He secured the stopper in the sink, turned on the water and threw his friends in. He loved baths and so did they. "Bunny an Baby dirty." He told them, then swirled his hand around and around in the water as the sink began to fill.

"Wader hot Bunny." He explained to his friend, and after growing tired of waiting for the water to reach to the top, he climbed down from the stool and pulled open the refrigerator door. He immediately reached for the bag of grapes that he had seen Micha place inside just the night before, and hugged it to his chest as he made his way out of the kitchen and into the family room.

He switched on the television and settled in to watch his morning cartoons. Every few minutes or so, Timmy would glance over to the wall by the fireplace to check on the small spider that had taken up residence there only days before. It didn't move around much, but that didn't stop him from keeping an eye on it just incase, and the moment it took a step outside of it's little web, he was going to tell Micha.

Fun Fact: Little Timmy was afraid of spiders...and so was Bunny.

He pulled one of the grapes out of the bag and popped it into his mouth, then used the back of his hand to wipe away the juices that had run down his chin. His eyes focused on the television screen, where a talking yellow sponge who lived under the sea with his starfish companion, were at play. It wasn't his favorite cartoon, but Micha and his daddy could tell you it was certainly in his top five. They could also tell you just how many sponges they had lost because Timmy had tried to 'save them' by dropping them into any pool of water he could find; which most times turned out to be the toilet.

By the time his cartoon had ended, Timmy had had his fill of grapes, so he climbed down from the couch with the bag in hand and made his way back to the kitchen. The first thing he noticed upon arrival, was that the kitchen floor was wet, but he thought nothing of it as he deposited the bag of grapes into the fridge.

The second thing he noticed, was that water was running down the side of the counter. Imagine a healthy looking waterfall, then imagine Timmy's growing excitement at the sight of it. He stood on his tippy toes to see if he could spot Bunny and Baby in the sink, but all he could see was the water still running from the pipe.

He did what any healthy toddler would. He ran over to the counter and stood under the waterfall in a fit of giggles. Timmy was having the time of his life. The water wet his hair and his back and trickled down his naked body until it hit the ground at his feet. He jumped up and down in the water, loving the feel and sound of it under his feet.

He couldn't say exactly how long he played in the water because Timmy, bless his soul, didn't yet understand the concept of time, but by the time he grew bored of his game the kitchen had been completely flooded and the water had already slowly begun to make its way into the family room.

Timmy climbed up onto the stool and dipped his two hands into the kitchen sink; loving the feel of them under the water. First, he pulled out Bunny, whom he deposited safely onto the wet counter and then he pulled out Baby, whose previously curly hair lay straight down her back. He also set her aside carefully on the wet counter.

Finally, he reached across and turned off the tap, before grabbing his friends and carefully climbing down from the stool. Once he reentered the family room, he found the nearest drapes and wiped his wet feet in the very corner of them. He took extra care not to get too much of the drapes wet, because he had to leave some for Micha, who may need to wipe his feet as well after he stepped into the water. Micha was of course, bigger than he was.

He watched at least half an episode of another cartoon before he and his friends made their way back upstairs to see if Micha was awake. He wanted some milk and he didn't know how to make it.

Micha was still asleep when he entered the bedroom, but the moment he deposited Bunny and Baby onto Micha's back, he stirred.

"Timmy?" he said.

"Micha Timmy haf miwk pease?"

"Please tell me you didn't pee your pants and put the wet clothes on my back." Micha was saying, but it didn't make a lot of sense, so Timmy repeated his previous question.

"Timmy haf miwk pease Micha?"

Micha sighed and pushed up slowly off the bed. They both watched as Bunny and Baby fell to the floor. Micha looked first at the toys, then at Timmy.

"Where's your clothes?" he asked. "Did you pee?"

"No." was all he said, before running around to the other side of the bed and picking up his dry clothing and handing them over.

Micha smiled at the clothes, but frowned at Timmy. "Why is your hair wet?" he asked and Timmy gave him the obvious answer.

"Wader wet Micha."

Micha picked up Bunny and carried it to the bathroom where he promptly wrung it dry in the sink. Timmy watched in silence as he then hung Bunny on a rack to dry.

"Your turn, come on." Micha announced, before lifting Timmy into the tub. And so their morning began.

..............................

It wasn't that Timmy hated clothes per se. In fact, he thought they were kind of interesting. He liked how soft they felt when he ran his hands over the fabric, and most of the time he liked the pretty colors they had. Even more importantly, he liked that some of them had his favorite cartoon friends on them, so no, Timmy didn't hate clothes, he just hated wearing them.

Timmy liked to spread his arms really wide and stick his feet into the air and run and jump and lie flat on his back, and in his two year old mind, clothes prevented that. Clothes were like when Micha didn't put enough cheese on his macaroni and cheese; it just didn't make sense, and to make matters worse, clothes were itchy.

He especially hated when his clothes had those scratchy tags in the back. He didn't really understand what they were and even though his daddy and Micha had gotten rid of them all, just the thought alone of what had once been there was enough to dissuade him. Clothes were a big no no.

Therefore, walking fully dressed down the stairs with Micha that morning had gone a long way in putting a damper on Timmy's happy mood. He had spent the better part of twenty minutes debating with Micha about the unnecessariness of clothes. For the most part the argument went like this;

"No close Micha"

"You have to wear clothes, you're going to school."

"No. Timmy no wear no cose."

"Why not?"

"Cause, no cose."

Timmy believed wholeheartedly that his argument was solid, but Micha, he had learned, was getting tougher to crack. Micha held onto his hand as they descended the staircase, telling him something about being a good boy for the teachers and for his Gwammy and Poppy. Timmy listened to his words with half his focus and it wasn't because he didn't like the sound of Micha's voice on occasion, but it was more because Timmy could only keep so much in his mind at once. He tended to prefer storing only the most important things in his head; like the red bunny, for instance.

He had asked Micha to get him a red bunny during his bath time, but Micha hadn't said yes and he wasn't exactly sure why. After all, he had spent a great deal of his bath time explaining to Micha just how great red bunny was. He'd told Micha that he was warm, big, soft and the best part; red. Who wouldn't say yes to that?

He wondered if Micha didn't say yes because Micha was sad. These days Micha didn't smile at Timmy as much as he used to and when he did, it didn't last very long. Having a red bunny in the house would make Micha smile; he had no doubt, but mostly, Timmy just wanted red bunny for himself, because in his dream, red bunny had been almost as fun as his own Bunny.

These thoughts and more swirled around in Timmy's young mind as they descended the staircase, only to be interrupted when they both stepped into the puddle of water by the foot of the stairs. Timmy noticed that the water had spread from the kitchen to the family room, and he was particularly interested in standing on the now wet carpet with his bare toes; just to see how it would feel.

Beside him, Micha placed his hands on his hips, tilted his head toward the ceiling and closed his eyes. Timmy watched him, wondering if Micha was thinking about doing the same thing. He grinned, excited by the prospect, but when he moved with the intention of testing it out, Micha plucked him off the ground.

"What am I going to do with you Timmy?" he asked.

"I no know." He replied, and after taking a very deep breath, Micha walked the short distance to the couch, where he deposited him with a warning.

"Don't move." He said firmly and Timmy frowned. There was all that water, just waiting for him to play in and Micha wanted him to stay on the couch. Sometimes Little Timmy found it particularly difficult to relate to people bigger than he was.

He placed two fingers into his mouth and sucked as he thought about his next plan of action, but when he made the mistake of glancing at the television, it drew him in, and all plans to disobey Micha went out the door.

Minutes had passed before Micha returned with his milk. "Here you go, your highness." He said, handing it to Timmy along with a napkin. "I'm going to clean this up so you have to stay on the couch, got it?" Timmy nodded. "If you want something just call for me." He told him and once again departed.

Timmy watched as Micha left, only to return moments later with a bucket and a mop.

"Why you haf wipe Micha?" he asked in dismay, but Micha ignored him.

The interesting thing about toddlers was that ignoring them was next to impossible, and so Timmy repeated the question again and again until Micha, with a sigh gave him his answer.

"Because floors aren't meant to be wet Timmy." He said. "This is not okay. If you want to wash your Bunny, you need to tell me first, you can't just go playing in the water."

Timmy was finally starting to realize that Micha may have been a tiny bit upset with him, but truth be told, if Timmy could do it all again, he would, because even though Micha said no, Timmy did not yet understand why.

As Micha wiped, Timmy eventually grew tired of watching him and instead, focused all his attention on the television screen, where talking fruits were speaking to him.

One important thing to note about Little Timmy, was that he knew how to count all the way up to twenty, he knew all his ABC's, he knew a thing or two about shapes and colors were easy. The cartoon that he sat watching while he sipped his warm milk was trying to teach him the things he already knew, so of course, he was going to shout the answers at the top of his lungs whenever the talking fruits asked a question.

Picture Little Timmy lounging on the couch with his cup of milk in hand, belting out the answers to all the questions while Micha mopped the floors.

Unbeknownst to Timmy, Micha was not pleased. As he mopped up the water, he glanced over at Timmy, who was curled comfortably in the couch, and frowned. "If Jason was here you'd be in so much trouble." He mumbled under his breath, too low for the little prince to hear him.

.....................................

Timmy loved going to Gwammy and Poppy's house. They gave the best kisses, the biggest smiles and the tastiest snacks, but more importantly, their house ALWAYS smelled like cookies and Timmy's all-time favorite snacks were cookies. There was just something about the way Gwammy made them that just made his taste buds dance and Timmy was hooked.

He ran straight to the kitchen the moment he entered their house, knowing exactly where Gwammy kept them. He pulled out three. One for now, one for later and one for Liam. He stuffed two into his pockets and immediately began to chew on the other.

When Poppy entered the kitchen, that was how he found him; sitting on a stool, munching away at a large chocolate chip cookie. "I should have known." Poppy said and Timmy treated him to his best and biggest smile.

"You better hurry up and finish that before Grandma catches you." He said and Timmy took a big bite.

Poppy took the seat directly across from Timmy and took a sip of his tea. He called it coffee and though Timmy loved the smell of it, Poppy would never let him have any, so Timmy had long ago stopped asking.

"Poppy, need haf wed Bunny pease?" he asked when he had taken his last bite.

"What are you saying kid?" Poppy questioned and Timmy propped his chin in his hand. The thing with Poppy, was that he needed extra care and attention. Timmy often found himself having to repeat his words again and again where Poppy was concerned, and though at times it flustered him, this time, Timmy had no problem being patient. After all, this was important.

"Wed Bunny. I dweam it, Poppy."

Poppy looked at him for a long time, brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, until finally, he shook his head. "Lets wait 'till Grandma comes so she can work out your gibberish."

He loved Poppy, but Poppy was a special case. At two years old, Timmy had already come to that conclusion, so they waited for Gwammy, who was far easier at having conversations with.

"Diana-Marie!" Poppy called out when they heard Gwammy shuffling around in the other room. A moment later, Gwammy popped around the corner and came into the kitchen with a bright smile.

Timmy giggled when she gave him kisses on his neck and threatened to eat him up. "Gwammy lif." He demanded, and as expected, she lifted him up into her arms and hugged his close.

Gwammy was like mac and cheese; warm and gooey and perfect. Timmy loved being in her arms.

"Tell her what you told me." Poppy directed, and Timmy decided to start from the beginning. He told her his dream from start to finish and ensured that he explained to her just how extraordinary red bunny was. By the time he was done, Gwammy was impressed and Timmy was satisfied.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "That sounds like an amazing red bunny." She told him and he beamed.

"Timmy haf wed bunny?"

"But what about the bunny you have now? Don't you like it anymore?"

"I haf wed bunny an Bunny an Baby." He explained.

She nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. Well tell you what, if you promise to be a good little boy, I'll look for a big red bunny for you. What do you think?"

Timmy took her words to heart, watching her with all the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. "Timmy be good Gwammy an haf wed bunny."

"That's what I like to hear." She said, planting yet another kiss on his forehead.

"Michael said he flooded the kitchen this morning." Poppy relayed the news, and Gwammy laughed. It was a sound that came from deep within her belly and it was contagious.

"Do you remember when Michael did the same thing when he was younger? She asked and Poppy nodded with a grin.

"Except Michael was six and at the time he ran and hid in the linen closet when he heard us coming." Poppy shook his head. "Kids."

As was his usual routine, Timmy raked his fingers through Gwammy's hair as they spoke. He loved that it was soft and long and white. She was the only person he had ever seen with white hair, and in his mind, it was the most special thing a person could have.

"Timmy, you have to be more careful though. You can't play in the water like that again okay?" she said and Timmy tore his attention from her hair to listen.

"Why Gwammy?"

"Because it's bad when the floors get wet and then Michael will get tired having to clean it all up."

Timmy nodded, finally understanding; if Micha got tired, then it meant he couldn't play with Timmy and that was a big no no. Poppy took the last sip of his coffee and set down the cup in the sink. "Alright time for school." He announced, and Gwammy gave him one last kiss and a hug before Poppy took him from her arms.

"Bye Gwammy." He called when they were headed out the door, and she waved back. Her smile was something Timmy often thought about and as they headed off to school in Poppy's car, his mind conjured up the image of it right alongside the red bunny.

.....................................

There was a reason Little Timmy enjoyed driving to school with Poppy and it had everything to do with his singing. Every morning Poppy turned on the car's stereo and played the CD which had all of Timmy's favorite songs and he would sing them with Timmy at the very top of his lungs as they drove. Timmy loved it that Poppy knew all the words to every song and loved it even more that Poppy was so loud.

This morning was different, however, because Poppy didn't turn on the music. Instead, he was asking Timmy questions that didn't make sense, and talking and talking and talking. It didn't matter that Timmy had asked him a million times to play the music, because Poppy just wasn't having it.

Most of the car ride was therefore spent with Timmy mostly ignoring what Poppy was saying and watching the trees and cars go by out the window. If Poppy were driving just a tiny bit slower Timmy would have counted them.

"How do I put this in a way a kid would understand?" Poppy was saying to himself. "Are you stressed out about anything?" he asked and Timmy frowned.

"No."

"Do you know what 'stressed out' means?"

"No."

Poppy sighed, then tried again. "Stressed out means..." he sighed again. "I know you've been going through a lot lately so its completely understandable if you're a little bit.. sad. Are you sad sometimes?"

"Micha sad." He confessed and for a while, Poppy said nothing, but just when Timmy was growing accustomed to the silence and enjoying his own thoughts, Poppy started up again.

"Everything's going to be okay." Were the words he was saying. "It might not look like that now, but everything will work itself out. You'll see."

"Poppy pay music now?" Timmy asked, and after a pause, Poppy finally relented and turned it on.

What Poppy failed to understand, was that in that moment, the most important thing on Little Timmy's mind was a large stuffed animal with big floppy ears and fuzzy red fur.

............................................

It was snack time at school before Timmy finally pulled the half crumpled cookies out of his pockets. He carefully picked off the lint which had somehow embedded itself on the cookies' surface and placed them on the table before Liam. He was giving his friend the chance to choose the one he wanted and, instinctively, he knew exactly which one Liam would pick.

The thing about Liam was that he was very different from a lot of the other kids in kindergarten. The teachers saw a kid who was far too calm and easygoing for his age. In their talks with his parents, they described him as a polite child, who was kind to his peers, far more advanced in his thinking than would have been expected from a child his age and smart; unmistakably smart.

Timmy saw a boy who could color inside the lines and who could build the best block castles ever. He also saw a boy who liked 'ugly' things (interpretation: unusual things). Liam liked the crayons that were broken and the toy fire trucks that were blue instead of red. He liked the scratched building blocks more than the new ones and preferred to play with the dented balls that could no longer bounce.

Perhaps the only thing the two boys had in common was their love for bunnies but somehow, they made it work.

What no one knew, was that Liam was a genius in the making. He was a boy who would grow to do extraordinary things and he would impress many. He would make interesting decisions, stumble upon great luck and form many unbreakable bonds. Liam would win medals and break hearts, but he would also know great sorrow and great happiness; That was Liam's fate.

Timmy watched as Liam picked up the cookie which was crumbling around the edges and cracked down the middle. He'd known instinctively that Liam would have chosen it, because Liam liked ugly things.

As the two boys munched on Gwammy's tasty chocolate chip cookies, they hummed two different tunes; Liam, a complicated piano piece he had heard in his mommy's car on the way to school that morning, and Timmy, a broken tune he'd made up in his head. They were content.

Fate was an interesting thing to behold. Not many wanted to believe that their lives had been designed to travel along a predestined path. So Timmy, who was still far too young to understand the concept of love, heartbreak, struggle and fate, had no idea that many years from now, he would fall in love with, and marry Liam; the boy who was kind to his friends, colored inside the lines and liked the most unusual things. Likewise, Liam had no idea that he would one day give his heart and hand to Timmy; the boy who would shine wherever he went.

For now, they were simply two little princes who liked bunnies and Gwammy's chocolate chip cookies and that was okay.

.........................................

Timmy had had an amazing day at school. He had told Liam all about red bunny and Liam approved one hundred percent. He had also built a castle that was taller than Hanna's and to top it all off, he had done a finger painting that he knew without a doubt, his daddy would love.

It was no surprise then, that he was all smiles when the teacher told all the kids to put away their toys and parents began showing up to get their kids. He waved goodbye to his classmates as they left one by one and stood by the teacher's desk with his artwork in hand and his bag on his back. He wanted to show his daddy what he had done more than anything, and he was so excited to do so, that he was practically jumping up and down on the spot as he waited.

It was also no surprise then, that Timmy's face crumpled and he began to cry when it was Micha and not his daddy, who pushed open the classroom door a few minutes later. As Micha pulled him into his arms and hugged him close, Little Timmy couldn't help but think that even though Micha was warm, no one was as warm as his daddy.

He cried all the way home.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

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-unedited

-DoUbLe.A