ELENA'S POV
"Mama, wake up. Mama, I'm hungry," I heard a soft voice in my dreams. A wet tongue licked my chin, followed by a soft purr and a weight on my chest.
I opened my eyes to see my 5-year-old daughter, Ava, lying beside me and my 2-year-old cat, Cassidy, on my chest, glaring down at me.
"Good morning, sunshine," I said to my daughter, smiling. I lifted Cassidy from my chest and carefully dropped her to the floor, then turned to my daughter.
"Morning, Mama," Ava replied. She clambered over me and placed a very wet and lousy kiss on my cheek. "Mwah." Then she rested her forehead against mine and, with her blue eyes looking straight into mine, said, "Mama, my stomach is angry."
I laughed, kissed her on both cheeks, then pulled her closer to me. "Is that so, darling? Then we have to do something about it."
She nodded vigorously, her blond curls bouncing around her head. "Yes, Mama. We have to." She widened her eyes as though to express the seriousness of what she was about to say, then added, "I want pancakes. With chocolate chips and blueberries."
She paused, and as though just remembering something, turned around in search of something. She spotted what she was looking for—the cat, who was now on the bed with us.
"Cassie is hungry too," she said. "Aren't you hungry, Cassie?" she asked her.
Cassie purred in agreement.
"Okay then. If my babies are hungry, I have to feed them."
"Yes, Mama. We are." She scrambled away from me to the floor and reached for the cat.
I got up as well, saying, "There are no blueberries, but you can have banana pancakes. You liked them the last time," I reminded her.
She nodded. "I want bananas and chocolate chips."
I got off the bed, and just as I was about to put on my slippers, my eyes met the digital clock on my bedside table, and I smothered a laugh.
"Ava, it's 5 a.m.," I said, watching my wily daughter.
She stared back at me innocently, then said, "I don't know what that means."
"It means it's too early for breakfast," I said, pulling her toward me. "But you knew that, didn't you, my dear smart girl?" I tickled her tummy lightly.
"Mama, I didn't," she said, laughing. "Mama!"
I let her go.
"But I'm hungry!" she whined.
Cassie meowed next to her, announcing her own hunger, but I paid her no mind. That cat would be hungry even while eating.
I pretended to consider her pleas for a moment before saying, "Well, if you're THAT hungry, I guess you deserve pancakes."
She shouted, "Yippie!" then started hopping around my room, Cassie zooming around her legs.
"But you'll have to brush your teeth and wash your face first."
I didn't even finish my sentence before she sped out of the room to the bathroom, the cat hot at her heels. I laughed, then went after her.
In the bathroom, she was a good little lady, brushing quietly by the sink while the cat waited outside the door. The toilet was separated from the rest of the bathroom by a single wall, and I sat on the toilet while she brushed her teeth.
When she finished, she announced it, and I told her to go wait in the living room. I quickly washed my face and put on moisturizer before heading to the kitchen.
In the living room, she was standing in front of the television, the cat next to her.
"Can I turn on the TV, please?" she asked sheepishly.
"No, baby," I said, and her face fell in disappointment. She knew she was only allowed to watch TV for an hour a day and never in the mornings. "Let's go make breakfast."
She bolted to the kitchen, disappointment long forgotten. I got some of Cassie's food and filled her bowl, then replaced her water before joining Ava in the kitchen.
Despite my words earlier, we had just one banana left—an almost overripe one—but we had an abundance of chocolate chips. I hadn't known how many chocolate chips one could buy until I had a kid.
I pulled out an opened box of pancake mix and mixed enough batter for the two of us. I removed a little from the batter for the banana pancakes, then poured a generous amount of chocolate chips into the rest.
All this time, Ava was singing in the background. I quickly fried the pancakes—six in total, two banana and four chocolate chip. I placed one banana and one chocolate chip pancake on Ava's plate and the rest on mine. I poured some maple syrup on her plate, then set it down. She immediately dug in, not even waiting for the glass of milk I set in front of her.
She devoured everything in minutes, chewing loudly as children are prone to do. I guessed she really was hungry. After she finished, she picked up her glass of milk and drank slowly.
I sat down across from her with my own plate and a cup of tea. "What do you want to do today?"
She sighed loudly, then placed her hand on her chin, pretending to think. I held back a laugh.
"The park!" Her eyes lit up. "I wanna go to the park."
"The park?" I repeated.
I shouldn't have asked. I really did not want to step out of the apartment. It was the weekend after a very busy week. Seriously, I had worked 60 hours this week. My company was in the middle of an acquisition which meant everyone involved worked overtime. I came home every night past Ava's bedtime and promptly collapsed on my mostly unmade bed, then had to get up very early to do extra work. Exhausted was an understatement. Also, I had a ton of house chores to catch up on. The last thing I wanted to do was go to the park and get even more tired.
"It's cold outside, baby."
"We'll wear our coats," my little genius said, not giving up.
I tried diplomacy. "How about we stay inside today, and you can watch TV," her eyes lit up, "and I can make you hot cocoa the way you like?"
I could see she was still not convinced, so I added, "We can get pizza for dinner."
And sold. My daughter sprang up from her chair and started dancing.
"We have to get ready for the day," I said halfheartedly, looking down at my teddy bear pajamas, then going back to my pancakes.