“Lindera…!”
“…What’s wrong…? It’s still morning…”
I was sleeping, and suddenly Corbin woke me up.
And it wasn’t even time to prepare breakfast, he just woke me up out of the blue.
As I struggled to open my eyes, I saw Corbin looking really shocked…
“What happened…?”
“Get up quickly! It’s really urgent!”
“What’s going on… Is there a problem…? I don’t think so…”
Still not fully awake, I looked at Corbin and said that.
What on earth could be so important at this early morning?
Why did he suddenly wake me up like this?
Normally, I would have just gotten up, but for some reason, Charlotte had been waking up in the middle of the night a lot lately.
I was tired from not having slept well while trying to get her back to sleep.
“Ugh…”
“Wake up! You really need to see this!”
“Okay, okay… Just wait a sec…”
I was too tired.
Since I hadn’t really been awake yet, I decided to stretch a bit to wake myself up.
Honestly, stretching didn’t help me feel any more awake, but it felt like something I should do.
“Yawn…”
“Watch out for Charlotte’s toys in front.”
“Got it… Got it…”
Still half-asleep, I took Corbin’s hand and started walking slowly behind him.
What on earth is going on?
Even though the sun hadn’t properly risen yet, I was too lazy to walk in this situation.
After walking a bit, we arrived in the living room, right in front of the area that had been set up for Charlotte to play.
I flopped down onto the sofa and looked at Corbin again, asking.
“What in the world is going on…? It’s morning… no, it’s the crack of dawn…”
“Look at this…”
“What is it…”
“Next to you, there’s something… really incredible!”
“…?”
When I turned my head slightly to the left, I saw an incredibly small, cute little girl standing there.
Our daughter.
What was Corbin showing me by pointing to Charlotte?
She just looked like she was standing there normally…?
“?”
“Get it?”
“…Huh?”
“Mom!!”
“…Why are you standing…”
Just a little while ago, Charlotte was crawling around, wasn’t she?
Why…?
Why is Charlotte standing on the mat?
Is it because I’m still half-asleep?
Am I seeing some weird hallucination? Is that it?
There must be something strange about it.
Just yesterday, she showed no signs of doing this…
“…Huh?”
“Mom!”
“Uh, um…”
Charlotte walked over carefully toward me, and I just… hugged her.
This was a very bewildering situation.
I had never expected Charlotte would be able to stand and walk around like this by herself.
For some reason, seeing her standing and walking was just… shocking.
“…Corbin.”
“Yeah?”
“…Is this really happening?”
“You think it’s fake?”
Well, that’s true.
But seeing this while still drowsy made it feel so unreal.
Of course, it had been about a year since she was born, so it’s about time she started walking on her own.
But I had never imagined it would happen so suddenly.
I certainly didn’t expect Charlotte to just be upright and walking like this out of nowhere.
“…Charlotte.”
“Mommy?”
“…No.”
There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but it wouldn’t make much sense to ask a one-year-old.
Anyway, she would just answer, “I don’t know,” with a bright smile, so I decided to just hold her close.
It was amazing to think that just a little while ago, she couldn’t even crawl properly or talk, and now she’s calling me “mom” and standing and walking.
My heart was filled with a feeling.
A feeling of not wanting to go to work.
I wanted to spend the whole day just playing with Charlotte.
Just a few minutes ago, I’d been feeling cranky about being woken up at dawn.
But seeing Charlotte made me so happy.
“Hehe…”
“Mom?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Daddy too!”
“Together with Dad?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Charlotte, who was in my arms, insisted on taking Corbin with her, suggesting that we all play together.
She must have noticed Corbin looking our way for a while now.
Our daughter was so kind-hearted and beautiful.
I wonder who she takes after to be so good-natured.
“Corbin, come here quickly.”
“Should I?”
“…I should have taken a picture.”
“I know, I was so surprised that I rushed to wake you up.”
“…Well, it’s not like we won’t see her again, so I’m not too disappointed. A little disappointed though.”
As I said to Corbin, I felt a bit disappointed, but after all, it was something we would see again.
I just wished I could have captured this first moment.
But anyway, I felt a lot better despite having been startled awake so early.
I got to see Charlotte stand up by herself, and even start walking, so… it felt good regardless of the sleepless night.
Really.
*
“Charlotte is walking!!!”
“Midori!”
“Charlotte!!!”
“Yay!!!”
Holding Charlotte’s hand, I carefully walked into the office.
Even though Charlotte was walking by herself, I was still really worried.
As soon as we entered the office, Midori ran up to Charlotte and shouted excitedly.
“Charlotte is walking?!”
“I know right?!”
“D-Dolores!?”
“…Wow.”
“Don’t just stand there in awe, come quickly and see?!”
“Wow……..”
Wow.
I really felt how popular our Charlotte was today.
I never expected everyone to react like this as soon as we entered.
I was at a loss for words watching everyone in the office looking so overjoyed.
“…Can I take a picture…?”
“…Of course. It’s not like it’s going to wear out…”
“Yeah, but just in case…”
Everyone was so happy it was hard to find words, and this time they were more excited than usual.
I wasn’t sure if I should be grateful or how to feel about it.
“Charlotte!”
“…When did you start walking?”
“Walked?”
“No… um…”
“It’s okay because she’s cute!”
“It doesn’t matter?”
“Yep!”
“Yeah!”
I just couldn’t grasp why everyone was standing in front of the door when there were chairs and sofas available.
It was quite amusing in many ways.
Charlotte was just standing up and walking where she used to sit in her stroller, but everyone was going crazy over it.
Of course, I, too, thought it was amazing this morning.
But this seemed a bit too extreme, didn’t it?
They were reacting like they were watching a debuting idol or something… it was honestly fascinating.
While Charlotte seemed to be enjoying her newfound popularity.
“Um… Charlotte, isn’t it a bit noisy with the aunts?”
“Too noisy!”
“Yeah, let’s rest somewhere quiet and then go back, okay?”
“Yep!”
After showing off Charlotte’s walking a bit and talking, we left the office and entered Easter’s café.
Corbin had some work to do, so I stayed back with just Charlotte.
“Charlotte, do you want to try this?”
“Huh?”
I offered her a tiny, cute cup that would fit her little hands.
Inside wasn’t anything unhealthy, but a little bit of fruit juice.
Not just any juice, but 100% fruit juice, right?
It wouldn’t be good for her to drink milk or coffee since she was too young.
So I figured I’d give her something a little tasty since she could enjoy it more than plain water or breast milk.
I specially asked Easter for this.
“It’s fruit juice, how does it look?”
“Pretty!”
“Hehe, right?”
“Mommy!”
“Me?”
“Pretty!!”
“…Really?”
It was a cute compliment, but was it because Charlotte was the one saying it?
Even though it was a simple praise, it felt somehow different.
I mentioned the fruit juice, and unexpectedly got a compliment back, which was quite surprising.
Maybe I didn’t expect it in this context?
“Want to take a sip?”
“Yep!”
Charlotte nodded and very carefully grabbed the cup. It shook a bit, but she started to drink slowly.
Maybe it was because she had been practicing holding cups with handles, but she managed to lift it surprisingly easily.
Is this the magic of early education?
Anyway, I watched with delight while worrying if she might spill it, just being there quietly.
-Gulp.
“How is it?”
“This…”
“This?”
“Tasty!”
“Really?”
“Yum!!!”
Seeing her innocent joy was truly heartwarming.
Of course, there was still some juice left in the cup, and I had to take it from her just to be safe.
But Charlotte seemed to love it so much, it really made me happy.
The agents around us were also taking a quick glance at our adorable Charlotte, and it was quite fun.
“What are you eating?”
While chatting with Charlotte, before I knew it, Corbin appeared in the café.
He must have finished whatever he was doing.
“I asked Easter to make her fruit juice. It’s not just any juice.”
“Is it good for her health?”
“Yes, I was told it’s fine.”
“Did she like it?”
“She loved it!”
Corbin hadn’t witnessed the earlier moment where Charlotte was so thrilled.
Not just me, but all the agents around had seen it.
It seems that quick movements are the way to go in life.
I wished I could’ve captured the moment when Charlotte took her first steps, it would’ve been such a treasure.
“Charlotte, want to take another sip?”
“Yum yum yum!!!”
“…She really seems to love it. Was it that delicious?”
“Tasty!!”
…Honestly, whether it was breast milk or baby food, it felt like our daughter loved almost everything she tried.
I worried she would end up being a junk food enthusiast when she grows up.
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