Al Peabody / Padme Amidala (senatorialdoc) wrote in ourtrueselves, @ 2009-07-29 11:12:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | allison 'al' peabody |
Who: Al Peabody and little Lilia Trask [narrative]
What: Al rises to the challenge that is her boyfriend's precocious 4 y old
When: Mid to late afternoon, Wednesday July 29th
Where: New Orleans, LA - who knows where a senator and a little girl might go in the Big Easy
Warnings: Not really - cuteness overload?
Al showed up around noon, having forgotten in her nervousness that New Orleans was an hour behind her normal time. No one seemed to mind, and Lilia looked more than ready to go out, or so Al thought. Farley wasn't kidding about the wardrobe changes the little girl went through, and Al, Padme, or both had decided that was probably something that should be addressed one day; it was going to make getting ready for school the following year a real hassle. Yet, for the moment, Al didn't mind being highjacked by the little girl and forced to help her put together just the right outfit for their outing today. An hour later, the pair emerged from the bedroom; not that the door had been closed at anytime, but Al did feel like she'd been sequestered in a room full of nothing but tiny girlie outfits: Al in a sparkly purple boa she didn't even know where Lilia might have gotten it (it was New Orleans, so really anywhere), and Lilia in a purple ensemble (shorts, shoes, tee all purple) with a definite sparkly butterfly motif. The boa? Lilia had decided that Al needed some color and sparkle added to her faded, worn, and maybe a little torn jeans, Chucks, and comfy white button up blouse (it was a thin blouse, but she wasn't indecent).
They took time for a quick snack of half of a pbj sandwich before heading out to have an adventure of the age appropriate variety. Lilia had been given a choice of the zoo, the aquarium, or the children's museum. While Al had no problem with seeing two out of three, she did have to watch her budget; she was a grad student living in one of the more expensive cities in the US. Thankfully, Lilia picked the Louisiana Children's Museum. Al breathed a small sigh of relief; it was the cheapest attraction.
Lilia amazingly enjoyed the trolley car ride to the museum even if it was a "little sticky" outside, and both "women" were happy that there wasn't anybody who was rude to bother them. They talked about what Lilia liked to do and what Al liked to do. They talked about Disney princesses and who was their favorite; there was a bit of a heated discussion on who was older out of the Disney pantheon, but no feelings were hurt when they decided that they'd just have to guess that all the princesses were the same age, seeing as they all looked the same age. And, they both decided that they liked Jasmine's outfit the most, even if it would be prettier in purple - that was the color for the day, after all.
As Lilia was only four, Al didn't expect the little girl to be interested in the exhibits for very long; she suspected that Lilia might want to look at everything, but not be interested in it all for more than ten - fifteen minutes tops. Yet, she didn't mind when Lilia had decided she was going to be captain of a barge and crane operator; Daddy might be a musician, and then some, but she really liked playing with the crane. If she could have, Al would have given that one a try herself. Al watched closely as her young charge climbed, scampered, and crawled over one kid friendly river experience after another. Next stop was a health exhibit. Lilia demanded Al learn about healthy choices with her: food, exercise, all that stuff. While the video games were okay, neither of the adventurous pair found it overly exciting. It was like the river exhibit had been, very hands on and actiony. They both were a little creeped out by the giant eyeballs in an exhibit about eyes, but they did like looking through this and that part of the eye. As they both had had the snack earlier, they weren't quite hungry, so they continued exploring the museum. The science part was fun, and they both giggled at the word "ZOOMzone;" it was the z's that did it. The art exhibit took them the longest, but neither minded. They settled in for creation; they didn't have to color in the lines, and there was no prescribed color choice. Of course, a good bit of Lilia's work had purple and butterflies, and Al's had some of that, too. Before they knew it though, the museum was announcing closing time; neither wanted to leave, but they knew they couldn't really stay behind.
As it was getting closer and closer to dinner time, the pair opted for a poboy at this little place Al knew. She was amazed to find it still standing and was even happier to see that her memory wasn't bad. She was partially afraid she wad taking the two of them into a part of the city that could be dangerous. They settled on a meat and cheesy affair, splitting the large sandwich between them and the bag of chips. Of course, Lilia demanded they have milk with their meal rather than soft drink and an apple for dessert, the two things the girl probably got from the health exhibit. Al didn't mind either demand, even though she's always hated milk that wasn't ice cold. At least Lilia had learned something. Grabbing another poboy that Al hoped was really something Farley liked, she'd taken Lilia's suggestions on what should go on it but had a feeling most of what went on the sandwich were things Lilia like or thought her daddy needed, they caught another trolley home.
Al stuck around long enough to make sure Lilia was in good hands and to see, much to her surprise, that their new pieces of art were going to be proudly displayed on the fridge. She gave the little girl a good tight hug, only letting go when Lilia announced that she was tired and ready to take her bath. The grad student didn't ask to help with the bath, nor did she stick around much longer. She would have loved to see Farley more than a few minutes in passing, if she got to see him that long, but Padme was still working through some issues. Plus, she felt a small tug of sadness at the idea of leaving a child; Al just wasn't ready for Farley to see her cry...again probably. Lilia wasn't her little girl, but it hurt to leave her; and, Al wasn't even sure who was hurting - herself or Padme.
With another quick and perhaps exasperated hug from the girl of the hour, Al was out the door, making her way quickly to the local Agency office with the waiting MTN. She didn't cry until she got on the subway. It had been a very long day, fun but long. She ignored the looks she got as she cried; it wasn't like a crying woman in a sparkly purple boa was anything new to New Yorkers, a tourist sure, but how many tourists were going to take a train out to Brooklyn in the evening?