I hated in laws visiting.
Larry and Gena were in the kitchen eating what was in the fridge while their mother sat before the bar stool. Their grandmother, Jessie; I could handle, but I could not tolerate the other two. They've been nothing but parasites ever since I've met them. I don't know why my husband puts up with them.
Amy, my eight year old daughter, was sitting on Jessie's lap with a gift wrapped box in her little hands. Seeing those two together almost makes the in laws visitations worth it... Almost.
Larry and Gena tried to strike a conversation with me when they noticed me walking in, but I ignored them and focused my attention on the other two. Jessie spoke with a frail voice, and I had to lean in to listen.
"I want you to have something," She said while putting her hand on the gift, "My mother gave this to me when I was your age."
Amy, excited about the gift in hand, tore the wrapper with extreme prejudice until she was able to take the top off. I looked over her shoulder to see white and blue wrapper, which was quickly discarded.
The little gift lifted up a small stuffed bunny rabbit from the box. The bunny's outfit was covered with stains and dirt, and I could barely make out the red plus sign that was on it's collar. I could see brown stitches at the base of it's left ear, and they were drooping to one side, as if ready to fall off at any given moment. The bunny's fir was ruffled and covered with dust, and I could see several small stitches littering it's body. The poor thing has seen many years and looked ready to retire to a dump.856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGdLePjbRE
I would have taken pity on it if it wasn't for it's eyes and mouth. I think there was supposed to be a string on it's lips for a smile, but in it's place was a long, thin cut made from a knife. I could see stuffing through it's gape, rotten and molded from age of wear. The bunny's eyes were beady, but the light from the kitchen made the black dots glisten and shine. My daughter was looking at it in curiosity, and it looked like it was staring right back.
I thought my daughter would be a bit disappointed from the thing, but she smiled wide and held the bunny tightly in her arms while she buried her head in it's stained fur. If Jessie wasn't holding her, I would have snatched the disgusting thing away from her.
"You be sure to watch over Scruffy," Jessie said, "Take good care of her and give it a good home. It's a big responsibility, but I know you can do it."
Amy whipped her head back to give the grandmother a peck on the cheek, "I will. Thank you!"
She took off outside through the back door. Jessie looked to me with a proud smile, "They grow up so fast. That thing has kept my great great grandmother company since the Civil War. Now that piece of history is going to be passed down to your daughter."856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldmxNwKF6t
"Really?"
"Yes," She answered, "I've taken pride in that thing. I'm not going to be around much longer and I couldn't think of anyone better to have it than her."
So now I couldn't just throw the thing away. I walked to the back door to look through the window. I saw Amy sitting on a plastic chair with Scruffy sitting adjacent from her with toy cups between them. I saw her having a meaningful conversation with it. She may have a very active imagination, but I've never seen her do that before to any of her stuffed animals. Those poor things don't last long with her.856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9FAeCXaw7s
The thought of having a stuffed animal to pass down from generation to generation seemed neat, though. Maybe I could take it somewhere to have it cleaned.
"Hey," Larry said as I heard the fridge open again, "Do you have any mustard?"
I sighed under my breath as I try to seem friendly to them.
***
I was so glad to be back on my chair. After an hour of visiting, they were finally gone. My feet were propped up and I was ready to catch a breath before taking a shower. I've checked on Amy about fifteen minutes ago and she seemed fine with that little animal. Talking to it, but nothing I could call out of the unusual.
I had the TV on watching the news. I herd foot steps behind me, and I glanced behind to see Amy approaching me with the stuffed bunny on hand, carefully cradled in her arms.856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkDOCGChrg
"Can I take a shower?" She asked.
Her eyes were heavy and she let out a small yawn. I let out a yawn of my own, "Yea. Mommy's ready for her shower too."
I stood up. When my eyes peered down the hallway, they shot open in shock. There was a trail of shiny red liquid leading from the back door. I figured my daughter decided to fix herself some punch while I was talking with the in laws, but I followed that trail all the way back to where Amy was standing. I nearly screamed when I saw blood trickling down her leg.856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwFndcnEA8
"Oh my God."856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyP7GUm6RPC
I scooped my daughter up and carried her to the kitchen, and sat her down on the table while I scrambled to find the first aid kit. When I found it underneath the sink I slammed it on the counter and start getting materials out. While I was getting ready to dress a wound, my daughter was looking to me in concern.
"It's okay mom," She said, "I just fell on a rock. Scruffy patched it up."
I dismissed anything she said to me as I got the bandages ready. I cleaned the blood with a wet rag, and I saw where the blood was coming from. There was a very long cut on her upper thigh, probably was running and fell down. My breath was caught in my lungs when I noticed white stitches running down the cut; keeping the wound together. I tried to speak, but I was too horrified to say anything.856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7tbdPHTIy
"Mom," Amy said, "It's okay. It doesn't hurt anymore."
I shook my head in disbelief, "W-what is this? What did you do?"
My daughter cowered back from me a bit, as if she was in trouble, "I told you. I was running with Scruffy until I fell on a rock. My leg got scrapped on it, and Scruffy made it better."
I took a moment to calm down a bit. The blasted stuffed toy was still in her arms, and when she saw me looking at it, she held it tighter in her arms, as if defending it. My first thought was to throw the blasted thing away, but my rational mind kicked in. I couldn't blame a stupid stuffed bunny rabbit on this, and I couldn't stand the thought of making my daughter cry.
What were the odds of my daughter having knowledge of stitching a wound, though? Maybe she was inspired by the bunny's nursing outfit and tried to stitch the wound herself, and got extremely lucky. Where did she get the string from, then? She must have somehow gotten inside the medical kit in the kitchen while I was sitting in the living room.
I shook my head as I began wrapping the wound up. I was too tired to figure anything out, "Well, you should tell Scruffy to never mess with needles," I said while wrapping the wound up.
She shook her head, "She's been treating cuts for a long time."
I rolled my eyes while I picked her up to get her feet on the floor, "I'm sure she has, giving how old she is," That gave me an idea, "What do you say we leave her on a table somewhere while we take a shower."
Amy frowned and kept the filthy stuffed animal close to her.
I groaned under my breath.
***
I wounded up sitting the bunny near the sink while my daughter and I bathed together. Amy would have had her in the tub with us if I didn't say that she could get wet and tear up.
I just finished shampooing my daughter's hair, and I was about to do mine until Amy put a her hand on my arm.
"Can I do it?" She asked.
She wanted to return the favor. How adorable, "Sure. Be sure to scrub good now."
She dug her hands into my thick bunches of hair. She was getting into it too, with her hands rubbing all over on my head. Water was running down my face, and a burning sensation struck my eyes. I shouted in pain as my hands cupped my face in reflex.
"You okay?" Amy asked with panic in her voice, "I'm sorry."
I tried open my eyes, but it hurts just to open them, "Y-yea. Mommy forgot to close her eyes."
I felt her body turning around and was trying to get a glimpse of my face.
"I said I'll be fine," I said, "Just need to keep my eyes closed for a while."
After a couple of minutes we were out of the tub. When I finally convinced my daughter that I would be okay, she took the stuffed animal with her. I was standing in front of the mirror, and I managed to open them up just enough to see them blood shot. The burning sensation returned and I had to quickly close them. I managed to get dry and dressed with my eyes closed. I stayed over the sink for a minute until I was able to at least see a bit.
***
I was lying on my bed flat on my back. I kept a night light beside the bed on a stool; I didn't like sleeping in complete darkness. I let out another yawn when sleep began to take over. My conscious was slipping away from me, and I was waiting for the sand man to fully embrace me. My body became motionless, and my brain was in the process of shutting down.856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywxc0rXCGI
I had my eyes shut for thirty minutes until I felt something shuffle on top of me; something I barely noticed. One of my eyelids lazily drifted opened. The thing I processed was two beanie eyes staring at me, reflecting from the night light. There was a thin string hanging from it's gaping smile, with a shining needle held in front me.856Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaIxpOEOne
