Arms Hotel, Saturday Morning

[spin_kick_snap]

Okay, so for all the complaining about having to get up early - especially after a night chock-full of pollen - this was Kathy's favorite weekend of the year. Surrounded by kids who called her mom, arguing over breakfast, listening to them babble on about their likes and interests and hopes, singing them to sleep at night. Even with as a late an evening as they'd had, she was still up, bright and early, humming around the public room of the suite, readying it for tiny visitors.

A hotel room meant that she had to rely on room service for breakfast, but she made due, making sure to order plenty of fruit (heavy on the strawberries), and juice, and more bacon and sausage than any one room really ought to have.

Now to wait for folks to start showing up!

[Open for all tiny children and their parents, whether related or not!]

Comments

[rebelseekspizza]

"Is breakfast here yet?" Dante muttered.

Yeah, he knew what weekend it was. He was still going to sprawl in this bed until he was good and ready to stop.

[rebelseekskimchi]

There was a loud, insistent rapping on the door. "Mom? Dad?"

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"Yes, but it's only for people who get up and get it," Kathy said, bending over to give him a kiss. "You don't get breakfast in bed, lazybones."

[rebelseekspizza]

"But why not?" Dante whined. "What's the point of being in a hotel otherwise?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy barely managed to keep from cheering at that knock. She hurried over to the door, and opened it to see...

Okay, new girl this year. But definitely one of hers. And beautiful. "Hi," she said, smiling softly at this new daughter. "Come on in. Hungry?"

She was never going to be like her mother, shaming her girls for eating with dire warnings of gaining weight.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Because the kids are coming, that's why," Kathy informed him. "And if I brought you breakfast in bed, you wouldn't get up till noon. And they deserve to see their much-younger dad. Uncle. Weird blonde hobo who lives in their mom's house."

[rebelseekskimchi]

Evie's eyes were big. "Always hungry, mom," she said. "Speedster, remember?"

... Okay, she knew mom had reason not to remember. Whatever.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Who is it?" Dante called from the bed.

He'd sat up, at least?

[rebelseekspizza]

"Not a hobo," Dante muttered. "And I'm too hungry to be up."

[spin_kick_snap]

Very impressive Dante. Vertical was an improvement.

"New one!" Kathy called back. "What's your name, sweetheart?" she asked, letting the girl inside. "Buffet spread's on the table, at least three kinds of fruit or one vegetable or you get nagged all day."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Debatable," Kathy countered. "Fine, I'll bring you food, but you've gotta eat everything I bring in."

[rebelseekskimchi]

"I'm Evie," Evie said, pushing past her mom to go find the buffet table, which was extremely important. "Is there meat? Oh, hi, dad." She waved absently at Dante as she zeroed in on the food.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Hi... kid," Dante said, nonplussed.

He cast the blankets aside. (At least he'd worn a rare pair of boxers to bed. ... Swim trunks. They were swim trunks.)

[rebelseekspizza]

"You're gonna use this as an excuse to feed me vegetables, aren't you."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Shoulda gotten up when I told you to," Kathy said cheerfully, spinning around enough to make her skirt twirl. It was fairly conservative, down to her knees, but still. A girl had to have some fun, even dressed for kids.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Evie," Kathy supplied. "Her name is Evie. And you're...dad?"

She didn't want to admit how good it felt to hear one of her kids use that word. After two years of having them all refer to Anders and Dante by their names, she was half-afraid that it was some kind of Sign about how welcome they were in their future lives.

[rebelseekspizza]

"You're lucky you have legs like that," Dante said, flopping back on the bed.

[rebelseekskimchi]

"It's actually Evelyn, but that makes me sound like an old person," Evie said, scrounging up her face.

... it did not stop her from grabbing a plate and piling things on. "Yes, you're mom, he's bio-dad, and then there's dad junior."

Someone was gearing up for puberty.

[rebelseekspizza]

"At least I'm not junior," Dante offered, grinning, as he found his shirt and yanked it on. "Let us know if you need something more, kid. Might even convince somebody to make us burgers."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Dante!" Kathy said, exasperated. "It's not even ten o'clock in the morning! Mooby's hasn't even started serving sandwiches yet. And there are eggs! And three-quarters of a pig's worth of pork out here!"

[rebelseekspizza]

"She might still be hungry," Dante pointed out.

[rebelseekskimchi]

"It's true," Evie said, scooping up piles of pork for her plate. "I might."

[spin_kick_snap]

"You're getting breakfast in bed," Kathy called over her shoulder. "You're lucky I haven't just decided to smother you with a pillow."

She came back with a BLT - far more bacon than anything else, but two leaves of lettuce and a thick slice of tomato. "Eat it all or I'll rethink my stance on smothering," she told him. "And if you try to feed it to my dog, we're having words.

But there were a handful of strawberries on the plate, too, so she was probably nowhere near as huffy as she sounded.

[spin_kick_snap]

"She's definitely yours," Kathy snorted. "Eat first and then let me know if you're still hungry."

Because like Kathy, Softest of Soft Touches, was gonna turn down a hungry kid.

Sigh.

[rebelseekspizza]

"Aw, you do love me," Dante said, ignoring all that in favor of taking the sandwich. "Thanks babe."