Cheryl cursed mentally at herself for not checking their tickets beforehand because, of course, her laptop would decide not to charge when she needed it the most. They had to leave the house in two hours and the car wasn’t close to being ready to go.
“Why the hell isn’t this working?” Cheryl whispered to herself between teeth, the plug from the charger being aggressively maneuvered and frustration growing on her every time she hoped to see the plug icon on her laptop screen but met with the same one indicating her dying battery was too close to shutting completely.
She heard Toni’s voice coming from their bedroom, but it was too muffled and the redhead was too distracted to pay attention to what she was saying. That was until she heard light, quick footsteps entering the room. Cheryl looked back over her shoulder and a genuine smile grew on her lips.
“Hey, careful with the wi—” Cheryl tried to warn, but before she could finish her sentence her eyes darted to the floor. No wire. No way. She groaned and stood up to plug the wire in the outlet, wondering how she could be so stupid when they had so little time.
“Mommy!”
Cheryl walked towards Scarlett, who had both her arms in the air and her red hair tied up in a tiny high ponytail, completely undressed except for the diaper. The redhead lifted up the kid in her arms, placing her on her waist for support.
“Why are you naked walking around the house? Where’s mama?”
“Baby shak!” Scarlett crinkled up her nose, her index finger pressing against her chest. “Mama shak.”
“Oh, so mama is Mama Shark?” Cheryl asked in pure amazement, her eyes observing every feature on her daughter’s face as she laughed and nodded.
If there was anything she loved more than anything was how Scarlett had Toni’s eyes. Perfect copy. How they were huge, but turned into the smallest ones when she was tired. The tiny curve up at the end, just like her mother’s. The mole on her top lip. When she was inside Cheryl’s womb, the red-haired woman spent day and night wondering how her features would look like, but she could have never ever imagined Scarlett would look like that, and she couldn’t picture a world where her daughter looked anything but like that. She had so much of Toni that she didn’t even care that the girl had inherited her temper, but it was one of her favorite things how they both slept in the exact same position every night. She loved to watch her daughter grow to be just like the woman she loved most in the entire world.
“And you know what sharks love the most?” Cheryl heard Toni’s voice clearer now as she stepped into the living room. Scarlett turned around to follow her mother’s voice and another giggle came as she tried to hide from the pink-haired girl. Toni’s fingertips quickly met with her daughter’s ribs as she changed her tone. “Water. And guess where you’re going now?”
“I thought she was inside that bathtub already,” Cheryl said before she leaned down a bit to peck Toni’s lips, meeting a smile as she did so.
“I turned around for two seconds to get her shampoo and she ran away.” Toni explained almost apologetically before she took Scarlett, reluctantly, from Cheryl’s arms.
“At least you got her to undress. I was trying to turn on my dead laptop without plugging it in. It’s going great,” Cheryl faked a smile and sighed deeply, making Toni chuckle.
“Babe, calm down. We’re going to make it in time. That place will be there tomorrow if we lose our flights,” Toni held Scarlett with one hand, placing her on her waist for support like Cheryl had done it before, her hand reaching for Cheryl’s arm, thumb rubbing against the pale skin in an attempt to comfort and tranquilize her. Little did Toni know that the smile she had on was more than enough. “Just get to the tickets and I’ll take care of the rest. I’ll bathe her and set up the car. Don’t worry, I got you.”
Cheryl leaned in and placed a kiss on Scarlett’s forehead, and then leaned down again to give Toni another smooth, quick kiss.
As Cheryl watched Toni walking back towards their suite, she made sure the charger was plugged in before she sat down again and tried to charge her laptop once more. When it did, she sighed in relief and quickly typed her email address to get the vouchers to print.
Toni and her had planned that trip for months. At first, they wanted it to be on Scarlett’s birthday, but Toni would be working abroad that week and she couldn’t reschedule. They decided on a month after that, and it was perfect because spring had just started, it wasn’t too cold anymore but it wasn’t too hot to be out with a two-year-old under the burning sun of Florida. Cheryl had bought everything and all she needed was to print out their vouchers, put her family in the car and leave the house on time. Her controlling self was sweating, but somehow Toni’s voice saying she had her back came echoing inside her head. A deep breath was all it took for her nerves to start calming down.
They had decided not to tell Scarlett. Mostly because they weren’t sure if she would understand what a trip to Disneyland was, but she did love the princesses quite a lot, so they wanted to make a surprise anyways.
Toni had come home last night with two bags in hands. One was their dinner, Japanese food from their favorite restaurant and a bottle of their finest wine and some pasta for Scarlett, and in the other, there were two t-shirts she managed to find at the mall. One had Mickey’s ears and Cheryl was almost certain she had only bought the other one because it came with a tiara. She had told her during dinner she planned to tell her where they were going as she dressed the girl the next day with the t-shirt and Cheryl simply accepted it. She knew deep down Toni was more excited about the trip than Scarlett could ever be, and she wasn’t about to burst her bubble.
As the printer did its job, Cheryl ran to the bathroom after she heard Toni calling her name and found a very soapy baby and her wife, completely soaked from head to toe.
“She won’t let me rinse her hair off,” Toni said as she tried not to get shampoo on the rest of her clothes when Cheryl kneeled down next to the bathtub.
“Okay baby girl, time to get out of the water,” Cheryl cupped her hand and easily started rinsing her daughter’s hair, leaving Toni speechless next to her.
“She always listens to you.” Cheryl chuckled because she could almost hear the eye roll. Toni got a towel from the hanger to dry her arms and legs. “Can you finish cleaning her, then? Since she has a favorite parent and all.”
“She loves us both, right, Scar? Don’t you love mama?” Cheryl asked the girl in front of her and watched her nod before she looked up at Toni and smiled.
“Why can’t I be mad at her?” Cheryl heard Toni whisper to herself and shook her head. Those two were impossible, but she wouldn’t change it for anything. “Do you need anything done, babe?”
“Just get the tickets from the printer and if you can start setting Scar’s car seat it would be great. You know how long it takes us to properly fix that thing.”
Toni huffed as she hung the towel back. “Tell me about it. If you need help…”
“I think we’ll be fine from here, T.” Cheryl smiled at her wife, who nodded before she walked out.
An hour later, Cheryl and Toni buckled up Scarlett onto her car seat in the back and buckled their own seat belts. One last check at the house through the rearview mirror and they were ready to go. Car on the road and it was still twenty minutes from their house to the airport, so Toni, purposely, turned on the Bluetooth on the radio and her Disney playlist echoed through the speakers. Cheryl looked at her and shook her head.
“I can't believe you.”
“As if you didn't obsess over Ariel when you were a child.”
“Only because she was the only redhead back in our days.” Cheryl explained and Toni nodded. “I remember being obsessed with Part Of Yo--”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Ariel’s voice with the first sentence of the song played in the car. She watched Cheryl rolling her eyes, but that involuntary smile was still on her lips.
“Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl, the girl who has everything?” Toni sangsong, looking at Cheryl. She watched her cheeks getting pink and warm and smiled at the sight.
Cheryl looked at Scarlett through the rearview mirror, the little girl observing the trees outside the window with her Mickey t-shirt, her clear jeans and her white sneakers and then at Toni, who had the same outfit on, and felt that amazing butterfly feeling in her stomach.
“I don't know about you,” Cheryl looked at Toni this time. “But I do have everything.”
Cheryl had never seen Toni’s eyes shining as bright before than when they met with the entrance of their resort. They had stopped at front because Toni was too amazed being at Disney and Cheryl already had her phone in hands with the camera open. Scarlett’s stroller had become a luggage carrier while Toni carried her daughter in her arms.
“Mama!” Scarlett said in excitement, her index finger pointing to the huge Ariel statue in front of her. “Mommy! It mommy!”
Cheryl turned her head to the side smiling as her daughter happily bounced on Toni’s lap. Her little arms stretched towards Cheryl asking to be picked up by the redhead.
“That’s not mommy, baby. That is Ariel. Remember? From Little Mermaid?” Cheryl explained, her daughter’s cheek resting against the side of her face. Scarlett turned to face Cheryl now, her arms thrown around her neck while her hands played with Cheryl’s hair.
“Mommy! You, mommy,” said the little girl in broken words as she threw her mother’s hair in the air. Cheryl pulled her in and gave her a tickly kiss on the cheek, making her laugh.
“I think she means your hair, babe,” said Toni, getting closer to them now. “Ariel has had hair just like mommy, right?” She asked, getting a nod as a response.
“What color is mommy’s hair, Scar?” Cheryl asked this time, watching the girl touching her hair one more time.
“Mommy red,” she said, the R sound still not quite there, but the vowel sound she made in its place was music to Toni’s ears and she wished for a second for Scarlett to never grow up. Well, they were at Disney, where dreams came true, weren't they? “Mama pink!”
“You’re the smartest two-year-old I’ve ever seen.” Toni smiled right before kissed Scarlett’s arm, her heart bursting inside her chest. “She’s got your brain, Cher.”
“And your Disney passion.”
“I will happily take that.”
An hour later, they were all set, luggage properly placed inside the hotel room and sunscreen heavily added to Cheryl’s and Scarlett’s skin. Toni knew how badly sunburnt her wife could get and the last thing they needed was for her to get a sunstroke and not be able to get out of their room because her skin hurts too much in contact with any type of heat, so she put an extra bottle of sunscreen inside her backpack just in case.
They had arrived early in the day, but not as early as they needed to in order not to face gigantic lines for the Meet-and-Greets. Scarlett watched in awe every aspect of the park, how she could spot a Disney princess anywhere in there and an immediate laugh would come out of her mouth.
“Here says we have access to the park, except the rides.”
“Yes, because you don’t meet the height requirements.” Cheryl mocked and Toni made sure to try to give Cheryl her most deathly stare. It totally failed as soon as she broke into laughter.
“Shut it,” said Toni. “And, as I was saying, to Grotto’s and the Fairytale Hall, too.”
“Which one do you think she wants to see first? Because I know those eyes, and they’re not going to last long open. When you’re tired yours look the exact same.” Cheryl said, the resemblance between them still making her heart beat a bit faster. At that point, Cheryl knew it was never going to stop, and when she thought she couldn't love them more, she could.
Toni kneeled down, holding on the stroller for support, to talk to her daughter. Scarlett had a kid-sized bag of Pirate’s Booty in hands, chewing ever so slowly. “Scar, do you know we can see the princesses here?” She watched her daughter swallow before she allowed her mouth to hang open. “Yeah, that’s true. Mommy and mama are going to take you there, do you want to?”
Toni watched the girl nod while Cheryl still tried to figure out how to get to Fantasyland. “And who do you want to see there?”
“Memaid”, cooed Scarlett. Toni placed a kiss on her forehead before she stood up again.
“Off to Under the Sea we go,” said Toni, getting behind the stroller. “I think it's adorable how fascinated she is with Little Mermaid because of you.”
“And I can't wait until she’s big enough to get into Pocahontas. It's your favorite, isn't it?” Cheryl added and Toni smiled with a nod.
“How are we going to explain to her the amount of effort Ariel had to make to get Pocahontas? Being in the sea or sitting on the rock all day.” Cheryl joked and for a second Toni thought it was a real question.
“Oh, because the fact that she traded her life in the sea and her voice for a man and legs is okay?” Toni asked and Cheryl could almost hear legit indignation in her tone. The redhead laughed and Toni realized it had been just a joke and laughed, too. Cheryl leaned in and gave Toni a kiss, not caring if there were too many people walking around or if she was blocking someone’s passage. “Is it too soon for me to sing Kiss the Girl?”
“With that voice of yours?” Cheryl asked, her eyebrow raising to her hairline. “Be my guest and end Ariel’s career.”
Toni rolled her eyes with a shy smile on her face, but happiness written all over it, which she swore had nothing to do with the fact that Cheryl had quoted Beauty and the Beast, but she knew better.
As Toni walked back into their room with an almost asleep toddler, she heard Cheryl tripping over something with a loud thud. The pink-haired girl felt Scarlett move abruptly, startled with the sound and shushed her wife.
“Careful, babe,” said Toni in a whisper, getting a ‘I’m sorry’ in response.
They were exhausted. Not only Scarlett, but also Toni and Cheryl. They had walked miles and miles to get to where Ariel where, but it was worth it. Toni had never seen Scarlett so excited and amazed to be in a place like Grotto was. At first she was scared, but when she saw the girl dressed as the Disney princess that looked like her mother, it was like something clicked inside of her and she was the happiest girl to ever exist. Of course, she kept pointing to the princess shouting mommy as they waited in line, but not that Cheryl cared. The redhead would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it as well because she did. There was something so magical about that place that even she felt especial in there.
Toni had the time of her life. She tried not to show it much because she had a two-year-old who wasn't enjoying it as much as she was and she had a posture to maintain, but it was hard. At the end of the day, she knew both Cheryl and Scarlett had enjoyed themselves despite the exhaustion, so she was undeniably fulfilled.
“Okay, baby girl, time to go to night night,” said Toni as she put Scarlett on the bed, lying next to her right after. Cheryl had taken her shoes off and her jeans while Scarlett snuggled up against her mother’s chest.
“No,” she whined, the exhaustion tears creeping up in her eyes. “Mommy.”
“Mommy is right here,” said Cheryl. She put her daughter’s clothes on the nightstand and laid down on the other side, leaving the kid between her and Toni. The side of Cheryl’s index finger caressed her cheek while Toni’s thumb traced that linear pattern along her forehead and nose, making the little girl relax. “It’s okay, you can go to sleep now.”
Cheryl didn't expect Toni to start humming A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes, but it certainly was bringing some extra peace into the room. You could no longer see Scarlett’s eyes open, just her heavy eyelids keeping them shut and her hands holding tight to her mother’s hand. Cheryl still felt her grip on her hand, so she knew she wasn't fully asleep. As Toni hummed the notes, Cheryl whisperedly sang the lyrics to it. She felt Toni’s eyes and her smile on her a couple of times, but she was too stuck on her own daughter to have the strength to look away from her.
It took three whole songs until Scarlett fell asleep for good and fifty more minutes until Cheryl and Toni finally laid in bed after a shower and their night routine. Cheryl groaned when her body properly laid against the mattress, right before Toni snuggled against her side with head resting on her chest.
“What a day,” said Toni. “It was wonderful, though.”
“It truly was,” Cheryl said as she looked at Toni’s face with a genuine smile. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For everything. For letting me love you, for our family.”
Toni couldn't help the smile on her face or her speeding heart inside her chest. She raised her body, resting it on her elbows.
“You and Scarlett are the best, most magical thing that ever happened in my life. No Disney could compare.” Her hand met with Cheryl’s cheek, that pink-ish tone from being on the sun for too long and the warmth against her palm. “I love you.”
“I love you more.” Cheryl smiled before she leaned in and took Toni’s lips on her own. Toni laid back against Cheryl’s chest, feeling it rising up and down quickly due to her deep sigh.
“I wish these three days could never end.”
Cheryl smiled and shook her head. “Maybe you could wish it upon a star.”