She carefully placed her tooth inside. Then, she tacked it under her Snow White pillowcase and she went into the yellow walled bathroom to do the brushing teeth ritual.
At the top of the bathroom was a navy blue wall border with glorious yellow sunflowers across the banner. Lara had wall papered the top of the bathroom while she was pregnant with Sally.
Sally sometimes got asked where she got her creative talent from and she would say she got it from her mother. Sally was born into a family of artists and crafters. She was surrounded by a doting aunt who loved photography. She was always getting Sally and Betsy to pose for her.
She finished brushing her teeth and looked at the new gap in her front teeth. She had already lost a bunch of teeth, so this was nothing new.
Then, she caught her mother climbing up the stairs and she scurried to her bedroom and hopped under the covers. As she did so, she could see the curtains pulling against the gentle wind of the night air. She had made sure that her window was going to be open tonight. As she knew that the tooth fairy couldn't pass through a glass window.
A few minutes later, her mother came in and tucked her in. Mom sat down and read, Little Bunny Foo Foo. Sally never tired of that one. "Mom, do you think that the tooth fairy would ever turn me into a goon?"
"Of course not dear. You're not going around scooping up the woodchucks and bopping them on the head. No worries."
"That's good. Don't shut my window. I want to make sure that she can get in and take my tooth. What do you think she does with all the teeth that she collects?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe she get's enough to build a castle with them. I bet that would be a very lovely castle."
"Do you think she cleans them before she uses them? What about the blood?"
"I'm sure she cleans them. She wouldn't use a dirty tooth. But it's a good idea for us to clean it before she gets it."
"What do you think she looks like?"
"I bet she wears a beautiful dress with teeth on them. And her wings are probably green. Just a thought."
"Does she have a big family? What if she's on the other side of the world and can't get to my tooth in time? I hope she won't miss me."
"She won't. The only time the tooth fairy doesn't show up is if you loose your tooth and can't find it to put it under your pillow. Then she doesn't come. That's why when you do lose a tooth, you need to find a safe place for it. And if you ever lose a tooth at school, you show your teacher. I bet she saves those photo cannisters exactly for that purpose. Remember, I sent you to school earlier this year with Aunt Ellie's empty film cannisters."
"Yes, she gave one to George a few weeks ago, when he lost his tooth. He came down too hard on the slide and then his tooth fell out."
"See, it came in handy. But now what you need to do is go to sleep."
"Okay. I wish I could stay awake so I could see what she looks like. I'm wondering if she is as beautiful as Flavia."
"She probably is. Now, shut those pretty eyes. A growing girl needs her beauty sleep."
Sally did as she was told and closed them shut. In a few minutes she opened them again and her mom had disappeared from the room.
She looked up at the old painting on the wall. It was of a baby doll and a teddy bear sitting in a pigskin chair. Mom had painted it long before she had met Pappa. Sally liked the teddy bear. The doll was a little scary and sometimes it would give her nightmares. But the teddy bear seemed to calm her.
She finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Lara went into the kitchen and pulled out a small frozen container. Then she grabbed a blue china bowl and scooped out some of her handmade strawberry ice cream. She was going to satisfy her sweet tooth. She went into the living room and sat down with Brent. He had his legs reclined in the maroon lazy boy chair and was watching Survivor.
Lara decided to watch too, but sometimes she just didn't care for Survivor. She then looked over at Brent and the memories of how they met rushed back to greet her.
She had been riding her bike down this old carriage road and she had gotten a flat tire. He came riding his bike and stopped along side her. That day, he had helped her fix her tire and then, he wanted to know more about her, so they drove to a nearby restaurant and began a raptured conversation. And the rest was history.
She fell in love immediately. Yet, now she looked at him, and was wondering if they were beginning to stray. Yes, he loved her, but then there were other days when he had an empty gaze and seemed as if he were a million miles away. Where was his mind, she wondered.
Was there something missing? Yet, just the other night he was saying that Flavia must be jealous that he chose Lara over her. He must really still love her. But here she sat in the dark eating a cold dish of ice cream and wondering if it was really true.
Then, she felt her stomach and then she caught his glance staring her down. But it was just him being slightly inquisitive and then she came back to eating her ice cream.
"Is that strawberry?"
"Yes."
"Good thing. Remember how that blueberry one you made stained your teeth? You were like a purple monster or something."
"Tasted good, though." She finished her bowl of ice cream and then got an idea. She left Brent to fend for himself with the reality show woes and went into the other room to do some crafting. She had a few projects in the works.
And as she sat down to work on something, she thought about things that worried her. She wished she wouldn't do this. Always fretting and thinking that the worst was going to happen. What if Brent wouldn't love her forever? Sometimes she worried about that. What if he moved on and left her behind?
Then, she had to dump that into a black hole and leave it there. He loved her. Why couldn't she just hold onto that and not get a jealous bone in her body?
Then, Lara thought about her mother. Lara came from a family of worriers. Her mother was always thinking that bad things were going to happen.
After a little bit, Lara finished her quick little project and beamed. She knew it was going to be a hit.
This put all her worries into the shadows and she was completely happy for the moment. And her sweet girls played a major role in her happiness. She lived and loved for them.
Sally slept like a rock and then woke up the next morning. She was still a little groggy, but then she heard her mom come in and say, "Rise and Shine. Time to greet a new day. And another day of school. Just think, in two more days, you are going to be out for the summer. We'll have to set some plans in motion. Figure out what we want to do this summer." Then Lara looked at Sally. "What did the tooth fairy bring you?"
"Oh, the tooth fairy!!! I missed her!!! How come I can never see her?"
"She's faster than a cheetah. Didn't you know that? Tooth fairies are some of the fastest on earth. The only other that comes so close to her is Santa Claus. They're just too fast for us. Well, what did you get?"
Sally pulled out the envelope from underneath the pillow and looked inside. She pulled out a small letter and a really glittery gold and silver one dollar bill. "Mom!!!! Look at this!!!! I've never seen a shiny dollar like this one. Never, ever, ever!!!! And she left a note."
Dear Sally,
Thank-you for the most beautiful tooth
I have ever seen. You have been
taking great care with your teeth.
The dentist and I are very proud of you.
Keep up the good brushing!!!
love,
Talia Tooth Fairy
P.S. I hope you love my dollar.
I painted it with my pixie dust.
"Wow, Sally. That is awesome. You'll have to tell your friends what Talia gave to you. Well, right now, why don't you put it somewhere safe so you don't lose it. Maybe your piggy bank. School is in just a little bit."
"Okay." Lara watched Sally stuff the dollar bill into a duct taped jar with Sally's name on it. Lara forgot that Sally often made funny containers to put her things in. Downstairs an old lunchables container was house for a bunch of Littlest Pet Shop characters.
Finally, Lara followed Sally out to the door and hugged and kissed her goodbye. She watched as her daughter was slowly growing up around her. Well, she was still eight years old for a few more months. Her birthday wasn't until the end of July. But sometimes, Lara just wished for time to fall back to another day in time.
The birth of her first child. Oh, how Sally really changed her life around. And then she thought back to the shadows of where she stashed away her worries. Would life change again? And would she be ready for something new?
Jennifer Jo Fay
Copyrighted June 21, 2012