Georgia On My Mind - Second Generation - Book One

Chapter 2 - Boys Are Mean

After Uncle Sef and John Luke leave, I walk over to sit down next to Daddy. "What are you doing, Daddy?"

"Watching TV, sweetie." He says as he pulls me close to him. I sit there with him for a little while as he sneaks potato chips to me; then, I hear a noise at the front door. I look over and see that it's Momma coming in with her hands full. Her name is Mariah, but Daddy calls her Ri.

"Momma!" I yell as she comes in the entry with Benny in his car seat.

Benny is my little brother. His name is Bentley, but we call him Benny for short. I run towards her. "Hi, baby! Ummmpphhh..." she snickers as she sets Benny down and holds me with one hand after she sets her bag down on the floor.

I can hear Daddy laughing from the sofa. He gets up and walks over to remove Benny from his car seat. Daddy leans down and kisses Momma while holding Benny in his arms. "Hey baby, did you have a good day with Brie and Harper?"

"Yes, I did. We went out shopping and then had lunch. It was nice, and the kids were good for us. No major meltdowns." She responds.

Daddy kisses Benny on the forehead. "Did you buy anything good?"

Momma flashes him a sly grin and walks past him. "Guess you will find out later tonight, Mr. Hudson."

"Hmmm... can't wait," Daddy hints.

I squeeze Momma's neck as she carries me to the kitchen. She looks down at me. "Do you want some juice, angel?"

I nod my head excitedly. "Yep!"

Momma grabs a juice box from the refrigerator and sets it on the table in front of me. She punctures the straw opening, and I pick it up to take a sip.

I hear Benny start to fuss in Daddy's arms; he holds him over his shoulder and gently pats his back, rocking back and forth, trying to soothe him. Momma walks over and grabs Benny from Daddy and sits criss-cross applesauce on the couch as she lifts her shirt just enough to feed Benny. Momma always knows when Benny is hungry even though he can't talk.

I sit at the table quietly and drink my juice. Momma's red bag near the front door catches my eye, so I sneak over to see what is in there. I rummage through the bag and pull out a pink dress with matching underwear. I hurriedly throw the dress on over my clothes. "Momma, I look pretty in your dress," Momma puts her hand over her mouth and quietly laughs. Daddy covers his eyes and chuckles.

Daddy gets up, walks over to where I'm standing, and pulls the dress off me." Maybe in about twenty years, you can wear that baby."

"Daddy, I want to wear it now. I want to play dress-up with it." I plead with him.

He chuckles and tosses the dress back in the bag. "No, that's not for dress up, baby."

Feeling embarrassed, tears well up in my eyes due to their reaction, "Don't laugh at me!" I cry out.

Momma wipes the tears from her eyes with her index finger. "Aww, baby, we aren't laughing at you. We're laughing at something else."

Daddy reaches his arms out towards me. "Come in here with me and cuddle, would ya?"

Before I can respond, he swoops down and picks me up. I giggle, feeling butterflies in my tummy as he spins me around in circles. "Ahhh, Daddy!" He playfully throws me down on the sofa. "Ahhh!" I sit up to give Daddy room to sit next to me.

When he plops down on the sofa, I cuddle up next to him, watching television. Momma is burping Benny now and switches him to the other side to continue feeding him.

Later, Momma gets dinner ready for us while Benny is asleep in his pack and play. She makes my favorite dinner, spaghetti. Aunt Maggie and Uncle Dominic come over to visit and eat dinner with us. Uncle Dominic is a giant. He is even taller than my Daddy. I gaze up at him, and he bends down to talk to me. "How are you, sweet Georgia?"