Cora is the niece of a now ex boyfriend. At the height of our relationship she was four and I often spent my weekends babysitting her, a task in which I actually enjoyed doing. We'd color on newsprint, and play with her dolls. She'd cook me dinner with her plastic food set. She once looked up at me with all that sweetness and innocence of a little kid and told me I was the loveliest person she's ever met. I responded by saying she was the coolest.
She still is, even four years later.
On some adventures, I would strap her in her car seat and take her on errands. She was content to hang out in the back and talk to me on everything, her stories on repeat and references slightly slurred. Every now and then, she would become suddenly aware of her limited movement and panic.
"JASS! I'M GUCK! HELP JASS I'M GUCK!" She'd scream.
("Guck" meaning "stuck" and "Jass" meaning "Jess.")
I'd look at her in the rear view mirror and say,
"Cora, you are not guck. You are buckled in, like I am!"
"But I don't want to be guck like you. I want to be free."
Upon our return to the house, it started to rain. She looked up at me asking if we would be guck inside.
"No, Sweets." I said. Putting on her rain boots and coat, she started jumping up and down with excitement as I told her that we were going outside.
We splashed in the forming puddles for about a half hour.
Cold fingers and dirty clothes- a small price for freedom, of any kind.
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