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‘What are you girls up to now?’ Malcolm came into the playroom where Mia and Gracie were playing. Alastair was happily burbling away in his arms.
‘We’re about to have tea, daddy. You and Alec can join us.’ Mia invited them.
‘I’m not sure Alec will know to keep his pinky finger up when he’s drinking.’
‘This would be his first formal tea.’ Mia said as she set out the plastic teacups on their play table. ‘He’ll have time to learn.’
‘I get you a seat!’ Gracie said and ran off to get one of the other small pink stools.
‘Why thank you, Gracie.’ Malcolm smiled as his daughter brought over the stool for him. ‘I hope it’s okay if Alec sits on my lap while we have tea.’
‘Of course.’ Mia said primly. She collected her favourite wolf doll and set it on the bench beside her, settling it in perfectly with a teacup in front of it.
Gracie ran out of the room and came back with her three favourite Paddington bears. ‘Mr. Blue you go there. Yellow boots here. Mr. Coat here.’
‘Three of your bears?’ Mia clucked. ‘This was to be an intimate tea.’
‘But they all favourites.’ Gracie pouted. ‘I invite three bears. You got Wolfie, Alec and daddy. Evens.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘No.’ Alastair waved his fists as he rested back against Malcolm’s body.
‘Yes,’ Mia corrected her brother.
The little boy smiled, his nose wrinkling and cheeks dimpling. ‘No.’
‘He’ll learn yet.’ Malcolm ruffled the boy’s hair.
‘No.’ Alastair leaned forward to grab at one of the plastic cups.
‘Tea isn’t poured yet, Alec. Patience.’ Mia reached over and set the cup out of his reach. ‘Daddy, please help him mind his manners.’
‘Yes, lass.’ Malcolm cuddled the little boy back against him, a large hand on Alastair’s chest to keep him steady. The boy fussed at having been denied the cup. ‘Shush, Alec.’
‘I want tea now, too.’ Gracie said.
Mia clucked disappointingly. ‘Impatient, all of you.’ Mia went over to the cupboard and got the teapot. ‘I’ll go get the tea.’
Alastair made another grab for the cup, diving forward. This time he was quick enough to grab the cup and try to chew on the edge of it. ‘Alec, don’t chew the cup.’ Malcolm tried to get the cup away from his son’s mouth but the boy was pretty determined to hang onto it. When Malcolm got it away from him, Alastair swatted for it and missed. ‘You’ll get your tea, lad. Easy.’
Gracie leaned over to her brother and kissed him. ‘Mia’s coming with the tea.’
‘Mmmo.’ Alastair smiled and grabbed for Gracie’s nose. The little girl shook her head and made him laugh happily.
‘Mommy wouldn’t let me get real tea.’ Mia announced on her return. ‘We have pretend tea.’
‘Didn’t she give you any biscuits to have with our tea?’ Malcolm asked.
‘Too close to dinner,’ Mia pouted and stood by the table to pour ‘tea’ for everyone. ‘Now you have to be careful. Tea is hot.’
‘Very hot!’ Gracie agreed and pretended to carefully pick up her cup of ‘tea’. ‘Oooh! Very very hot!’ She began to blow on it ‘Daddy, you blow on Alec’s tea.’
‘Of course, little lady. Raise your pinky.’ Malcolm took the offered cup from Mia and lifted it up by way of a ‘cheers’. ‘Let’s blow on our tea, Alec.’
‘No!’ Alastair swatted again at the cup to try and grab hold of it from Malcolm. Some of the water that was pretending to be tea spilled out onto Malcolm’s trouser leg. Alastair flailed his arms about when Malcolm set the teacup back down on the table. ‘No!’
‘Careful, Alec.’ Mia cautioned still in her role as the mistress of ceremonies for their tea party. ‘Daddy, you’re supposed to be minding him.’
‘I’m trying, lass. I’m trying.’ Malcolm tried to distract his son by blowing raspberries against the back of his neck. ‘What’s that, Alec. What’s that.’ He blew again on his son’s neck. Alastair wailed aloud rather than being happy at his father’s attempts to play. ‘Hey hey hey. Shush.’
‘Daddy, Alec’s mad.’ Gracie observed.
‘I know, I know.’ Malcolm bobbled him up and down on his leg. ‘C’mon, lad. It’s okay.’
Alastair strained against Malcolm’s hands towards the table, his cries got louder in his frustration.
‘I go get his owl.’ Gracie said. ‘That helps.’
‘Please, yes.’ Malcolm agreed. ‘Want your owl?’ Gracie took off to run up the stairs to the nursery where Alastair’s owl was sitting by his crib. It was the stuffed owl toy that Sam had bought initially just after Alastair’s birth. She had got it and handed it to Malcolm. ‘The perfect toy for the littlest Tucker. Train him how to scowl like an owl. Just like you.’
Alastair kept crying louder and louder all the while scrambling to get to the table and the plastic cup he was fixated on.
‘Aw, Alec.’ Mia broke her role as the tea lady and came over to sit beside Malcolm and her brother. She lifted up one of Gracie’s bears and waggled it in front of Alastair. ‘Paddington wants to hug you.’
‘Na na na.’ Alastair babbled with a half cry turning into a partial smile at the bear being danced about in front of him.
‘What is all the fuss in here?’ Dani stood in the doorway.
‘Nothing disastrous. Lad here wants nothing more than to chew on a plastic tea cup which is not a good thing.’
‘No, not really.’ Dani smiled at her son wriggling in Malcolm’s grasp. ‘Oh!’
Gracie barreled back in, bumping into Dani’s legs. ‘Sorry, mommy. Owlie, Alec!’
‘Ooow’ Alastair’s eyes lit up like saucers at his stuffed owl toy. ‘Ooww’
‘Here you go, Alec. Here’s owlie.’ Gracie gave it to her brother who clutched it in his little hands and jammed one of it’s ears into his mouth, wetly chewing on it.
‘Finish up your tea soon.’ Dani smiled at her collected family. ‘I’ll be serving up homemade chicken soup shortly.’
‘Soup!’ Mia grinned. ‘I love soup!’
‘I know you do.’ Dani winked at her oldest daughter. ‘Malcolm, you should help them clean up as they were good about serving you your tea.’