Chapter Text
“...the prince and the princess kissed, got married and then lived happily ever after. The End.” Valentina closes the book.
Nicky sighs softly and leans against her shoulder, cradled in her arm, her fingers gently carding around his curls. One of them hangs down into his eyes. She pushes it away.
“What are you thinking about, mi corazón?”
Nicky is quiet for a moment. Then he asks: “Mami… can boys be princesses, too?”
“Hm.” Valentina needs a moment to think about this. “...usually, boys are princes.”
“I don’t wanna be a prince!”
Nicky pulls a face that makes his mother laugh softly.
“...cause I don’t wanna kiss a girl.”, he adds, and there’s this little pang in Valentina’s heart.
“Who do you wanna kiss, then?”, she asks. Nicky’s curl falls back into his eyes.
Nicky thinks for a moment, then says: “Ken!”
“Who’s Ken?”
“From the Barbie movie, mami!” Nicky sounds offended about the fact that she doesn’t remember.
“Ooooh.” Valentina remembers. Well. Some boys like Batman, some boys like Barbie. Some boys like girls, some boys like boys.
It’s not like she hasn’t had a certain inkling yet. But Nicky is a small child, and trying to press him into any box is just useless and stupid. And of course, people will comment on certain things, like Nicky’s long hair and the fact that the rubber boots he picked out for himself are pink. But Valentina knows her child, and she knows that whatever makes Nicky happy is the best for him.
“Well,I think princes can kiss other boys, too, if they’d rather.”, she says, and Nicky smiles into her shoulder, his cheeks a little pink.
“Do you think so?”, he asks, and she nods.
“Of course. But only grown-up princes.”
Nicky giggles against her shoulder.
“Now, come on, we’ll say a prayer and then it’s bedtime, yeah?”
Nicky nods and wiggles in her arms, turning so he’s on his back, hands clasped on his chest. He knows their good night prayer by heart.
“God, my friend, it is time to sleep.
I thank you for a soul unique,
And thank you for another day,
To run and jump and laugh and play!”, he recites.
“Amen.”, Valentina adds, and then rolls over to kiss his forehead. “Sleep well, my little prince.”