Work Text:
“Tali! Come look at this!” He leads the four year old over to the children’s movies of the local Walmart. The moment he spotted the aisle, he knew he had to take his little girl to look them over. Instantly the preschooler starts running over to her father, her brown curls bouncing over her shoulders.
“What, Abba? What?” Stopping before him, she stands on her toes to see him his view. “What’s that?” She asks, pointing at the cover art.
The man kneels down to her height and points at each of the items on display. “This, my dear, is some of the greatest Disney movies known to the entertainment industry.” Tali’s eyes widens as her father speaks, her love for the movies he has shown her in the two years he has been in her life.
She turns to him, in awe. “Can I have one?” He smiles at his daughter, taking it in. He nods, watching as she lights up before him. “Yay yay yay!” She screams, jumping up and down in her place. Suddenly she turns to the movies on the shelf, completely serious, taking on a demeanor of her father. The little girl raises her hand to her chin as she thinks.
Her father watches her from his spot, remembering a scene from nearly fifty years before when he would stand in front of the movie theatre posters, deciding on which movie he and his mother would see that night. Many of them were the movies on the shelf before him. Softly, he smiles at his daughter, taking in her energy as she attempts to pick just one.
Maybe, just maybe.
Five minutes have passed before Tali starts jumping in place, turning to her Abba she points at the film that has a drawing of a couple dogs on it. “I want that one Abba!”
His smile widens when he notices the movie on the end of her finger. “That is an excellent choice, Tali! It’s a classic!” The little girl’s smile grows larger at her father’s appraisal. Glancing over at the other movies on the shelf. “You know what?” He whispers, pulling the girl into an abace.
Her eyes widen. “What?” She whispers back.
“Lets get them all!”
She gasps loudly, her hands raising to her face, her eyes wide with excitement. “All of the movies?” He nods, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
***
The keys rattle as the door unlocks to the apartment, she walks in, hanging her purse on the hook beside the door. She turns around to the noise from the TV in the living room, the end credits of a movie plays on the large screen before her sleeping family. The edges of her lips lift as she watches her husband and daughter sleep soundly on the couch.
She takes a notice to the Walmart bag on the coffee table and the unfamiliar animated films spread around. In a swift motion, she grabs the bag and takes it to the kitchen to add it to the collection of plastic bags in the cabinet. Crumpling up the bag, she feels the receipt inside and pulls it out. Her eyes widen at the total at the bottom.
“$300? ARE YOU INSANE!”