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The minute Anne disappears from her line of sight, Elizabeth pouts, her hands balling up into fists. Cathy looks down and frowns at the forlorn look on her face.
“I’m a bit in over my head, aren’t I?” Cathy mutters to herself, shaking her thoughts away before squatting down to her level. “It’s okay, El. You’ll see her in the morning, just like she said.”
Elizabeth stares at Cathy, not necessarily expecting, simply curious and longing.
“It might be like this for a little while, but we can take this time to get to know each other a bit better,” Cathy takes her little hands in hers, swinging them slightly. “I know I’m not Anne or even Jane, but I want you to know that you can be comfy around me. I’d like to think I’m just as cool as them.”
Elizabeth fights off a smile, and Cathy figures she’s doing something right. She stands up before putting her hand on her back and guides her to the kitchen counter, lifting her up to sit on a barstool.
“Maybe help me out a little bit? Can you tell me what you like doing? Any hobbies? What did you use to do with Jane?” Cathy starts, and Elizabeth regards her for a moment. She doesn’t have much toys to begin with, and the little that she did have are left in the old flat.
She does perk up a bit at her question, though. She likes how Cathy asks her about what she likes even if she knows that she doesn’t like to talk much. She’s gotten so used to Jane and even her Mama telling her their plans for the day that it had never occurred to her to think about what she genuinely likes to do.
Before Elizabeth could gather the courage to open her mouth, Cathy pulls out a chair and sits next to her.
“I don’t seem to remember what I used to like at five. You are five, right?” Elizabeth shakes her head—Cathy’s being silly—and holds up three fingers.
“Oh, three! I’m sorry, you just seem a bit older,” Cathy corrects herself, and Elizabeth lets out a little giggle. She hasn’t met a lot of people in her short life, and Cathy’s most definitely the first to tell her that she brings herself like a big girl. She doesn’t know if she likes it—she’s always been her Mama’s baby and doesn’t really want to give up being held and carried and sucking her thumb just yet.
“There’s a park a few blocks from here, have you been to one?”
Elizabeth shakes her head. It’s not a full lie—Jane has brought her to a park once, remembering her eyes lighting up at the sight of a slide and no other children around to steal a turn, but upon closer inspection, the middle of the plastic slide had a sizable hole in the middle of it. Jane quickly took her hand and pulled her away, bringing her back to the flat and setting her in front of the telly instead.
“Oh, baby girl,” Cathy sounds a bit sad now, but Elizabeth brightens at the nickname. She hears it so often from her Mama and she likes how it sounds in Cathy’s voice. It doesn’t escape her, the way the little girl relaxes at the moniker. “I’ll ask Anne first, but if she says yes, I’ll make sure to bring you. Hopefully soon.”
“Thank ‘ou,” Elizabeth’s voice is barely above a whisper, but Cathy catches it and she celebrates the little victory in her head.
“No problem,” Cathy smiles, reaching up to caress the back of her head. She checks the clock, it’s only a little after six. “You’ve done a wonderful job helping me with breakfast this morning, baby girl. Do you want to help with dinner as well?”
Elizabeth beams at the prospect of getting to help as she nods, and Cathy chuckles. She thinks she can handle a three year old in the kitchen again.
“I’m not quite sure what I want to eat tonight, though,” Cathy muses as she pulls out a cookbook and places it in front of Elizabeth, flipping it open to a random page. “Could you show me what you think looks good? Then let’s try to make it.”
Elizabeth looks up at her dubiously, her head still wrapping around the fact that Cathy’s giving her the privilege of getting to choose. At her encouraging nod, she flips through the pages and points to a relatively simple bolognese dish, mostly because it looks the most familiar. Cathy sees the hesitant look in her eyes, obviously waiting for a compromise.
“I do feel in the mood for pasta. Great choice, El,” Cathy praises with a newfound energy to follow through. “Come on, I’ve got an extra apron over here.”
Cathy notices quickly just how socially deprived Elizabeth was, and realizes that it could potentially be a huge reason why she refuses to talk. She gets an abundance of love and support from Anne, that much is evident, but she takes it upon herself to step in and allow her to explore as much as she can under her supervision.
Cathy watches her transfer the chopped carrots into the pan and makes a mental note to stock her kitchen with children’s cooking supplies. She lets her fill the pot up with water and throw in the pasta, and even allows her to stand on a step stool and stir the sauce. Cathy manages to snap a quick photo of a smiling Elizabeth holding up a wooden spoon and sends it to Anne before turning her full attention back to the child near the flames.
She quickly drains the pasta and then teaches Elizabeth how to plate it by winding a portion of noodles around a fork and sliding it off on a heap in the middle, topping it off with a spoonful of sauce. She lets Elizabeth try it herself, nowhere nearly as clean but she’s proud that it makes it to the plate either way.
“Great work, chef,” Cathy grins as they enjoy their dinner, holding her glass of water out to the girl and prompting her to raise her plastic cup of juice to clink it with hers. “S’good?”
Elizabeth nods as she sips on her drink.
“Hey El,” Cathy starts, twirling a bit of pasta on her fork. “Did you enjoy making dinner with me?”
Elizabeth gives her another nod, even offering her a small smile and a thumbs up.
“Okay. Okay, that’s good, I’m glad,” Cathy exhales, running a hand through her hair. “But I just want you to know that, if ever you don't wanna do something, it's okay. I don’t want you to feel like you have to follow through something just because I said so. It probably doesn't apply to chores and this might be a completely different conversation with Anne, but...”
Cathy realizes that she had lost her when she sees Elizabeth with her head cocked to the side. She almost laughs at the tomato sauce smeared around her mouth, but she simply hands her a tissue as she tries to compose herself again.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that if…if there’s anything you want to do, just tell me or show me and I’ll try my best to make it happen. I want you to be able to play around and find new things that you might enjoy. Is that okay with you?”
Elizabeth sips her juice, mulling over her words. When she puts the cup down, she looks at Cathy with a tentative smile.
“Paint t’morrow?” Elizabeth asks shyly.
“That sounds like a great idea.” She doesn’t have paint on hand, but she’ll find a way to have them by then.
“Park?”
“As soon as I get your Mama’s permission.”
Elizabeth purses her lips, her eyes thoughtful. She doesn’t feel as apprehensive around Cathy anymore, especially after letting her do so much instead of making her wait in front of the telly, and she nods gratefully, suddenly excited for her time with her tomorrow.
Once they were done, Cathy lets Elizabeth hang around in the kitchen while she cleans off the food from their plates before putting it in the dishwasher. She transfers the leftovers into another container and sets aside a plate for Anne in the fridge.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Cathy turns around to take a chocolate bar from the pantry, breaking off two small pieces. She crouches down to her level as she hands her one. “Most important part of the meal.”
Elizabeth giggles, happily accepting the treat. She holds hers up expectantly, and Cathy laughs as well, touching her piece with hers before they pop it in their mouths at the same time.
“I know your Mama’s not a big fan of sweets, but lucky for you, I am,” Cathy tells her conspiratorially, quickly sucking the melted chocolate from her thumb. “So this can be our little thing.”
“Okay,” El agrees brightly, tentatively wrapping her arms around her neck. “Thank ‘ou.”
“You are so welcome, El,” Cathy embraces her back, feeling as if her smile would split her face in two.
“More?”
Cathy chuckles as she weighs her options.
She's talked the most she's ever heard, and she figures that warrants a small reward.
And this was their thing, after all. Anne doesn’t have to know.
She relents, breaking off another small piece.
“Last one, baby girl. Then tomorrow again.”
She has three more last ones after that.