Superstition ain't the way
Title: Superstition ain’t the way
Series: A Year in the Life
Date: August 13th - Friday the 13th
author: cunningdeb
Rating: PG
Pairing: adam/kris
Summary: Hannah gets carried away worrying about bad luck.
Disclaimer: Pure fiction.
Warning: More excessive cuteness; be ready to aaawwwwwww….
Part of my Allen-Lambert. Hannah is 12 years old, Josh is 7 years old.
Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ performance from Sesame Street (side note: at 3:33 you’ll notice the speakers are the same brand - Orange - that Adam’s band is using on tour right now LOL) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE
--*--
“Papa, tell Josh to leave me alone!”
“She won’t play with me!”
Adam rolled his eyes as they stood in front of his chair, screaming at each like they were twenty feet apart instead of two. He was trying to catch up on some reading and really didn’t want to play referee.
“Joshie, leave your sister alone.”
“But I’m bored!”
“Go outside and play.”
“I did that.”
“Then go upstairs and play with your Star Wars toys.”
“I did that too. I want to play with Hannah.”
“Well, I don’t want to play with you!” she declared, hands on her hips and leaning into him, accentuating her comment by sticking her tongue out.
Josh grabbed her tongue and pulled.
Hannah yelled. “Ewwwww! Papa, he touched my tongue!”
Adam dropped his book on the side table. “Enough!” He got up and passed by the startled kids, stopping at the TV. He scanned the dozens of DVDs shelved nearby and pulled one out. Without consulting the audience, he put it on. “There. Sit down, watch, and let me read.”
The DVD started. Josh cheered and Hannah groaned, “Sesame Street? I’m too old for Sesame Street.”
“I love Sesame Street,” Josh declared, settling into the couch and hugging a pillow.
“You would.” She settled back too but crossed her arms and frowned.
“Give it a chance Sweetpea. It’s a collection of the famous singers and musicians they’ve had on the show. Great music is ageless.”
“That’s right Hannah,” Josh chimed in seriously. “Papa and Daddy still make great music and look at how old they are.”
--*--
Kris came home. “Hey, where is everybody?”
“In here baby!”
Adam sounded happy and that made Kris happy. He entered the family room and walked into a rave. Hannah, Josh and Adam were on their feet dancing away to some kind of 70s flashback on the TV. Josh was jumping up and down, completely off beat (like Dad, like son), Hannah was channeling her inner hip hop and Adam was rolling his body like a snake, arms over his head and hips undulating. Kris draped his jacket in front of himself; now wasn’t the place or time for an anatomy lesson.
“Want to join us?” Adam asked playfully, turning to face his husband so he could see the bliss on Adam’s face and undoubtedly see his anatomy lesson as well.
Kris shifted in place. “Um, no, I think I’ll head upstairs and get changed for dinner.” He turned and left, running up the stairs.
Adam grazed his bottom lip with his teeth and turned to his daughter. “Hannah, can you stop the player when this song’s done and get you guys ready for dinner. Daddy and I will join you in a few minutes.”
“Okay Papa.”
“Thanks Sweetpea.” He kissed his girl on the head then ran up the stairs after his horny husband.
--*--
“Daddy?” Hannah asked, handing him a wet dish.
“Yup,” he replied drying it.
“What does superstition mean?”
“Super…. Wow, that’s out of left field. Why are you asking?”
“That guy on the DVD was singing about it when you came home. I just wondered if it meant anything. I like the way it sounds.”
Kris turned around, leaning against the counter. “Superstition,” he repeated, drying his hands, “it, um, it means….”
“You don’t know what it means either?”
“I know what it means Hannah; I’m trying to figure out how to explain it.” He crossed his arms and his ankles. “It, ah, it means…okay, it’s like this. It means you believe something will happen if something else happens or you don’t do something to stop something bad from happening. It’s all silliness anyway. Understand?”
She looked up at him with her hazel eyes, twisted her mouth and nodded. Kris knew she didn’t understand but he was grateful she didn’t push. There were just some things in life you can’t describe, you just know. He turned back and they finished the dishes.
“Daddy?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Can I go on the computer a bit before bed?”
“Isn’t it a little late for homework?”
“It’s not homework; I just want to look something up.”
“Okay but set the timer for one hour. After that, you settle down for the night.”
--*--
The kids were shooting hoops in their backyard on the new basketball court. Their Daddy had it installed a week ago and it was finally ready to play on. The black top was nice and smooth. Hannah was taking a shot when Josh distracted her.
“Hey look! A crack.”
“A what?” She shot the ball and missed.
“A crack. There’s a crack.” Josh started jumping over it like it was a rope then he jumped onto it.
“Joshie! Don’t!” Hannah ran to him and yanked him off.
“Hey, watch it.”
She didn’t let go, even though her brother tugged hard. “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back.”
“What?”
“Step on a crack and break your mother’s back. If you step on a crack, something bad will happen.”
“No it won’t - we don’t have a mother. And I can jump on it if I want to!” He jumped on it again.
Hannah yanked at him again and he got free this time. “You’re no fun. I’m going to play Star Wars.”
The young girl sat on the basketball and looked around the empty yard. Josh was right - they didn’t have a mom but Daddy and Papa were like their moms too. Her Daddy had called it silliness. He’d never lied to her and even though there was lots of confusing stuff online about superstitions, she decided to trust her Daddy and believe him.
She picked up the ball and dribbled it to the back door then held onto it as she headed inside.
“Easy, baby, easy, I’ve got you…one step at a time, that’s it.”
“Owwww! I don’t know how this happened?”
“Just a freak accident. Let’s get you flat on the bed and I’ll ice your back.”
The basketball fell from her hands, pinging on the floor.
“No ball in the house! Honestly Hannah, you know better!”
“Sorry Papa,” she answered in a small voice, catching the ball and squeezing it.
Her Papa looked down at her from the stairs. “No, I’m sorry Sweetpea, I shouldn’t have yelled.”
“What happened to Daddy?” She watched her parents moving slowly up the steps. Daddy’s face was all scrunched up and Papa had an arm around him, helping him take the steps.
“He hurt his back.”
“Is it broken?”
Kris looked down at his daughter and tried to smile, not wanting to scare her, even though his muscles were in spasm. “No babygirl, I just pulled a muscle. I’ll lay down for a bit and I’ll be fine.”
“Hannah, can you go to the kitchen and ask Mrs. Willowby to put together a couple of ice packs and could you bring them up?”
“Yes Papa.”
“Thanks babygirl.”
She hurried to the kitchen, fear clutching her little heart, and the sounds of her Daddy in pain filling her ears.
--*--
“Dinner time.”
“Not hungry.”
Hannah was sitting on her bed, clutching her Madeline doll. Josh joined her. “What’s wrong?”
“Why is anything wrong?”
“When you hold that doll, something is wrong.”
He could be smart sometimes. “I’m worried about Daddy.”
“He’s okay.”
She sat up. “He is? Is he downstairs?”
“No but he’s sitting up in bed and kissing Papa. What’s wrong?”
“Jump on a crack and break your mother’s back.”
“Not that again.”
“I know, but you jumped on the crack and Daddy hurt his back.”
Joshie’s brown eyes got huge and wet. “I hurt Daddy?”
“No, no, I shouldn’t have said that….”
“I hurt Daddy! I HURT DADDY!”
The sobbing that ensued caught Adam’s attention. “Hey, hey you two what’s wrong?”
Joshie looked up at his Papa and declared, “I jumped on a crack and broke my mother’s back!”
“Wha?” He hugged his son, rubbing his back. “Joshie Bear, you didn’t do anything.”
The little boy turned in his Papa’s arms and pointed accusingly at his sister. “Then she did it! She said it first!” he hiccupped.
Hannah’s eyes started watering. Adam sat down beside her, still holding his son, and wrapped an arm around her, pulling close. “Hannah didn’t hurt Daddy either.”
“Then what happened?” Hannah asked.
“He was reaching for a box on a top shelf in the garage and pulled a muscle, that’s all. He’ll be fine.”
“Everything okay in there?” Kris called out from his bedroom.
“Dinner’s ready, where is everyone?” Mrs. Willowby added, coming into Hannah’s room.
“We’re fine,” Adam called out to his husband. “Mrs. Willowby, can you get Josh cleaned up for dinner?”
“Certainly.” She took the little boy’s hand and led him out. “Hannah and I will be with you in a minute or two.”
Once they were alone, Adam wiped away her tears and smiled warmly. “So, what’s this about cracks and breaking backs?”
“I asked Daddy what a superstition was and he told me but I didn’t understand. I went on the internet and found lots and lots of things that bring good and bad luck.”
“Did Papa tell you they were true?”
“No…he said they are silly.”
“And he’s right. People are always trying to find ways of making their luck better or making up stories to explain things they don’t understand. I can assure you Sweetpea that neither you nor your brother are responsible for your Daddy hurting his back. If anyone’s responsible, it’s him for not using a ladder.”
“He didn’t walk under it did he?” she asked seriously followed by a silly grin.
“Nooooo,” Adam growled, catching her in a bear hug and rocking them back and forth. “Let’s see what’s for dinner. Maybe we can bring it upstairs and keep Daddy company.”
“Okay.” Hannah took his hand and they headed for the kitchen. “I still believe in good luck. Is that alright?”
“Yes, as long as you don’t think you need a superstition to make it happen.”
“No, all I need is you and Daddy and Joshie and Mrs. Willowby.”
“Why’s that?”
She squeezed his hand and leaned against his side. “Cause with all of you, I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”
Series: A Year in the Life
Date: August 13th - Friday the 13th
author: cunningdeb
Rating: PG
Pairing: adam/kris
Summary: Hannah gets carried away worrying about bad luck.
Disclaimer: Pure fiction.
Warning: More excessive cuteness; be ready to aaawwwwwww….
Part of my Allen-Lambert. Hannah is 12 years old, Josh is 7 years old.
Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ performance from Sesame Street (side note: at 3:33 you’ll notice the speakers are the same brand - Orange - that Adam’s band is using on tour right now LOL) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE
--*--
“Papa, tell Josh to leave me alone!”
“She won’t play with me!”
Adam rolled his eyes as they stood in front of his chair, screaming at each like they were twenty feet apart instead of two. He was trying to catch up on some reading and really didn’t want to play referee.
“Joshie, leave your sister alone.”
“But I’m bored!”
“Go outside and play.”
“I did that.”
“Then go upstairs and play with your Star Wars toys.”
“I did that too. I want to play with Hannah.”
“Well, I don’t want to play with you!” she declared, hands on her hips and leaning into him, accentuating her comment by sticking her tongue out.
Josh grabbed her tongue and pulled.
Hannah yelled. “Ewwwww! Papa, he touched my tongue!”
Adam dropped his book on the side table. “Enough!” He got up and passed by the startled kids, stopping at the TV. He scanned the dozens of DVDs shelved nearby and pulled one out. Without consulting the audience, he put it on. “There. Sit down, watch, and let me read.”
The DVD started. Josh cheered and Hannah groaned, “Sesame Street? I’m too old for Sesame Street.”
“I love Sesame Street,” Josh declared, settling into the couch and hugging a pillow.
“You would.” She settled back too but crossed her arms and frowned.
“Give it a chance Sweetpea. It’s a collection of the famous singers and musicians they’ve had on the show. Great music is ageless.”
“That’s right Hannah,” Josh chimed in seriously. “Papa and Daddy still make great music and look at how old they are.”
--*--
Kris came home. “Hey, where is everybody?”
“In here baby!”
Adam sounded happy and that made Kris happy. He entered the family room and walked into a rave. Hannah, Josh and Adam were on their feet dancing away to some kind of 70s flashback on the TV. Josh was jumping up and down, completely off beat (like Dad, like son), Hannah was channeling her inner hip hop and Adam was rolling his body like a snake, arms over his head and hips undulating. Kris draped his jacket in front of himself; now wasn’t the place or time for an anatomy lesson.
“Want to join us?” Adam asked playfully, turning to face his husband so he could see the bliss on Adam’s face and undoubtedly see his anatomy lesson as well.
Kris shifted in place. “Um, no, I think I’ll head upstairs and get changed for dinner.” He turned and left, running up the stairs.
Adam grazed his bottom lip with his teeth and turned to his daughter. “Hannah, can you stop the player when this song’s done and get you guys ready for dinner. Daddy and I will join you in a few minutes.”
“Okay Papa.”
“Thanks Sweetpea.” He kissed his girl on the head then ran up the stairs after his horny husband.
--*--
“Daddy?” Hannah asked, handing him a wet dish.
“Yup,” he replied drying it.
“What does superstition mean?”
“Super…. Wow, that’s out of left field. Why are you asking?”
“That guy on the DVD was singing about it when you came home. I just wondered if it meant anything. I like the way it sounds.”
Kris turned around, leaning against the counter. “Superstition,” he repeated, drying his hands, “it, um, it means….”
“You don’t know what it means either?”
“I know what it means Hannah; I’m trying to figure out how to explain it.” He crossed his arms and his ankles. “It, ah, it means…okay, it’s like this. It means you believe something will happen if something else happens or you don’t do something to stop something bad from happening. It’s all silliness anyway. Understand?”
She looked up at him with her hazel eyes, twisted her mouth and nodded. Kris knew she didn’t understand but he was grateful she didn’t push. There were just some things in life you can’t describe, you just know. He turned back and they finished the dishes.
“Daddy?”
“Uh-huh?”
“Can I go on the computer a bit before bed?”
“Isn’t it a little late for homework?”
“It’s not homework; I just want to look something up.”
“Okay but set the timer for one hour. After that, you settle down for the night.”
--*--
The kids were shooting hoops in their backyard on the new basketball court. Their Daddy had it installed a week ago and it was finally ready to play on. The black top was nice and smooth. Hannah was taking a shot when Josh distracted her.
“Hey look! A crack.”
“A what?” She shot the ball and missed.
“A crack. There’s a crack.” Josh started jumping over it like it was a rope then he jumped onto it.
“Joshie! Don’t!” Hannah ran to him and yanked him off.
“Hey, watch it.”
She didn’t let go, even though her brother tugged hard. “Step on a crack and break your mother’s back.”
“What?”
“Step on a crack and break your mother’s back. If you step on a crack, something bad will happen.”
“No it won’t - we don’t have a mother. And I can jump on it if I want to!” He jumped on it again.
Hannah yanked at him again and he got free this time. “You’re no fun. I’m going to play Star Wars.”
The young girl sat on the basketball and looked around the empty yard. Josh was right - they didn’t have a mom but Daddy and Papa were like their moms too. Her Daddy had called it silliness. He’d never lied to her and even though there was lots of confusing stuff online about superstitions, she decided to trust her Daddy and believe him.
She picked up the ball and dribbled it to the back door then held onto it as she headed inside.
“Easy, baby, easy, I’ve got you…one step at a time, that’s it.”
“Owwww! I don’t know how this happened?”
“Just a freak accident. Let’s get you flat on the bed and I’ll ice your back.”
The basketball fell from her hands, pinging on the floor.
“No ball in the house! Honestly Hannah, you know better!”
“Sorry Papa,” she answered in a small voice, catching the ball and squeezing it.
Her Papa looked down at her from the stairs. “No, I’m sorry Sweetpea, I shouldn’t have yelled.”
“What happened to Daddy?” She watched her parents moving slowly up the steps. Daddy’s face was all scrunched up and Papa had an arm around him, helping him take the steps.
“He hurt his back.”
“Is it broken?”
Kris looked down at his daughter and tried to smile, not wanting to scare her, even though his muscles were in spasm. “No babygirl, I just pulled a muscle. I’ll lay down for a bit and I’ll be fine.”
“Hannah, can you go to the kitchen and ask Mrs. Willowby to put together a couple of ice packs and could you bring them up?”
“Yes Papa.”
“Thanks babygirl.”
She hurried to the kitchen, fear clutching her little heart, and the sounds of her Daddy in pain filling her ears.
--*--
“Dinner time.”
“Not hungry.”
Hannah was sitting on her bed, clutching her Madeline doll. Josh joined her. “What’s wrong?”
“Why is anything wrong?”
“When you hold that doll, something is wrong.”
He could be smart sometimes. “I’m worried about Daddy.”
“He’s okay.”
She sat up. “He is? Is he downstairs?”
“No but he’s sitting up in bed and kissing Papa. What’s wrong?”
“Jump on a crack and break your mother’s back.”
“Not that again.”
“I know, but you jumped on the crack and Daddy hurt his back.”
Joshie’s brown eyes got huge and wet. “I hurt Daddy?”
“No, no, I shouldn’t have said that….”
“I hurt Daddy! I HURT DADDY!”
The sobbing that ensued caught Adam’s attention. “Hey, hey you two what’s wrong?”
Joshie looked up at his Papa and declared, “I jumped on a crack and broke my mother’s back!”
“Wha?” He hugged his son, rubbing his back. “Joshie Bear, you didn’t do anything.”
The little boy turned in his Papa’s arms and pointed accusingly at his sister. “Then she did it! She said it first!” he hiccupped.
Hannah’s eyes started watering. Adam sat down beside her, still holding his son, and wrapped an arm around her, pulling close. “Hannah didn’t hurt Daddy either.”
“Then what happened?” Hannah asked.
“He was reaching for a box on a top shelf in the garage and pulled a muscle, that’s all. He’ll be fine.”
“Everything okay in there?” Kris called out from his bedroom.
“Dinner’s ready, where is everyone?” Mrs. Willowby added, coming into Hannah’s room.
“We’re fine,” Adam called out to his husband. “Mrs. Willowby, can you get Josh cleaned up for dinner?”
“Certainly.” She took the little boy’s hand and led him out. “Hannah and I will be with you in a minute or two.”
Once they were alone, Adam wiped away her tears and smiled warmly. “So, what’s this about cracks and breaking backs?”
“I asked Daddy what a superstition was and he told me but I didn’t understand. I went on the internet and found lots and lots of things that bring good and bad luck.”
“Did Papa tell you they were true?”
“No…he said they are silly.”
“And he’s right. People are always trying to find ways of making their luck better or making up stories to explain things they don’t understand. I can assure you Sweetpea that neither you nor your brother are responsible for your Daddy hurting his back. If anyone’s responsible, it’s him for not using a ladder.”
“He didn’t walk under it did he?” she asked seriously followed by a silly grin.
“Nooooo,” Adam growled, catching her in a bear hug and rocking them back and forth. “Let’s see what’s for dinner. Maybe we can bring it upstairs and keep Daddy company.”
“Okay.” Hannah took his hand and they headed for the kitchen. “I still believe in good luck. Is that alright?”
“Yes, as long as you don’t think you need a superstition to make it happen.”
“No, all I need is you and Daddy and Joshie and Mrs. Willowby.”
“Why’s that?”
She squeezed his hand and leaned against his side. “Cause with all of you, I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”