"Get him, Rocky," she smiled, her hand reaching out from under the blanket to rub his naked back, their son laughing when he hear his mother's voice, that was all the reinforcement he needed to bounce on the bed, his little feet balancing in place perfectly while he held onto Ezra.
Propping herself up with her elbow, the covers pulled up to her collarbone, she watched this performance given by Rocco as Ezra was trying to be a wonderful dad and appreciate how lively and energetic their son was, but she could tell he was feeling a little rough. She had forgotten all about his knee, that would have to get cleaned later on when she noticed it was there to begin with, for right now she was enjoying ringing in this lazy new year with her two favourite people, all it needed was Vincent who was outside on the porch with her parents who were reading; her mom a book and her dad a local paper.
Their evening went better than expected, a different approach on New Year's, something she hadn't done before, something that didn't include wearing sequins or tights and heels, a night where they were able to fall back to basics and do something for them, leaving all of the additional bullshit and people out of the equation. Maybe it was selfish of them to focus on themselves and spend it with no one but each other, but they deserved that, it felt right and comfortable.
Last year they were awaiting the arrival of Rocky, spending the evening in Brooklyn, having a big dinner and counting down the minutes, Rose unsure if she could even handle making it to midnight with all of the pressure on her uterus, her body feeling tired, her mind ready. This change was needed, welcomed, it was what she would have wanted anyway since there was no way in hell Rocky was going to make it to midnight himself, taking over for Rose the previous year. They still had time, years even, until he was sneaking around to watch the ball drop in the city.
They laid there for a good hour, the three of them. Well, Rocky refused to lay down, and the reason they even bothered to get out of bed was because he started to get fussy, his attention span needing something more than Rose or Ezra's hair and the bed to jump on and none of his toys were scattered throughout the room, they were all in the living room where the television was.
Up on her feet, mobile now, Rose slid herself into some cotton shorts and a t-shirt that had a giant bleach stain on it from the wash. Walking around the side of the bed, she scooped Rocco up into her arms and was met with a resistant shove of his arms, his eyes watering up. Bouncing him, she softly said, "None of that. Now is not the time. I'm going to make you some pancakes. Dad too when he decides to show some signs of life."
The frustrated child could not be silenced, and no wonder, Rose had to change his diaper before they were stationed in the kitchen where she was finally greeted by Vincent who was so ridiculously happy to see her, kissing her face when she moved down into a squat to greet him. "And Happy New Year to you too." She went out to say hi to her parents, her mom trying to offer help with breakfast but she declined. "I know it's hard to envision me cooking for everyone, but I got this, I promise. I just need some coffee first." Lots and lots of coffee.
After glass upon glass of water, she finally managed to have some coffee, hydrating herself, after all. She made Rocky some plain pancakes that were bland and tasteless, giving him some mashed up banana with them. He loved to squished them between his fingers, but to be fair, he loved doing that with anything that was set on his highchair. Rose fryed up soem bacon, made scrambled eggs with feta and spinach, started a pan for some potatoes until she realised, wait, we don't have any, so she pulled out some fruit instead. All that was missing was her doting boyfriend who had yet to show his face or a sign of life. "Hey mum," she called over to her, the screendoor for the porch open so she could hear her. "Will you watch this pan and Rock, I need to check something."
Rose didn't want to say, "Hey mum, hold down the kitchen while I ensure my boyfriend isn't dead," because that would send panic into her mother's heart, causing her father to laugh, for sure, since her dad had the highest alcohol tolerance of anyone she'd known. Scurrying back into the room, Ezra was still face down in the pillow, visably asleep. Shaking her head with a smirk, she did what anyone would do, she did what Rocky had done and jumped on him, her legs and arms around his back while she squeezed, a groan escaping his lips, sent straight into the pillow. "What's that," she laughed, wiggling her body. "I'm going to need you to say that again, lazy, c'mon, there's food. You're not staying here. I don't care how hungover you are- that's what you get for stealing beers from teens. We're probably poisoned."