"Come to Mommy, Han!" His mother called out to him, as he pretended to try and walk. It had been a couple of months of him trying to get up and fall, then proceeding to crawl around the house. Understanding that babies trying to get up was them testing out their balance and strength of their legs, he would occasionally make such an effort. It would be extremely odd for him to get up and start walking around suddenly.
In front of him was his mother, who was on her knees and motioning with her arms for him to come towards her. Her brown hair cascading down her left shoulder, the usual style she preferred her hair to be in. She was wearing a sky blue one-piece dress, with the skirt falling around her thighs but exposing her calves.
His father was currently at work, leaving his mother at home to look after him and take care of the daily chores. The time of day was close to noon, so his sister was currently in school. Jennnifer was a 1st grader, making her around six years older than him. School hours were very similar to his world, so she would be home at around four in the afternoon arriving in front of the house using the school bus.
Looking like he was exerting himself, Han made gurgling noises as he got back up to his feet appearing to be unbalanced. As he eyed his feet, Han began walking towards his mom who looked ecstatic the closer he got to her. When he reached her, Han placed a hand on her face and laughed.
Her eyes began to tear up, and she wrapped her arms around him, lifting him up and twirling around. "You did it, Han! Mommy is so proud of you!" She congratulated him, laughing happily.
Cradling him in her arms, she looked down and gave him her usual smile. Han enjoyed whenever she smiled at him like that. It was the kind of smile that didn't have any kind of ulterior motive and just demonstrated her feelings for him. He felt himself smile when he saw her smile. Reaching up, he managed to touch her face and made baby gibberish noises, to let her know that he was happy.
"Yes, you did walk. My baby boy is growing up to be a strong man." She said to him, pretending that he was actually talking to her. He grinned at how she was like any parent and spoke in a higher pitch to someone who shouldn't understand her words.
Her eyes moved away from him, and she said, "look at the time! You're probably hungry, aren't you?" With practiced movements, his mother moved towards the refrigerator and opened it. Inside there were small containers with an image of a happy baby. "What would my baby like to eat today?" she asked him.
Though Han wasn't a fan of the texture of baby food, this version of Earth seemed to know how to make edible baby food. The only reason he knew this was because he would sometimes tag along with Beth when she had to watch over a niece of hers. She thought it would be funny if he tried some of the baby food, and laughed at his reaction.
Seeing his options of peas, carrot, pear, banana, and peach, Han reached his hand towards the container labeled banana.
His mother saw him reached towards one of the containers. "You want peach?" She incorrectly pointed. Han made a noise of dissatisfaction and waved his hand to guide his mother. Seeing that she had chosen the wrong one, she moved her hand over one and asked, "does my baby boy want some banana?"
Happy that she chose the one that he wanted, he made delighted gurgling noises and acted like he was reaching for the container. He tried to overreach and slightly leaving her embrace. When he felt his center of gravity beginning to tip, he felt a jerking motion as his mother brought her other arm to catch him.
"You need to be more careful. I know you want your food, but scaring your mother isn't good." She gently admonished him, as she held him to her shoulder and rubbed his back. Grabbing the container of mashed bananas, she closed the refrigerator and moved over to his baby seat designed for baby's his size. Securing him with straps to keep him from crawling out of his chair and falling, she then walked to the kitchen while still allowing her to see him. Next, to the sink, there were several drawers, and the closest one to the sink had silverware in them. Pulling the drawer open, she grabbed one of the large plastic spoons for feeding him with.
Han looked around the kitchen where he was located, between the kitchen and dining room. Though the kitchen appliances weren't to the level as those of his previous parent's home before he moved out to college, his new family had the standard devices. There was an oven with a stove on top, a mixing machine, and toaster. It didn't look like they had a microwave, though he wondered if such a thing was a luxury item. The floor looked to be linoleum made to look like tiles. Instead of incorporating a lot of wood into the kitchen's design, the current fashion seemed to lean towards making as much of the surface metal as possible. It gave a feeling similar to the post-apocalyptic game he often played, where the character wakes up in the future.
Once his mother had the spoon, she walked over to where he was and placed a small blue plastic bowl and green spoon in front of him. His mother must have grabbed the bowl while he was observing the kitchen. She casually opened the little container and poured the contents into the bowl. Stirring the contents, his mother spooned a small amount into it and said, "here you go. Open wide for your food."
Being the kind kid he was, Han opened his mouth and ate the banana feeling the mashed substance in his mouth. It tasted like someone had taken bananas and put it into a food processor or blender. Swallowing the food, he opened his mouth again. He wasn't excited about the food, but it seemed to make his mom happy to see him eat so well.
"My baby boy may be the best baby in this world. You don't cry and are well behaved. It makes Mommy feel very happy to have such a fantastic baby. Mommy listens to the other mothers who just had a baby, and they talk about how their babies are always crying and don't want to listen." She said to him. "Mommy really believes that Han is a special boy, so I feel fortunate to be your Mommy."
Clapping his hands together, he giggled at her words. It wasn't surprising that she would notice how different he was compared to other babies. From what he remembered, babies could sometimes be a real handful and added a lot of additional stress to a mother. Seeing how this was a period where women were expected to do everything, aside from being independent, having a newborn would only add more work.
Han proceeded to use a hand and scoop out some of the contents inside of the bowl. Seeing him feed himself made his mother's face glow with pride.
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Most of the day was spent with Han crawling around the house and watching his mother complete each of her daily tasks. Witnessing what his mother had to do each day gave him a new respect for what women had to deal with. Sitting on the floor of the kitchen, playing with a set of wooden blocks, Han watched his mother wash the dishes as she was getting ready to cook dinner for the family. In the background, he heard the sound of a door opening.
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"Mom, I'm home!" Jennifer yelled out.
"Welcome home, honey." His mother grabbed a towel and wiped her hands to get rid of the soapy water. Placing the hand towel back on the rack, she turned towards the hallway leading to the front door. Jennifer raced towards her and hugged his mom. "How was school, today?" She asked Jennifer.
"I learned how to write the alphabet!" Jennifer beamed. She placed her red backpack on the floor and rummaged through it. Pulling out a sheet of paper, Jennifer displayed it to her mom. From his angle, Han wasn't able to see the paper and he didn't use his ability to take a peak.
"You received a gold star, for writing the entire alphabet!" She took the paper and walked to the fridge. Grabbing a magnet, his mother stuck the assignment to the refrigerator. This assignment would stay on the fridge for a couple of weeks before being inserted into a binder with all of Jennifer's other homework. His mother already prepared a folder for when she started 2nd grade.
Looking at what was happening, Han turned back to the blocks around him. With the handful of blocks, Han tried stacking them as high as he could while he listened to what they were talking about.
After talking with their mother, Jennifer moved behind him and sat down. Picking him up and placing him on her lap, she asked, "Han, did you miss your big sister?"
Han clapped his hands together and laughed to let her know he missed her. He had always wanted an older sister, so he was happy to have one finally.
"Do you have any homework from school?" His mom asked Jennifer as she proceeded to begin preparing dinner. From the fridge, she pulled out ground beef and eggs.
"Can I first play with Han?" Jennifer asked.
Without turning from the meal she was prepping, his mother answered, "you know your dad wants you to be finished by the time he gets back."
Jennifer was quiet after hearing her mother. All she said was, "oh. Okay, mommy." Lifting Han off from her lap and placing him on the kitchen floor, she got up and went back to grab her backpack and head towards the dining room table. Placing her bag on top, she began pulling out a folder. Opening the folder, she pulled out several sheets of paper. Soon, there was the quiet noise of her pencil moving across the material, indicating she had begun studying.
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After a couple of hours had passed, the smell of dinner wafted through the house. Han had quickly learned that dinner being ready usually meant that his dad was going to arrive soon.
"Honey, did you finish your assignment?" His mother asked Jennifer.
"Yes, mommy," Jennifer answered.
"Good job. Make sure to put all of your paperwork away and take your backpack to your room. When you finish, help me with setting up the table." she requested from Jennifer.
Han listened to the sound of his sister putting everything away and then heading to her room, as she cut through the living room to reach the stairs. Thinking about how his mom and Jennifer will need to move back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, Han began placing his blocks into the small wooden container they all came in.
With the blocks inside of the box, Han pushed the container towards the direction of the hallway which led to the stairs. Occasionally, Han would push the box and crawl towards it. The process was slower compared to teleporting the object to his room.
He heard the footsteps of Jennifer going down the stairs. When she reached the base of the stairs, she headed through the living room again to reach the dining area.
When Han reached the stair, he placed the box on the stairs and used the carpet to help lift him up. The carpet was a soft material and brushed against his clothes as he crawled to the next level. Going up the stairs was a repetitive task of placing the box to the next level and climbing up.
At the top of the stairs, he crawled to his room dragging the box behind him. Though there wasn't anyone that could see him, Han enjoyed the environment around him. Placing the box next to all his other toys, he sat down and just enjoyed the moment. For a second, it felt like he could forget everything and just enjoy being a part of a regular family.
"Han, where did you go?" He heard Jennifer calling for him. Soon, Han listened to his sister running up the stairs, and shortly after Jennifer poked her head into his room. She saw him sitting near his toys and shook her head in exasperation. "How did you get here? For a baby, you move around like a ghost." Leaning into the stairway, she yelled down, "Mommy, I found Han in his room!"
Footsteps could be heard downstairs, as his mom headed towards his room. When she reached his room, she looking and laughed, "Han, how did you get into your room." Her eyes noticed the box of wooden blocks next to him, and she placed a hand on her hip, saying, "Did my baby take his toys to his room? I honestly think you're the smartest baby in the world, picking up after yourself and somehow getting all the way to your room." Heading towards him, she picked Han up and held him in her arms. "I know you're a big boy, but don't grow up too fast, okay?"
Downstairs, the front door opening could be heard. "I'm home! Where is everyone?"
"Baby, we're all up in Han's room!" She called down to his dad. Carrying him, she walked out of his room and headed down the stairs. His dad was removing his coat and hanging it up in the closet.
"What were you guys doing in Han's room?" His dad asked his mom.
"I found your son sitting next to his toys after he had collected his wooden blocks and somehow took them up the stairs to his room." She said to him with pride in her voice.
His dad looked at him and then looked at his mom. "You weren't looking after him?" He asked her.
"I was. I just took a little time for setting up the table. Your son is very energetic; he must take after you?" She smiled, trying to defuse the situation.
His dad looked at him and placed a hand on top of his head. "Let's eat dinner; I'm starving." He quietly walked down the hallway into the kitchen towards the dining room.
"Come one, Jennifer. Your dad had a hard day at work, so why don't you take his newspaper to him. I placed it on the coffee table." His mother told Jennifer.
Without a word, Jennifer went into the living room and picked up the national newspaper that was placed there. She went to his dad and said, "Daddy, here's your newspaper."
"Thank you, baby girl. How was school?" he asked Jennifer.
"It was fun. I wrote the entire alphabet by myself and got a gold star. Mommy put it on the refrigerator." She answered in a quiet voice.
Han was placed in his high chair and belted in. His mother headed into the kitchen and came back with a plate that had a hamburger and french fries. Setting it in front of his dad, she then went back for her's and Jennifer's plate. When she sat down, on the right side of his dad close to the kitchen and placing herself between his dad and him, she looked up to do his dad not eating his food. "What's the matter, baby?" She asked him.
"What goes with french fries? Do I need to get my own ketchup or do you think you can get that?" He said to her.
Getting up, his mom went to the refrigerator and after opening it pulled out a half-filled glass canister of ketchup. "I'm sorry honey," she said to him as she placed the canister in front of him. His mother then looked at him and realized she forgot to get his food. Going back to the refrigerator, she grabbed one of the canisters of baby food and went to get a bowl and spoon.
In front of him, his mother placed a bowl full of baby food. It looked like this time was carrots, which he wasn't too happy about but he didn't want to cause a fuss. He clapped his hands together to look excited, which helped his mother's mood improve. The atmosphere at the table was not a pleasant one, especially with his dad home.
"Here you go, Han," she spooned some of the carrots and fed him.
"Mommy, at school I saw Billy's mom pick him up from school, and she brought his little sister with her. Billy's sister kept crying really loud. I wish she were more like Han." Jennifer commented as she was eating her fried.
"Not every baby is like Han," his mother tried to explain. Turning to his dad, she said, "I think we should try and apply for one of those special schools."
With a hamburger in his mouth, his dad bit into it and then placed it on his plate. He sat there chewing the burger without saying anything. After he finished, his dad looked at his mom and asked, "does it look like I have money coming out of my pocket? Han can go the same school as Jennifer. Why do you think I'm paying taxes for?"
"But I think it would be excellent for Han's mental development. I overheard at the supermarket that it's important for a child to have lots of mental stimuli." His mother tried to explain.
"This is not a discussion. Han will go to the same school as Jennifer is going." He picked up a fry and quietly ate it.
Wanting to change topics to something else, his mother asked, "How was your day at work?"
"The same idiocy from management, like any other day. Management in their infinite wisdom decided to hire a woman to work on the assembly line," his dad spat out the words in disgust. His face a sneer on his and his brow furrowed, in contempt. "Even worse is that she's one of those independent women who's divorced." He flicked his hand as if shooing such an idea away. "Women should be at home, not working in places they don't belong."
Listening to his dad condemn the woman, both his mother and sister were quiet while his dad was going on and on about his annoyance for such a thing. Looking over at Jennifer, she didn't have her usual joyful appearance as she tried to focus on her food. With his mother, she looked like a deer that was trying not to attract the attention of a nearby wolf.
His dad's fist slammed on the dining room table. "Even worse is that instead of promoting me to the supervisor position, as they promised, management hired some kid straight out of college. I've been at this job for nearly a decade, working my ass off to make sure they can stuff their pocket full of money. Instead of hiring internally, they bring in an outsider." He picked up a french fry and stabbed it into the mound of ketchup on his plate.
"I'm sure that they will promote you soon, honey. You're such a hard worker, and they know that." His mother tried to encourage him.
With a wave of his hand, his father backhanded his mother. "You shut your hole, woman! You don't think I don't know that?! I work all day trying to provide a good living for you, but all I get is crap food!" Getting up, his dad went walked to the kitchen and opened up a door in the corner that led to a basement. Down there, his father created a space for himself that had a TV and mini fridge.
Han looked at his mother who was holding her right, which was bright red from the slap. Her hair was covering her face as he head was bent forward, as she tried to hide her shame.
"Mommy..., are you okay?" Jennifer asked, concern in her voice.
Lifting her head up and smiling, his mother said, "I'm fine, Jennifer. Your dad is just stressed from work and didn't mean that. He loves us very much, and that's why he gets angry. You know that, right?"
Jennifer slowly nodded her head, though Han could tell that she didn't really believe her mom's words.
Seeing Jennifer's plate empty, his mom said, "why don't you help me clean up the table? You can watch your TV show before you need to go to bed, okay?" She tried to sound cheerful to wipe away what had happened. Looking to Han, she kissed him on his forehead and said, "my baby is such a big strong boy." Getting up, his mother began collecting the plates and took them into the kitchen.
When all the plates were in the sing, Jennifer went into the living room and turned on the TV to her favorite cartoon shows. It was about some girl who solves crimes with her friends. The show reminded him of the books about kids who hung out at an abandoned boxcar. As he glanced at his sister sitting in front of the TV, entranced by the show, he began to hear the sound of crying. Using his abilities to see behind him, he saw the image of his mother with one of her hands on the sink and the other covering her mouth as she cried.