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Myshuno! - Stanley's grandchildren
Title: Storytime,
Prompt: Stanley dreams he is surrounded by crinkly-nosed grandchildren, and then wakes up to an empty house.
Rating: U.
Spoiler rating: 1/10.
Summary: Er, see the prompt.
Notes: I loved writing this, and it takes place roughly at the same time as chapter 24.3
Word Count: 1,720.
My Card.
Storytime.
"Gan'pa! Gan'pa!" Stanley looked over at the little girl sitting in front of the nursery's bookcase. "Yes Lydia?"
She gestured at the bookcase and repeated emphatically "Gan'pa!" Stanley got up from his seat on the loveseat, gritting his teeth as his knees protested. He wasn't enjoying getting old, he decided, although, he looked down at the smiling face of his granddaughter, there were compensations. Seeing her grandfather standing over her, Lydia reached once more towards the bookcase and stated "Gran'pa!"
"Would you like Grandpapa to read you a story?"
"No!" Lydia's answer was emphatic, but she reached towards the bookshelf again.
"Would you not like Grandpapa to read you a story?"
"NO!" Lydia threw her head back as she dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Stanley gave a rueful smile. Lydia, like so many youngsters just starting to talk, had decided that her new favourite word was no, and used it on every occasion she could. He bent down and scooped her up, holding her close as she grabbed his neck and buried her face in the fabric of his shirt, all the while still giggling. "Well, little Lydia," he said as he kissed the top of her head. "You may not want me to read you a story, but I am certain that Leopold, Leigh and Lucy do. Am I correct?" He looked over at the little table where his grandsons were playing with the wooden blocks Stanley had bought for their father when he was small. "Yes!" Leopold abandoned his tower, not caring that he jostled the table, causing it to fall, as he scrambled to his feet. Leigh was just as keen, abandoning his slate and chalk just as quickly as his twin had abandoned his blocks. Only Lucy, over by her dollhouse seemed to pause. Now that she was nearly seven years old, Stanley had noticed that she had started wanting to be thought of as a big girl, and didn’t like being seen enjoying the same things as her younger siblings. He saw her frown as she tried to make up her mind, but in the end, the thought of her grandpapa reading her a story, must had won out, because she nodded and put down the doll she was playing with.
"Ah, that settles it then," said Stanley, selecting a book of fairy tales from the bookcase. As soon as it was in his hand, Lydia reached out for it, and once her grandfather handed it to her, awkwardly hugged it tight to her chest. Stanley sat back down on the settee, Lydia on his left knee, and helped Leopold onto his right. Leigh took up position snuggled against his right side, while Lucy, after another slight pause, settled on sitting on his left, leaning close to him. With his grandchildren surrounding him, Stanley relieved his youngest granddaughter of the book, and opened it to one of their favourite stories. For the next ten minutes, Stanley’s storytelling was interrupted only by the giggles and squeals of delight from his grandchildren as his voice varied from a low growl to a high falsetto as he affected the voices of the different characters. By the time he had finished the story, Lydia and Leopold were leaning against him, nearly asleep. He gently closed the book and looked up as he heard a small noise by the door. Unbeknownst to him, his wife had come to take the little ones to bed, but had stopped to listen to the story herself. Now she shared a smile with Stanley, uncrossed her arms and entered the room.
“Can you tell us another story Grandpapa?” asked Lucy, all earlier reservations about being seen to be enjoying something her younger siblings were, forgotten.
Stanley looked up at his wife who said “If it were up to me or your grandfather, the answer would be yes, but your mother says it is time for you to be in bed. And you wouldn’t want your grandparents to get into trouble with your mother like the last time we let you stay up, would you?” Cate grimaced at the memory of Leonora’s rage. It had seemed like such innocent fun at the time. Just like the time she had fed them full of Turkish delight, and then Stanley had shown them how much fun it was to jump on the loveseat. It had been good clean fun, until it had become a sticky mess Leonora had to deal with. But really, what was the point of having grandchildren if you couldn’t spoil them rotten, and then hand them back to their parents?
Lucy pouted. “Why do I have to go to bed at the same time as the babies?”
Stanley shared a look with his wife, before turning to his granddaughter. “Because, my Lucy, as grandpapa’s special girl and the most grown up, you should be showing your brothers and sister how to behave, and that includes going to bed when your mother says, even if you do not want to.”
Lucy mulled this over, before smiling. She reached up and kissed Stanley on the cheek before slipping off the settee. “Goodnight Grandpapa, Grandmama,” she said before holding her hand out to her brother. “Come on Leigh. Time for you to go to bed.” Leigh started to whine, but Lucy fixed him with a look, so he slid off the sofa, padded over to Cate, who bent down to kiss him, before allowing Lucy to take his hand and lead him out of the room.
Cate picked Leopold up from Stanley’s lap and examined him critically. “I do not know how you managed it my dear.”
“Getting Lucy to go to bed?”
Cate threw him a look. “No my dear. I was wondering how you managed to pass your nose onto nearly all of our grandchildren.”
“You are implying that that fact is a disaster. It is a nice nose,” he said in mock indignation. “The ladies cannot get enough of it, as well you know,” he leered at her. “Our grandsons will be very lucky, even more so if they’ve also inherited my lantern jaw, and it also looks beautiful on ladies. I see nothing wrong with this.”
Cate rolled her eyes. “You mistake my meaning.”
Stanley sniffed. “I do not see how I have. You will have to persuade me otherwise.”
Cate balanced Leopold on her hip and bent down to kiss the aforementioned feature. “Then remind me to yet again show my appreciation for it when we retire for the night.” Stanley watched appreciatively as she sashayed from the nursery, hips swaying provocatively. “Time to put you in your cot,” he said to Lydia as he stood up. “Your grandmother has just promised to make my evening very interesting.” He peered down at her sleepy face. “Hmm, I do believe that you have your mother’s nose though. The only one. Ah well, I am certain that you will be beautiful, regardless. You are, after all, my granddaughter.” He held her above his head and jiggled her. Since the birth of his son, nearly thirty years before, Stanley had mostly gotten used to the ways of small children. He no longer flinched when small, wet, sticky hands were thrust at his person. He had become accustomed to the strange smells which would emanate from cheerfully playing toddlers with no warning. He had even learned not to bat an eyelid when a previously happy child suddenly started wailing as if their world was ending. What he had never become used to was the way in which a happy, healthy and above all, well looking child, could suddenly and without warning, regurgitate their previous meal so completely and utterly as to ruin a perfectly good waistcoat.
“ARGHHH!” There was the sound of running feet, and his daughter-in-law burst into the room. “What on earth? Oh!” She sighed with relief as she took in his horrified expression, and the spreading stain down his front. “Come on Lydia, I think that a quick bath is in order before bed,” she said, going over and gently removing her from her father-in-law’s hands.
Stanley watched them go, his mind still reeling with abject horror. How had his life changed so completely over the years? How had he gone from happy bachelor to standing here, covered with toddler vomit? Oh and great. Now he was hearing bells.
***
Stanley groaned and stretched out an arm to silence the ringing of the alarm clock and opened his eyes. He was in a bed, mercifully free of toddler vomit, and, he rolled over, also free of company. In the past he would have felt a pang at realising that, but as he got older, he was retiring to bed alone, more and more frequently, and when he did, his recurring dreams would follow. They were ... comforting. True, there had been a couple where he had awoken screaming, but that had been years ago, and in general, he welcomed the dreams when they came. This morning, he lay back among his pillows and tried to recall snatches of that night's dream. Something about being surrounded by crinkly-nosed grandchildren. He smiled in the dark as more came back to him, especially the image of the sapphire-eyed woman slinking out of the room. It was like he was getting glimpses into the life of another Stanley Legacy, a Stanley Legacy living in a different place and time. He really should speak to Theo about them, he might be able to tell him if they were related to the multi-verse theory or not. And he should also be getting out of bed he supposed. He levered himself upright, swung his legs over the side of his bed and lit the stump of candle on the little table. Yawning, he picked it up and made his way to the bathroom and his shaving stand, his mind still preoccupied with the thought of the dream. He was, for the most part, happy with his life in Regalton, but he was also happy if there was another him living a different life somewhere else. He peered at himself in his shaving mirror and ran his hand over his stubbly chin. There were worse fates that could befall a man than being surrounding by crinkly-nosed, lantern-jawed grandchildren after all.
Prompt: Stanley dreams he is surrounded by crinkly-nosed grandchildren, and then wakes up to an empty house.
Rating: U.
Spoiler rating: 1/10.
Summary: Er, see the prompt.
Notes: I loved writing this, and it takes place roughly at the same time as chapter 24.3
Word Count: 1,720.
My Card.
Storytime.
"Gan'pa! Gan'pa!" Stanley looked over at the little girl sitting in front of the nursery's bookcase. "Yes Lydia?"
She gestured at the bookcase and repeated emphatically "Gan'pa!" Stanley got up from his seat on the loveseat, gritting his teeth as his knees protested. He wasn't enjoying getting old, he decided, although, he looked down at the smiling face of his granddaughter, there were compensations. Seeing her grandfather standing over her, Lydia reached once more towards the bookcase and stated "Gran'pa!"
"Would you like Grandpapa to read you a story?"
"No!" Lydia's answer was emphatic, but she reached towards the bookshelf again.
"Would you not like Grandpapa to read you a story?"
"NO!" Lydia threw her head back as she dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Stanley gave a rueful smile. Lydia, like so many youngsters just starting to talk, had decided that her new favourite word was no, and used it on every occasion she could. He bent down and scooped her up, holding her close as she grabbed his neck and buried her face in the fabric of his shirt, all the while still giggling. "Well, little Lydia," he said as he kissed the top of her head. "You may not want me to read you a story, but I am certain that Leopold, Leigh and Lucy do. Am I correct?" He looked over at the little table where his grandsons were playing with the wooden blocks Stanley had bought for their father when he was small. "Yes!" Leopold abandoned his tower, not caring that he jostled the table, causing it to fall, as he scrambled to his feet. Leigh was just as keen, abandoning his slate and chalk just as quickly as his twin had abandoned his blocks. Only Lucy, over by her dollhouse seemed to pause. Now that she was nearly seven years old, Stanley had noticed that she had started wanting to be thought of as a big girl, and didn’t like being seen enjoying the same things as her younger siblings. He saw her frown as she tried to make up her mind, but in the end, the thought of her grandpapa reading her a story, must had won out, because she nodded and put down the doll she was playing with.
"Ah, that settles it then," said Stanley, selecting a book of fairy tales from the bookcase. As soon as it was in his hand, Lydia reached out for it, and once her grandfather handed it to her, awkwardly hugged it tight to her chest. Stanley sat back down on the settee, Lydia on his left knee, and helped Leopold onto his right. Leigh took up position snuggled against his right side, while Lucy, after another slight pause, settled on sitting on his left, leaning close to him. With his grandchildren surrounding him, Stanley relieved his youngest granddaughter of the book, and opened it to one of their favourite stories. For the next ten minutes, Stanley’s storytelling was interrupted only by the giggles and squeals of delight from his grandchildren as his voice varied from a low growl to a high falsetto as he affected the voices of the different characters. By the time he had finished the story, Lydia and Leopold were leaning against him, nearly asleep. He gently closed the book and looked up as he heard a small noise by the door. Unbeknownst to him, his wife had come to take the little ones to bed, but had stopped to listen to the story herself. Now she shared a smile with Stanley, uncrossed her arms and entered the room.
“Can you tell us another story Grandpapa?” asked Lucy, all earlier reservations about being seen to be enjoying something her younger siblings were, forgotten.
Stanley looked up at his wife who said “If it were up to me or your grandfather, the answer would be yes, but your mother says it is time for you to be in bed. And you wouldn’t want your grandparents to get into trouble with your mother like the last time we let you stay up, would you?” Cate grimaced at the memory of Leonora’s rage. It had seemed like such innocent fun at the time. Just like the time she had fed them full of Turkish delight, and then Stanley had shown them how much fun it was to jump on the loveseat. It had been good clean fun, until it had become a sticky mess Leonora had to deal with. But really, what was the point of having grandchildren if you couldn’t spoil them rotten, and then hand them back to their parents?
Lucy pouted. “Why do I have to go to bed at the same time as the babies?”
Stanley shared a look with his wife, before turning to his granddaughter. “Because, my Lucy, as grandpapa’s special girl and the most grown up, you should be showing your brothers and sister how to behave, and that includes going to bed when your mother says, even if you do not want to.”
Lucy mulled this over, before smiling. She reached up and kissed Stanley on the cheek before slipping off the settee. “Goodnight Grandpapa, Grandmama,” she said before holding her hand out to her brother. “Come on Leigh. Time for you to go to bed.” Leigh started to whine, but Lucy fixed him with a look, so he slid off the sofa, padded over to Cate, who bent down to kiss him, before allowing Lucy to take his hand and lead him out of the room.
Cate picked Leopold up from Stanley’s lap and examined him critically. “I do not know how you managed it my dear.”
“Getting Lucy to go to bed?”
Cate threw him a look. “No my dear. I was wondering how you managed to pass your nose onto nearly all of our grandchildren.”
“You are implying that that fact is a disaster. It is a nice nose,” he said in mock indignation. “The ladies cannot get enough of it, as well you know,” he leered at her. “Our grandsons will be very lucky, even more so if they’ve also inherited my lantern jaw, and it also looks beautiful on ladies. I see nothing wrong with this.”
Cate rolled her eyes. “You mistake my meaning.”
Stanley sniffed. “I do not see how I have. You will have to persuade me otherwise.”
Cate balanced Leopold on her hip and bent down to kiss the aforementioned feature. “Then remind me to yet again show my appreciation for it when we retire for the night.” Stanley watched appreciatively as she sashayed from the nursery, hips swaying provocatively. “Time to put you in your cot,” he said to Lydia as he stood up. “Your grandmother has just promised to make my evening very interesting.” He peered down at her sleepy face. “Hmm, I do believe that you have your mother’s nose though. The only one. Ah well, I am certain that you will be beautiful, regardless. You are, after all, my granddaughter.” He held her above his head and jiggled her. Since the birth of his son, nearly thirty years before, Stanley had mostly gotten used to the ways of small children. He no longer flinched when small, wet, sticky hands were thrust at his person. He had become accustomed to the strange smells which would emanate from cheerfully playing toddlers with no warning. He had even learned not to bat an eyelid when a previously happy child suddenly started wailing as if their world was ending. What he had never become used to was the way in which a happy, healthy and above all, well looking child, could suddenly and without warning, regurgitate their previous meal so completely and utterly as to ruin a perfectly good waistcoat.
“ARGHHH!” There was the sound of running feet, and his daughter-in-law burst into the room. “What on earth? Oh!” She sighed with relief as she took in his horrified expression, and the spreading stain down his front. “Come on Lydia, I think that a quick bath is in order before bed,” she said, going over and gently removing her from her father-in-law’s hands.
Stanley watched them go, his mind still reeling with abject horror. How had his life changed so completely over the years? How had he gone from happy bachelor to standing here, covered with toddler vomit? Oh and great. Now he was hearing bells.
***
Stanley groaned and stretched out an arm to silence the ringing of the alarm clock and opened his eyes. He was in a bed, mercifully free of toddler vomit, and, he rolled over, also free of company. In the past he would have felt a pang at realising that, but as he got older, he was retiring to bed alone, more and more frequently, and when he did, his recurring dreams would follow. They were ... comforting. True, there had been a couple where he had awoken screaming, but that had been years ago, and in general, he welcomed the dreams when they came. This morning, he lay back among his pillows and tried to recall snatches of that night's dream. Something about being surrounded by crinkly-nosed grandchildren. He smiled in the dark as more came back to him, especially the image of the sapphire-eyed woman slinking out of the room. It was like he was getting glimpses into the life of another Stanley Legacy, a Stanley Legacy living in a different place and time. He really should speak to Theo about them, he might be able to tell him if they were related to the multi-verse theory or not. And he should also be getting out of bed he supposed. He levered himself upright, swung his legs over the side of his bed and lit the stump of candle on the little table. Yawning, he picked it up and made his way to the bathroom and his shaving stand, his mind still preoccupied with the thought of the dream. He was, for the most part, happy with his life in Regalton, but he was also happy if there was another him living a different life somewhere else. He peered at himself in his shaving mirror and ran his hand over his stubbly chin. There were worse fates that could befall a man than being surrounding by crinkly-nosed, lantern-jawed grandchildren after all.
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This is even better than I could have hoped for! I loved getting Stanley's POV on his grandchildren...especially because I apparently got him right in my head. XD He was so adorable with them!
I've got to admit, though, that my favorite line was “Your grandmother has just promised to make my evening very interesting.” :D :D :D
And the waking up bit, well... I'm glad he's not terribly sad, since those dreams could certainly mess someone up, but I can't help but feel he's at least partially trying to convince himself he's content. :(
OBVIOUSLY needs a lady with swaying hips and blue eyes to distract him. :P
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There is that sadness there, and I want to touch on that soon, but he's also happy to think that there's another him somewhere who has this life and is happy. He's not going to get too jealous of himself.
Obviously! XD
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Thank you. As soon as I read the prompt, I knew he'd be adorable with his grandchildren. :D
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