A Normal Life

by Damien J. Frost

Disclaimer: Hannah Montana, and all items associated with, are property of Michael Poryes, Richard Correll, Barry O'Brien, It's a Laugh Productions, Disney, et al. There is no profit being gained from the content of this story and it is to be used solely for private entertainment purposes. The plot is the intellectual property of the writer. No parts of this story are to be duplicated or posted elsewhere without the expressed permission of the author.

This story is rated "K+" or "PG" by the guidelines of the fansite on which it is posted.

--

There are times when I look at her and wonder how I ever got so lucky.

"I swear! A puma ran in here and knocked it over! Then he just ran away! Whoosh! Like a bird!"

This is not one of those times.

"A puma that ran away like a bird."

She nods vigorously even as I shake my head.

"Go get me a broom."

She runs quickly into the kitchen and I kneel down to pick up the larger chunks of shattered lamp. I really liked that lamp, too. The front door opens and I smile as Lilly walks in, surfboard under her arm. Her grin falters as she sees what I'm doing.

"What happened this time?"

I set the large pieces on the coffee table and tread carefully over to the blonde woman.

"A puma. It ran away like a bird."

Lilly blinks at me for a moment.

"It must be genetic."

I laugh and steal a kiss from her before returning to my task.

"Ya think? Anyway, go get changed, we've got Sarah's baby shower in an hour and a half and we need to leave soon."

I hear Lilly groan as she opens the closet next to the front door and stuffs her board in. She then trudges reluctantly up the stairs. I grab the shards and walk into the kitchen, where the culprit is nowhere to be found. With a sigh, I dump the pieces in the trash and retrieve the broom and dustpan from beside the fridge.

Twenty minutes later, when I finally have all the little shards of porcelain and glass deposited in the garbage, Lilly comes downstairs. Her hair is still wet from her shower.

"So, where'd the puma-bird go?"

I shake my head and look out the back door, just in time to see a head of dirty blonde hair run by, chased by a black-haired boy.

"She's outside with Moises."

Lilly smiles and takes a seat at the table. I can't help but sigh in exasperation as I join her.

"You're going to have to talk to her, Lil. She's been so frustrating lately. I mean, it's cute when you do it, because we both know you're goofing around. But she thinks that I'll believe her and that she can just get away with it."

The blonde's face softens and she shakes her head.

"She's using her imagination, Miley. You know that if was something serious or something that wasn't an accident, she'd either fess up or we'd call her on it. So let her think she got away with an accident. It's not really a big deal."

I shake my head. We've had this argument at least a dozen times.

"I don't think it is okay, though. I don't want her to think that lying is okay."

Lilly runs a hand through her damp hair.

"She knows that lying isn't okay. It's something I'd say we've done pretty well with, you know? And like I said, if it's something that really matters and she lies about it, then we'll punish her. Otherwise, I don't see the point in getting worked up over her using her imagination."

I stand from the table with a huff and walk to the back door.

"Fine. Whatever."

I open the sliding glass door just in time to see the object of our discussion pick up a handful of sand and rear back in preparation of throwing it at the black-haired boy.

"Susan Heather Stewart, don't you dare!"

My five year-old daughter freezes and turns to see me standing there. She quickly drops the sand and puts her hands behind her back, smiling innocently.

"I wasn't gonna do nothin'"

I cross my arms and glare at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Mm-hm. Get in here and wash your hands. We have to leave in ten minutes."

She nods and says goodbye to the boy. I can't help but shake my head. How our daughter ever became friends with Rico's son is beyond me. Someone somewhere had to of thought that it would be universally funny.

Susie runs by me and into the house, where she leaps on Lilly, wrapping her in a tight hug. I roll my eyes and shut the door.

"Come on, wash your hands! We need to go!"

Lilly laughs as Susie stomps over to the sink, climbs on the stepstool and washes her hands.

"There, happy?"

I give her the 'Excuse me?' look, and she immediately goes wide-eyed. I just can't take it anymore. I clench my jaw and walk out of the kitchen, grabbing my keys and purse off the island on the way. I get in the car and start it up. I clench the wheel with white knuckles and take a deep breath. I keep telling myself that she's only five, but this type of thing has been happening way too often recently.

Five minutes later, Lilly comes out of the house, carrying Susie. They walk over to my door, where Lilly knocks on it. I roll down the window, and Susie leans in and hugs me.

"I'm sorry mama. Don't be mad at me."

I sigh and all the anger and frustration leaves me.

"I'm not angry sweet pea. Thank you for apologizing."

She nods into my shoulder and Lilly lets Susie go so she can scramble into the car and give me a proper hug. After Lilly climbs into the car and joins our embrace briefly, Susie crawls into her booster seat in the back and buckles herself in. After checking to make sure her seat belt is secure, we pull out and head to Jackson and Sarah's

--

I look at the spread of food and wonder once more whether or not we should have eaten before coming. While Sarah had turned from vegan to vegetarian – temporarily, she assured everyone – that didn't mean the food she laid out was any more appealing than it had been before. There was just a greater variety of non-meat items.

Lilly, being the consummate California girl, had been eating tofu since she was a little girl, and saw nothing wrong with it. Then again, Lilly didn't see anything wrong with anything edible.

"You know, if you keep staring at it, it just might turn into a hamburger."

I grin and turn to see Ashley next to me. She and Sarah had become pretty good friends in college. Amber, being ridiculously rich, had opted not to go to college and Ashley, out from Amber's toxic influence, had changed and flourished. She was currently an elementary school teacher in San Diego.

"If it does, I call dibs."

Ashley laughs and hugs me. When we break apart, I look around for her significant other of the moment.

"Where's Michael?"

The other woman shrugs.

"Don't know, don't care."

I don't really know how to respond and just give the generic "Oh."

"It's no big deal. We didn't really work well together anyway. I do have a date with someone from work, though."

I grin and motion for her to continue.

"Her name's Deborah."

My jaw almost hits the floor.

"Her?"

She nods weakly and I laugh.

"Oh my god Ashley. How did that –"

A loud crash from the kitchen interrupts me and I turn to see Susie staring down at the broken plate on the floor, macaroni and cheese everywhere. I sigh and make my way over to her. Kneeling down in front of her, I'm stunned to see tears in her eyes. I pull her into my arms and rock her slowly.

"What's wrong sweetie?"

I hear her sniff and can sense people moving around us, preparing to clean up the mess.

"I didn't mean to. It just slipped. Please don't be mad at me again."

I now feel like the worst mother in the world.

"Miley, her leg's bleeding."

I look down and visibly confirm Lilly's words. I sigh – again – and gather my little girl in my arms and carry her to bathroom, Lilly right behind me. I set Susie on the counter and wash off her leg, checking to see if there are any pieces of the plate in the shallow cut. Not finding any, I grab the Band-Aid Lilly found and put it over the cut. Then, I look Susie in the eye.

"Susie, I'm not mad at you. I wasn't mad at you for breaking the lamp earlier, even though I know you said the puma did it."

She's still not looking at me, and I can see the tears running down her cheeks.

"You are my daughter, and I love you very much. I've been frustrated with you because you haven't been telling me the truth when certain things happen. Do you understand?"

Her little blonde head nods weakly, but still refuses to look at me. I look at Lilly for some help.

"Suse, it's great that you're using your imagination and everything, but when you do something, or something happens, you need to tell us the truth, even if it is an accident, okay?"

Now she looks up and nods again, wiping her eyes with her arm.

"I'm sorry."

I pull her into a hug and Lilly joins us.

"You're fine baby. We just worry about you. Now go on and play."

Susie nods again and jumps off the counter and walks out of the bathroom to find Sarah's cousin's kids, who are all around her age.

I lean against the counter and look at Lilly, and I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

"I feel like the shittiest mother ever."

She grins and pulls me into a hug, rocking me slowly, just as I did to our daughter a few minutes ago.

"You're a great mother, Miles. Almost as good as me, in fact."

I laugh and lean back and kiss her. We stand there for a minute kissing, before a cough interrupts us and we spot a very amused and pregnant Sarah standing there.

"As cute as you are, the pregnant woman needs to pee. And this is the closest bathroom."

Laughing, we vacate the room as Sarah enters. As we walk back to the party area, hand-in-hand, Lilly leans close to my ear and whispers.

"I don't think Sarah's grandma likes me."

I grin and whisper back.

"She's like 80. I doubt she can even see you."

Lilly's laughter makes me laugh. I see Susie outside playing tag with the other children, laughing and smiling, and I know I'm doing alright for myself, no matter how hard it is sometimes.

--

Lilly walks into the house and up the stairs, carrying our sleeping daughter. Susie's worn herself out from playing with the other kids, and I thank God that for once, we don't have to fight with her to get her to go to bed.

I deposit my purse and keys on the island in the kitchen, then grab the phone off the wall and check the voicemail. There are two messages. The first is from Sarah, thanking us for coming, and the other is from Jackson, saying much of the same.

I hang up the phone and head upstairs, where I find Lilly, laid out on our bed, wearing the light blue lingerie she bought for my birthday. I shiver in excitement. Quickly shutting and locking our door, I then shed my clothes and join her on the bed.

Five minutes later, as things are starting to feel really good, I hear Susie yelling from her room. Groaning, I fall on top of Lilly and sigh. That seems to be all I'm doing today – expelling a lot of hot air.

"Just ignore her."

I laugh and sit up, grabbing a pair of pajamas off the floor and dressing myself quickly.

"Yeah, because that worked so well last time."

Lilly's groan-laugh follows me out of the room. As I enter Susie's room, I see her lying in bed, eyes half-open.

"What do you need, sweet pea?"

She blinks at me, and I can tell she's struggling to stay awake.

"Can you read to me?"

I smile and nod before grabbing The Wind in the Willows off the nightstand and cracking it open to where we had left off the night before.

Not even five minutes pass before Susie's breathing deepens and levels out. I can't help but smile. Closing the book and returning it to its place on the nightstand, I kiss her forehead and quietly make my way out of the room.

I return to our room and shake my head in amazement. Lilly crooks a finger and give me a 'Come hither' look, and we quickly pick up where we left off.

--

Later, as we are drifting off into satisfied sleep, Lilly curled against my front, I decide to ask her something I've been thinking about for a while.

"Do you want to have another kid?"

She rolls over and looks me in the eye, her face serious.

"Yes. Do you?"

I smile and nod. She returns the smile and cups my face, pulling me into a sleepy kiss.

"We'll call the doctor in the morning."

She rolls back over and resettles herself against my front.

As I drift off, I can't help but think that I really do have a normal life. Even with all the weird people in it.