Wrong Table, The Right Boy

"mummy!" a bright, perfectly content five year old Harry says, looping his arms around his mother. mara smiles at her baby, lifts him up, plants a kiss on his cheek, then sets him down again with a red lipstick mark still stamped on the side of his face. "how was playing with caleb?" she asks Harry, pinching his cheek while he rubs away the leftover lipstick. Harry giggles and lifts his arm so his mummy can see his new 'tattoo'. "he 'ad power 'angers and he 'anded me one!" he squeals, staring at his hand over and over like the red power ranger might vanish any second. mara gasps and tells her son she loves it, but makes him promise he won't get a real one till he's eighteen. "i powomise," Harry says, still fighting with how the word comes out. she smiles, takes his hand, and they start walking back to the house. the walk only takes twenty minutes altogether, but Harry's nonstop chatter about his power rangers obsession makes it feel quicker to mara. she loves listening to her son ramble and ramble and ramble. he is a talkative little thing, and she adores that about him. "mummy, i hungry," Harry pouts when they step into the small apartment complex. she sighs, wishing he had said something earlier. there is absolutely nothing in the fridge she could make for tiny Harry, but she doesn't want him going to sleep on an empty stomach. she glances at the time on her phone and sees it's only seven o'clock. there is still one hour before Harry needs to be asleep for school tomorrow. she reaches for her keys and says, "let's go grab something for your tummy then yeah?" "Yay!" he cheers, hopping off his spot on the couch and darting for the door in excitement. but moving that fast makes him catch on his own little feet and hit the floor with a thud. "ouch," he whines, close to tears as pain shoots through his bum, "i 'urt my 'ooshie." mara frowns. "that's why we don't rush about, Harry baby. you'll be alright." she gets him up, keeping a hold of his hand while she pulls him up. he furrows his brows, crosses his arms, and stomps his tiny feet toward the elevator down the hall. "where do you want to eat?" mara asks while pressing the button for the elevator to come down. Harry's eyes brighten right away at the talk of food as he runs through every option.