#jaya lohkta

[jaya-and-camryn]

Jaya and Camryn <3

Artist: @zerozeroren

[jaya-and-camryn]

Tykey (Family Holiday Pt 1)

"The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh, on the last day of September!" Ruby's voice warbled throughout the car. She was sitting in the middle of the back seat, next to her little sister, trying her best to make her smile. 

"I thought the line was 'on the first day of September', not the last?" Ruby's girlfriend, Kori, piped up. She sat on Ruby's other side and had watched this whole display, smirking at the two sisters. 

"It's a nursery rhyme, the lyrics are what you want them to be," Ruby said with a shrug, turning to face her parents. "Right mum?" 

"It's true, I've sung countless different versions over the years," Jaya called back from the driver's seat. 

"Well, it doesn't seem to matter to Megan. She's still looking a bit grumpy." Kori replied, gesturing to the toddler in her car seat. Ruby's singing had managed to stop the tears that had flown earlier, but she still seemed unhappy to be in the car. 

"That's because you're not singing her favourite one." Camryn looked up from the map she was reading and turned to Jaya with a grin. "Want to do the honours?" 

Jaya grinned back, took a deep breath, and started singing, "The wheels on the bus go round and round!" 

"Round and round, round and round!" Camryn, Ruby, and Kori sang back in response. 

"The wheels on the bus go round and round!" Jaya continued. 

"All day long!" Ruby and Kori finished, bursting into laughter. 

Megan giggled and clapped her hands. "wound and wound, wound and wound!!" she sang with glee. Jaya turned to the girls in the back seat for a second with a smug smile on her face. 

"You're welcome." She said sweetly, before turning back to focus on the road. The car rolled to a stop, and Megan, noticing this, began laughing again.

“I can see the sea, I can see the sea!” Everyone turned to look out of their windows, and the car went silent again. Kori leaned over to her girlfriend and whispered,

“Should we tell her that’s just a big river?” Ruby gave her sister a small smile and turned to her mothers for help.

“Nearly there, sweetheart. Just a little bit longer.” Camryn turned around in her seat and lightly squeezed Megan’s hand. “We’re just stuck in a bit of traffic, that’s all.” 

Jaya stared at the sea of cars in front of her and frowned. “Stuck is right, it doesn’t look like anyone will be moving for a while.”

Turning back around, Camryn began digging through the bag on the floor in front of her. “Luckily for us, we came prepared!” She said, pulling out a pack of double chocolate cookies. Ruby and Kori broke into cheers, and Jaya looked at her wife with a smirk.

“I wonder how those got in there,” she said with a laugh.

“You know, I have no idea,” Camryn replied, flashing an innocent smile, before passing the cookies around. Ruby took three and broke one in half before passing it over to her little sister. Megan grabbed the cookie and began happily stuffing her face, smiling widely as she did so. 

Nibbling at her cookie, Kori took her book out of her bag. Opening it to the marked page, she turned it towards Ruby so she could see. “Okay, so to recap. This is where we’re going.” Kori pointed to a picture of a village in the book with an excited look on her face.

“That is correct.” Ruby smiled.

“And this.” Kori turned a page and pointed to a picture of the legendary King Arthur. “Is the adventure we’re gonna go on. Tintagel has so much King Arthur stuff it’s insane!” Kori continued, her smile getting bigger with every word. She had been looking forward to this trip since Ruby first brought it up, and was ecstatic she was invited along. King Arthur was her favourite legend, and visiting one of the towns associated with him was a dream come true. 

“Legend has it that he buried his most valuable treasure somewhere in Tintagel, and we’re going to find it!” She finished, pumping her fist slightly in the air.

“Hell yeah, we are!” Ruby replied, and the two high fived. "We're gonna find that treasure, make you famous, and then use your fame to stick it to every shit head at school!" 

"Ruby! Not in front of your sister, please?" Jaya called from the front seat. 

"Sorry, mum!" Ruby called back, before turning to Megan. "We're gonna stick it to every silly head in school aren't we Meg?" she said, booping Megan lightly on the nose. 

"All the silly heads!" Megan squealed back, giggling. Jaya gave a small sigh of relief when suddenly the traffic began to move again. 

"Hey, looks like we'll get there before dinner after all!" she said, giving a final glance at the backseat. The girls cheered, and the family began the final leg of their journey. 

After another hour of driving, they had finally reached Tintagel. Hopping out of the car, Ruby and Kori stretched slightly, before turning to look at their house. Jaya and Camryn had rented a small cottage just outside of the village, meaning they could enjoy their evenings away from the crowds of tourists that visited the village every year.

“Aww, it looks so much cuter in person!” Ruby said, squealing with excitement.

"It really does! Like one of those houses you read about in books!" Kori chimed in, and grabbing each other's hands, they took off towards the front door. 

Jaya got out of her seat and opened Megan's car door. The toddler reached her arms up and smiled. "Mummy, Mummy, I love you!" she giggled, and once picked up, wrapped her arms around Jaya's neck, pulling her into a tight hug. 

"Love you too sweetie." Jaya laughed, hugging Megan back. "Right, shall we go inside and find Tyke?" 

Megan clapped her hands and squealed, "Tykey, Tykey, yay!". She shifted in Jaya's arms and began reaching out towards the house. Camryn looked up from where she was taking the suitcase out of the car and laughed.

“I think that’s a yes!” She said, walking over and lightly kissing Megan’s cheek, making her giggle again. As she went to do the same to Jaya, Megan grabbed on to both of them and pulled them into another hug. 

Watching her family from where she stood in the doorway, Ruby turned to her girlfriend and smiled. “They’re gonna be there a while. Help me with the bags?”

“Sure.” Kori laughed in response, and the two made their way over to the abandoned suitcase. 

Once everything had been moved inside and unpacked, everyone began to settle into their evening routine. The family had dinner together, watched films and playing games, and by the time the night was over, the cottage felt like home.

***

The next morning, they all made their way to the beach at the edge of the village. Camryn had suggested going early to beat the crowds, and once there immediately began looking for the perfect spot. She surveyed the beach, stopping occasionally to inspect the sand, or to look out towards the sea. After about five minutes of this, Ruby dropped her beach bag into the sand rolled her eyes.

“Mum, come on! You do this every time!” She groaned. Camryn gave her a sly smile.

“Yes, but I do all of this for a reason, you know.”

“And that reason is?” Ruby smiled.

“Science, of course!” Camryn waved her arms in the air. “I’ve spent years trying to create the ultimate beach experience, and it all starts with the perfect spot. As you can see,” She said, guiding the girls through the patch of sand she had acquired. “There’s enough room here for all of us to sunbathe, build sandcastles, the good kind with moats, or even kick the beach ball around! Not to mention,” She gestured towards the sea. “If you girls want to go paddling, we’ll be able to keep an eye on you without anyone blocking our way!” Camryn finished with a triumphant look on her face.

“You picked a good one this time Cammie,” Jaya said, smiling up at her wife as she lay down the beach towels, “This could be your best find yet.”

“Could, being the important word there,” Camryn replied. “We’re going to have to test the sand out to be sure."

“How do we do that?” Kori asked with a confused look. Jaya and Camryn shared a smile, and Camryn reached into the beach bag and pulled out a large bucket and spade.

“Want to help me build a sandcastle?” She asked, and Kori’s eyes lit up at the words.

“Oh my gosh yes! I haven’t built one in years!” She practically screamed, making Camryn almost drop the spade.

“Wait, you haven’t built a sandcastle in years? What do you do when you’re at the beach?!” Camryn looked at Kori as if she’d just said she was an alien from another world.

“My family and I don’t really do beach holidays much. We usually go to cities and do stuff like museums.” Kori said with a shrug. Camryn’s face went from confusion, to pity, to determination all in the few seconds Kori had spoken. She walked over and gently placed a hand on Kori’s shoulder.

“Well then let’s build you the best castle you’ve ever seen!” She said with a smile, and with a cheer from the girls, the three of them ran off further down the beach to begin their big build.

Jaya and Megan, meanwhile, watched from where they sat with the bags. Jaya got out some homework she needed to finish marking before the new term started, and Megan sat by her, cuddling Tykey. Tykey was a wooden pull along triceratops Jaya had bought when Megan first learned how to walk. It was love at first sight, and even after almost a year, wherever Megan went, Tykey followed. As Jaya worked, she looked up every now and then to check up on Megan, and to watch the progress of Camryn’s sandcastle course.

“Mummy, mummy!” Megan shouted, breaking the silence. Jaya looked up with a jolt.

“What’s up, sweetie?” She asked, but noticed Megan wasn’t talking to her. Instead, Megan was looking across the beach and reaching out towards Camryn, who had begun taking the girls to the sea to collect water for their castle’s moat. “Don’t worry, mummy will be back in a bit,” Jaya said sweetly, putting down her papers and gently rubbing Megan’s back. 

“Want mummy!” Megan whimpered, and she folded her arms across her face. Jaya laughed slightly at the toddler’s exaggerated expressions.

“Well good news grumpy pants, it looks like she’s on her way back!” Jaya gave Megan a cuddle and kissed her cheek. “Want to go meet her?” Megan burst into laughter as Jaya kissed her, and began wriggling out of her mother’s arms. As soon as Camryn was close enough to see, Jaya let go, and Megan took off, clumsily running across the sand to get to her mother and sister.

“Mummy mummy mummy mummy!” She shouted as she ran, dragging Tyke along with her. Camryn looked up at the sound of her daughter’s voice and smiled when she saw her almost sprinting across the beach towards her. /just before they reached each other, she put down her bucket of water, knelt down and opened her arms to greet Megan.

Megan dropped Tyke, crashed into Camryn’s arms, and squeezed her as hard as she could.

“Hey, hun!” Camryn laughed, gently squeezing her back. “What’s up? Did you miss me that much?”

“Don’t go away!” Megan whimpered again, tears forming in her eyes. Camryn’s face filled with concern.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” She picked up Megan and began carrying her back to the bags, where she could see Jaya waiting for them. As she did so, she turned to Ruby and Kori.

“I’m going to sit with Megan for a while, can I count on you two to finish the castle?” She said as Megan buried her face even more into her chest. 

“No problem! We’ll call you when it’s done.” Kori replied. The girls high-fived and made their way back to the sandcastle. Camryn walked over to Jaya, and the two cuddled up on the blankets with Megan squished between them.

Once the castle had been completed and gone through its first photoshoot, courtesy of Ruby’s new camera, the family sat down for lunch, and the rest of the day was spent relaxing in the sand and swimming in the sea. Megan refused to let go of Camryn for most of the afternoon, causing Jaya and Carmyn to become concerned. 

That evening, after Megan had been put to bed, Jaya stood in the living room doorway and motioned for Camryn to join her in the kitchen. Ruby and Kori were starting to fall asleep where they sat cuddled on the sofa, going over their plans for tomorrow. Speaking in a hushed voice, Jaya said,

“I’m worried about Megan. What happened today-”

“I know.” Camryn cut in, putting an arm around Jaya. “It’s never been that bad before.”

“This can’t happen right now, not with nursery coming up. I thought we were working on her attachment issues, she seemed better.” Jaya was looking more worried by the second.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. I’m sure I was pretty hard to see that far down the beach, it makes sense that she got worried.” Camryn reassured her.

“Yeah for two minutes, what happens when I drop her off in a room full of strangers for 3 hours?”

“Well you’ll be teaching in the main building nearby, won’t you? If things get really bad you’re less than 2 minutes away. Besides, the room may have strangers, but it also has a fuck ton of toys. She’ll be in heaven.” Camryn finished, and the two of them laughed. Jaya took a deep breath and smiled.

“You’re right, she’ll be okay. And hey, at least she’ll have-”

“TYKEY!” Megan screamed from upstairs. Ruby and Kori jolted awake, while Jaya and Camryn raced up the stairs to Megan’s bedroom. Opening the door, they saw Megan sitting up in her bed, tears rolling down her face. 

“Mummy, Tykey’s gone!” She wailed, before sobbing loudly. 

“It’s okay, sweetie, I’m sure he just fell out of bed,” Jaya said gently, sitting on the bed with Megan, and pulled the toddler into her arms.

“Yeah, and then he got up and walked away,” Camryn muttered quietly, as she searched under the bed.

“What do you mean?” Jaya whispered back, confused.

“He’s not anywhere near the bed. Are you sure you brought him up?” Camryn whispered back, getting back on her feet.

“Yeah, I always do. Or… wait did I?” Jaya thought back to when she put Megan down for the night. She was sure she had done everything she did every night. Pyjamas, teeth, Tykey, story, song, sleep. That was the routine she and Megan had made together over the years. Come to think of it, did she have Tyke with her earlier? She couldn’t remember him being in the bed, and Megan had seemed so tired she hadn’t noticed either.

“Wait,” Jaya said, still processing the situation. “If he isn’t in the room, then where did we leave him?” Camryn gave a shrug and went back downstairs. As she entered the living room, she saw Ruby and Kori waiting, their faces filled with worry.

“Tykey’s done a runner, we can’t seem to find him in your sister’s room, so we need your help looking for him,” Camryn said, and with that the girls jumped off the sofa, standing to attention.

“Where do we start?” Ruby asked.

“Okay I need one of you to check the car, and the other to look in here, under all of the chairs, that sort of thing.”

“I’ll check the car!” Kori said, grabbing the keys from the side table and heading out the door.

“And I’ll grab my phone to look under the chairs,” Ruby added.

“Awesome, I’m going to check the bags.” Camryn smiled.

“I’m going to check the kitchen,” Jaya said, walking into the living room. She was starting to look exhausted. “Megan clocked out again after she finished crying, so I’ve left her tucked in bed. I looked in all the rooms upstairs as well, he’s nowhere to be found.” Everyone got to work, and after 20 minutes of searching, the house looked thoroughly ransacked.

“Kitchen’s clear.” Jaya called, “How are you guys doing?”

“He wasn’t in the car, and we’re not having much luck here either,” Kori said from the living room.

"Uh, J?" Camryn called slowly. "Tyke isn't in here. Or any of the bags…"

Jaya's tired eyes grew with mild panic as the realisation set in. "Oh fuck." Megan let out another cry. 

"I'll go," Camryn said softly, putting a hand on Jaya's shoulder. "You try and get some rest." Jaya smiled, mouthed a thank you, and began making her way up the stairs. Camryn watched her go before turning to the girls. 

"Bedtime for you guys as well, you both look shattered." Ruby and Kori looked at each other before nodding and headed towards their room. 

Finally, Camryn followed them all upstairs, and gently opened the door to Megan's room. The toddler had tired herself out and was on the verge of falling asleep again. 

"Want Tykey." She whimpered once Camryn had entered the room.

"I know you do sweetie," Camryn said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "But it looks like Tykey's gone on an adventure by himself. We'll go look for him tomorrow, but until then I'm going to need you to be a big girl and sleep without him tonight. Can you do that for me?" She pulled Megan into a tight hug. 

"Okay mummy…" Megan said between whimpers, clinging onto Camryn as much as she could. They sat there cuddled on the bed, and after about an hour, Camryn felt Megan finally drift off to sleep. Being careful not to wake her, Camryn placed the toddler back in her bed, tucked her in, and tiptoed out of the room, towards her own.

***

The next morning Ruby and Kori once again found themselves on the beach just outside of Tintagel. Megan had spent the night constantly waking up and crying because she didn’t have Tykey with her, wearing herself out, falling back asleep for an hour or so, and then waking up and repeating the cycle. As a result, the rest of the family had taken turns sitting with her until she calmed herself down, which meant none of them had gotten a proper night's sleep. 

Around the 3am mark, Jaya had suggested they make a game plan for finding Tykey. They had decided that they would split off into groups; Jaya and Camryn would take Megan shopping in the village, and see if they could find a new Tykey who could at least help Megan sleep at night, whilst Ruby and Kori would search for the real one. The girls retraced their steps and came to the conclusion that the only place Megan could have lost Tykey was while they were at the beach.

“You know, come to think of it,” Kori called across to her girlfriend as she searched through the bushes and small dunes near the edge of the beach. “I’m pretty sure I saw Megan drop Tykey when she came running at us after we’d gone to collect moat water. Did she ever pick him back up?” Ruby looked up from the rock pools she was looking in and thought for a second.

“Honestly? I don’t know.” She said with a shrug. “Though thinking about it, I don’t remember her having him at any other point in the day. But at the same time, she has him with her so much none of us really think about it any more. We just kind of assume he’s there.” 

“I’m guessing that rule applies to Megan too.” Kori said with a laugh “It took her all day to realise he was even gone.”

“That happens more often than you think.” Ruby laughed, “Most days she’ll leave him somewhere in the flat, and then a few hours later realise he isn’t still under her arms like he was earlier.” 

Kori laughed and carried on her search. Ruby looked over at her with a worried look. She took a deep breath and made her way over to where Kori was still looking through the bushes, humming a random song as she went.

“Hey…” Ruby placed a hand on Kori’s shoulder, getting her attention. Kori looked up and saw Ruby was avoiding her eyes and had a guilty look on her face.

“What’s up?” Kori stood up, giving Ruby’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“I’m sorry we’re not looking for King Arthur’s treasure right now. I know how important that was to you.” Ruby said, disappointment in her voice.  

“Hey, family comes first, you know that,” Kori said with a serious tone, lifting Ruby’s face to look at her. Ruby smiled,

“You’re my family too.” She said, leaning in to give Kori a kiss. When they parted, Kori’s cheeks were bright red, and the two giggled. 

“I love you too, but right now your sister’s happiness, and our sleep patterns, are on the line.” Kori said with a smile, “We’re here for a week. The sooner we find Tykey, the more time we have for other stuff.”

“Okay,” Ruby said with renewed determination. “In that case, we should probably start looking in the sea. Chances are Tyke got caught up with the tide and is sitting on the seabed somewhere.”

“Ooh, good thinking!” Kori’s eyes lit up. “I think the beach shop in the village sells swimming goggles and cheap scuba masks we can use to look!”

“Awesome!” Ruby replied. The pair high fived and ran back towards the village.

Meanwhile, in the local toy shop, Jaya, Camryn, and Megan were still searching for another Tykey.

“Where did you say you got the first one from again, J?” Camryn asked her wife, who was looking at a shelf of pull-along ducks.

“I don’t know, it was this old toy shop somewhere in London. I was teaching a piano lesson nearby and on my way back to the tube station I saw Tyke sitting in the window,” she said, turning to face Camryn. “Besides, that was years ago now, who knows if they even make them anymore.” 

“What kind of toy was he?” The clerk at the till chimed in. She was a kind-looking elderly lady and had greeted them with a smile and a wave when they had first entered the shop. “Sorry, I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I thought I might be able to help. I’ve owned this shop for almost twenty years now, and I have three children of my own, so I know a thing or two about toys,” she said with a smile. Jaya looked over at Camryn, who gave a small shrug, and a look of encouragement. Jaya smiled and turned back to the woman at the counter.

“We’re looking for a wooden pull-along triceratops. Ours was blue, with a white horn. Any chance you know it?” The lady thought for a moment before answering.

“Can’t say I’ve seen one like that. We get all the newest toys here, and all the pull-along dinosaurs we’ve ever gotten have been T-Rex’s.” She said apologetically.

“Oh, he definitely wasn’t new when I bought him. Even back then he looked quite worn and used. Nowhere near as much as he did nowadays,” Jaya said with a small laugh. “Then again I think most of the toys in that shop looked like that. It was probably a vintage toy store.”

“Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so!” The elderly woman said with a laugh, “If it’s a vintage toy you’re after, you should head across the street to the toy museum. If anyone will know anything about it it’s them!” Jaya’s eyes lit up at her words.

“Thank you so much, we’ll head straight there! You ready Megan?” She picked up the toddler, who had gotten distracted by the toys surrounding her, and with Camryn in tow, the three of them made their way to the museum.

Once inside, they looked around them in awe. The walls were filled with hundreds of different toys and collectables, both on display for the museum, and on sale in the shop. Camryn turned to look at Jaya.

“I take back what I said about nursery. This is Megan’s idea of heaven!” Just as she had said her name, Megan began trying to wriggle free of Jaya’s hand, reaching out towards the shelves of toys for sale.

“Mummy, look! Want to go look!” She said, pulling harder.

“Okay, okay, let’s go!” Jaya said with a laugh. “You okay to ask about Tyke?” she added, turning back to Camryn.

“Yeah, of course!” Camryn said with a smile and made her way over to the counter, where a middle-aged man was selling some old toy cars to a family. Once they had left, Camryn approached the man with her friendliest smile.

“Hi, I was wondering if you could help me. My daughter lost her favourite toy yesterday, and my wife and I are trying to find a new one for her. Problem is we think it’s either pretty old, or rare, or maybe even both.” The man smiled back at her 

“No problem, this happens all the time. Let me guess, the woman from the toy shop across the street sent you?” He replied with a laugh. “She does that a lot, thinks I’m some toy expert just because I’m a collector. But I’ll do my best. What kind of toy are you after?”

Camryn described Tyke, right down to the little details, and told him the story of how Jaya came to find him one day in London. “And since then Megan, my daughter, has gotten so attached to him that she can’t sleep properly without him. In other words, we’re pretty desperate.” She finished with an awkward laugh. The man at the counter looked mildly confused for a split second, before answering.

“Well, I can tell you right away that we don’t have anything like that here. I don’t think I’ve heard of a toy like that, but you might have more luck looking on something like eBay. I can load it up now if you like?” He said, gesturing to the computer next to him. Camryn’s face fell slightly. 

“Thanks, but don’t worry about it. I’ll have a look when we get back h-” Suddenly a small shriek of excitement filled the small shop. Jaya popped her head up from where she stood between the shelves with a smirk on her face.

“I think you might want to come see this Cammie,”.

***

The door to the cottage opened, and Ruby and Kori trudged through it carrying scuba masks, both looking exhausted. Their jeans were splashed with seawater, and their hair was soaked through.

“Hey girls!” Jaya called from the kitchen table, where she and Camryn sat drinking tea. “How was the search?” The girls looked over at her with their tried eyes.

“I mean we didn’t find him and our clothes are cold and wet, so I’d say it didn’t go too great,” Ruby said grumpily. It was then that she noticed how calm and peaceful the house was. “Wait, it’s quiet in here.”

“Too quiet,” Kori added in suspiciously. She looked over at Jaya and Camryn, a hopeful look on her face. “Does that mean you found him??”

Camryn took a sip from her mug, “Go and see for yourselves.” she said, gesturing upstairs. Ruby and Kori took off up the stairs, and gently opened Megan’s door. Inside, they found the toddler snuggled up in bed, her arms around a toy. The toy in question, however, wasn’t Tyke. Instead, Megan was cuddling a blue plush T-Rex. The girls looked at each other in confusion, closed Megan’s door again, and made their way back to the kitchen. 

“I know I haven’t seen him in a day or so, but that didn’t look like Tykey,” Kori said when they were back with Jaya and Camryn.

“Yeah, that’s Tykey 2.0,” Camryn said with a laugh.

“Megan found him at the toy museum, she screamed bloody murder when she saw him,” Jaya added.

“So she moved on, just like that?” Ruby asked, still confused. “And we spent all afternoon searching the seabed for nothing?”

“She’s 2, of course she found something new so quickly!” Camryn replied, still laughing. “I wouldn’t say she’s moved on though, just enough that we can all sleep soundly tonight.”

“As for you girls searching, it does look like it was a wasted journey, sorry,” Jaya said with a sympathetic smile. “How about we get some chips for tea, as a thank you?” Ruby and Kori’s faces lit up at this, and they gave a cheer.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jaya said with a laugh. She got up from her chair and grabbed her purse. “Alright, who wants what?” 

“It’s okay mum, we’ll go get them!” Ruby volunteered.

“Yeah, so you can eat half of them on the way home!” Camryn muttered into her mug, arching a brow at the girls. 

Ruby and Kori took the orders, and without stopping to change their clothes, made their way back down the path towards the village.

“So…” Kori started, a smirk on her face. “Now that the Tykey thing has been sorted, I guess we should find something else to do this week.”

“And what did you have in mind?” Ruby smirked back.

“Oh, nothing much, just a little treasure hunt,” Kori said, putting an arm around Ruby’s shoulders. The two laughed, and walked off, hand in hand.

[jaya-and-camryn]

Test Results

Camryn fidgeted in her seat. She was never the type to be nervous in a hospital, but she was also never the one they were there for. She felt something touch her hand and looked over to see Jaya giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Hey. It’s gonna be okay. If there was something to worry about they would have found it by now.” Camryn gave her a small smile, and they were quiet for a few minutes until Jaya spoke up again.

“Weren’t we in this room the last time we were here?” Camryn looked around, paying attention to the small details of the room. They were in the doctor’s office, and their doctor, in particular, liked to decorate his desk and the shelves behind it with various personal photos and medical awards. Immediately Camryn was able to recognise the picture of their doctor, a man they could only assume was his husband, and their three children, all in matching Halloween costumes. She gave a small laugh.

“You’re right. What was it we were here for? Your stomach flu?”

“No, I think it was Megan’s cough. You’d gotten worried it was something bigger, so we came racing down here. Missed our film at the cinema for it too.” Jaya replied. Camryn turned to her with an offended look on her face.

“I was worried? I only suggested the hospital because you were the one freaking out, googling symptoms she didn’t even have!”

“She’s 2, of course, I was freaking out!”

“It was a cough! Children cough sometimes, it happens!” Camryn said, her voice getting louder.

“Well, you don’t have to shout at me about it!” Tears started forming in Jaya’s eyes, and she shifted in her seat until she was facing away from Camryn. The room was quiet again, aside from the muffled sounds of Jaya trying to hold back tears. Jaya’s anxiety when it came to their children’s health was always a contentious topic in their relationship. Camryn knew it came from love, but Jaya had a tendency to go overboard whenever someone in the household was ill. More often than not it always ended in a fight, something neither of them wanted to do, especially in front of the girls.

Camryn carefully placed her hand on Jaya’s shoulder. “Hey.” She winced slightly as Jaya shrugged her off. Camryn thought for a second and continued. “Remember when Ruby was six?”

Jaya turned around, cocking an eyebrow. “She was six for a whole year Cammie, you’re going to have to be more specific.” She said, a bitter look still on her face.

Camryn took a breath. “Okay, fair point. I mean when she first started showing signs of her depression. She looked slightly off once and you had us rush her to the GP.” 

“Why would you bring that up, that day was horrible!” Jaya raised her voice again, wiping tears from her eyes.

Camryn put her hands up slightly in surrender. “At the time, yeah, but look what came from it. If you hadn’t raced her down there, she wouldn’t have been diagnosed so soon, and she wouldn’t have her therapist. You got her the help she needed without even knowing she needed it.”

Catching on to what Camryn was trying to do, a small smirk appeared on Jaya’s face. “Has Ruby really been seeing her therapist for six years?” she asked, relaxing in her seat again. 

Camryn smiled. “I know, it’s gone by so fast. Next thing you know she’ll need one for adults.” 

“No, don’t say that! She’s growing up too fast as it is!” Jaya laughed, smiling at the thought of her eldest daughter. 

“True, she’s only 12 and has both a girlfriend and a therapist. I didn’t have either until I reached my twenties!” Camryn laughed along with Jaya, and just as soon as their fight had started, everything began to feel okay again. Jaya rested her head on Camryn’s shoulder and sighed contentedly. She stayed that way for a few moments, and then, all of a sudden, sat up with a jolt.

“Okay, Megan’s turn! What wholesome memories can we dig up about her that also involve me being right?” Jaya smirked. Camryn gave a short laugh and thought for a minute.

“Hmm, okay, how about her first week home? I had an emergency at the clinic and had to go in. It was your first time alone with both kids, and you said you left her in our room to nap for an hour.” Jaya’s eyes lit up at the memory.

“Oh yeah! I was sitting in the kitchen with Ruby, helping her with her homework, trigonometry is the worst by the way, like seriously how do they expect 10 or 11-year-olds to understand that? Anyway, we were working through it, and I suddenly felt that something was wrong.” Camryn watched Jaya fondly. She had heard her tell this story countless times, and every time Jaya managed to tell it with the same dramatic look on her face. 

“I don’t know how, but I knew I had to check on Megan. So I get up, head into our room, and when I open the door I see Megan has kicked her blanket onto the other side of her cot, and her teddy has gone with it! She was on the verge of tears when I came in. I single-handedly saved the house from a serious meltdown.” Jaya finished the story with a quick pump of her fist, before adding, “Though she wasn’t ill when that happened, why bring it up?” She turned back to Camryn with a quizzical look on her face.

“She didn’t need to be. My point is that you have this insane mum sense that tells you when something is wrong with the girls. And I’m sorry for doubting you all the time.” Camryn pushed some hair out of Jaya’s face, gently stroking her head as she did so. Jaya began to tear up again and pulled Camryn into a tight hug. They stayed that way for what felt like forever until there was a light knock at the door. 

Their doctor walked in, and all of a sudden they were pulled back to reality, back to why they were sitting in the doctor’s office in the first place.

“Good to see you again ladies, sorry for the wait.�� Dr Weisshart said with a smile and sat down at his desk. Jaya squeezed Camryn’s hand, both of them holding their breath in anticipation.

“So, we had a look at your X-Ray, Camryn.” The doctor continued, “And you’ve got nothing to worry about. That bump on your head will do nothing but hurt for a little while.” Camryn was the first to breathe again, before turning back to Jaya with a smirk.

“Told you it was nothing to worry about.” Jaya began to laugh and gave Camryn a playful shove.

[jaya-and-camryn]

The Lohkta-Lowe family

Artist: @zerozeroren

[jaya-and-camryn]

Lions are Cool

Jaya loved celebrations. Any reason to have a party and spend time with her friends. Her favourite celebration, however, was her anniversary with Camryn. Every year, the two of them would re-enact their first date and would spend the day at the zoo. They were both members and visited countless times a year, but going on that day always felt special. 

One year, their anniversary just happened to coincide with the zoo's weekly penguin parade. The penguins would form a line, and follow their keepers out of their habitat. The march would only last a couple of minutes, but a large crowd would always gather to join the fun. Camryn had been talking about the parade all week, so had made sure to drag Jaya to the enclosure almost half an hour before it began, so they could watch from the best spot. 

By the time the parade started, the two of them were practically bouncing on their bench in excitement. They set up their phones ready and joined the other visitors in filming the event. When the penguins reached Jaya and Camryn, one of them noticed a piece of Jaya's sandwich she had dropped on the ground during lunch. He made his way over, and before anyone could stop him, began to pick up and eat the sandwich. People laughed and took photos, but Jaya noticed that Camryn was almost frozen. The penguin had stopped right next to her feet, and she couldn't help but stare in awe at the little guy. 

As quickly as he had run over, one of the penguin's keepers walked over and guided him back towards the others. The parade ended without any other interruptions, but Camryn remained still, the look of awe still on her face. 

After a minute of silence, Jaya turned to her and said, "And you didn't want me to get the tuna." 

The pair looked at each other, laughed, and began making their way towards the other enclosures. 

It was a warm day, and so by the time they had made their way over to the lion enclosure, the lions were fast asleep. 

" Lions are so cool!" Jaya said quietly. It was her turn to stare in awe at something, and to do so she got as close as the protective barrier would allow. 

"Woah, easy there," Camryn said with a smile. She took Jaya by the shoulders and gently guided her slightly backwards, so not to make the keepers mad. It wouldn't be the first time. 

"Oh come on, you let me get closer the first time we came here," Jaya said with a fake pout. 

"Yeah because I didn't realise how close you would get!" 

"It's not my fault they keep them so far away! A zoom lens can only do so much." 

"What do you mean, you got a perfect shot!" 

"Yeah, because I got so close! Do you see my point?" 

"Ha, yeah okay, I concede." Camryn put her hands up in mock surrender. By this time, the two had made their way towards the zoo's aquarium, where a small selection of fish was on display. 

They walked in silence for a bit, Jaya watching the fish, and Camryn watching how the aquarium lights lit up Jaya's face. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but at that moment, under those lights, Jaya had never looked more beautiful. As she thought about all the memories they had shared under that roof, Camryn had a thought. 

"I just realised, things like the penguin happen every year." 

"How do you mean?" 

"You getting close to the lions, the penguin, plus there was that angry bird last year." 

"Ha, yeah you're right! Only ever on our anniversary." Jaya laughed, not taking her eyes off the fish. "Maybe it's the universe's way of saying it wants to keep us together." 

"... That might be the cheesiest thing you've ever said." 

"Yep! And I challenge you to beat it."

After a moment's silence, Camryn said softly, "Will this do it?" 

Jaya turned around, and found Camryn down on one knee…

[jaya-and-camryn]

Ruby Lohkta and Kori Reeves (aka the tiny gays)

Artist: @zerozeroren