Poem: "Comfort on Difficult Days"
This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It fills the "Frighten" square in my 10-1-20 card for the Fall Festival Bingo. It has been sponsored by a pool with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ng_moonmoth. This poem belongs to the China's Mistake, Shiv, and Finn Family threads of the Polychrome Heroics series. It directly follows "Worth Defending," so read that first or this will make no sense.
"Comfort on Difficult Days"
[Thursday, February 4, 2016 a little after 4 PM in Mercedes, California]
The moment Shiv opened the door,
Graham grabbed him in a crushing hug.
"Oh, thank God," Graham murmured
into Shiv's hair. "When Edison came in
alone, I about had a heart attack."
A few seconds later, Graham let go.
"Sorry," he said. "I know you're not
fond of hugs. My paternal instincts
are just hard to control right now."
"It's fine," Shiv squeaked.
He already felt like he could
hardly catch a breath of air.
Graham held him at arm's length
and looked him over. "You've got
blood on you. How badly are you hurt?"
Shiv looked down. A few red spots
speckled his jeans and gray tennis shoes.
"It's not mine," he explained. "The, uh,
bad guys took some work to put down
so's they stayed down, that's all."
"Okay," Graham said. "Thank you
for telling me. I was so frightened."
Better frightened for him than
mad at him. Shiv had gotten
in trouble coming home plenty of
times, though not from the Finns.
Hearing voices, Shiv looked over and
saw Edison squirm free of his mother,
who held onto the kitchen door
with a white-knuckled grip.
Edison skidded to a stop
in front of Shiv, wrapping
his arms around himself.
Even Shiv could read
body language well enough
to interpret that message.
Shiv tilted his hands outward.
"C'mere, Monkey," he said.
"I could use a hug."
Edison plastered
himself on Shiv's legs.
"I was scared the bad guys
would hurt you," he sniffled.
"Nah, I'm not that easy to hurt,"
Shiv said, ruffling Edison's hair.
"Those guys are the ones who
need more'n a box of bandaids."
Edison giggled, then reluctantly
peeled one hand away from Shiv.
"Hot potato," he said glumly.
"S'okay," Shiv said, reaching
down to pick him up. Edison
attached to his hip like a limpet.
"Are you sure?" Graham said.
"If you wear out your tolerance
for skin contact, one of us
can take over for you."
"Nah, we're good,"
Shiv said, and for once
it was true. "Maybe
pull up some couch
and watch a movie."
"Whatever you like,"
Graham said, smiling.
Shiv looked past him
to see Mrs. Wu and
Peter Rybokov sitting
at the kitchen table.
"Hi, Mrs. Wu," Shiv said.
"Don't worry, I'm okay."
"That's good," she said.
Elisabeth was still clinging
to the doorframe, looking
both terrified and ferocious.
Shiv hesitated, then
beckoned to her too.
She ran to him -- ran
in the house, which was
always against the rules --
and hugged him like she was
trying to squeeze the air out.
"I was so scared," said Elisabeth.
"I know you can take care of
yourself, but it was four to one."
Shiv twitched a shoulder. "Eh,
if they're soups, they didn't
have the time to show it.
Wasn't much of a fight."
"I'm so glad you're safe,"
she said, squeezing him
again. Then she let go.
Shiv carried Edison to
the couch and sat down.
Edison made no move
to take a seat of his own,
preferring to curl in Shiv's lap.
Well, that was to be expected.
Shiv found that he didn't mind.
"Can we watch Winnie the Pooh?"
Edison said. "I want to see
something happy today."
"Yeah, me too," said Shiv.
"Sure, we can put it on."
"I've got this," Graham said,
going to the entertainment center.
Elisabeth went to her chair, but
hesitated instead of sitting down,
one hand stroking the back.
"There's couch left," Shiv said,
tilting his head at the far end.
"Thank you," Elisabeth said,
and sat down by the arm.
Graham didn't hesitate
to squeeze between them
as the movie started up.
"Did you boys get to eat
before the fuss started?"
Mrs. Wu asked them.
"No," Shiv said. "We got
blocked on the way there."
"Then I'll go fix supper,"
Mrs. Wu said, nodding.
"We're out of shrimp again,
but there should be some
of Jaliya's crab cakes left in
the freezer," said Elisabeth.
"I'll find them," Peter said.
Shiv's mouth watered.
"Yes, please," he said, and
Edison chirped agreement.
Shiv watched the movie
with its soft colors and
lovable, bumbling bear.
He had always secretly
envied Christopher Robin.
"How are you?" Graham said,
draping an arm behind Shiv.
Tilting his head back for
a little more contact,
Shiv said, "Better now.
It's been a rough day,
but the comfort helps."
He didn't usually need
comfort after a street fight,
but with those four guys
trying to steal Edison?
Oh yeah. He needed it.
"This is my wish for you,"
Graham said, petting Shiv.
"Comfort on difficult days,
smiles when sadness intrudes,
rainbows to follow the clouds,
hugs when spirits sag, beauty
for your eyes to see, friendships
to brighten your being, and
patience to accept the truth."
"Yeah," Shiv said softly.
"I think I'd like that."
Just then, Mrs. Wu and
Peter came in carrying
platters of fragrant food.
One was piled high with
crab cakes, golden and crisp.
The other held vegetable sticks
in cups of zingy-smelling dip.
Peter even had a pitcher of
ginger tea that he poured out.
Shiv watched him sidelong
as Peter made the rounds,
but accepted a cup anyway.
"Later," Peter whispered.
"If you have anything to add
to Edison's report, you can
tell me that after the movie."
The Finns had a whole team
of lawyers, and Boss White was
good for it too, so Shiv wasn't
very worried despite having
put four thugs in the hospital.
"Okay," Shiv said. "Later."
He snuggled closer to Graham.
The crab cakes were crunchy
and scrumptious, the vegetables
refreshing with the tangy dip.
Edison got crab crumbs
all over Shiv's front, and
Shiv so didn't care.
Even though Shiv
licked his fingers and
maybe dripped sauce on
the couch, nobody said
anything about that either.
They just sat together and
watched the silly old bear
until the credits rolled.
Edison yawned and
fisted Shiv's T-shirt
a little tighter. "More?"
Graham looked at Shiv.
"How do you feel about that?"
Shiv gave a lazy shrug. "I got
nowhere better to be," he said.
"Have you ever watched
Kiki's Delivery Service?"
said Mrs. Wu. "It's fun."
"Heard of it, never seen it,"
Shiv said. "Sure, put it on."
"If we're doing another movie,
then I want dessert," Peter said,
and headed into the kitchen.
Elisabeth got up to turn on
the next show, then sat
in her own chair, so that
was a pretty good sign.
Peter came back with
boxes of fudge. "This one
has milk chocolate, and
the other is dark chocolate
sprinkled with cacao nibs."
"Dark, please," Shiv said
as he raised his hand.
"Milk, please," said Edison.
"Did you finish eating all
of your vegetables?"
Elisabeth asked him.
"Most of them,"
Edison said. "Shiv
helped me finish."
"I only ate the last two
of the pepper sticks,"
Shiv said. "Good stuff."
"Two pieces, Edison,"
Elisabeth said, smiling.
Shiv put a handful of
dark chocolate pieces
on a napkin for himself,
then passed Edison
two of milk chocolate.
"Here," Shiv said. "Get
those in your mouth,
not on my shirt."
Edison giggled
and ate his fudge
before it could melt.
The movie really was
cute, and it made Shiv
smile a little, even
after a rough day.
The fudge helped too.
Edison was warm and
heavy in his lap, starting
to fall asleep now.
Elisabeth had already
curled up in her chair.
Mrs. Wu sat quietly, and
even Peter wasn't a threat.
There was something
to be said for comfort
on difficult days.
Shiv leaned on
Graham, ate more
of the fudge, and
watched the movie.
Nothing to worry about now.
* * *
Notes:
"This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Parental instincts manifest as measurable changes in mother and father brains. This involves oxytocin, among other things, generally considered the bonding hormone. Activities that release oxytocin help people reconnect in times of stress. The fascinating thing is that this works for Shiv today. Usually his baseline suspicion makes oxytocin backfire for him. The fact that it's pulling him toward people instead of pushing him away as usual shows that, two years into the relationship, that family bond has become a very real and physiological thing. \o/
Emotional First Aid suggests ways to comfort an upset friend.
Edison has high skin hunger. Typically Shiv tends toward touch aversion, but today he's huggy too. That's a very good sign, especially given how much attachment damage Shiv has from foster care. There are ways to bond with foster or adopted children.
Among the best comfort films are The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Kiki's Delivery Service.
Enjoy recipes for Crab Cakes and Vegetable Dip Cups.
This Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge can be made with unsweetened baking squares, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate. Here the Finns have used clinical-grade chocolate, dark in one batch and milk in another, topping the dark batch with cacao nibs to distinguish it.
ng_moonmoth. This poem belongs to the China's Mistake, Shiv, and Finn Family threads of the Polychrome Heroics series. It directly follows "Worth Defending," so read that first or this will make no sense."Comfort on Difficult Days"
[Thursday, February 4, 2016 a little after 4 PM in Mercedes, California]
The moment Shiv opened the door,
Graham grabbed him in a crushing hug.
"Oh, thank God," Graham murmured
into Shiv's hair. "When Edison came in
alone, I about had a heart attack."
A few seconds later, Graham let go.
"Sorry," he said. "I know you're not
fond of hugs. My paternal instincts
are just hard to control right now."
"It's fine," Shiv squeaked.
He already felt like he could
hardly catch a breath of air.
Graham held him at arm's length
and looked him over. "You've got
blood on you. How badly are you hurt?"
Shiv looked down. A few red spots
speckled his jeans and gray tennis shoes.
"It's not mine," he explained. "The, uh,
bad guys took some work to put down
so's they stayed down, that's all."
"Okay," Graham said. "Thank you
for telling me. I was so frightened."
Better frightened for him than
mad at him. Shiv had gotten
in trouble coming home plenty of
times, though not from the Finns.
Hearing voices, Shiv looked over and
saw Edison squirm free of his mother,
who held onto the kitchen door
with a white-knuckled grip.
Edison skidded to a stop
in front of Shiv, wrapping
his arms around himself.
Even Shiv could read
body language well enough
to interpret that message.
Shiv tilted his hands outward.
"C'mere, Monkey," he said.
"I could use a hug."
Edison plastered
himself on Shiv's legs.
"I was scared the bad guys
would hurt you," he sniffled.
"Nah, I'm not that easy to hurt,"
Shiv said, ruffling Edison's hair.
"Those guys are the ones who
need more'n a box of bandaids."
Edison giggled, then reluctantly
peeled one hand away from Shiv.
"Hot potato," he said glumly.
"S'okay," Shiv said, reaching
down to pick him up. Edison
attached to his hip like a limpet.
"Are you sure?" Graham said.
"If you wear out your tolerance
for skin contact, one of us
can take over for you."
"Nah, we're good,"
Shiv said, and for once
it was true. "Maybe
pull up some couch
and watch a movie."
"Whatever you like,"
Graham said, smiling.
Shiv looked past him
to see Mrs. Wu and
Peter Rybokov sitting
at the kitchen table.
"Hi, Mrs. Wu," Shiv said.
"Don't worry, I'm okay."
"That's good," she said.
Elisabeth was still clinging
to the doorframe, looking
both terrified and ferocious.
Shiv hesitated, then
beckoned to her too.
She ran to him -- ran
in the house, which was
always against the rules --
and hugged him like she was
trying to squeeze the air out.
"I was so scared," said Elisabeth.
"I know you can take care of
yourself, but it was four to one."
Shiv twitched a shoulder. "Eh,
if they're soups, they didn't
have the time to show it.
Wasn't much of a fight."
"I'm so glad you're safe,"
she said, squeezing him
again. Then she let go.
Shiv carried Edison to
the couch and sat down.
Edison made no move
to take a seat of his own,
preferring to curl in Shiv's lap.
Well, that was to be expected.
Shiv found that he didn't mind.
"Can we watch Winnie the Pooh?"
Edison said. "I want to see
something happy today."
"Yeah, me too," said Shiv.
"Sure, we can put it on."
"I've got this," Graham said,
going to the entertainment center.
Elisabeth went to her chair, but
hesitated instead of sitting down,
one hand stroking the back.
"There's couch left," Shiv said,
tilting his head at the far end.
"Thank you," Elisabeth said,
and sat down by the arm.
Graham didn't hesitate
to squeeze between them
as the movie started up.
"Did you boys get to eat
before the fuss started?"
Mrs. Wu asked them.
"No," Shiv said. "We got
blocked on the way there."
"Then I'll go fix supper,"
Mrs. Wu said, nodding.
"We're out of shrimp again,
but there should be some
of Jaliya's crab cakes left in
the freezer," said Elisabeth.
"I'll find them," Peter said.
Shiv's mouth watered.
"Yes, please," he said, and
Edison chirped agreement.
Shiv watched the movie
with its soft colors and
lovable, bumbling bear.
He had always secretly
envied Christopher Robin.
"How are you?" Graham said,
draping an arm behind Shiv.
Tilting his head back for
a little more contact,
Shiv said, "Better now.
It's been a rough day,
but the comfort helps."
He didn't usually need
comfort after a street fight,
but with those four guys
trying to steal Edison?
Oh yeah. He needed it.
"This is my wish for you,"
Graham said, petting Shiv.
"Comfort on difficult days,
smiles when sadness intrudes,
rainbows to follow the clouds,
hugs when spirits sag, beauty
for your eyes to see, friendships
to brighten your being, and
patience to accept the truth."
"Yeah," Shiv said softly.
"I think I'd like that."
Just then, Mrs. Wu and
Peter came in carrying
platters of fragrant food.
One was piled high with
crab cakes, golden and crisp.
The other held vegetable sticks
in cups of zingy-smelling dip.
Peter even had a pitcher of
ginger tea that he poured out.
Shiv watched him sidelong
as Peter made the rounds,
but accepted a cup anyway.
"Later," Peter whispered.
"If you have anything to add
to Edison's report, you can
tell me that after the movie."
The Finns had a whole team
of lawyers, and Boss White was
good for it too, so Shiv wasn't
very worried despite having
put four thugs in the hospital.
"Okay," Shiv said. "Later."
He snuggled closer to Graham.
The crab cakes were crunchy
and scrumptious, the vegetables
refreshing with the tangy dip.
Edison got crab crumbs
all over Shiv's front, and
Shiv so didn't care.
Even though Shiv
licked his fingers and
maybe dripped sauce on
the couch, nobody said
anything about that either.
They just sat together and
watched the silly old bear
until the credits rolled.
Edison yawned and
fisted Shiv's T-shirt
a little tighter. "More?"
Graham looked at Shiv.
"How do you feel about that?"
Shiv gave a lazy shrug. "I got
nowhere better to be," he said.
"Have you ever watched
Kiki's Delivery Service?"
said Mrs. Wu. "It's fun."
"Heard of it, never seen it,"
Shiv said. "Sure, put it on."
"If we're doing another movie,
then I want dessert," Peter said,
and headed into the kitchen.
Elisabeth got up to turn on
the next show, then sat
in her own chair, so that
was a pretty good sign.
Peter came back with
boxes of fudge. "This one
has milk chocolate, and
the other is dark chocolate
sprinkled with cacao nibs."
"Dark, please," Shiv said
as he raised his hand.
"Milk, please," said Edison.
"Did you finish eating all
of your vegetables?"
Elisabeth asked him.
"Most of them,"
Edison said. "Shiv
helped me finish."
"I only ate the last two
of the pepper sticks,"
Shiv said. "Good stuff."
"Two pieces, Edison,"
Elisabeth said, smiling.
Shiv put a handful of
dark chocolate pieces
on a napkin for himself,
then passed Edison
two of milk chocolate.
"Here," Shiv said. "Get
those in your mouth,
not on my shirt."
Edison giggled
and ate his fudge
before it could melt.
The movie really was
cute, and it made Shiv
smile a little, even
after a rough day.
The fudge helped too.
Edison was warm and
heavy in his lap, starting
to fall asleep now.
Elisabeth had already
curled up in her chair.
Mrs. Wu sat quietly, and
even Peter wasn't a threat.
There was something
to be said for comfort
on difficult days.
Shiv leaned on
Graham, ate more
of the fudge, and
watched the movie.
Nothing to worry about now.
* * *
Notes:
"This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Parental instincts manifest as measurable changes in mother and father brains. This involves oxytocin, among other things, generally considered the bonding hormone. Activities that release oxytocin help people reconnect in times of stress. The fascinating thing is that this works for Shiv today. Usually his baseline suspicion makes oxytocin backfire for him. The fact that it's pulling him toward people instead of pushing him away as usual shows that, two years into the relationship, that family bond has become a very real and physiological thing. \o/
Emotional First Aid suggests ways to comfort an upset friend.
Edison has high skin hunger. Typically Shiv tends toward touch aversion, but today he's huggy too. That's a very good sign, especially given how much attachment damage Shiv has from foster care. There are ways to bond with foster or adopted children.
Among the best comfort films are The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Kiki's Delivery Service.
Enjoy recipes for Crab Cakes and Vegetable Dip Cups.
This Old-Fashioned Chocolate Fudge can be made with unsweetened baking squares, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate. Here the Finns have used clinical-grade chocolate, dark in one batch and milk in another, topping the dark batch with cacao nibs to distinguish it.