Dear Jasmina

Back from a walk yesterday, Christian was holding Marie-Hélène. Pretending to be surprised at the sight of her toys all over the living room, he said : “Wow! Marie-Hélène!” and we could have sworn she repeated the “wow” part. So, after supper, while we were doing dishes, Marie-Hélène content in her Jolly Jumper, we assailed her with “Mama” and “Papa”. She mostly stared, and jumped. It’s like a contest… Will she say Mama first because I’m with her all day? Or will it be the easier to pronounce, but equally loved Papa? Before bed, after her bath, I was holding her close, her hair combed, her skin fresh. Christian was standing putting things away in the closet. “Pa-pa… Pa…Pa… pa-pa” She looked back and forth between me and Christian, both standing still, caught in the attention of her eyes. “Ma-Ma… ma-ma…” And suddenly, as Marie-Hélène stares at me, three inches away from my face she sticks out her toungue: “PBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBT”. It happens so fast, I jump, my face all misted in Eau de bébé. We laugh. Gosh darn it, we wonder if she knows she’s just told us just how silly we looked.