The Computer Princess

The computer princess

Charlotte was playing with her stuffed animals in her bedroom. Grandma helped her decorate it just the way she liked it — all pink and gauzy curtains. She felt like she was a princess.

Charlotte’s bedroom

“Charlie! Would you please bring me my small screwdriver?” came a call from her home speaker.

She replied, “Yes, Mama. I’ll be right there.”

Charlotte hated being called “Charlie.” It was such a boy’s name, and she definitely was a girl.

She set down her pink friends and went into the kitchen.

Charlotte was playing with her stuffed animals

Charlotte’s house was neat and tidy, for the most part. Grandma had helped Mama set the house up so it was easy to keep clean. Charlotte loved “neat and tidy.”

It wasn’t hard to find the screwdriver — it was sitting on the kitchen table.

Mom’s screwdriver

Charlotte looked at the screwdriver. It was very small; most people would consider it too small.

She took a deep breath and headed down to the basement. The difference between the main part of the house and the basement was huge.

The living room and the basement

Charlotte opened the basement door and entered a different world. It definitely wasn’t neat and tidy. It was a computer lab.

Mama built computers for a living. The basement was filled with motherboards, hard drives, monitors, and scattered computer parts. There was very little that was pink or frilly in Mama’s lab.

Charlotte had grown up playing with these computer parts since she was little (she was six now, so it wasn’t that long ago).

Charlotte playing with computer parts when she was little

“Ah,” said Mama as Charlotte handed her the screwdriver. “Thanks, Charlie, for bringing that down.”

Where Charlotte’s room was pink and girlie, Mama’s lab was sort of dark and grey. Computer monitors lit the room, with computers in various stages sitting on long tables.

Mama’s world was very different from Charlotte’s, just as Mama was very different from Charlotte. Where Charlotte was soft and scrunchy, Mama’s world had hard edges and beeping things.

Except her chair. Mama’s work chair was pink. It was Charlotte’s idea, one Mama loved right away.

Mama’s chair was pink

Grandma said when Mama was little, she was as much a girlie girl as Charlotte was. Something happened, though, turning Mama into the computer queen.

“Why don’t you bring your stuffed friends down here to play? It must be kinda lonely all alone in your room,” Mama said.

Charlotte looked around the basement. The floor in her bedroom had a fluffy, soft pink rug. The floor of the basement was concrete.

Basement floor versus Charlotte’s bedroom floor

“Can I bring a little rug with me? The floor is hard down here,” said Charlotte.

“Sure!” said Mama. “We could use a little color aside from my chair.”

Charlotte ran upstairs, grabbed her favorite bears and a little throw rug, and ran back downstairs.

Charlotte brought her rug down to the basement

As Charlotte set up her little play area, Mama put Charlotte’s favorite music on. It was soft and gentle music that flowed around the basement like a breeze.

Mama would look over at Charlotte from time to time and smile. She would stop what she was doing to make sure Charlotte was okay.

It didn’t take long, though, for Mama to feel the pull of the pink. She set down her screwdrivers and computer parts and came over to sit on Charlotte’s rug.

Mama and Charlotte playing in the basement

Charlotte was surprised at first, but then shared one of her bears with Mama. They played for quite a while before Mama said,

“Charlotte, would you like to set up a little area in the basement where you could play while I worked?”

That surprised Charlotte. First, Mama didn’t call her “Charlie.” Second, she loved the idea of being able to play in the basement with Mama without sitting on the cold, hard concrete.

Charlotte threw her arms around Mama’s neck. She was so happy.

Charlotte hugged Mama

“Thank you, Mama! That would be perfect!” Charlotte cried.

Grandma came over to help set up Charlotte’s play area. It was just the right amount of pink and softness.

Charlotte’s play area in the basement

As Charlotte played, Mama worked at building computers.

“I love you, Mama,” Charlotte said quietly. She didn’t want to disturb Mama.

“I love you too, Charlotte,” Mama said. Charlotte just smiled.

© 2026 Laurie Leiker

Grandma Laurie