“All right, little one. If that’s the one you want, then that’s the one you can have. But you have to carry it to the car and into the house.”
“Yay! Thank you, Daddy!”
Juju is a bit more careful, slowly perusing the selections in front of her. “I’ve never really had a special stuffie of my own before…”
My heart breaks for this woman with the seemingly perfect life. Even as broke as we often were in my family, I had no shortage of toys and special presents from my parents. No shortage of love. What was it like to grow up with everything at your fingertips, except the love that should have been so easily given by your own flesh and blood?
Uncle Jasper steps in, scooping Juju up into his arms, holding her tight as they scan the selections together. “Well, this seems like a perfect opportunity for you to pick out just the right one. Do you want a unicorn, like Tori?”
“No.” Frowning, Juju shakes her head. “I want something special. Just for me.”
“Hmm. Well, we have lots of different options here. What about a cute froggy?”
Juju wrinkles her nose in clear disgust. “Eww, frogs are slimy.”
Okay, well, I kinda like frogs. I think they’re cute, and one of my best friends back home used to keep some really pretty ones as pets. But I keep that thought to myself, because I needthesefriends on my side if I’m ever going to escape here.
The pair make their way down nearly the entire wall of stuffies, with Uncle Jasper making suggestion after suggestion and Juju rejecting each one before she wriggles out of his arms with a gasp.
“Daddy, look!” Squealing with delight, she holds up a black-and-white kitten. “She looks just like the barn kitty! Can I have her, pretty pretty please?”
Juju’s kitten is a much more “reasonable size” than Tori’s unicorn, a fact Uncle Jasper looks rather relieved by as he smiles down at her. “Of course you can, princess. You can have whatever stuffie you want. Are you sure that's the one, or do you want to keep looking?”
“No, Daddy, she’s the one.” A look of awe comes over Juju’s face as she strokes the stuffie’s soft fur. “She’sperfect.”
“Don’t you mean, purrrrfect?” Uncle Max asks with a grin, earning him a round of groans from the two Littles in front of him.
“Daddy, that was embarrassing,” Tori says with a sad shake of her head. “No more dad jokes, please.”
“Oh man, you have to bekittenme,” Uncle Jasper chimes in, and I have to bite back a laugh as both Juju and Tori glare up at him.
My attention is pulled from the teasing of my friends and their Daddies when Daddy speaks, low and quiet in my ear. “Your turn, little doll. What kind of stuffie would my Little girl like to take home?”
Suddenly, I have a much better understanding of the overwhelm Juju must have been feeling a few minutes ago. The wall of stuffies seems to stretch on forever and ever, with millions of choices. Far too many for one Little girl to be able to make a selection from.
And at this moment, I am very much a Little girl. The sheer number overwhelms me, despite my promises to myself to stay strong and defiant in the face of everything the man cradling me so gently has thrown my way. Wrapping my arms around him, I bury my face in his neck, and for once it isn’t simply a show to win him over.
“Aw, little one. Still too many choices?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Hmm. What if Daddy picks out three for you and you can choose from one of those?”
The offer calms some of my anxiety, enough for me to lift my head and scan the wall again. “But what if I don’t like what you choose?”
“Then we can try again. But I think you’ll find your Daddy knows you better than you realize, little doll. Let’s see…”
Humming to himself, he makes his way slowly down the wall. When he pauses to reach for the first animal, he turns his head to look at me, his expression mockingly stern. “No peeking, little one.”
Despite everything he’s put me through, a giggle escapes my lips as I once more bury my face in his neck. It’s like a game, letting him pick out my stuffies in secret.
I keep my eyes hidden while he continues down the wall, pausing two more times. “All right, little doll. Daddy’s going to put you down, but I want you to keep your eyes covered until I tell you to open them.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I don't even attempt to peek as he lowers me to my feet. I can sense him moving around me, arranging things just so, and the excitement bubbles in my chest, making me dance in place while I wait.
“And… open!”
