Spending the night at his place was nice, although I missed my hoard of teddies. I’d brought one with me, but he was only a fraction of the squeezable comfort I usually got. I suppose being hugged by a fur-chested man made up for the lack of teddies.
The morning after, I didn’t even feel him leave the bed. He woke me with a mocha and a kiss on the forehead, telling me he was making fresh toast but there was no rush for me to wake up. It was early. The only work I had today was event management for the end of summer, and that was mostly taking care of itself.
“I’m gonna get up,” I mumbled in a sleepy voice. “Your bed is so comfy, though.”
“Then I’ll take this drink and set it on the table for you. Wouldn’t want you to spill it on your adorable self,” he said as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes so I could see him clearly. His hairy chest was like a comfort blanket, and I wanted to reach out for it like a baby for their comforter, but he was away taking the sweet chocolate scents with him.
I made it out of bed and saw the steam rise from the large cup on the table. There was whipped cream and red, white, and blue sprinkles on top. I went in, getting a whipped cream mustache and nearly scalding my tongue from the liquid beneath. “Mhmm, I guess that’ll wake me up.”
Seeing all the boxes lying around made me antsy. I had a bit of a blind-box Sublime teddy obsession, and the urge to unbox was strong. I knew better now, though, since some of this stuff was what he’d inherited. It didn’t stop me from taking my mocha and sitting in front of the television, picking out anotherMurder, She Wroteto watch.
Daddy came up into the living room with two large plates. “Oh, good, I was going to suggest a little TV,” he said. “You want to sit on the sofa with a cushion on your lap? The bottom is a little warm.”
Standing, I looked at the french toast on the plates, with more whipped cream, syrup, and a bunch of chopped fruits. “You’re serious about getting me to eat my fruits,” I said with a giggle, following his orders and taking a seat on the somewhat scratchy sofa.
“I’ve got to make sure your insides are taken care of,” he said with a big smile.
He stuck a random episode on before sitting beside me.
I loved being in his company, however that may have presented itself, be it tucked in his arms, or in the same room. There was a warm tether to him that I didn’t want to let go of, a belt of reassurance.
“You have work today?” he asked, just as I’d filled my mouth with food. Most of it was whipped cream that loved to get itself all over my face.
I shook my head, and he nodded.
“A very straightforward answer,” he laughed.
“I have my planning stuff, will probably go to the community center and check emails, then—” I shrugged. “Probably do a lap around town, get my steps in, and check in on businesses.”
“Good, good.”
“Good as in you want me to be at work?” I asked, pouting and batting my lashes.
“No, just good,” he said, placing an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into a one-armed hug. “Like I’m glad you’ve got things going on. I was going to ask if you’d help me otherwise. I open a week today, and I’ve got the air con unit arriving and being installed this morning. I’m thinking of pulling the newspapers down and putting dated banners up.”
I nodded, trying not to smile so much. “I can absolutely help you,” I told him. “And I know somewhere that does banners.”
“Yeah, there’s a couple of online—”
“In town,” I said, quickly hushing because it was rude to interrupt him like that.
“Okay,” he said. “Well, tell me. I was just gonna get some printer paper, write out the letters... the plan was to buy anopen for businessbanner, though.”
“There’s a haberdashery, or whatever the fabric place is called,” I said. “They do all the bunting and banner stuff for us. It’s all embroidered, and you get to pick the color of the banner and the thread. It’s not even that expensive either.”
“Sounds like a great idea,” he said. “And I’m obviously very grateful that you don’t have a lot on today, because I also thought we could spend some time creating something together.”
“Like a dessert?” I asked. “Because you know, I thought those s’mores last night perfectly represented us. I’m the marshmallow because I’m sticky.” I was unable to keep myself from laughing. It wasn’t my fault I liked to make a mess, and those messes were usually sticky. “And you’re the melted chocolate, all warm and squished up against me.”
“And what are the graham crackers?”
“Well, that’s like our bodies, going together.”
He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Adorable, that’s what you are.”
“Thanks, I try.”
I wanted to help Daddy as much as possible with the bakery, even if it was selfishly because I needed him to stick around, and because I loved a good dessert, and I was very happy being his little taster.
