By the time he returned, I had the kitchen cleaned up and laptop in hand. Beck was dressed and had pen and paper with him. “I got this from your office,” he held it up. “I hope that’s okay?”
“It is. Come, have a seat and let’s do a bit of shopping.”
Back and forth we went for far too long and with far too many internet search windows open. My laptop was dragging as my sweet, price conscious boy compared then compared again until I was ready to make the choices myself. Hmm, not a half bad idea.
“Sweetheart, your daddy may not be a billionaire, but I’m not poor either. Pick the colors you want, and the play rug, then daddy will take care of the rest.”
He stared up at me with those big, tear-filled eyes and I wanted to spank my own ass for upsetting him. “Are you mad at me, Daddy?”
I sat the laptop aside and pulled him onto my lap. “Absolutely not, Bunny. I love that you want to get the best deals and spend as little as possible, but this is one of those things in life your Daddy doesn’t want to scrimp on. This may come as a surprise, but your Daddy wasn’t born with a golden spoon in his mouth. My parents worked long, hard hours to feed my sister and I and when we turned sixteen, we got jobs too. Hell, long before that I mowed the neighbors’ lawns and helped with odds and ends around their houses to earn extra cash.”
“You’re such a good person, Daddy,” Beck kissed my cheek. “But I don’t need all these things. I’m happy with four walls, a rug on the ground, and my containers of toys.”
“Please, let your daddy do this for you?” Honestly, it was just as much for me as it was for him. The excitement of watching Beck play and fully immerse himself in his little side I wantedmore than he knew. That wasn’t an act you could force, it had to come naturally, and when the little felt most comfortable. A level I soon hoped my sweet Bunny and I would achieve.
The existential crisis waging war in his brain reflected in his eyes. Beck really struggled receiving anything beyond a simple toy. I’m glad Jobe never shared the landlord situation with him beforehand and led him to believe all this time that he merely knew the owners. Jobe would reveal the truth in due time. He’d have likely slept on someone’s floor until he saved enough money to pay full market rental value if he had known.
He hemmed and hawed then finally replied. I swear, I held my breath the entire time. Why was this so important to me?
“Okay, Daddy. But I get to help with the work. It’s not fair for you to do everything.”
That’s why. Because I loved my boy something fierce.
Chapter Five
Beck
“I’m a good helper, Daddy. Help, help, help. Roll, roll, roll. Ohhh Daddy, look how pretty and happy the sunny lellow is.” Who knew painting was so much fun? And messy. But fun.
“You, my little Bunny, rival theyellowrays of the sunshiny walls. But yes, the yellow is very sunny and bright.”
Lellow was more fun to say than yellow. “Awe,” I hugged him, but the roller was naughty and tagged his shirt. “Shoot, sorry Daddy. Bad roller,” I scolded it.
“That’s okay, Bunny. More memories of this wonderful day to remind me of it later. You’re doing very well, are you sure this is your first time painting?”
“It really is. You’re a good teacher, Daddy.” He was so patient with me. I was a lucky boy to have him for my daddy.
He chuckled. “Not much to teach when all we’re doing is rolling. I’ll do the trim and edging unless you wanna give it a whirl?” I stood back and glanced at the pretty baseboards Daddy had just installed and shook my head. “I don’t wanna mess it up.”
Daddy kissed the top of my head. “No worries, Bunny. You keep rolling and Daddy will get to work on the details.”
The paper Daddy used to cover the floor before we started crunched beneath our feet. Kind of a funny sound so I hopped across it over to the table all our painting stuff was on to turn on my music playlist. “Shoot.”
“What’s wrong, Bunny?”
“My fingers are all painty. I don’t wanna get it on my phone.”
“No worries, sweet boy, Daddy’s got you. Which playlist do you want?”
“Umm, how about the dance party one?”
“You have four of those.”
“Pick one, Daddy. I trust you.” I couldn’t tell if he was laughing with me or at me. Hmm…
Whatever, I shrugged it off and danced toward the bedroom window that looked out into the backyard. Daddy did such a good job designing it. Pretty rocks around the pool, a table that was a real live firepit. The shiny rocks looked so pretty when the flames danced around them. Palm trees and flowery desert plants. “Daddy, can we swim in the pool soon?”
“Sorry, Bunny, it’s still too cold. Maybe around your birthday we can.”
