“You, my love, are something special.”
As soon as we walked through the door, he went to the room to put his backpack away and tuck Bun-Bun in with Daddy Bear so they could catch up on their days. His words, not mine. I heard the toilet flush and the sink water run then he came twirling around the corner and into the kitchen.
“Did Jobe feed you sugar cubes for lunch?”
“Silly Daddy, Jobe says no sugar and no glitter.” Having lived through the end of glittergheddon and Jobe’s once white rug, I completely understood why.
“What puts my boy in such a fantastic mood then?”
“Life. Life is good. I have a Daddy who loves me, a best friend who love-tolerates me, and I get to model fun clothes all day.”
He had a point. My boy was living the life he deserved.
“True. So, someone’s birthday is coming up at the end of the month, and I had some ideas I wondered if he’d be interested in.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t even know what I’m suggesting? I could say we’re shoveling elephant shit at a zoo somewhere.”
Beck shrugged. “Don’t care, as long I get to shovel it with you. Plus, Vegas doesn’t have a zoo, so if we went to one it would be road trip time.” Fist in the air he cheered, hands wildly waving around.
“Ha-ha-ha, you got me there. Do you want to hear my idea even through you’re going no matter what?”
“Sure.”
Sometimes I had no clue how to respond.
“Here’s my thought. We have dinner the night before your birthday with Daddy Stanley and Jobe then the next morning we head to Cali to visit Mom and Dad for a couple of days. From there we drive out to Laguna Beach.”
His eyes widened. “Is Laguna Beach a real beach? Like on the ocean and everything or is that just the name of it?”
“It’s a real beach on the Pacific Ocean with lots of sand and shops to walk through and great views.”
“It’ll be the best birthday ever and we get to see mom and dad. I love saying that.” He continued dancing and singing while I made dinner. Who needed music when you had a sweet little in your life?
I knew he did and so did my parents. Honestly, I think Beck was their new favorite son and secretly, I loved that.
While we ate, he told me about his day, and all the outfits Jobe was working on. His excitement fueled mine as I held on to every word he said.
“How was your day, Daddy?”
“Not as exciting as yours, that’s for sure. I’m glad Jobe’s business and the Knight line are doing well. I just hope he’s not getting overwhelmed. Has he said anything about the wedding plans?” We likely needed to book the venue and rooms soon.
“Um, not much. He’s making all our outfits, so you’ll probably have to get poked soon.”
“Does he poke you a lot?”
“Only when I get all squirmy. But Daddyyyy,” he drug my name out in a long-winded whine. “It’s so hard to stand still when all I want to do is dance.”
“I understand, but you don’t want Jobe to mess up and get angry, do you? That’s his job, sweetheart.”
“I know,” he sighed. “I’ll do better.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“Daddy,” he perked up. “Will there be snow in Aruba for Christmas?”
“I,” I had to stop and think about that for a second. “I don’t think so but let me check.” A quick internet search confirmed what I’d thought. “No, it doesn’t. It’s a tropical island with temperatures ranging from eighty to ninety year-round. So, weather that’s similar to winter in Vegas, basically, but much prettier.”
