Sucker.
After setting down our plates, I went and refilled Drew’s coffee and added some creamer. On the way back to the table, I helped myself to a few sips before handing it back to him.
“Can I have some coffee?” Andi asked from beside Drew.
“It’ll stunt your growth,” he told her, then immediately took a long drink.
“Ha, her growth is already stunted,” Travis quipped.
“Is not!” she hollered.
“I’m not the one who needs a stepstool to brush my teeth,” he shot back.
“At least I brush my teeth, dragon breath!”
“Oooh,burn!” London jumped in.
“My growth’s not stunted, is it, Daddy?” Andi said, lifting her big brown eyes to me.
My heart somersaulted just looking at that sweet face. I’d do anything for her. “‘Course not, peanut. Why do you think I have to lift so many weights? I gotta have muscle to carry you around.”
Trav opened his mouth, but I shot him a look. He rolled his eyes but closed his lips.
“If I’m so big, why do you call me peanut?” She wanted to know.
Plucking her out of her chair, I held her up, dangling her above my head. She laughed, her cheeks turning rosy while her long dark hair fell forward in a curtain around her face. “Because to me, you willalwaysbe my little peanut,” I said, pulling her in to smack a kiss on her cheek. Instead of putting her back in the chair, I sat beside Drew with her on my lap.
“I really want to try coffee,” Andi said, leaning over and batting her eyes at Drew.
He groaned, and I stifled a laugh.
“Fine. But just a small sip.”
Andi clapped and sat up straight as though trying her dad’s bean juice was a serious matter.
The mug was massive in her hands, the pink polish on her nails chipping and a small gold ring with a butterfly on it circling her index finger.
The intrauterine growth restriction she’d endured as a fetus due to her mother’s heavy drug use resulted in an impairment in blood flow and also nutrition, causing her to be born prematurely and with a low birth weight. That, coupled with the poor nutrition and living conditions she was first introduced to, meant Andi was small in stature. Once adopted, she caught up quite a lot and no longer lacked in nutrients or vitamins. However, the doctors did think she would remain with a slight build, likely because of her early development and general genetics.
Slurping brought my attention back to the girl in my lap, and I smiled, watching her gulp down the coffee.
“I said a small sip, not half the mug,” Drew told her.
I chuckled and took the mug from her hand. “Don’t drink all of Daddy’s coffee, peanut, or he will be grumpy.”
Andi looked at me, lips glossy from the drink and a stoic look in her eyes. “It’s not very good.”
Everyone laughed.
“You don’t like my coffee, peanut?” Drew asked, taking the mug back to help himself.
“It tastes burned.”
“That’s ‘cause Uncle B made it,” Romeo put in.
“I feel the love,” B quipped.
“Your dad makes better coffee,” Drew told her.
