“My playroom. I want it done before the wedding.” Not what I was expecting and not what I wanted him to worry about during this trip. This was about getting away from everything that bothered us and I knew that frustrated him more than anything.
“Let’s not worry about that now, sweetheart. Save it until we get home.” I was a bit surprised he hadn’t already picked a wall to paint a Stitch on since that was his favorite stuffie.
As we pulled into a parking space his mood brightened once again, and his head bobbed from side to side, taking inthe bustling activity along the street. When we came through yesterday afternoon the sun was setting and we just popped in long enough to hit the grocery store then headed straight to the cabin. Now, in the daylight, it was quite the sight to take in. Cute shops lined the street, and colorful hearts and streamers hung from most of the windows in celebration of Valentine’s Day tomorrow. Shoot, should I have waited until then to ask Tae?
Too late now and honestly, too cliché.
Tae insisted we stop in every shop, including the hardware store. He didn’t buy anything there but stated it was a Daddy store, so his Daddy had to see it. Silly, thoughtful boy.
In the general store, we picked out a few trinkets for home, Momma, and his brothers. Of course, given how rare Tae’s and Samian’s names were, nothing personalized was available, but he did snag a few other things he knew they’d like.
“I think my little fiancé needs a rough and rugged cabin bear.” The cutest bear in a red and black checked flannel caught my eye. “What do you think?”
“Daddy, he’s so cute. He needs to come home with us,” Tae cuddled him tight. “I’ll call him LJ.”
“LJ?”
“Yep, for Lumberjack. Look Daddy, he even has a tiny stuffy axe in his paw.”
“Huh, guess he does.” Not proportionately correct, but I’d keep that to myself. It was a toy, after all. Tae wandered off again and while shopping wasn’t my thing, he was enjoying himself and that’s what this trip was about. I found a couple of cute toysand a new beanie to put together for him to open tomorrow for Valentine’s Day and paid before he made his way back to me.
“There you are, Daddy. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, don’t we need to pay for your stuff?”
“Nope, I already did. Come on, let’s go get lunch. My feet are tired and I wanna sit and people watch.”
Hmm, that was an interesting change. Tae wasn’t a people watching person, but I’d play along and see what my sneaky boy was up to. We stashed our bags in the truck then headed down the street toward the diner we spotted earlier.
“Table for two?” The young kid manning the stand asked as we stepped inside.
“Yes please, by the window if possible.” I can play into this whole ‘people’ watching event. First time one stops and waves, I bet my boy squeals and dives under the table.
The kid led us over to booth along the front then left us to glance over the menus.
“Daddy, did you see anything about an ice-skating rink here?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
“Afternoon, gentleman. I’m your waitress, Wanda and I’m sorry to say we don’t have an ice rink here.”
“Bummer,” Tae’s bottom lip poked out. I know how much he looked forward to tormenting his Daddy on the frozen menace.
“But we do have really great milk shakes and hot chocolate. Would you like one?”
She said the magic words as Tae’s face perked right up. “Yes, please but hot chocolate, I’m still cold.”
“For you, sir?”
“I’ll have the same and a glass of water for each of us, please.”
“I’ll be right back with that.” I’ll tip her well given demeanor and the way she turned my boy’s sad frown upside down.
“Daddy, can you order for me? I don’t wanna think today, I just wanna people watch.”
“Yes, I can but that’s the second time you’ve mentioned people watching.”
His dramatic sigh was very well rehearsed and performance worthy. “Do you ever just like, not wanna think and just feel?” Ah, the boy who wanted a break was missing his creative side. “I know crowds and people usually trigger me but, I dunno,” he shrugged, his eyes poised out the window. “I guess I’m just hoping something I see will get my mind rolling in the right direction, and with the glass between us…”
