“Daddy, you took forever.” My sweet boy greeted me at the kitchen door that led to the garage with a hug and a kiss. “Here, let me help you.”
“Why don’t you take this,” I handed him the goodie bag, “And I’ll sort through dinner. Want to eat at the kitchen table or in front of the TV?”
Jamie squealed when he pulled the toys from the bag. “Coloring books and crayons and a new stuffie. Daddy, you’re the bestest!” Little Jamie was a warm welcome and told me I’d made the right decision to do a bit of shopping along the way.
“You are so very welcome, sweet boy. Why don’t you find your favorite cartoon channel, and you can color while I get the food, and your yummy sauces, sorted.”
“Okay, Daddy.” he skipped off toward the living room, swinging his bag as he did.
Lack of serving trays didn’t stop me as I improvised with a baking sheet. I managed to snag a divided dish with cute animals on it and a set of small dishes for his dippy sauces at the store. After I washed them, I filled them with different sauces, scooped a bit of each food item onto his plate, set it all on the tray, and carried it out to the coffee table.
“Here we go, sweet boy. Let me grab your juice box really quick.”
“Okay, Daddy.” He hummed a cute tune as he colored away. A cartoon I wasn’t familiar with played in the background.
“All right, Sweet Boy, dip, dip, dip away.”
“Yay!” he cheered as he dipped his eggroll, wiggling and singing his dippy song. The world could crash around us for all I cared. As enthralled as I was, or maybe entrancedwas a better word, with this boy in front of me I could care less about anything else right now.
I was falling hard and fast for this boy.
“What are you going to name your new giraffe.” It was so cute and reminded me of his outfit at Henry’s. He had the new stuffie standing up on the table right in front of him, but far enough away from the food that he wasn’t in the splash zone.
“Hmm,” he tapped a finger to his lip. “George. George the Giraffe.” He smiled fondly at the new addition to his collection.
“George, it’s wonderful to meet you. I hope you enjoy your new home.” And I hoped one day my home would become our home, and George, Sloffers, Kiki, and Jamie would all live here.
It dawned on me how boring and mundane my life had been without a boy, a true little. Now, with Jamie here, it was alive and once again full of color. My parents were going to adore him.
Jesus, I’d gone from zero to sixty faster than a Lamborghini.
Jamie colored and sung silly tunes as he filled page after page with bright colors and love. I ran out to the car and grabbed a couple more things. A new bedtime story, tubby toys, and bubbles in case he wanted tubbytime later.
“All done, Daddy.” He handed me the pages he’d ripped out. “For your fridge. A sloth for Sloffers, a koala for Kiki, and a giraffe for George so when we’re not here you can ‘member us.”
“Sweet boy, I will never forget you, and if I had my way, you’d never be far from me.” I kissed his forehead. “Let’s hang these up. Why don’t you put your coloring stuff in the drawer under the coffee table for safekeeping.”
I cleaned up the food while he sorted that out and hung the pictures on the fridge. The smile on his face when he saw them was nothing short of breathtaking. So proud of his masterpieces and the fact he had a daddy to share them with.
“You hung them up, Daddy.” He beamed and swished his hips to a silent tune.
“I said I would and look, there’s the one you made at Henry’s house.”
He threw his arms around my waist. “My Daddy is the bestest.”
“That’s cause my boy is. Now one question remains.”
Those big blue eyes stared up at me. “What’s that, Daddy?”
“Does my special boy want a tubby?”
“Tubby time!” He shouted as he ran down the hall, clothes trailed the floor all the way there.
I picked them up, laughing as I followed that cute, naked ass. “Let Daddy get the water going.”
“And bubbles. Don’t forget the bubbles, Daddy.” Jamie was very serious about his bubbles if the stern look on his face had anything to say about it.
“I won’t. Why don’t you reach into that bag on the counter and see what’s in there?”
