“Yay!” he shouted and danced in place. “Frogs!” Jamie ripped the bag open and dumped them in. “Turtles and rubber duckies too!” he announced as he tossed them in.
“Given the dance you just did, do you need to potty first?”
“Oh, yes.” He tiptoed off to the toilet room and took care of business while the water filled. “I’m back.”
“So, I see, and naked as the day you were born. Take my hand and I’ll help you in.” Carefully, Jamie stepped over the side of the tub and sunk in.
“Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles.” Jamie sang as he set up a conga line with his toys and marched them through the bubbly marsh. “Daddy?”
“Yes, sweet boy?” I started scrubbing his back with the frog bath sponge I’d picked up for him.
“Thank you. You turned a really yucky day into the best day ever. Mwah,” he gave my cheek a loud smacky kiss.
“You are very welcome. I’m glad you had fun.” There was so much entertainment to be had, it just took the right boy to make it shine.
Jamie’s arms shot up in the air. “I’m pruney, Daddy.”
I helped him up and wrapped him in a towel, then used another to dry his hair. “All right, let’s get your pajamas on.”
“Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy.”
“Jamie, no jumping on the bed. You’re gonna break something.” Failed to mention it’d likely be his unprotected dick as it freely danced around. “Come on, let’s get you dressed.”
As soon as he was, he ran out to the living room, grabbed all three of his stuffies, came barreling back in, landed on the bed with a bounce, and curled up under the sheets. “I’m ready for bed, Daddy.”
How could I not chuckle at that. This boy was full of personality and energy. “Daddy still has to get ready for bed, sweetheart. Why don't you get comfy while I lock up the house and shower, then I'll join you.”
“Okay, Daddy.” It only took a moment to shut the lights off and lock up, yet when I came back through the room he was snuggled up with his furry friends, chatting away to them about his day. Glad my theory about what it would take to get him in the right headspace worked and he’dmanaged to stay there all evening. By the time I got to bed, he was sound asleep. I snapped a picture of him curled up with his stuffies and set it as my screensaver.
“Morning, Daddy.” I woke to a bouncy boy in my bed.
“Did my alarm go off and I missed it?”
“Nope. I had to pee then I couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“What time do you have to be at work?” I glanced at my phone, up an hour earlier than I needed to be, but that would give me time to get a warm breakfast into my boy. Shit, I had zero breakfast foods.
“Nine. But I’m hungry, Daddy.”
“Let’s get dressed and go out to breakfast.” I scooped him up and he giggled all the way to the bathroom. “Brush your teeth.”
On the way out, I grabbed the spare key and gave it to Jamie. “What’s this for?”
“In case you get home before me. Sometimes my appointments run late.”
“But this is a key. To your house.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“You trust me?”
“I do. The only thing in this house that’s not replaceable is you, sweet boy. Now this way you can come or go whenever you want. Oh yeah, here are the keys to the SUV.”
“You were serious about me driving it?”
“Dead serious. Like I said, it has a high safety rating, and I feel better knowing you’re in it.” If I had my way, we’d sell his current car for scrap metal. But we weren’t at that point in our relationship. Yet.
Jamie shook his head but followed me out. I held the car door open for him, “Hop in. Let’s get the mirrors adjusted for you.” I showed him how to work all the touch screens. “Perfect, now follow me to the restaurant.”
