I chuckled. “Yes, all but your furniture, sneaky boy.”
“Are you mad?”
“No, quite the opposite. I love having you here, silly.” Jamie giggled. “But it doesn’t make much sense to keep paying rent when you belong here with me.”
“’Kay, I’ll give my notice when I pay rent next week. But what about Grandma’s furniture?”
“Well, do you want to keep it or donate it?”
“Honestly, it’s super old and the bed is lumpy. Everything here is so nice and comfy. Do you think someoneelse might be able to use it all?” Such a sweet boy, always thinking of others.
“I think for sure they would. The lumpy mattress might end up at the dump but the rest of it could help someone else get their start in life. Would you like me to call the LGBTQ Center and see if they will take it?”
“Yes, please, Daddy.”
“I’ll take care of it. Henry’s Daddies called and asked if we’d like to go to the club tonight. Are you feeling up to it? You could wear one of your new outfits?” Apparently while I was ordering toys and décor for his room, I did one of thoseone for the room, one to give to Jamie nowpurchasing deals. For every gift I put in the room I gave him something new. The bed delivery was due today, but I had everything else set up and ready to go. The shelves were lined with toys, and the closet was filled to the brim with new outfits. I even found a special rug for the center of the floor for him to play on as well.
“I’d get to play with Henry?” I nodded. “Yay! Let’s go.”
“Silly boy, you need to take a nap first or you’ll fall asleep on the floor there. You don’t want to do that, do you?” It didn’t take long to figure out he was an early to bed early to rise boy.
“No, Daddy. That wouldn’t be fun at all. Okay, Patty,” he hopped offmy lap. “Nappy time.”
Never had I met a more obedient boy in my life. “All right, scoot up the bed and get your stuffies situated.” It took a couple of minutes since he had to properly introduce Patty to the others first.
“Sloffers this is Patty,” he went through them one by one, and each had to hug Patty. “Okay, we’re all bestest friends and now it’s nappy time.”
As soon as he was asleep, I snuck out to track the delivery driver and beat him to the door before he rang the bell. The boxes weren’t as light as I’d hoped, but I managed to get them inside the room without waking Jamie.
“Instructions are in English my ass.” I tossed them in the trash pile and set off to figure the damn thing out myself. In my frustration, I’d lost track of time and realized it as soon as I’d heard the toilet flush. I’d planned to talk to Jensen and Mitchell tonight about a surprise party for Jamie where I’d unveil the bedroom to him as his gift. I’d wrap some of the toys I’d bought for him to open, ofcourse, but the rest would wait on the shelves for the big reveal.
I snuck out and into the kitchen before Jamie emerged. “Hello, sleepy head.”
“Hi Daddy.” He wandered over for a hug. “What’s for dinner?”
Shoot, dinner. In my haste to get the room ready I’d forgotten all about it. That was a hashtag-Daddy fail for sure. “I think there are some nuggies in the freezer. Maybe even tots.”
“Nummy, nummy, nummy. I color, Daddy cooks.” He pulled his coloring books and crayons from the drawer and proceeded to do just that at the dining table.
Saved by the frozen food section. Not the healthiest of meals, but we’ve been eating better during the week, so a day of treats won’t hurt anyone. My boy woke up as Little Jamie, so that was a good sign for an evening at the club, and I’d keep the forward momentum going with fun finger foods for dinner.
“Here you go, sweet boy.” I set the sauces down and then his plate.
“I not sweet boy, I Daddy’s shiny star. I made Daddy happy.”
Did he ever, even when correcting me, but I’d keep that secret tucked away. “Yes, you’re Daddy’s sweet shiny star and you make Daddy very happy.”
Jamie did his signature shimmy and dove into his dippy song. “Dippy, dippy, dippy. Num, num, num.”
I made a quick sandwich for myself, not a fan of his favored frozen foods, then took the seat across from him, steering clear of the line of fire where his sauces wereconcerned. My boy had a knack for sending sauce everywhere while he sang and dip, dip, dipped away.
“Do you want a bite, Daddy?” Jamie held up a nugget with an indecipherable mix of sauces on it. “Thank you, but Daddy has plenty on his plate.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Jamie sucked the sauce off, and it took every ounce of energy I had not to cringe. “Nummy.”
“Glad you’re enjoying it. I think I see a shower in your near future.” Hosing him off outside may be the better choice.
His hands shot up. “I done, Daddy.”
