Page 112 of Daddy's Pride
“Don’t ‘but Daddy’ me. I’m putting my foot down on this one, Jamie. I know we’re new to each other, but you know how Daddies are with their boys. We’re protective and that’s not a bad thing.”
Did I tell him I didn’t know that, not really? Because no Daddy ever took care of me. No Daddy ever stayed around more than a couple of weeks.
“Why don’t you pack a bag and come home with me? We’ll meet the tow truck driver on the way so we can give him the key, and then you can stay the night at my house. If that’s all right with you?”
I was glad I’d done laundry before going over to Henry’s house. I packed a pair of slacks and a shirt for work, clean pajamas, and Sloffers and Kiki. My toothbrush was already in the front zipper of my backpack, so I grabbed the rest of my toiletries.
“I’m ready, Daddy.”
He slid the backpack from my arm and followed me out. After I locked the door, I took the car key off my keychain and handed it to him. Daddy seat-belted me in, and we left. “What kind of car is this? It’s nice.” And fancy, but I left that part out. This car easily cost more than my annual salary.
Daddy smiled and winked at me.
My insides went all fuzzy.
“I would say it’s a mid-life crisis, but I’m only thirty-eight. It’s an Audi TT Mk3. Not as crazy expensive as it looks, but fun to drive just the same. Can you drive a stick shift?”
“No, Daddy, and I’d be afraid to drive a car this fancy.” I could see myself accidentally hitting the gas too hard and driving it into a brick wall.
“No problem. I have an SUV at home that you can use. The clinic isn’t far from my house, and I actually walk to work sometimes when the weather is nice.” We pulled in near my car where a giant truck was. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
I watched as Daddy talked to the big hairy man and handed him the key. My poor little car sat there all alone, wondering what was going on. Did you bury cars when they died? If they couldn’t fix it, should we have a funeral? It was the only car I’d ever had and even though it’s old, and ugly, and kinda beat-up, I’d be sad when it died for good.
Just like Grandma.
“All good.” Daddy got in and clicked his belt on. “The mechanic will assess it tomorrow and give me a call. Why are you so quiet over there?”
How much did I say? I was worried about paying him back. I was worried about whether or not I’d still have a car. I was worried about how to get to work. I was basically worried about everything right now. And if I said anything to him, he’d just want to fix it and that didn’t seem fair. “It’s just a lot right now, and we’re new to each other, and I already had to call you for help.”
“Jamie, don’t worry about that. I am happy to help and I’m even happier that I was the person you thought to call. Yes, we’re new, but it is what it is, and in a relationship, you help one another when you can. If I’d have called you, would you have helped?”
“Of course I would. But I don’t want it to look like I’m taking advantage of you. It’s like I’m playing the role of the helpless damsel in distress and that’s not me. I pay my way in life.” That came out a bit harsher than I meant but it was important to me.
“Let me ask you something, Jamie. Are you looking to be a full-time boy with a Daddy taking care of you twenty-four-seven?”
This was likely a dealbreaker for him, but I had to be honest. We both deserved that much, new or not. “Never been an option for me to think about. It’s hard to get into that headspace without a Daddy and having to adult all the time.” I left off the part about not being able to afford toys because I didn’t want Daddy to feel sorry for me. “I love playing with my toys and being a Little when I’m away from work but working and earning my own money is important to me. I enjoy getting out of the house and being around people and I’m really, really good at what I do.”
“I’m sure you are, sweetheart. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?”
“That’s easy. Something to do with animals that I didn’t have to go to school for. I barely graduated high school and I have no desire to go to college. I don’t know, I’m sure it sounds silly, but I just like playing with animals. I’m sure no job like that exists. But I’m fine where I’m at right now. The pay is low, but my boss is nice. And most of the time the customers are, too. Every once in a while, I get one that’s a poo-poo head, though.”
“Yes. Unfortunately, humans aren’t all fun and games. Why don’t you tell me a little bit more about yourself?”
It suddenly felt like I was on a job interview. “Well, I’m boring. All I do is work and play with my stuffies then I go to sleep. The next day I get up and do it all over again.”
“What about your family?”
Now that was a loaded question. I hadn’t seen or heard from my parents in years, they hadn’t even come for Grandma’s funeral.
“There was only really my grandmother, and she died a couple years ago. Right after I graduated, actually. As a matter of fact, she rented her apartment that we lived in so I had to move out because I couldn’t afford it. It was a two-bedroom in the same complex I live in now. They let me move into the studio. But at least I can pay for it on my own. My car was Grandma’s, too. All the furniture that’s in the apartment came from Grandma’s.” That was all I had left of her.
“Well, you have a roof over your head. Food in your tummy and a job that you enjoy. You’re better off than most, Jamie. But as a Daddy, I’m always going to want to give you more and while there are some things you can say no to, keep in mind that anything even remotely related to your safety is a hard limit for me. I’ll have to put my foot down on that one.”
We pulled up in front of a modest ranch-style home. The outside was nice and well- maintained. The house looked freshly painted and the yard was rock and desert landscaping, but it was still nice. We actually got to park inside the garage where I saw the other vehicle that Daddy wanted me to drive.
“Daddy, I can’t drive that car, it looks brand new!” Was he insane? He hardly knew me, and the car was worth a lot more than mine.
“It is. I decided to buy something a bit bigger than this one. It doesn’t really hold much more than a couple bags of groceries and would be more comfortable on road trips.”