Page 119 of Daddy's Pride
“I don’t mind, and I do need to place a grocery order. Let’s sit down and do that after we get you settled in. I made space in the closet for you.”
He wasn’t mad, so another good sign. “Okay, Daddy, show me where.” Why was it so easy to be me, my true self around him? It was like instant Little, just add the right Daddy. Hehe, oops, was that out loud?
“What’s got you giggling, cutie?” Daddy mussed my hair as he smiled at me.
“Just something silly I thought.”
“Care to share it? I enjoy a good laugh.”
He’ll for sure think I’m a fool, but here goes. “I compared us to a recipe in my head.”
“How so?”
“He-he, you did the puppy head tilt thing again, Daddy.”
“Guess my job is rubbing off on me. But let’s hear your silly recipe.”
“I was just thinking how easy it is to be me around you and that my Little pops right out. So, in my head I went ‘instant Little, just add the right Daddy’.” Ugh, saying it out loud was foolish, but when Daddy laughed it made it all worth it.
“I agree with that assessment and look forward to creating that recipe with you.”
Daddy had a way of making me feel special and not like an imposition or that I was in the way. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“No need to thank me, sweet boy, I love having you and your things here.”
Gush. Gush. Swoon.
How fast was too fast to fall for your Daddy? Asking for a friend…
“This closet is ginormous!”
“Yes, when I had the house remodeled, I turned some of the space in the office into a walk-in closet. Here, let’s get your clothes put away.”
Daddy even cleared out dresser drawers for me. He really did want me here.
“All done, let’s go figure out dinner.” Daddy took my hand and picked up his iPad. He took a seat and pulled me into his lap. “Let’s order dinner and order groceries. Anything particular you wanted tonight?”
“Nope. But I was gonna cook for us. You know, as my way of helping out. I can’t really pay you back. Oh yeah, did you hear back on my car?” Shoot, I forgot about the biggest reason I was here.
“Yes,” Daddy sat the iPad down. “Sweetheart, have you ever put oil in the engine since you’ve had it?”
Blink. Blink. “Oil? In the engine?”
“That’s what I was afraid of. Which also answers the question of any vehicle maintenance.”
Blink. Blink.
“You need a new engine and the cost associated with that is higher than the value of your car. Now, I’ll pay to replace the engine if that’s what you want, though I don’t recommend it. Decision is yours, replace the engine or sell it for scrap?”
“Sell it for scrap? It was Grandma’s car.” I burst into tears. How could this be happening to me? “I can’t afford a new car.”
“Jamie, sweetheart, please don’t cry. I’ll get it fixed if it’s that important to you. I’m sorry I upset you. I’ll tell him to go ahead with the new engine.” Daddy rubbed my back. My words didn’t come out right.
“No. Don’t do that.” Deep breath, Jamie. Time to put on your big boy pants. “I can’t afford to fix it and it sounds like it’s not worth it.”
“Jamie, I’ll take care of it if that’s what you want. If not, you can keep driving the SUV. I don’t mind.”
“No.”