Page 39 of His Last Chase
“Yes. Can you make one for me?” His head popped up and his eyes met mine.
“How about my little songbird?”
Chase scrunched up his lips and closed one eye, then the other. “Little Songbird. I like it, Daddy.” He hopped in place, clearly pleased with this decision.
“Then my little songbird it is.”
The final piece of my heart was now his. This precious little who not only trusted me enough to call me Daddy but to gift him with a special name meant just for him.
Allowing Chase time to finish his latest piece of art, I decided to whip up a batch of homemade mac ‘n cheese to add to our dining menu. Something we could reheat and munch on over the weekend as well. About the time everything finished up, Chase ran across the kitchen to me.
“Careful, Little Songbird. You don’t want to slip and fall on the tile.”
“’Kay, Daddy. Look, I finished your new picture.” He handed it to me then made a kissy face. “Kiss, Daddy, kiss.”
Resistance would be futile.
I was Daddy, finally.
We kissed then he stood beside me, grinning wide as I assessed his picture.
“Chase, it’s magnificent. Would you like to decide where to hang it on the fridge?”
“Yes, please.” He skipped over the fridge and picked a magnet. “You got new magnets, Daddy?”
“I did. Do you like them?” I’d super heroe’d out. I swore the lady at the store thought I’d lost my mind as I flipped through every set they had before choosing as I had. This house would soon be taken over by Spiderman and I was happy to step aside for the webbed hero.
He lined the new picture up with the old one and set them up as he wanted. “There, Daddy.”
“Magnificent, Little Songbird. Wash your hands while Daddy plates up your dinner.”
“Yummy! K, Daddy. I’m a good boy.” He wandered down the hall. I heard the bathroom sink turn on then off a few seconds later.
Chase scooped up his stuff and put it in his new backpack then set it aside.
“Thank you for all my new stuff. I love it.”
His little was slipping back behind the veil, but at least I saw him for a while. I guesstimated little Chase was around four-ish, maybe five age wise, but progress had been made for sure.
“You are very welcome, Little Songbird.” Chase blushed but didn’t correct me, so the nickname appeared to be fine to use whether he was big or little. “What was your favorite piece?”
He glanced at the backpack. “The PJs.”
“Would you like to wear them tonight?”
“Yes, please.”
“Such a polite boy. Daddy will wash them after dinner, so they don’t chaff your bum.”
He giggled. “Bum.”
Okay, so maybe not totally big Chase. This had become a game of cat and mouse with little Chase, and I quite enjoyed it. Next on my ever-growing Daddy list was to buy Chase a divided plate and sippy cup. He may not use it, but we would see.
He dipped a dino nugget into each sauce and licked it off. I’d set out ranch, ketchup, mustard, and a bit of mild buffalo sauce and he seemed to enjoy them all.
“Dinosaurs are cool.”
He licked the ranch then shoved the whole thing in his mouth. The reason why he licked the sauce off first was lost to me, but I enjoyed watching him.