Page 80 of Echoes of Fear
“Not a good one,” he answers. “We usually allow him to come here after hours to play. This is the first time he’s wanted to come when there were others.”
“He belong to you guys?” I ask.
“No,” Steel answers. “His Daddy was recently murdered. Oscar lived with him as a full-time baby boy. He’s lost and confused.”
“Damn. Poor boy.”
“Call me if you need me.”
“He’ll be fine,” I promise. “I’m going to try and become his friend.”
Smiling, Steel shakes his head and leaves.
I walk slowly to the two, being sure to sit a few feet away before handing Pup his drink and having him pass down Oscars.
“When you’re a big boy you don’t needs sippy cups, Oscar,” my Pup says. “Then you can drink out of cups with no lids. Like this.”
Pup demonstrates how to drink from his cup and then proceeds to spill the entire thing down his very white shirt.
“Looks like it’s sippy cups for you from now on, Pup,” I sigh, sending Oscar a wink.
“Drat,” he whispers as I grab his cup, remove his shirt, and head back to the snack corner. This time, I grab another sippy and fill it with grape juice.
“You cants just leave me here naked,” Pup groans as I hand him his new cup.
“You’re not naked, naughty boy,” I laugh. “You’re wearing shorts. I need to try to save your shirt. Unless you want me to throw it away?”
“NO,” he shouts. “It’s my favorite Lego shirt, Papa.”
“Maybe I can help,” the room's caregiver says. She’s usually here to watch the Little’s who don’t come with a guardian. “I have the perfect thing to remove the stain before it sets.”
“Thanks,” I nod.
“Don’t tell Papa, but I think I likes this cup better, anyway,” I hear my Pup tell Oscar quietly. “Oh, oh. I wonder if he will lets us have a piece of that chocolate cake. I bet he'll give in if we both do super big puppy dog eyes. He can be a softy.”
Oscar laughs, and I shake my head.
“Sounds like you have your hands full,” the woman laughs.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I admit. “Even if my Pup is being a naughty little brat.”
I sit off to the side for the rest of the evening while Knox and Oscar play. Before we all leave, I give the boy our number in case he ever needs something or wants a playdate.
He really is a full-time baby boy. The poor baby didn’t speak a single word the entire time we were there.
“Time to go home, baby boy,” I tell my sleepy Pup.
I don’t need to worry about how he will handle riding back home in the dark because my Pup is fast asleep in my arms before we even leave the room.
Chapter Eighteen
Taylor
“I have a surprise for you, Pup.”
Knox looks away from the TV and smiles.
“I’m winning, Papa,” he exclaims. “Uncle King thought he could beat me at this war game, but he keeps losing.”