Chapter 29 Johnny
JOHNNY
After a while, Daddy took me into the shower and cleaned me up.
I was quick and sneaky and managed to hide the giant jingle bell in a towel, but I have to remember to get it later.
I want to get it cleaned up properly and figure out how to bring up using it with Daddy sometime.
We haven’t had the talk about toys yet – not these types of toys anyways.
I’m ready to go right back to bed after the shower, but apparently, we made too much of a mess, and the sheets need to be washed.
Daddy wanted to just put boring sheets back on the bed, but it’s Christmas!
You can’t have normal sheets on the bed for Christmas.
So now, we are back in the living room while the washer is running.
At least now I get to watch my movies without a pitbull burrito hogging all of the blankies.
I love Peanut, but I’ll be so much happier when he goes back to Jess in a little over a week. He’s more of a blanket hog than I am.
It doesn’t take me long to get lost in the adventures of the misfit toys and Herbie the dentist and the dancing and singing of Heat Meiser and Snow Meiser.
I almost miss it when Daddy sniffles because I was giggling.
I remember he said these were his favorite Christmas movies which is why I got them.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I thought this would make you happy.”
I reach for the remote to turn the movie off, but he holds it up above his head out of my reach.
“Don’t you dare even think about it, Baby Boy,” he growls out despite the tear tracks on his cheeks. “It’s not the movies that are making me sad.”
With everything that’s gone on tonight, I forgot about his parents. Of course, his favorite movies would have been memories he had with them. I’m such a stupid doodie head.
"They would have loved you so much,” Dexter mumbles into my hair and pulls me closer.
“And you should have had the chance to feel that. If they hadn’t died, you would be smothered with Ma’s hugs and cracking up at all of Dad’s terrible puns.
I just hate the fact that they never got to love you, too. ”
I stop reaching for the remote and stare at Dexter. Did he just...?
“Too?” I squeak out softly, almost afraid of the answer.
No one who is serious in a relationship beyond middle school tells their partner that they love them in just a few short weeks.
I mean, I love him so fucking much – at least I think it’s love.
I don’t exactly have experience with that particular emotion. Lust? Absolutely. But is it love?
Dexter puts the remote on the coffee table and pulls me closer so that I am straddling his lap to look at him.
“Yes, Baby. Too. I love you. From the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted to know you. When we had our coffee date, I already knew I wanted to keep you. And when I saw the ambulance leaving your shop that morning with the lights still on the police cars outside, I thought my world had ended. That’s when it became undeniable.
You are irreplaceable in my life, Johnny. ”
Irreplaceable.
That’s so much more important than being special.
“You’re irreplaceable to me, too, Daddy,” I whisper.
“I’m pretty sure I love you, too. But since I don’t exactly know what it feels like, I can’t say for sure.
What I know for absolutely one hundred fifty percent no doubt in my bones is that I need you more than candy canes, more than blankies, even more than Legos.
Now that I know what life is like with you in it, I can’t possibly go back to the way it was before. ”
Dexter tightens his arms around me and we relax into the quiet evening.
As soon as I take out the DVD for A Year Without a Santa Clause, the buzzer goes off for the washer.
Dexter jumps up from the couch and says he will swap the load and grab us some cocoas for the next movie.
While he’s in the basement, I decide our next movie with be A Claymation Christmas.
I’ve never seen it before, but Russ told me that Daddy would always complain about the fact that it was the only Christmas special from his childhood that he could never seem to find.
I somehow found it from a second hand distributor in Oregon and had it overnighted just to surprise him.
I hit play and giggle at the hijinks of the dinosaur announcers and all of the crazy characters made out of clay opening up the beginning of the show.
I’d never seen anything like this before.
I knew about stop motion animation, but this is a whole nother level.
Okay, this might just overtake Rudolph for my favorite movie. ..
“Baby Boy, is there something you forgot to show Daddy earlier?”
I turn around on the couch to see Dexter in the archway to the kitchen, holding up the giant jingle bell butt plug.
The twinkling rainbow lights are reflecting off the almost too shiny surface of the plug.
I had only rinsed it off and was going to do a full clean with the toy cleaner when Daddy went back to work the day after tomorrow. But what is it doing here?
Oh...
Daddy grabbed the towels to throw in with the sheets.
Oh... Oh, no.
“Johnny?” Daddy asks with a warning tone.
“Merry Christmas?” I squeak out before he pounces on me over the top of the couch. Lucky for us, Daddy keeps some condoms in the end table drawer. We can watch the movie again later.