Chapter Eleven
Jamie
“Look Daddy, I’m a sloth.” I crawled super-duper slowly across the playroom floor toward my stuffies, who were all lined up and waiting for me to play with them.
“Yes, you are, silly boy.”
When I finally reached them, I scooped them up and crawled on top of my puppy paw bed and laid them down. “There, now you’re safe from the evil jungle monster.” Sloffers wasn’t scared, but Kiki was, so he held his friend tight.
Daddy was sitting at my tiny table. “You’re silly, Daddy.”
“Me? Why?”
He was too big for it but that wasn’t nice to say. “Just ‘cause. What’s for dinner?”
“Hot dogs, tots, and grilled zucchini.”
Normally, I don’t like ‘chini ‘cause it gets mushy when you cook it. But Daddy grilled it just right and made it yummy.
“Are you ready to eat?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Daddy tried his best to make me happy. He knew I was sad about the store I worked at closing. It was the only job I ever had, and my boss was really nice. I’d get a severance package since I’d been there a long time, but I would miss my friends and some of my regular customers.
“Let’s clean up and then Daddy can feed you.”
We made a great team, and had my room cleaned up, and my stuffies tucked into bed in no time.
“Jamie,” Ut oh, no shiny star or sweet boy first. Daddy didn’t use my real name very often. What did I do?
“Am I in trouble?”
“Quite the opposite. I know your job is ending, and I’m sorry you’re sad, but before you find another one, I’d like for us to take a vacation.” I sat at the island bar and watched as Daddy got everything ready to grill.
“A vacation? Like a real one where we go somewhere outside of Nevada?”
Daddy’s smile was back. “Yes, outside of Nevada and we’d be gone for a week. What do you think?”
I ran fast and jumped up, and Daddy caught me and swung me around like we were in Dirty Dancing.
“I think it’s great and I’m super excited.
Can I bring Sloffers? And Kiki? We can’t forget George and Patty.
” I still needed to name the rest of my stuffies I got for my birthday last month, but that was a lot to do.
“Maybe only one or two if you can? You might find new stuff you want while we’re gone, and you’d need room in your luggage to bring it home.”
“Okay, Daddy. I can do that.” It would be hard, but Daddy asked nicely, plus he was taking me on my first ‘cation.
“Perfect, we’ll leave the day after your last shift.”
Something told me Daddy had this planned for a while now.
As the week went on, one by one my work friends left as we ran out of things to sell, and they were let go.
My boss Sylvia, another manager Dean, and I were the last to leave, and we decided to go out to dinner after we locked up the store for the last time.
It was fun, but still sad to say goodbye.
We said we’d keep in touch, but that doesn’t always happen.
“Is that my shiny star?” Daddy said when I got home.
“Not feeling so shiny, Daddy.” He came over and hugged me.
“Well, if I tell you our first of three stops on our vacation would that make you smile?”
“Maybe.” I wanted to be happy for Daddy, but it was hard when my heart hurt.
“What’s your favorite thing in the whole wide world?”
Blink. Blink. Did he not know the answer? “You, Daddy.”
“Thank you,” Daddy kissed me. “But next to Daddy.”
“Sloffers, and Kiki, and George, and Patty,” I rattled off the usual suspects.
“And what are they?”
“My bestest friends.”
This time, Daddy laughed, and I finally smiled. “Silly boy, I know that, but what are they?”
“Animals?”
“Bingo!”
“We’re going somewhere with animals. Lots and lots of animals?” I didn’t want to get too excited if it was only one or two, though I’d still love it, but more would be sooo much better.
“Yup.”
I squealed so loud that Daddy plugged his ears. “Careful, sweet boy, Daddy needs his hearing.”
“Sorry Daddy, but where are there lots of animals?”
“Ever heard of a place called the San Diego Zoo?”
This time I screamed and should probably let the neighbors know I was okay before they called the cops. “Why don’t you put on your swimsuit, and we can go outside and talk about our trip while we swim.”
“Okay, yes.” I stripped as I ran down the hallway. Daddy picked up my clothes like always, but I couldn’t help it. I was too excited. My first vacation ever and I got to spend it with animals!
And Daddy too, of course.
Daddy pushed me around on my ice cream floaty and told me all the great things he’d planned for our trip. “I figured we’d spend the first four days in San Diego. A day at the zoo then relax the next day at the beach, which is right outside our hotel room. What do you think?”
“I get to see the beach too. Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!” Was it possible to pass out from being too excited? Good thing Daddy was here to catch me if I did.
“Ha-ha yes, actually it’s two beaches. Then our next stop is….” Daddy paused too long.
“Dadddyyyyyyy!”
“Sea World!”
I screamed again. “Daddy!”
“You are one excitable boy. At Sea World I booked us the Sloth Up-Close Encounter activity.”
Laughing and crying at the same time, which I didn’t know was possible until now, had my emotions going coo-coo. “Can I get a new friend for Sloffers while we’re there?”
“Absolutely, which is why I didn’t want you to bring too much with you. Now, do you want to know our last stop?” Daddy spun the raft around and stopped it, so I faced him again.
“Yes please.” Then I could Google each stop and pre-shop, err, pre-plan the animals I absolutely had to see, though I wanted to try and see them all.
“Disneyland!”
“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!” I grabbed his face and kissed him loudly and hard. “Best. Daddy. EVER!”
“Thank you, sweet boy, but I wanted to do something special for you. I know it’s been a tough month, and I just want you to relax and not worry about anything except for having fun. Can you do that for Daddy?”
“Yes, Daddy, for you I can do anything.”
We stayed in the water until I yawned and got super pruney and that’s when we went inside. One good thing about living in the desert was you could swim just about any time during the summer, day or night.
“Thank you. I have a gift for you.” Daddy went into the garage and returned with a big box. “Open it.”
“It’s almost bigger than me.” I think my daddy had a shopping problem. He always had new gifts for me.
“Here, I’ll help you.” He used his handy dandy pocketknife to cut the tape away. “Can you see inside?” I shook my head, so he pulled out the prezzie out for me.
“My own luggage and it has animals all over it!”
There was absolutely no possible way I’d sleep tonight. Not even after Daddy made me come.
Twice.
“Okay, sweet boy…sweet boy?” I came running around the corner and into our room when I heard Daddy call for me.
“Hurry up, Daddy. Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy. Our bed is so bouncy. Breakfast is ready. We need to leave soon.” I hopped off the bed and grabbed Daddy’s hand, but he was too strong for me and fell back down on the bed.
“Um, what? Have you even slept, Jamie?” Daddy was still all blinky-blinky sleepy.
“No, Daddy. I packed and repacked and made sure I had everything in the pretty new luggage you bought me, then I made breakfast. Come on, Daddy,” I yanked again but he pulled me down with him and started kissing my neck and tickling me.
“Daddy, we don’t have time to be naughty.
You said it’s gonna take us six hours to get there and I have breakfast ready for us. ”
“I created a monster. My sweet boy is now a bossy boy.”
How had he missed that before?
But Daddy finally got up and followed me. “The sun isn’t even up. This is our first day of vacation so we should be sleeping in.” Daddy looked at the kitchen table I’d set then back at me. “Cereal is your breakfast of champions?”
“Yes, Daddy. Oh, and I made bacon too.” I pulled it from the oven where it was warming and put a few pieces on a shared plate.
“Thank you, my sweet boy.”
“You’re welcome, Daddy.”
Breakfast cleaned up ?
Bags packed ?
Teeth brushed and dressed ??
Car loaded ?
Daddy ready?
“Daddy, where are you?”
“I’m coming, slow your roll, boy. I’m making sure the house is locked and everything was turned off.”
“You said Henry and his Daddies would check on the house.” I nearly stomped my foot but then realized it was naughty, and Daddy might have put me in time out when we got to the hotel, and that would ruin our first day of vacation when I cried.
“They are,” he caught up to me and kissed my nose, “but I don’t want to leave it a mess for them to see.”
I handed him the keys and hopped into the SUV Daddy spoiled me with. “Let’s go.”
Daddy shook his head and laughed but slid into the driver’s seat. “You take away my Daddy fun when you don’t let me buckle you in.”
So, I unbuckled myself.
Daddy leaned over, redid the belt and kissed me. “Much better. You’re in charge of the radio and make sure to tell me if you need, or want, to stop anywhere along the way. We’re in no rush and have plenty of time to explore.”
“No Daddy, I want to get there super-fast. We can explore on the way home.” Being that this was my car, my playlists were already uploaded to the stereo system, and Tay-Tay won round one.
We stopped in Hesperia, California to stretch our legs and grab a snack. I was too jazzed up to stay much longer than that. Tomorrow, we planned to be at the park when it opened at nine a.m., but I wanted to see the beach and our hotel room before it got too dark.
By the time we got to the hotel, my playlists had been played out, and Daddy and I were hangry-hungry for real food.
While Daddy got us checked in, I wandered around the lobby.
“Da, err, Timothy look, you can see the ocean from here!” The lady helping Daddy winked at me as I joined them at the front desk.
“I think you and your partner?” She glanced at Daddy.
“Yes, this is my partner, Jamie.”