17. Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MAYLEE
M aylee was sitting on the kitchen counter while Daddy was cooking her breakfast, something she didn’t want. Has he forgotten she didn’t eat breakfast?
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Lee?”
She watched as he beat some eggs. He had bread on a plate, and she assumed he was making French toast. He also could be making scrambled eggs to put on toast.
“Lee?”
She focused on him, feeling bad that he was making breakfast when she wouldn’t be able to eat it. Not unless he wanted her to throw up.
“Daddy. I don’t eat breakfast,” she stated.
“Maylee. You know breakfast is the most important meal. You can’t skip it.”
She let out a breath. “Daddy. You know I don’t eat breakfast. It makes me nauseous. ”
“Maybe you’ve been eating the wrong thing. We’re gonna try French toast for breakfast today, and if it doesn’t work, then we’ll try something else.”
She had a rule about eating and making sure she was eating enough, but she really couldn’t eat breakfast. She had tried so many different things her whole life that never worked. Well, unless it was a glass of milk. She seemed to be able to have liquids in the morning and not become nauseous.
Most of the time.
Sometimes she drank milk, and it made her just as nauseous. Those were the bad days.
“But.”
“No buts. You know that breakfast is important, and you know it’s one of your rules as well.”
Today wasn’t going to be a good day. She wanted to be optimistic and believe she could eat breakfast, but the truth was she wouldn’t be able to. She was going to throw up or get very nauseous, and the rest of the day would be bad.
Daddy was almost done making the French toast, and her stomach was already protesting. As much as she didn’t want to throw up, maybe it would be best for her to do so, so Daddy saw that she was serious. Maybe then he would believe her.
“A little or a lot of syrup on them?” Daddy asked.
“In between?”
Maylee didn’t know the answer to that question since she never ate breakfast. How was she supposed to answer?
“I’ll do some choo-choo trains and airplanes to help you,” Daddy said.
He cut the French toast into bite-sized pieces before drizzling syrup on them. He brought the plate over to where she was sitting and got some on the fork.
“Choo-choo,” Daddy said as he brought the fork closer to her mouth.
Maylee couldn’t help but giggle and open her mouth. Cinnamon and syrup filled her mouth, and she moaned in pleasure. She loved the combination of the two but maybe at night instead of in the morning when she could enjoy it.
She swallowed the food, and Daddy made airplane noises before giving her another bite. She started to feel a little nauseous as she was chewing the second bite. Maylee slowed her chewing and inhaled deeply through her nose.
There was no way she was going to throw up in the kitchen. Everything in her was trying her hardest not to.
“Are you okay?” Daddy asked.
“Yep,” she replied, but immediately her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “I’m so nauseous. I don’t feel good at all.”
Daddy picked her up and walked to the bathroom, making sure not to jostle her too much. He set her feet on the ground, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and held onto her again.
“If you need to throw up, you can. I’ll hold on to you,” Daddy said, gently.
Tears dripped down her face. Maylee hated being nauseous and wanting to throw up. It was the worst feeling ever.
“It’s just food, right? Liquids are fine in the morning?” Daddy asked.
She nodded as she drew a slow, deep breath. Slowly, she was starting to feel less nauseous as she kept breathing.
Daddy carefully sat down with her on his lap, and she snuggled into his chest as he slowly started to rock them.
“Well, instead of food, how about you drink two glasses of milk or a protein drink? Does that sound okay?” Daddy asked. “As much as I would like for you to eat real food, I don’t want you nauseous and throwing it up. That’s not good for you or your body.”
She nodded. “I think that would work. Sometimes, I drink things in the morning and sometimes, almost all the time, I just don’t eat or drink anything until lunch time.”
“That’s why you’re hungry and devour your food every single time you eat with me.”
She looked down at her hands and nodded. It wasn’t the best for her, but it was how it worked. She didn’t have time to be nauseous at work, not when she was the one who had to do many things and talk to a lot of people.
Also, she didn’t wake early enough to eat things in the morning. She had to go to work early, and it was a struggle for her to get up.
“It’s not good that you don’t eat or drink anything in the morning. That means you go over twelve hours without eating anything. Your body is probably eating at itself.”
Maylee knew that already; it wasn’t anything new, but he had to say that. He had to say a many things.
“We’ll be trying milk in the morning. Two glasses of chocolate milk to see if it works.”
She nodded and relaxed in his arms. It didn’t sound too bad .
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Do you want to bake together, color, tummy time, cuddle, or do a puzzle?”
She pulled away and looked at him. She thought he was making the decision, not her.
“Can you make the decision?” she asked.
“Of course I can. I just wanted to give you the option since you weren’t feeling good.”
“I’m always exhausted from making decisions. I have to make so many of them at work, and sometimes it’s nice not to make any.”
“Anytime you want me to make the decisions, you let me know. I know we agreed that I was going to make the decisions this weekend, but I want you to know anytime outside of this weekend, you can let me know.”
She nodded and snuggled back into his chest. It was like a weight lifted off her chest as he took the responsibility and made decisions. The weight had already been lifted off earlier, but even more happened right then.
Maybe it was that she knew if things got to be too overwhelming, he would step in. He would take care of her and ensure that everything was okay because he had her best interests at heart with every decision he made.
“How about you do it for the rest of my life?” she joked. But deep down it wasn’t a joke. She was serious about it because it sounded like absolute heaven.
“If that’s what you want and need, then I will. You just let me know, and I’ll take care of the rest,” he replied .
She shook her head and pushed herself off him. He shouldn’t be saying that. Not when it wasn’t true.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head once again. “I can’t. I never can.”
“And why is that?”
Maylee took a deep breath in. It was now or never, and it might cut their weekend short, but she needed to say it.
“You’re just doing this to help me but once I figure it out, you’re going to leave.”