Chapter 13
Who knew there was so much to do before our big day.
“There,” Tae said as we hung the last strand of lights.
With the trick-or-treaters coming we had to triple what we’d initially planned to do.
Basically, from the front of our cabins to the main street, the trees were covered in purple, orange, and white twinkle lights.
Streamers and spooky décor was everywhere.
We had the Halloweeniest Halloween set-up in town.
“This is so cool! We did a great job.”
“Yes, we did.” Tae high-fived me.
“Hey, what about those of us on the ladders who jumped every time you two barked out an order?” Daddy complained.
“Don’t be so dramatic, Oscar,” Tae said. “But thank you and Daddy both for helping us.” We even decorated the playground.
Instead of doing special food for after the ceremony, we decided to have a big barbeque here with all the people in town who were coming for the after-ceremony party.
Food had been donated from local shops, and several people volunteered to man the barbeque and bring plenty of side dishes.
Daddy and Chuck picked up the small wedding cake we’d had made this morning and actually returned with two.
One for the family, and one that the baker donated to share with our party guests.
“Do we have enough time to play?” I hadn’t missed a day of playing on the playground since we finished it. Daddy made sure nothing was too high for me, and even the overhead bridges were fun.
“Sorry, Angel, we don’t, and I’d hate for you to mess up any of the decorations. Come on, Daddy has a wedding gift for you.”
“I didn’t know we were supposed to get each other gifts. I don’t have anything for you.” Now I felt like crap. Was that a normal wedding thing to do? I was so out of the loop on this stuff.
“That’s okay, Angel. This isn’t like that, not really. It’s a surprise we’ve been working on for you and now it’s finally done.”
“We?”
“Yup, the whole family had a hand in this.” He stopped outside the door to Samian’s room. “Go ahead, open it.”
Was Samian in there? Was he gonna jump out and scare the crap out of me?
“I dunno, Daddy.”
“Do you trust your Daddy?”
“More than anyone in the world. Well, Grandma not included.”
“That’s right, boy,” she hollered from behind us. When I turned around, the whole family was there, minus Samian, but he was on his way.
“Daddy, what’s going on?”
“If you don’t open the door, I will,” he fussed.
The giant sigh I let out was more dramatic than it was meant to be. “Okay.” When I opened the door, no one jumped out, but what I saw inside took my breath away. “Daddy.”
I stepped into a literal fairy tale scene.
They’d turned Samian’s old room into my very own playroom.
Across the walls and around the window kitties were playing.
A couple were warming their tummies in the sun’s rays, another was chasing a butterfly, some were sleeping, others were climbing the trees.
A big smiley sun was at the top, enjoying the silly kitties.
It was the funnest room ever! “Tae, was this all you?”
“Yup.” He came over and pointed at the last corner where he’d signed it. “To my bestest bestie. Love, Tae.”
I squeezed him so tight he yelped. “Don’t break me!”
“Sorry,” I wiped my eyes, “sorry. This is so wonderful.”
“My Daddy made the shelves, and we moved all your toys in, and your Daddy added some more.” The shelves were made so it looked like the kitties were playing on top of them.
They were only about four feet high, which allowed for a bigger mural, and most were full already.
Daddy must’ve done a lot of sneaky shopping for his boy.
“You guys.” How could I have any tears left with all the happy crying I’d done lately. “This is the most wonderful playroom ever. Thank you.”
“Did you see the new cat tower your Daddy made for Sabrina?” He pointed it out. There was so much to take in that it’d take me days to figure it all out. “Now she can play in here with you.”
“Daddy.” I ran toward him and right into his open arms. “Thank you.”
“Not just me to thank, Angel. Uncle Chuck and Tae did most of it while we were in town working.”
“Thank you Uncle Chuck and bestest-bestie Tae.”
“You’re welcome. Grandma made your super-cute curtains.” Tae pointed to them. They had tiny kitties playing with balls of yarn all over them.
“Grandma, you are just full of surprises lately.” Heck, I forgot she could sew.
“I’m full of something, alright.” Everyone laughed. “Happy to do it for you. You deserve the world, sweet boy, and you have just the Daddy to give it to you.”
“And I,” Momma said, “am your minister for tomorrow.”
“What?” How did I miss her taking classes for that?
“Yup, got ordained online. That’s my contribution to your big day. Family takes care of family. You boys have shown Esther and me so much love, and this is our way of giving back.”
“I think raising us and not locking us up during our teen years was more than enough,” Uncle Chuck admitted. “Those weren’t fun years for me, and I can’t imagine what I put you and Dad through.”
“True enough.” Momma chuckled. “But we did something right, didn’t we, Esther?” Grandma nodded. “For them to have turned into the fine men that they are.”
“Good thing none of us have our make-up on yet,” Daddy teased, but his shimmery eyes said it all. “Or we’d have to start all over again.”
“Come on, lunch is ready,” Momma said, and we followed her across to Uncle Chuck’s cabin. “Refuel, then we can set up the tables and chairs so we don’t have to worry about it tomorrow. We’ll put the tablecloths on them tomorrow right before everyone arrives.”
“Holy moly, what are all these bags for?” There were literal boxes of cute little Halloween bags stuffed which what I guessed was candy.
“Well, since you boys decided to share your special day with the town and asked for no gifts, Esther and I thought it would be fun to make gift bags for everyone. Adult or child, they can each take one.”
“And we bought prizes for a couple of games we thought might be fun too,” Grandma added. “Corn hole, horseshoes, spin the wheel for prizes.”
“I can’t wait!” Tae cheered then stopped. “Do we get to play too?”
“Of course you do, silly boy.” Uncle Chuck kissed the top of his head. “Oscar and I made these games for you to enjoy too. Now after the party, you guys have more fun stuff for your outside play area.”
“Yay!” Tae and I cheered.
They had all kinds of lunch meats, cheeses, chips, and sub rolls set out. I loved sammy days. I loaded a roll up, grabbed some chips and a bottle of water, and sat next to Tae. His Daddy was making his plate, but I was too hungry to wait and got to the front of the line first.
I wanted to get as much done as we could today, and fast. Then I could play with all my new toys and show Sabrina her new tower. “Daddy, how long will the rest of the stuff on today’s list take to do?”
“Couple more hours, why?”
I glanced over at Tae, and he nodded, both of the same mind. “We want to play in my new playroom.”
“I think that can be arranged,” Daddy said. Tae and I got the wiggle butts which made it hard to sit still.
“I have an idea,” Grandma said. “Why don’t you two shower after you’re done helping your Daddies, and Momma and I will set up a picnic for you for dinner in Trey’s playroom?”
“Yay!” Our butts were working overtime trying their best to sit still.
“Alright, wiggle butts,” Uncle Chuck teased, “let’s clean up and get to it.”
We helped Daddy and Uncle Chuck set up the tables. “These picnic tables are really cool, the way you made it so they fold up into one piece.”
“Yes, and I bet after tomorrow we get an order for some. Thankfully, we made extras so we can sell them on the spot,” Uncle Chuck said. “We’ll keep four for ourselves, just in case.”
Tae worked on the regular six-foot tables, while Daddy, Uncle Chuck, and I did the heavy picnic ones.
“Do you want the chairs out, Daddy?” Tae asked.
“No, sweetheart, we’ll do those tomorrow.”
This was coming together so nice. The weather was gorgeous, no rain in sight, the decorations were perfect, and the kids were gonna love it. “Uncle Chuck, it was a really good idea to invite the town out.”
Uncle Chuck blushed, which was rare. “Every once in a while I have a good idea.”
Tae ran over and hugged him. “You always have good ideas, Daddy.”
“Well,” Daddy looked around. “The sun is starting to set, and I think we’ve done all we can do for today. Time to bathe our boys and let them play.”
“Daddy?” We got into the nice big shower Daddy and I had built together. “Can I wear my new Halloween jammies, pleeeaaassseee?” They were already washed, so there were no excuses.
“Yes, you can. Let’s get the hyper boy washed so he can explore his new room.” Daddy got me dressed, and I ran out into the living room to wait for Tae, only someone else was there waiting for us.
“Samian!” I tackled him back on the couch, both of us laughing as we hugged awkwardly. “You’re here!”
“Of course, I am. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
“Samian!” Daddy hollered as he came out and hugged his brother. “I’m so glad you’re here. Where is your friend?”
“Using the restroom. He’s a nervous wreck, so be gentle.” Daddy’s look questioned that. “I’ll explain later.”
“Hi.” The cutest little guy came down the hallway and waved. “I’m Sasha.”
“Sasha, it’s wonderful to meet you,” Daddy said as he shook his hand. “This is my fiancé, Trey.”
“Are you a Little?” I blurted out. Daddy shook his head. I knew better than to out people, but he looked so scared I wanted to see if he’d play with us. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Do you want to see my new playroom?”
Sasha glanced at Samian who smiled and nodded at him. “Yes, please.”
Tae came in then wearing cute teddy bear jammies. “Hey, Sasha.” I guess they already met when Samian dropped their stuff off at Chuck’s. “Let’s go play.” The three of us went to play while Daddy, Uncle Chuck, and Samian hung out.
“Samian says I’m a Little, but I’m not sure I know what that is,” Sasha admitted when we were in my room. “But I, I like to play with toys.”
“You’re probably a Little like us then,” Tae said as he pulled one of the new buckets off the shelf. “Ooohhh, your Daddy got you all kinds of new cars, Trey.” He dumped them out and grabbed another. “And building blocks.”
We went through the containers and closet.
I started looking at the cute clothes Daddy had hung up.
There was the cutest onesie that said, Daddy’s Little Secret on the front but secret was crossed out and husband was written above it.
“I’m Daddy’s Little Husband tomorrow. I should wear this under my costume. ”
“That will be so cute,” Tae giggled. “I’m so glad you’re marrying my brother. Now you’re my brother bestie.” We laughed so hard at that. I loved being silly with Tae and now with our new friend, Sasha.
“What kind of toys do you like, Sasha?” Tae asked him.
“I like to color and draw and play with Barbies.” His eyes got really big when he said that and started to cry. “My parents said its wrong for boys to do that and got rid of all my toys before I started college.”
Tae and I dropped down beside him on the floor, hugging him. “That’s not very nice. Boys and girls can play with any toys they want. I’m gonna buy you a new Barbie,” Tae said.
“Me too. Heck, I’ll play with them too. It’s fun to play dress up with toys.” I wasn’t afraid to admit anything anymore. Daddy made me feel safe and loved and said there was nothing wrong with being who you are.
“We’re you’re new friends now, Sasha, and Trey and I will always play with you.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that? When my old friends found out I played with dolls, they made fun of me and stopped coming over.” Poor Sasha, I just loved him already.
“Really, and we won’t let anyone make fun of you,” Tae told him.
“Neither will our Daddies.” I knew that without question.
“That’s right,” Daddy said from the doorway. “This is a no-bully zone. All Littles are welcome, but bullies get shown the door.”
“Th-thank you, Oscar,” Sasha stuttered. “I-I like you guys, you’re nice to me.”
“Sweetheart.” Samian knelt beside him. “I would never have brought you here if I didn’t feel like you’d fit in. But I knew deep down that you would.”
“Daddy.” I ran over to him. “Can we take Sasha to town in the morning? I want to buy him a new doll.”
“My Angel, you truly live up to the name Daddy calls you. I think that’s a wonderful idea. You make me proud to be your Daddy.”