Chapter Fourteen
Soren
A week later, the day came for our first daddy/little date at home.
I expected Abbott to want to do it at his home where he might be more comfortable, but he surprised me by saying he’d like to come over to my home.
He would be bringing some of his own little things, but it gave me the opportunity to do a little shopping.
Abbott said he had an outfit he wanted to wear, but I had a whole afternoon of fun to plan for a very special little boy and me, starting with lunch.
Looking at the table, I moved a few things around.
I’d gone back to the site where I found the spoons and bought the cutest place setting for the meal.
A place mat, utensils, a sippy cup, everything matching and everything super cute.
We had not discussed a particular theme he’d prefer, and I had made a guess.
I had so many other surprises, and as I heard a car pull into the driveway, I crossed my fingers that I’d made the right choices. I walked outside to meet him.
Abbott climbed out of the car with a backpack over one shoulder.
I wondered what he had brought as I met him and took the pack.
One arm around him, I walked him into the house and paused in the foyer.
“I want you to be honest with me and if I didn’t get things right, you have to tell me. In all the words, okay?”
“You’ll get it right.” He spoke with such confidence, it scared me. “But I promise to share what I like best.”
“All right.” I led the way inside. “Why don’t we get you dressed and then we can have all the fun.” In my room, I set his backpack on the bed. “Do you want me to help you?”
“Yes, please, Daddy.”
My chest tightened, and I opened the pack. “I see you have a couple of outfits. Would you like to wear the shorts and T-shirt or the dino jams?” Please pick the jams!
He also had some training underwear, thick cotton, but no diapers. That was a conversation for another day, though.
“Dinos.” He patted the suit, and I recalled another night he’d worn an outfit with that theme. “Please.”
“How nice your manners are, my sweet boy.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” He sat down and held out one sneakered foot, and I helped him out of his big clothes then reached for the underwear.
“Okay, one leg.” I eased him into the underwear then had him stand up and pulled them over his hips. “Rest your hands on my shoulders, and we’ll get these footie jams on you. I smell lunch is almost ready.”
“I’m hungry!” He wriggled into the jammies and bounced. “Thank you for helping me.”
I’d have known without our conversation that he was not a little who needed much discipline.
It would probably come up here or there, but so far, he was the politest boy ever.
And since I liked playing and having fun and the joy of the daddy/little relationship, this was also perfect for me.
I could be flexible for someone I wanted to spend time with, but how nice was it that we seemed to both like this dynamic.
In the kitchen, Abbott slid into his chair, the dino tail causing only minor adjustments before he looked down at his plate and the rest. “Daddy! Did you know I love dinos?”
Honestly, most littles liked them quite a lot, but I’d taken my cue from that one outfit, and from the delight on his face, I was so happy I had. “I thought you might.”
“Does this mean we’ll have dino food too?”
“In fact, yes.” I pulled the tray out of the oven. “Dinos, mini tots, and prehistoric trees for your dino to devour.”
“Did they have this kind of tree in dino times?” He was bouncing again by the time I served the food on his divided plate.
“I think so. But probably bigger.”
He stilled for a moment then shrugged. “The dinos were bigger, too. Did they have ranch?”
“I don’t think so.” I watched his face grow serious before holding up the squeeze bottle. “But we do!”
My good boy ate his whole lunch and even had seconds, accompanied by a sippy cup of cold milk.
Then I helped him wash his hands and face before we adjourned to the living room where I’d set out a few of the toys and crafts I’d bought.
Yes, I’d gone over the top, but saner heads had me not overwhelming him with everything at once.
The saner heads of my fellow daddies. Abbott ran right over to the low table where I’d set up a prehistoric play set.
“Daddy, we’re having a dino party!”
“I guess we are at that.” At his invitation, I sat down and an epic scene ensued. At the beginning, the various dinosaurs were at war, two factions out to take out the other, but after a few skirmishes, something changed.
A pterodactyl swooped in from nowhere and perched on the volcano before giving a speech about friendship and how it was better to play together and have a good time than fight.
The others all turned to face him, and then, with a little help from the daddy in the room, cookies and milk were enjoyed by all.
I couldn’t remember when I’d had a more fun or creative afternoon.
There were other things to play with, but Abbott sat back with a sigh, and I thought he might want a little break.
“Story time?” I suggested. “I have a few books we can choose from.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Let’s straighten up the toys, then, and we’ll do that next.” We put the play set away and wiped crumbs off the table then retreated to the sofa where, he settled on my lap and snuggled in. “Which story would you like?”