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Normally, I'd stay buried beneath the blankets until Dixie threatened to pour cold water on me, but today my eyes snapped open at exactly 5:47 in the morning.
I stared at the ceiling.
Today was the day.
I rolled onto my side.
Dixie was still asleep beside me, one arm tucked beneath her pillow, curls covering half her face- I'm guessing she lost her bonnet.
She looked too comfortable for someone whose daughter was about to start kindergarten.
How was she sleeping?
Our child was about to leave us for the public education system.
Jordyn still needed help tying her shoes, so why was the government letting her attend school?
I let out a quiet breath before reaching over and brushing a curl away from Dixie's cheek.
She frowned in her sleep, then immediately reached toward my side of the bed without opening her eyes, her hand landing squarely against my chest.
Satisfied I didn't disappear overnight, she relaxed again.
A smile tugged at my mouth.
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. She hummed softly.
"Too early." She mumbled.
I laughed under my breath. "It is not too early."
She cracked one eye open.
"Cam, what time is it?"
I glanced at the clock in front of us.
"Five forty-eight."
She closed her eyes again almost immediately. "You're a sick, sick man."
I chuckled again as she went back to sleep.
I wanted to go back to bed when I heard a certain someone whispering outside our bedroom.
"Daddy..."
"Daddyyyy."
I smiled before I even opened my eyes. I knew exactly who it was. The bedroom door creaked open no more than an inch.
Then one little brown eye peeked through the gap. When she realized I was awake, the door flew open the rest of the way.
"Daddy!"
Jordyn came sprinting across the room in dinosaur pajamas that she'd insisted on wearing despite the fact they were a size too big.
She launched herself onto the bed, straight onto my stomach.
"Ouch, Jords."
"Daddy, wake up!"
"I was awake," I muttered dramatically.
"No you weren't, you were pretending."
I wrapped an arm around her tiny waist before sitting up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The digital clock on my nightstand now read 5:50 a.m.
I looked at Jordyn. "Bug, the sun isn't even awake."
"It is." She frowned.
"No, it's not."
She pointed triumphantly toward the curtains. "Look."
I glanced over. The room was still mostly dark.
"I don't see anything."
"That's because you need glasses."
"Oh, you silly, you'll regret saying that."
I started poking her sides, tickling her. She giggled so hard she nearly fell backward onto the mattress.
Beside us, Dixie groaned into a pillow.
"Could the two of you please keep your blabber below library volume?"
Jordyn immediately covered her mouth with both hands. "We're whispering."
I looked over at Dixie before reaching over and brushing a loose curl away from her face. "Morning. Jordyn starts kindergarten today."
"Jordyn starts kindergarten in..." she yawned, stretching beneath the blankets, "three hours."
Dixie stretched again before finally forcing herself upright.
"I swear, the two of you operate on toddler time." She mumbled, rubbing one eye.
"I am a toddler." Jordyn immediately corrected her.
"You're five, that makes you a big girl."
"I can still be little."
Dixie's expression softened. "You can be little for as long as you want."
I watched Jordyn smile so proudly that it hurt my chest. She really believed every word her mother said.
To be fair, so did I.
Dixie swung her legs over the edge of the bed, tying her curls into a loose puff with the hair tie she'd found around her wrist.
I had absolutely no idea where women kept finding hair ties.
She yawned again before standing. "Come on, baby."
"Carry me." Jordyn immediately reached both arms into the air.
I raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you just a big girl?"
"I changed my mind."
Dixie laughed before she bent down, scooped Jordyn onto her hip, and kissed her cheek.
I climbed out of bed behind them. "I'll get started on breakfast."
"You?" Dixie looked over her shoulder.
"You sound surprised."
"I am surprised."
Why? I've made breakfast before."
"Remember those burnt waffles you made?"
"They were just a little smoky, that's all." I smile.
"I like smoky waffles." Jordyn said, touching Dixie's earrings.
"See, she appreciates me!" I called after Dixie.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if I smell smoke, I'm taking over."
She disappeared toward the hallway.
~
I busied myself downstairs, making pancakes while trying very hard not to burn them.
They turned out good for the fourth time. No burnt, crispy sides around them. They looked soft and edible.
By the time I carried three plates to the dining table, I heard tiny footsteps racing down the hallway upstairs.
"Daddy!" Jordyn appeared around the corner wearing one sock.
"Hey, kiddo, where's the other one?" I pointed at her feet.
She looked down. "I don't know."
"How'd you lose one sock already?"
She shrugged. "Can you find it for me?"
"I'll just get you a new pair." I grabbed two bottles of water and an apple juice.
I knew that when Jordyn lost something, we would never be able to find it.
"Okay."
Dixie's voice emerged from the downstairs bathroom.
"Jordyn! I told you to come here! I have to finish your hair."
Jordyn giggled at me before disappearing into the hallway. I hear tiny feet slap against the hardwood.
"I'm coming!"
"No," Dixie called back immediately. "You're running."
"I'm running to you." Jordyn replied.
"Walk to me."
The footsteps slowed dramatically.
"Now I'm walking."
I smiled to myself before setting the plates onto the dining table.
When they both came back, Jordyn wore a navy-blue cardigan with a black skirt. Her dark brown curly hair was slicked into two braided pigtails.
Dixie smiled up at me, tilting her head back as I reached out to cup her cheeks. Her skin was warm under my palms.
I leaned down pressing a short, unhurried kiss to her lips. It tasted faintly of the spearmint toothpaste she used and the black coffee she'd clearly already started.
Her hand came up instinctively, resting light against my forearm, her thumb tracing a slow circle against my sleeve.
When we pulled back, she gave me a small, affectionate smile, her thumb lingering for a second before dropping away. "Morning, again"
"Morning," I replied softly, my thumb brushing her cheekbone. "You look tired."
"I am," she admitted with a tired sigh, though the corners of her mouth twitched upward.
She walked towards the dining table where I had set up breakfast.
I walked over to where Jordyn was, lifting her up and placing her in what she calls her princess chair. She made me buy it online because it looked pretty.
Dixie wasn't too happy about my impulse purchase after that week.
She automatically reached for the syrup before Jordyn could.
"No," she said, sliding the bottle farther down the table. "You already had enough sugar yesterday."
"But Mommy..."
"No." Dixie said, her voice firm.
The way Jordyn was pouting made me want to hand her the syrup and carry her in my arms.
"But today is kindergarten." She whined.
"I know that."
"So, I should celebrate."
"See?" Dixie looked over at me.
I lifted both hands immediately. "Don't involve me."
"You always involve Daddy."
Dixie smiled at Jordyn before going back to her pancakes.
I hid my smile behind my coffee.
Jordyn folded her tiny arms. "Daddy."
"Mhm?"
"Mommy's being mean."
I nodded thoughtfully. "Why would you say that?"
"No syrup."
"She's 5 years old, c'mon." I looked toward Dixie.
She pointed her fork at me without even looking up.
"Don't even try it, Cam." She sighed before cutting Jordyn's pancakes into smaller squares.
"She would happily eat syrup with a spoon if we let her." She said,
"No, I wouldn't."
Dixie looked up. "Really?"
Jordyn thought about it for a moment.
"But maybe a little spoon."
~
I watched Dixie slide the plate back toward Jordyn before quietly fixing the napkin in her lap. I don't think she'd ever stop mothering.
Even if Jordyn was forty.
"What time did your mom say she'd be home?" Dixie finally said, stirring her coffee.
I swallowed another bite. "Probably around five."
"And your dad?" She nodded slowly.
"He said he'd pick her up after breakfast tomorrow."
She looked over at Jordyn. "Are you excited to stay with Granny and Grandpa?"
"Grandpa lets me ride on the tractor." Jordyn nodded enthusiastically.
Dixie's eyes widened as she gave me a horrified look. I chuckle.
"You mean the riding mower. She means the riding mower."
"It's a tractor." Jordyn argues.
I laughed. "Did Grandpa tell you that?"
"Yeah." She says, stuffing another piece of pancake into her mouth.
"I almost forgot she's staying with them tomorrow." Dixie leaned back slightly in her chair.
"Oh, same here."
She rubbed absentmindedly at the side of her mug.
"It'll be quiet. Really quiet."
I knew exactly what she meant. No little footsteps, or cartoons playing in the background.
It would just be us for the first time in a long while.
"We could go out." I spoke.
She looked at me. "Out?"
"Like outside. Where the trees and grass are." I laugh.
"I'm familiar with the outside."
I smiled.
She rested her chin in her hand. "We haven't had a real date in...what.."
She frowned, thinking. "Months."
"Longer."
"Have you been counting?" She turned towards me.
I frown, confused. "Of course I have."
It was easy to say we loved Jordyn. Sometimes so much we forgot we were husband and wife before we became Mom and Dad.
"I miss taking you out." I say, taking the last sips of my coffee.
Dixie raised her eyebrows. "Really, you do?"
"I do."
"How come? You see me every day."
"I know, but it's different."
"I miss having your attention for more than thirty seconds before someone asks for apple juice."
Dixie smiled softly. "Are you jealous of a five-year-old?"
"A little."