Chapter 18 #2
“Okay, okay, sweet boy, I’ll tell you how it went before you leap across the table and land in my lap,” I said.
“I signed a contract with them this afternoon to mentor guitarists and help with song writing for some of the newer bands. No touring or travelling or anything like that, except on rare occasions where you’ll be able to go with me, wherever it is.
No exceptions. I will not be leaving you behind, Payden.
That was non-negotiable and they agreed with me.
I’ll be helping scout bands and potential musicians for what’s basically a build-a-band project they’ve recently started.
They’re putting together a list of rising talent, folks to watch for and folks who need to be signed now, that sort of thing.
It’s a big city, a lot of bands, a lot of bars, so plenty of ground to cover. ”
“You got the job!” he squealed as he came around the table so fast I barely got my chair pushed back in time to make room for him. In hindsight, I should have known he’d wind up in my lap one way or another.
“I got the job, little uni,” I assured him.
“And it came with something very important. A signing bonus, enough that we can start looking for the perfect house for us, if you, um, are still excited to move closer to your parents. I don’t want you to feel pressured to leave your home.
Hell, I’ve barely moved into it, and our relationship is just a few weeks old and all, but I know you’re my forever, Payden. ”
“Daddy, I knew you were my forever on the train,” Payden declared.
“You weren’t just being my Daddy for the trip.
I could already see then that you were becoming my Daddy forever.
Every moment of every day we’ve spent together since then, you’ve been my Daddy, and I am never going to let my Daddy go. ”
“Then we’ll start looking at real estate listings. I put together a list of features that are essential, but there may be more you want to add. When we’re ready, we’ll go look at them and see if there's one we fall in love with. We can take our time and find the perfect house for us."
“I’d love that,” Payden said, snuggling against my chest.
“Let’s finish supper, little uni, so you can spend the rest of the night unwinding,” I said, though I was reluctant to turn him loose.
Having that contract and being able to contribute now had taken a load off my mind.
I’d known I was stressed over the whole situation, but the tears I’d shed at the table with that contract in my hand had been pure relief.
Tonight, we chatted about movies as we finished eating.
Several trailers had popped up on the television that had captured our interests.
By the time I’d finished rinsing our plates and putting them in the dishwasher, we had plans to catch a double feature, followed by dinner, and I was excited as hell to see the look on his face when I showed him his surprise. But first.
I blew out the candles, covered his eyes and walked him into the living room that way, one shuffling step after the other with him giggling and calling me silly the whole time.
“Surprise, little uni,” I said as I uncovered his eyes. “You’re very own unicorn station….and your first delivery.”
I’d placed a small plate on one of the box cars, four cookies beneath plastic wrap, with a small, sparkly aqua bow on top that I found with the baking supplies.
First he gasped, then he squealed, then he squeezed the stuffing out of me.
“Cookies and a train station! Daddy, how did you make this?" He asked, once he'd finally settled down to get a closer look at it. I’d used glitter glue to make the sides shimmer in places, the same as the cardboard unicorns, but I’d used yarn for their manes and tails.
“Those two shoeboxes we forgot to throw in the recycling,” I said.
“I used one for the station and one to cut up to make the unicorns. I found the unicorn templates online and printed them so I could trace them onto the cardboard and got friendly with the craft supplies. I couldn’t believe it when I found your collection of googly eyes.
Where did you find ones with eyebrows and glasses? ”
“Online,” he replied. “You can find anything online if you look hard enough. Did you really stage dive off the top of the scaffolding?"
“Have you been Googling Daddy again?” I asked.
“Yup! This is so cool. Thank you, Daddy, no one’s ever made me something special like this before.”
“Then they’re idiots,” I grumbled.
He laughed and reached for one of his ponies.
I’d lined them all up around the track and station like they were waiting for a passenger.
As soon as we started playing, I could see the shift in him, as the responsibilities of the day melted, leaving my little uni laughing and having fun.
He wiggled and hummed when he bit into the first cookies, before moaning like I’d only ever heard him do when he was under me.
Unicorn Station had been a huge hit with my boy, a reminder of what could be done with paper, yarn, glue, and a bit of imagination.