“While you were in the bathroom, I called my cousin. Well, distant cousin. She’s going to come and stay in the house with you while you rest.”
She scowled. “I don’t need a babysitter, Daddy.”
He raised both his eyebrows. “She’s not a babysitter. If I knew anyone in the scene here, I could have gotten you a proper babysitter. Believe me, you’ll be glad to have Everly. She’ll probably bring her son and they’ll leave you in peace unless you need them. A proper babysitter would watch you like a hawk and report back to Daddy if you were naughty. If I knew them well, I might even give them permission to put you over their knee.”
Was he serious? Surely not. But the threat of a stranger spanking her was enough to have her nodding without further argument.
“She’ll be here in case of an emergency. Call out to her if you get up to go to the toilet, but otherwise I expect you to stay in bed otherwise, all right? I’ll see what other days she’s free too.”
“I’ll be going with you to see Penny tomorrow, anyway, Daddy.”
“I’ll play that by ear. There might be some days when you’re more tired than others.”
From experience, she knew that was more than likely to be the case.
“Promise not to leave the bed unless you have to go to the bathroom?”
“Yes, Daddy. I promise.”
“Sure, you won’t rethink your decision on diapers? Then I wouldn’t have to worry about you using the bathroom on your own and falling and hitting your head.”
She blushed bright red. “Daddy!”
“Maybe later,” he said with a wink.
“Daddy will leave you a healthy snack on the bedside table in case you get hungry.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“Other rules. Any time you feel ill or in pain you are to tell Daddy immediately. I don’t care if it’s just a papercut, you need to let me know.”
“Papercuts are owie,” she said seriously. Wow, it hadn’t taken her long to fall into this role. It really surprised her how easily she’d let go of her adult self.
“They are. I also want you to talk to me. Tell me if anything worries you or scares you or makes you feel uncertain, all right? Daddy is here to help you. In fact, that’s my main job. Making sure my girl has everything she needs. Communication is very important.”
“I’m not very good at communicating,” she revealed.
“That’s okay. I’ll help you by asking lots of questions. You just have to be honest with me. There’s nothing you can’t tell me, sweet pea.”
“Yes, Daddy.” She wasn’t so sure of that. But she didn’t need to tell him everything. This was just a short-term arrangement.
“Right, I’ll get you a snack and a bottle of water. You need to keep up your fluid intake, so I’ll expect the water to be all gone by the time I get back, all right?”
She sighed. “Yes, Daddy.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Do I really have to stay in my bed, Daddy? It’s kind of boring in here.”
“You have your eReader. There’s no television in here.” He looked around. “I have an idea.” He set her gently on her feet and then reached out and grabbed her two soft toys. “Do you have a name for your bunny?”
“N-not yet.”
“You’ll figure out what his name is.”
“Daddy!” she said, offended. “He is a she!”
“Oh, I do beg your pardon.”