“I’m going to go wake the boys! It’s time for school!”
She could hear him laughing as she walked calmly up the stairs.
“Here is your tea, Daddy.” She carefully handed over the tea cup filled with water.
“Why, thank you, button,” Ink replied. It made her giggle, seeing him sitting across the coffee table with his pinky in the air as he sipped from a tiny floral tea cup.
“Delicious.”
“Cake?”
“Oh no, I couldn’t. But I’m sure Floppy would like some.”
“Floppy, would you like some cake?” she asked.
Floppy said yes. After the drinks were dished up and everyone who wanted cake had it, she took a sip of her own tea.
Contractors were coming in next week to start on the boys’ bedrooms and she couldn’t wait to turn their current bedroom into a playroom. All of her play stuff was crammed into the master closet and this was the first time she’d had a proper play day since the boys moved in.
Although it wouldn’t surprise her if the boys knew more than they were letting on. They were nothing if not observant.
“Zac rang me today,” Ink said.
“Zac?”
“He asked if you’d like to go for a play date with Lara.”
She clapped her hands and bounced up and down. “Yes, please, Daddy!”
“Thought you might enjoy that. I’ll arrange it for next weekend.”
“Yay, a play date! Are we going to Lara’s house?”
“Yep, you’ll have to be on your best behavior, though,” Ink warned.
She placed her hand on her chest with an outraged gasp. “Daddy! When am I not?”
He snorted with amusement.
“Ooh, let’s play with the Legos.”
Ink had brought down several boxes of toys for her. She stood and skipped over to the box that held the Legos.
“Only once you clean this mess up, button,” Ink warned.
“I’ll tidy it up later, Daddy,” she said dismissively. “Let’s build a castle.”
“Button,” he warned. “Come back here.”
“No, Daddy. I’ll get to it later. I’m playing with Legos now.”
Suddenly, he took gentle hold of her arm, pulling her up.
“Hey, Daddy! Stop!”
He walked her over to the corner.
“What are you doing? I wasn’t naughty.”