“All that sulking is getting you is ten minutes in time-out for you and a tick on the naughty side of your chart.”
Well, that just sucked.
She pouted the whole way back to the picnic. Once they were there, he had her sit at the corner of the picnic blanket, facing away from everyone. She fumed for the first few minutes. Then she started to realize that he was right. She was tired. And being tired meant she was more likely to trip and hurt herself.
He’d gone to all this trouble and she’d acted like a bit of a brat.
“Ten minutes is up, baby doll.”
She turned to find he’d set out a feast. Big sandwiches filled with ham and cheese that were obviously for him. But there were smaller sandwiches cut into the form of a brontosaurus. Ooh, those were cute. There was also cut out fruit and chocolate dip to go with them.
“Daddy, this looks so good. I’m sorry I was naughty.”
He leaned over and lightly kissed her forehead. “That’s all right, baby doll. I know you’re frustrated because you can’t do everything you want to with your arm. Want to try a dinosaur sandwich?”
“Yes,” she squealed. “I didn’t know you could make dinosaur sandwiches, Daddy.”
“Daddy has lots of hidden talents,” he told her, handing her a sandwich. She nibbled on it. It still didn’t sit right in her tummy, but no way she wasn’t eating it.
“Chompers, want some of my sandwich? Hmm, no?” The sandwich had cheese and mayonnaise in it.
She managed one but shook her head when Daddy offered another one. He ate two huge sandwiches while she played with her toys.
“Aggie thinks this is the best picnic ever, Daddy!”
“I’m glad Aggie thinks that, what does Millie think?”
“I say it is too!”
“Would you like to try a strawberry dipped in chocolate?”
She nodded enthusiastically. He used a fork to spear a piece of strawberry then dipped it in the chocolate sauce. He held it out to her, with one hand underneath to catch the drips.
She bit down. “Yum! That’s so good, Daddy!”
“Another one?”
“Yes, please. I think fruit should always be eaten with chocolate.”
“I bet you do. But this is just a special treat.”
She pouted a bit at that. But she managed to eat three pieces of strawberry before her stomach claimed it was enough.
“Good. How about you lie down for a while and rest, huh?” He drew one of the cushions he’d brought out with him over and put it against his thigh. Then he helped support her as she lay on her back, looking up at him, her head resting on the cushion.
She yawned. Oh. She was more tired than she’d thought.
Spike leaned over to grab something from the basket and she saw him shake a bottle. She recognized the baby’s bottle he’d bought for her. It was filled with a pink colored liquid. But it wasn’t her fairy juice.
“This is the protein shake Hack sent over,” he explained to her before setting the nipple at her mouth. “Daddy wants you to give it a try, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.” She felt a bit self-conscious for a start. But soon the heat of the sun and the excitement of the picnic and fairy hunt caught up to her. She continued to suckle as she closed her eyes and drifted. Gradually, the nipple of the bottle was pulled away and replaced with her pacifier.
Hmm. Daddy. A picnic. Fairies. Her friends.
Yeah, this was a pretty good day.
* * *