Page 71 of Dreams Do Come True

“That’s right, little man, no down,” I say. “How about we take you back to bed?”

He shakes his head. “Duce, nack?”

“Just this once,” I say, getting up and chopping some apples for him and putting some water into his sippy cup.

“Down Clean,” Lyric demands, and Kean gently stands him on the floor. He toddles over to Temp. “Up Unk Emp.”

Temp laughs and picks him up, sitting him on his lap.

I bring a few apple slices and his drink over and put them in front of Temp.

Lyric picks up an apple slice and mouths it before handing it to Temp. “Unk Emp.”

“Yay, thanks, little man,” Temp says unenthusiastically and quickly eats it.

Kean has his phone out and is recording Temp and Lyric.

Temp passes Lyric more apples that he eats a bit of and slobbers on, before handing it to Ernest, who is sat next to Temp.

“Unk Nest.”

The look of horror on Ernest’s face is priceless, and I'm not the only one who laughs.

“That’s okay, little man, you eat it, it will help you grow nice and strong.”

Lyric scowled. “Unk Nest,” he says again, a bit more firmly, still holding it out.

“I’d really rather not,” Ernest says quickly.

I see Lyric’s bottom lip tremble.

Quick as a flash, Ernest plucks the apple out of Lyric’s hand and shoves it in his mouth, eating quickly.

Lyric smiles and pats Ernest’s arm, making us all laugh again.

“And just think, I got all of that on video,” Kean tells everyone happily.

“Gah,” Ernest says, grabbing his drink and taking a large gulp.

Lyric leans back against Temp and sighs, as his eyes start to close. He opens them wide for a moment before they close again, and this time stay closed.

“I think your son has just fallen asleep. I wish I could fall asleep that quickly,” Temp says.

“Getting Ernest to eat some apple wore him out,” Cassie says, laughing.

“The things I do for this family,” he gripes.

CHAPTER 22

Iwake the next morning, open my eyes and give a start as I see Lyric leaning over me. His face right in front of me, his nose practically touching mine, and a big smile on his face, as he pokes his finger into my cheek. I look over for Kean, but he’s missing.

“I’m awake, little man. Did you have good dreams?”

He nods and smiles as he crawls on top of me and flops down. I let out an omph. “How did you end up in here?”

“Clean nack Ver, Clean bed. No wake,” he says, grinning at me.

“So Kean told you not to wake me, so you poked me awake?”