Page 16

Chapter ten

Matty

"Mmm?" Daddy rumbled, his eyes fluttering open. "What's wrong, little one?"

I squirmed again, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I gotta go potty," I whispered, embarrassed but too desperate to care.

Without hesitation, Daddy sat up, keeping me steady with his strong hands. "Let's get you to the bathroom then," he said, his voice still rough with sleep.

He stood, lifting me with him like I weighed nothing at all. I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling safe in his embrace as he carried me across the hall. Once in the bathroom, he set me down gently.

"Can you manage on your own?" he asked, his blue eyes searching mine.

I bit my lip. It was a large bathroom.

"Want me to stay in here?" he asked gently.

I nodded vigorously, propped Patches up by the sink so he could supervise, and went to pee. When I'd finished, I went to the sink, and without even asking, Daddy carefully washed and dried my hands.

"All better?" he asked.

"All better," I confirmed, slipping my hand into his much larger one without thinking.

Daddy led me to the kitchen, where he lifted me onto one of the counter stools. "How about some breakfast? Pancakes sound good?"

My eyes widened with delight. "With blueberries?"

"If that's what you want," he said with a gentle smile, already pulling ingredients from the cupboards.

I watched in fascination as he mixed the batter, his large hands somehow delicate as they worked. Patches sat beside me on the counter, and I made sure he could see everything, too.

"Patches wants chocolate chips in his," I informed Daddy seriously.

Daddy's lips twitched. "Does he now? Well, we can't disappoint Patches."

As he cooked, I swung my legs back and forth, humming softly. The scary things from yesterday felt far away, like they'd happened to someone else. Here in Daddy's kitchen with pancakes cooking, nothing bad could touch me.

A knock at the door made me freeze, my humming cutting off abruptly. Daddy tensed too, his hand automatically reaching for something at his waist before he caught himself.

"It's okay," he said, his voice deliberately calm. "Stay right here while I check who it is."

I nodded, clutching Patches tighter as Daddy went to peer through the peephole. His shoulders relaxed immediately.

"It's just a delivery," he called to me, opening the door to accept several large packages from someone who wore the same jacket I'd seen Daddy wear. I perked up, curious. "What is it, Daddy?"

"Packages," Daddy answered, carrying several large boxes inside. "Special delivery for you, little one."

My eyes widened. "For me?" Nobody ever sent me packages anymore. Harold had stopped even acknowledging my birthday years ago.

"Yep," Daddy confirmed, setting the boxes on the coffee table. "Want to see what's inside after breakfast?"

I nodded eagerly, suddenly more interested in the mysterious packages than the pancakes. "Can we open them now?"

Daddy chuckled, returning to the stove. "Patience, sweetheart. Pancakes first, then presents."

"Presents," I whispered, hugging Patches tightly. "Did you hear that? We got presents."

Daddy flipped the last pancake onto a stack and brought two plates to the counter. Mine had blueberries arranged in a smiley face, while his were plain. A small separate plate held two mini pancakes with chocolate chips.

"For Patches," Daddy explained when I looked at the tiny pancakes.

My heart swelled with happiness. Daddy remembered Patches needed breakfast too. I carefully set the small plate in front of my stuffed friend, making sure he could "see" his special breakfast.

"Thank you, Daddy," I said, pouring syrup liberally over my pancakes.

"You're welcome, baby boy," he replied, watching me with a soft expression I couldn't quite read.

I devoured my breakfast, suddenly ravenous. Daddy ate more slowly, his eyes rarely leaving my face. When I finished, and helped Patches eat his, I bounced impatiently on my stool.

"Presents now?" I asked hopefully.

“Little boys need to wash their sticky hands and brush their teeth,” Daddy scolded and led me to the bathroom, but then, when I was sure I was going to die from waiting what had to be a hundred years, he finally led me to the sofa.

I scurried to the coffee table, Patches tucked under my arm. The boxes were wrapped in plain brown paper, but I didn't care. Presents were presents.

"Which one first?" Daddy asked, sitting beside me on the couch.

I pointed to the largest box. "That one."

Daddy helped me tear away the paper, then used a pocketknife to cut through the tape. I gasped as he opened the flaps to reveal the colorful contents inside.

"Oh," I whispered, pulling out a soft fleece blanket with dinosaurs printed all over it. "It's so soft."

"There's more," Daddy encouraged, reaching into the box.

Together, we unpacked a set of dinosaur-themed pajamas, a night-light shaped like a stegosaurus, and several picture books about—you guessed it—dinosaurs.

"Do you like dinosaurs?" Daddy asked, watching my delighted expression.

"I love them," I confirmed, hugging the blanket to my chest. "T-Rex is my favorite. He's the king."

Daddy smiled. "Well, let's see what else we have."

The second box contained art supplies—crayons, colored pencils, markers, and a stack of coloring books. There was even a set of washable paints with thick brushes, and plenty of painting paper.

"You can draw pictures for the fridge," Daddy suggested, helping me arrange the supplies on the coffee table.

"Can I color now?" I asked eagerly.

"In a little bit. Let's see what else we have first."

The third box made me squeal with delight. Inside was a teddy bear almost as big as Patches, but newer and fluffier. It wore a little leather vest that almost matched Daddy's.

"He can be Patches' friend," I said, introducing the stuffed animals to each other with great ceremony. "His name is... Bear. Like you."

Daddy chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "That's a good name."

The final box contained clothes—soft sweatpants, t-shirts with cartoon characters, fuzzy socks, and even underwear with superheroes on them. Everything looked comfortable and colorful, nothing like the plain, practical clothes I usually wore.

"These are all for me?" I asked in wonder, running my fingers over the soft fabrics.

"All for you, little one," Daddy confirmed, his voice gentle. "Do you like them?"

"I love them." I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck in a fierce hug. "Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, thank you."

His strong arms encircled me, holding me securely against his broad chest. "You're welcome, baby boy."

For a moment, we just stayed like that, me clinging to him while he held me safe and warm. I felt tears prick my eyes, though I wasn't sure why. Nobody had given me presents in so long. Nobody had cared enough to notice what I might like.

"Can I wear the dinosaur pajamas?" I asked when I finally pulled back.

"It's not bedtime yet," Daddy pointed out. "But how about these?" He held up a pair of soft gray sweatpants and a t-shirt with a cartoon T-Rex.

I nodded eagerly and reached for them, but Daddy was already standing up.

"Let's get you changed," he said, leading me toward the bedroom.

I followed happily, clutching my new clothes. In the bedroom, Daddy helped me change, his movements efficient but gentle. The new clothes felt wonderful against my skin—soft and cozy, like being wrapped in a hug.

"There," Daddy said when I was dressed. "How does that feel?"

"Good," I replied, doing a little twirl. "Really good."

"I'm glad, little one." He ruffled my hair affectionately. "Now, how about we try out those art supplies? You can color while I make some calls."

I nodded eagerly and raced back to the living room, settling on the floor with my new coloring books and crayons. Daddy spread my dinosaur blanket out for me to sit on, and I arranged Patches and Bear as my audience.

"I'm going to make the best picture ever," I told them seriously. "For Daddy."

Daddy settled on the couch with his phone, keeping one eye on me as I flipped through the coloring books, finally selecting a page with a T-Rex that needed to be colored in. I chose the brightest green crayon for his body and a fierce red for his teeth.

As I colored, I hummed to myself, feeling peaceful and safe. The bad things that had happened yesterday seemed far away, like a scary movie I'd watched rather than something real. Here on my dinosaur blanket with my stuffies and my new clothes, nothing could hurt me. Daddy would protect me.

I was so absorbed in my coloring that I barely noticed Daddy's phone conversations, catching only snippets as he spoke in a low, serious voice.

"...secure the perimeter... double the patrols... need to know who..."

When I finished my T-Rex masterpiece, I held it up proudly. "Daddy, look."

Daddy immediately ended his call and gave me his full attention. "Wow, that's amazing, little one. Is that a T-Rex?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "He's the king of the dinosaurs. And he's super strong, just like you."

Something soft flickered across Daddy's face. "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh. And he protects all the little dinosaurs from the mean ones," I explained, crawling over to show him my picture up close. "Can we put it on the fridge?"

"Absolutely," Daddy agreed, taking the picture with careful hands. "This deserves a place of honor."

I beamed as he walked to the kitchen and secured my artwork to the refrigerator with magnets. Seeing my picture displayed made my chest feel warm and fluttery.

"What else would you like to do today?" Daddy asked, returning to the living room.

I thought about it, tapping my crayon against my chin. "Can we watch more movies? With popcorn?"

"I think that can be arranged," Daddy said with a smile. "How about you pick out another coloring page while I make the popcorn?"