Page 464 of The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The Second Collection

I’m stretching and thinking about unburying myself from the lovely cocoon of warm blankets when the bedroom door opens and Daddy walks in, carrying a tray.

I sit up in the bed. “Morning, Daddy!”

“Morning, baby. How’d you sleep?”

“Excellent.” Which is the truth. I haven’t had any nightmares in weeks. Daddy’s rigid adherence to my bedtime means I wake up every morning feeling rested and refreshed.

It occurs to me that I’ve responded as well to Daddy’s schedule as Livvy’s responded to Gracie’s. Hmm. Well, maybe little humans just need consistency.

“Good to hear.” He sits down on the edge of the bed and fiddles under the tray, opening the supports. When he has them unfolded, he sets the tray over my legs. The amazing smell of toasted bagels fills my nose. Daddy takes one of his mother’s pretty dishcloths—I think the British call them tea-towels—off the top of the tray, revealing a breakfast spread underneath.There are three kinds of bagels, split open and piping hot. A bowl of cream cheese sits to one side, with a plate of smoked salmon. Breakfast tea steams on the other side, adding its spice to the air.

I clap my hands in delight. “Daddy! Ta so much! Did you go to Mr. Jan’s deli so early to get bagels?”

“I did. He sent along homemade cream cheese for his favorite little customer.”

I knit my fingers together to keep them from fluttering all over our breakfast. There’s a garnish of ruby-red grapes with the bagels and I decide that’s safest to start with since everything else looks hot. I twist off a grape and munch it while I decide between the poppy seed, onion and sesame, and whole grain bagels. After much deliberation and some stamping on that inner voice that barely ever whispers at me anymore, I decide on the poppy seed bagel. I point at it and let Daddy prepare it for me.

“Thank you so much for this, Daddy. It’s a lovely way to wake up.”

He smears on cream cheese like he’s mortaring a brick wall. I bite my tongue to keep from saying that I only need a third of what he’s slathering on my bagel. Daddy shows love through generosity. I never want him to think he needs to moderate showing me love.

When he finishes piling on enough smoked salmon to choke a grizzly bear, he offers me the bagel. I take it and try to figure out an approach vector to get it in my mouth, since the heaping bagel is nearly the size of my head.

“I thought you might like breakfast in bed. With Mac and Bren living here now we don’t do it as often as we used to. I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you putting me first, little wonder. I love my girl.”

“I love you too, Daddy.” I mash the salmon down with my thumb and finally manage to get my teeth into it. I chew tentimes, which is necessary with the fresh bagel, before I swallow. “Queen Twitch said no boys for lunch, so I was thinking we could meet at Konk? I’ll take Livvy with me for fresh air.”

Daddy nods as he makes his own bagel. “Sure. I hear we’re going to the Aquarium this afternoon.”

Honestly, how are Littles’ Army plans supposed to stay secret when our chat leaks like a sieve?

“Sammi?” I ask.

“Probably. Jack was the one who put it in the caregiver chat.”

“It was just a suggestion,” I explain. “Sammi wanted a day in the Nursery without Bigs?—”

“No,” Daddy says immediately.

“Right? Can you imagine? The potential for destruction really can’t be measured by man.”

Daddy chuckles.

“I thought, instead, we could have a mermaid afternoon. That’s gender-inclusive, of course. Mermen are welcome, too. We can go to the Aquarium. Livvy will love seeing all the fish. Then we can have a swim at Blunts followed by naps or quiet play in the Nursery.”

“Emmy, baby, I can’t think of a better way to spend the day. You don’t have to include Livvy in all your plans, though. I’m sure we can find a sitter if you want.”

I start to say IamLivvy’s sitter but stop myself. Daddy clearly wants me to feel like her parent and, if I’m honest with myself, I feel that way more and more every day.

Instead, I say, “There will be times I want to do things just you and me or me and my little friends but today’s not one of them. Today, I want to be mermaids and Livvy’s the littlest mermaid. Wait until you see the swimsuits Bren got for us.”

“Brenna bought you a swimsuit? What’s wrong with the pink polka-dot one? I really like that one.”

He likes that one because it’s vintage, another find of Cynnie’s, and ties in the front so my boobs are presented like eggs in an Easter basket. Daddy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw me wear it for the first time.

“You’ll like this one, too,” I promise him, hoping seeing me and Livvy as mermaids distracts him from the lack of breast-presentation.

“Well, that sounds like a plan. I’ve got a quick job this morning, just a CCTV design, so I’ll get that banged out while you’re writing. If you’re going to Konk for lunch, how ‘bout I take Livvy for an hour and take her to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center? We can meet up there and take the D to the Q train to Coney Island if you want to go to the big aquarium?”