Page 21 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

Chapter 12: Clark

The moment Jenna left with Nick for a date at the drive-in theater, I called John. Just as I'd expected, Michael answered the phone. Every time I called, he liked to talk to me for a bit before handing the phone over to his Daddy. He truly considered me his uncle and it was sweet.

"Hello, who is this?" Michael asked on the other end.

"It's me, Michael!" I said. "You don't recognize your uncle Clark anymore?"

Michael giggled. "There's no one by the name of Michael here. Wrong number."

"Well, I guess I'll have to give all these presents to Jenna then."

"No!" He almost shrieked. "I mean, you should reconsider. Michael sounds like a good boy. Anyway, there's no one by that name here."

Ever since they’d returned from their honeymoon in Europe, Michael wanted everyone to call him Michelangelo so he'd sound European, even asked his Daddy to get it legally changed. But John knew better. He wanted to change it to a Japanese one when he’d returned from Japan last year. John knew it would pass with time.

"I'm not calling you Michelangelo," I said. "Your Daddy forbade everyone from calling you that. I think he's right. You should wait for a month and see if you still want to change your name. You have a great name and you know it."

Deep down, Michael wasn't over the homophobic bullying he'd gone through. He'd told me in confidence a year ago that he wanted to change his name for a specific reason. He hoped that with a name change, he could pretend all the bullying had happened to someone else.

Michael sighed. "I guess."

"How's Princess now?" I asked. "She feeling any better?"

"The vet said she'd have to run some tests. I've been spending all my free time with her because she needs to know she's not alone in this."

It filled my heart with warmth each time Jenna or Michael did something sweet. Littles were so innocent and kind of heart. Of course they needed their Daddies to shelter them from all the corruption of the real world.

I'd heard from John about their trip, but now I asked Michael about it to see how he enjoyed it. Being the Little that he was, I got to hear a completely different version of events. Fearful events such as getting lost in the woods had turned into a thrilling adventure in nature. Being scolded for walking in the bike lane had turned into residents eager to teach them about adapting to life in Europe.

After another fifteen minutes of talking, I finally heard his Daddy's voice in the background.

"I'm sorry my boy talks for so long," John said, taking the phone from Michael. "Ever since we've been to Europe, it's all he can talk about."

I chuckled, imagining Jenna doing the same since I planned on taking her there for a honeymoon when we’d eventually get married.

"That's quite alright, John. I'm his uncle and when I call, I do it to talk to the both of you."

Some people took the uncle business lightly, but not me. It meant getting Michael presents his Daddy thought would spoil him. Despite his naughtiness, Michael had been a wonderful influence on my girl. He helped her come out of her shell. She needed a friend and he was there for her.

"I wanted to speak to you about Nick," I continued as I heard Michael sing one of Nick's latest lullabies in the background. "How well do you know him? Is he a good man? My girl might be open to seeing him romantically and I don't know the first thing about him. On one hand, I want to give her the freedom to know Nick on her own terms. But at the same time, I don't want her to get hurt."

"Oh, I see." John chuckled. "The Littles seem to know these things before us Daddies. Michael has a hard time keeping a secret but he's a good boy."

"Yes, I am," Michael added in the background before going on with his lullaby.

"He's a good boy and he tries to keep a secret," John continued. "But he tends to unintentionally leave a hint sometimes. I figured things might be heading that way. As for Nick's character, I'm a good judge of that. I've known him most of my life but we got really close back when we were in university. He's as good a man as you are."

John was a good judge of character and no one could deceive him. I had gotten the reassurance I needed. Jenna might not have realized it yet, but Nick seemed to be just as interested in her. They were bound to head in the direction I hoped for, and I couldn't be happier.

John told me a few stories from back when they were studying together. Then we talked about John's new startup that Michael was beginning to get involved in. John was tech-savvy, but it was Michael who was good with people. After a few months of losses, they had managed to develop a trustworthy client base and rake in huge profits.

"You seem to be very interested in my startup all of a sudden," John added when we'd been talking for half an hour. "Are you trying to distract yourself from something?"

"I guess I'm just worried how Jenna’s date's going," I said. "You were there when I saved her from Otis. I was so scared of losing her, I haven't let her out of my sight since. It's been weeks and I know she's out of danger, but I have a hard time staying away."

"You should tell her how you feel," John said. "I feel that way about Michael every time I go out of town for a business meeting. Each time I return home, I tell him how much I missed him and it only makes our love stronger."

After talking to John, I watched a horror trilogy to distract myself. I hadn't seen one in ages and I could only see it when Jenna wasn't around. Just when the trilogy ended, the doorbell rang and I ran like my life depended on it. I had clearly developed attachment issues.