“Nope,” she said, picking her head up from my shoulder and shaking it. “The hairbrush I have didn’t even work to get all of the tangles out of my hair tonight!”
“I bet it will if you take your time.”
“I know it won’t.”
“Why don’t you go and get it? I’ll brush your hair and show you that I can get the tangles out by taking my time.”
“Fine, but I’m only doing this to prove that I’m right,” she said, getting up and racing to her bedroom.
I continued flipping through the stations until I landed on one for a rerun of a Dragon Tales episode. I decided this would be a good children’s program to watch. I hoped that while watching TV and brushing her hair, I could slowly coax Juliana’s little girl self out. I wanted to show her that along with being a great boyfriend, I would also make a great daddy.
She came racing back into the living room, but stopped when she saw what was on TV. “I don’t like this show. It’s for little kids,” she said, crossing her arms against her chest.
This was going to be harder than I’d thought. I didn’t want to push her too far tonight, but I didn’t want to give up yet. “I don’t think so. Personally, I always thought it was fun to visit a new place that had nice dragons.”
She looked at me like I was crazy, which I might have been. But, if being crazy was what I had to be to get her little girl self to come out, then so be it.
“Now, can you please sit down on the ground with your back pressed up against the couch so I can show you that with patience, this hairbrush can get all the tangles out of your hair?” I asked and held my hand out for her hairbrush.
“Fine, but I’m warning you, you’re going to be proven wrong,” she said, handing me the brush.
“We’ll see,” I said as she sat down on the ground in between my legs and I began to slowly brush her hair. Juliana was right; her curly hair did have plenty of tangles in it. But, like I told her, with patience I would get them all out.
At first, she sat up straight and I could tell by the angle of her head she wasn’t watching TV. But within ten minutes, she had her head leaning against one of my knees and I knew she was watching it.
A few minutes later, her right thumb popped into her mouth. I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. I knew that watching the children’s program would coax her little side out, and I doubted she knew she was sucking her thumb right now. It made me happy that she felt comfortable enough to allow me to see her like this. It showed me just how much she needed to act like a little girl, even if she wanted to deny it.
I finished getting all the tangles out of her hair within half an hour. But I kept brushing her hair because I was sure it felt pleasant to her and I wanted her to relax and get used to my touch.
After another five minutes, I knew she was sound asleep. Her breathing evened out when the third episode of Dragon Tales began, and so I just sat there, still brushing her long, curly locks and wondering how someone could harm someone so innocent and beautiful. I’d told Juliana the truth tonight—that if Boyle ever showed his face around here again, he would have to answer to me.
Even though we had only been on one date, I cared for Juliana greatly. I knew that it was going to take some time to convince her that I would never hurt her, but she was worth it. Putting the hairbrush down, I thought about how I could show her that being my little girl was a good thing. It was going to be a hard task to do, but I knew I was up to the challenge.
Before I knew it, two hours had passed. Sadly, I had to go and that meant that I would have to wake Juliana up. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Baby girl, you have to wake up now. It’s time for me to go.”
She jumped a little and then looked up at me with sleepy eyes. “W-what?” she asked, rubbing her eyes with her two little fists. She looked absolutely adorable.
“It’s about ten. I have an early morning tomorrow, and you need to get your sleep.”
“Did I fall asleep?” she asked, scrunching her eyebrows together as she tried to think about it.
“Yes. After the third episode of Dragon Tales, you fell asleep against my knee. By the way, I got all of the tangles out of your hair.”
She ran her fingers through her curls and looked surprised that I was telling the truth. Then she looked up at me with sad eyes and said, “I’m so sorry! I wrecked this entire night.”
Wrecked this night? Doesn’t she know that she made my night? “No, you didn’t. You looked so cute when you were sleeping. Besides, I can say as a doctor that the prescription to fix those dark circles under your eyes is lots of and lots of sleep.”