Learning to Be Little Again(63)
“Juliana, please stop crying. You’ve already cried so much today,” he said, taking a Kleenex and wiping away my tears.
“I love you too! Please don’t leave me!” I blurted, right before I dove into his arms. He caught me and squeezed me tightly, moving us so that he sat on the bed and I was curled up on his lap.
“I’m not going to leave you, sweetie. You’re my world. If anything worse had happened to you in that car wreck, I would have lost my mind. That was why I’ve been acting so strangely. I just kept thinking of all the things that could hurt you. I’m so sorry again.”
“I understand now, Robert. You have to know that I’m going to heal. Yes, I might get hurt again, but it won’t be as bad as this.”
“So I’m forgiven, and you’re not going to leave me?”
“As long as I’m forgiven and you won’t leave me,” I said with a chuckle, pulling my head back so I could look at him.
“Never!” He gently took my head in his hands and kissed me. I met him eagerly, opening my mouth as his tongue dove in. I reached for his shirt, wanting to pull it up, but he stopped me.
Pulling away from the kiss, he said, “We have guests and you need to eat.”
“Robert!”
Looking me straight in the eye he said, “I know. I promise, once they leave, you and I will finish what we started.”
“Okay,” I sighed, frustrated that we weren’t going to finish what we started now.
“Breakfast is ready. Do you mind if I carry you downstairs? Would you like to change first?”
“Well, since Samantha is wearing footie pajamas, I’ll stay in mine too.”
“Okay. Let’s go downstairs and eat.” He picked me up with teddy in my arms and turned and headed for the kitchen.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I placed Juliana next to Samantha at the breakfast table.
“Are you feeling better?” Samantha asked Juliana.
She nodded. “You were right. Our lines of communication were just messed up.”
Samantha clapped her hands together. “Oh! I love being able to help out other couples!”
“I’m glad you did in this case, young lady. But I don’t want to hear you meddling in other people’s love lives unless they ask for help,” Jackson said sternly, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Yes, Daddy,” she said, a little too sweetly for my liking. I’d have to make sure to be careful around her.
“Everyone ready for some breakfast?” I asked.
Juliana and Samantha clapped their hands and started chanting, “Breakfast! Breakfast!”
“Where do these girls find this kind of energy in the morning? Neither one has had coffee yet,” Jackson muttered as I set two pink plastic plates down in front of the girls. Each had an omelet stuffed with cheese, ham, green peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli.
They both looked up at me and then started complaining.
“I don’t have a fork.”
“I hate broccoli!”
“I hate broccoli too! I’m not going to eat it!”
“I need a napkin!”
“Enough!” Jackson said, cutting both girls off.
I cut in. “Girls, try some of the omelet before you judge it. Trust me, the broccoli will taste good. And yes, neither of you will be eating with forks because we’ve decided you can eat with your fingers.”
“We’ll get messy! Especially me! I can’t eat well with my left hand,” Juliana pleaded.
“Yes, you will probably both get messy. But, that’s why Daddy Jackson and I are here. We’ll clean you both up after breakfast. I forgot two things, but then you girls can eat.”
I grabbed the two Sippy cups and two baby bibs and brought them to the table. After I placed a Sippy cup in front of both of the girls, Jackson took one of the baby bibs and put it around Samantha and I put the other around Juliana.
“There, now you girls are ready to eat.”
They both looked at each other and then began to eat with their hands. I sighed, happy they were no longer yelling.
As Samantha and Juliana ate, they seemed enthralled with each other. They were talking about what they wanted to do today and which TV show was better, Arthur or Barney.
“There something else, aren’t they?” Jackson asked, in a low tone that only I could hear.
“Yes, they are.” I glanced up at the chattering little girls and couldn’t help but feel like I was the luckiest man alive. I had the absolute best baby girl. From here on out, I was going to treat her like the princess she was. Of course, from time to time, if she misbehaved, a spanking would be given if needed.
“I wouldn’t have them any other way,” I added, taking a sip of coffee.