I’m a man who thrives on little sleep. I’ve never been able to rest any longer than six hours; and that usually comes after a night of partying.
Begrudgingly, I hand Ella off to her mother and begin stripping down to my boxer shorts. I normally sleep in the nude, but with a small child sharing a room with us, I feel as if that’d be inappropriate, no matter how young she is. I could never disrespect my daughter or old lady like that. I may not be a gentleman, but I do have respect and I plan to use it.
In no time at all, I find us in the bed, lights out and Star nestled into my arms. Her head is placed on my chest and I stroke her hair until I hear the light snores leaving her. Soon after, I too succumb to slumber land.
It’s the best night’s sleep I’ve ever gotten.
Star
“Momma,” I hear Ella call out my name. It’s cute that she’s trying to be quiet, yet in her child-like manner it comes out louder than she’s intending for it to.
“Hey, baby girl,” I whisper as I crawl out from underneath Shamus’ body, which sometime during the night he decided to use mine as a mattress. It’s kind of cute that he’s a snuggling kind of guy. I never would’ve presumed that just from looking at him alone. I’ve never had someone of the opposite sex attach themselves to me the way he has.
I’m finding that I like it.
“I’m starving,” Ella announces, rubbing her small belly to give impact to her words.
“Let’s get you to the potty and dressed then we’ll head downstairs and grab some breakfast.”
“Okay, Momma,” she says as she beams a wide smile at me. Walking over to get her out, I hear rustling behind me, so I place my finger over my lips to silently inform her we need to keep quiet. She nods her head then tries to look around me to see who it is that was sleeping in the same bed as I was.
“That’s Shamus. He’s momma’s special friend,” I tell her, not sure how to explain him to her or know how to share how important he’s going to be in her life.
I hear a chuckle behind me then Shamus mirrors my words, “Special friend, huh?”
Once my girl is safely in my arms, she looks to the side and waves her hand in the air saying, “Hi”.
“Hi yourself,” Shamus says, as he stands up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
Ella looks at him with astonishment, “You big.”
And I swear, but don’t quote me on this, but I swore I heard that’s what she said, leave his mouth.
I twirl around and this time it’s me looking at him with astonishment. “Please tell me you did not just say that in front of my daughter.”
“I didn’t say anything,” he innocently says with a shrug of his shoulders. “If you say I said something stupid and I should tell the world I didn’t say it, I know enough from watching my brothers with their women that I should agree with you… always.”
“Smart man,” I announce.
“I know enough to know that you’ll always be right.”
“Damn straight.”
Ella mocks an outraged gasp. “Momma, you said a bad word.”
“I’m sorry, baby. Momma will watch her words carefully.” I don’t add the around you part, because she doesn’t need to know all of my parenting secrets.
“We are gonna eat,” Ella turns her attention to Shamus while saying this.
“But first, we’re gonna go potty and get dressed,” I remind her. Her response is to giggle.
“I’ll go start breakfast. What would princess Ella like to fill her tummy with this morning?” Shamus asks her, giving her all of his attention. I like that he’s giving her this and not treating her like an object the way her biological father does.
“Eggs and a banana.” She nods her head like she’s just conquered world hunger.
“Would you like some toast to go with that?” he inquires of my daughter.
“No, we’re not allowed to eat toast. It makes a woman fat,” Ella whispers, and I have to close my eyes to give myself a moment to get my emotions under control. I can’t believe the crock of shit he’s embedded in her young mind.
“Princess Ella?” Shamus calls her name to get her attention. “Bread won’t make you fat when you get older. Do you run and play?”
“Yes, sir,” she quips.
“Then you need food to fuel your body, madam. If we fill your belly, you’ll have more energy for the swings and running outside. Can we try it this morning and see how you feel afterward?”
“Okay,” she agrees after thinking it over some. “If I can have bread, can I have waffles for breakfast instead? And a banana?”
“That sounds delicious, can Momma join you?” I ask her as my tummy grumbles in response. It’s been a long time since I’ve indulged myself with such a yummy treat. My diet was monitored and food was prepared for me, waffles sounds like such a luxury that my mouth begins to water.
“Me too!” Shamus excitedly claps his hands together. “I’m gonna put peanut butter and bananas on top of mine.”
Ella finds this extremely funny and begins a round of giggles. “You are not supposed to put your fruit on top of your breakfast, Mr. Shamus.”
“I’m a rebel, princess Ella. I like to do things that you’re not supposed to do. Would you like yours made like mine?”
“Can I, Mommy?”
“I think we should try it, Ella. We’ll never know if we like it if we don’t give it a shot.”
“Yay!” She pumps her chubby arms in the air victoriously. “We are gonna try it, Mr. Shamus.”
“It’s gonna be a party in our tummies,” he exaggeratedly
