“I’ve never built one before. It’s going to be so much fun. Can I have a cupcake in it?”
A sad smile flickered over his handsome face but disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Caden smiled at me and tugged at my shirt. I raised my arms, and Daddy pulled it over my head.
When I focused on Caden, he spoke. “If you can eat it neatly, yes.”
“I can be a big Boy for a cupcake.”
“For a cupcake, huh?” Daddy laughed, but then his face turned serious, and I knew he’d seen my scars. Damn. I’d been so excited about the fort that I had completely forgotten about them. Blushing, I tried to cover them with my hands, but Caden gently took hold of my wrists. When I didn’t look at him, he let go of my wrists and took my face in his hands instead. “There is no reason for you to be ashamed, okay?”
“But they’re ugly,” I whispered, horrified, that he’d seen them.
“They’re a part of you, and you’re beautiful, Henry.”
“But…”
“No. No buts.” Caden shook his head, leaned down, and gently kissed me. “I won’t have you talking badly about yourself. Not about being deaf, your other medical conditions, or your looks. Is that clear?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good.” Caden kissed me again, and then he opened my jeans. “Now, let’s get you changed so we can start building our fort.”
Nodding, I watched him nervously when he shoved my jeans over my hips and helped me to step out of them. Caden didn’t even blink at my diaper. Instead, he just patted my butt and took the jammies out of my hands.
“Are you good, or do you need your diaper changed?”
“N-Not yet. I changed my diaper shortly before you got here, so I’m ok for at least a couple of hours.”
Caden smiled and gave me another kiss on my nose, which had me giggling. I loved those kisses, and they helped me to relax back into my Little space. Caden knelt in front of me and slid my socks off. I put my hands on his shoulder and held on while he pushed the jammies over my feet. Then he slid them up my legs. The fabric was so soft that I immediately fell in love. Caden helped me slip my arms into the sleeves. The attached feet were terrific and would keep me toasty warm. While Caden zipped up the front, I wiggled my toes. Then he tapped my chin.
“There you go. You look adorable, my Little Roo.”
I beamed and spun around so Daddy could have a good look at my jammies. “I love them,” I signed as I turned around, then stopped to face Caden.
“I’m glad,” Daddy signed back, grinning at me. “You know Sam and Josh have some sort of animal onesies. I think you would look cute as a real kangaroo.”
“Oh. I’ve seen them online. Can we have a look later and see if they have a kangaroo? Please, Daddy?”
“Let’s build that fort, and when you eat your cupcake very neatly, we can look on my iPad and see if we can find one for you.”
I clapped my hands before I threw them around him and hugged him tightly. This was going to be the best weekend ever.
With four chairs and lots of blankets and pillows, Caden had built the best blanket fort ever. Well, with my help, of course. Daddy had given me the critical task of bringing blankets and pillows while he set up the fort behind the sofa. It was cozy and comfortable inside, and I lay on my stomach on the floor and nibbled carefully on my cupcake, while Charlie lay curled up on a pillow.
I startled when a hand stroked my ankle and looked over my shoulder. Daddy came crawling back in, still wearing his dress pants and his button-down shirt. I loved that he wore his suit, well, minus the jacket, while I had on my cute jammies. Caden seemed to like it as well, or he would have changed into something more comfortable.
When he sat down next to me, I grinned and showed him my hands, then signed, “All done and no crumbs on the floor.”
“Good job, sweetie.” Caden leaned his back against the sofa and opened his arms invitingly. “I brought you a bottle. Would you like to come over here and cuddle with Daddy while we look up the kangaroo costume?”
“Yes,” I shouted and threw myself on top of him and wiggled around until I could lie comfortably in his arms but still see his lips.
“There you go. Do you want your bottle now or when we watch a movie?”
“Movie. But first kangaroo.”
“Yes, Little Roo. First, kangaroo.”
Caden placed the bottle beside him and reached for his iPad. It didn’t take us long to find a site that offered them, and we both learned that they were called Kigurumi. Caden quickly found a kangaroo, but my eyes spotted a cute, pink dragon one. Caden kissed my head, and I looked at him.
“With express delivery, it should be here tomorrow. What do you say? Do you want the kangaroo, Baby?”
I bit my lip, looking back at the tablet. There were so many animals, and they were all so cute. But it was the pink dragon one that held my interest along with the kangaroo. Because I wanted to be a kangaroo, too. Damn. When I didn’t answer, Caden gently turned my face.
“What’s wrong? Did you see anything else you like?”
Nodding, I pointed at the pink dragon. “But I want to be a kangaroo, too.”
Caden turned the iPad and tapped away on it. No matter how hard I tried to peek, he wouldn’t let me look until he put it aside and kissed my head again. It was either
