My hands were full of bubbles, so I asked, “What is that?”
“Stamps.”
“Stamps?” Caden handed me a little starfish, and I curiously examined it. It was blue and no bigger than my hand, but then Caden opened one of the small containers. It suddenly made sense. “Bath colors!”
Caden took a little fish, painted it blue, and pressed it on my arm. I squealed excitedly and held up my arm. “Daddy, look. A fishie.” A green octopus appeared on the tub, and I looked at Caden again.
“You can color on your body or the tub or the tiles. It’s easy to clean.” Grinning, Caden colored the stamp, then he pressed it to my cheek, and I giggled. It was sooo much fun.
I made grabby hands for the container, and Caden smiled, handed it over, then sat back and watched me play. This was the best surprise ever. I never thought that colors would be so much fun in the tub. My toy boats and rubber ducks were fun, but this…this was amazing.
By the time Caden grabbed a washcloth, I’d decorated the tiles, the tub, and most of me. I’d even decorated Daddy’s arms with some starfish and a dolphin. The colors and the stamps were going to be my new favorites. Caden started to rub the cloth over my shoulder, and I pulled away.
“Nooooo. I want to keep the pictures.”
“You can’t keep them on your body, Cupcake. You’re going to make a mess with your jammies.”
“But you can’t just wash them away.”
This time I didn’t care if pouting would get me anywhere, so I did it anyway and turned away from him. That was probably the only good thing about being deaf. If you don’t want to hear something, just turn away. You can’t see the lips and get lousy information. It’s just…Caden wasn’t happy. I sighed and crossed my arms in front of my chest when he reached for my chin and made me look at him.
“Stop that, Henry. You can’t just turn away from me when we are talking, just because you don’t like what I’m saying. That’s not fair.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as the guilt turned my tummy into knots. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“I know. But please, don’t shut me out like that.”
“I won’t do it again, Daddy. I promise. Please don’t be mad at me.” The thought of Caden being mad at me after we had such a great day worried me. “I didn’t ruin it, did I?”
“Oh, sweet Boy.” Caden leaned over and gently kissed my nose. Okay, so he wasn’t mad. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been a nose kiss. “I’m not mad at you, and you didn’t ruin anything. I just don’t like you shutting me out, okay?”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
“We talked about it, and it’s okay now, and you promised not to do it again.” Caden kissed me again, and then he put the washcloth away. “How about this. I’ll go and get my phone, and we take some fun pictures of you with your pictures before we wash you. Sound good?”
Oh. Oh, Daddy’s smart. Smartest Daddy ever. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Can I put them up in my playroom? Can we get cute frames for them?”
“Yes, Cupcake. I’ll go and get my phone. You stay put.”
“I will, Daddy. I’ll be right here when you come back. Promise.”
“Good Boy.” With another kiss to my nose, Caden got up and left the bathroom. For a moment, I looked after him. Then I glanced at the colors again. If we were going to take fun pictures, I should make sure that I looked colorful. Giggling, I grabbed the blue container and started to paint a bit more.
Chapter 10
Caden
When I got back into the bathroom, I learned a fundamental Daddy lesson. Never leave a Little alone in the tub with bath colors. Henry sat where I’d left him, but now he looked like a living canvas for a crazy painter. It would take me hours to get him clean again. Not to mention cleaning the tiles and the tub. But then Henry caught sight of me, and the brightest smile lit up his face.
“Look, Daddy! Do I look good for a fun picture?”
“Cupcake, you look perfect.” He did look perfect, totally adorable with all the color splashed over his face, shoulders, and upper body as far as I could see. His face was bright with delight and joy. Knowing how his childhood must have been, the joy in his eyes touched something deep inside me. This made him so happy, and I did this for him. Putting my phone aside, I walked over and bent down to him. “You look so adorable, my sweet Boy. We’re going to take beautiful pictures to remember this.”
“This is the best bath ever.” Henry’s smile beamed at me.
“I’m glad you had so much fun.” I kissed his nose and pulled the plug.
“Daddy. What are you doing?”
“I’m just adding some more hot water. I don’t want you to get cold.” Henry looked at me, then down at the water, and quickly scooped up as many bubbles as he could.
“But then the bubbles will be all gone.”
“No worries. We can add more.” With all the color on him and the pictures he wanted, it would take a while, and I didn’t want him to sit in cold water. I put the plug back in, added some more bubble bath, and ran the hot water. “There, all set, Baby.”
“Yay! More bubbles.”
“But no playing. We’re going to take pictures, and then I’m going to
