Page 105 of Daddy, Take Me Away
Emily had been raised in a cult and had missed out on so much—like cotton candy. Watching her enjoy so many firsts with her Daddy was precious and helped me remember to be thankful for things I often took for granted.
“She’s so cute,” Elliot said.
“So cute,” Tinsley agreed.
Elliot squeezed her before kissing her cheek. “I think we have the cutest Little ones out of all the friend groups.”
“Yas-huh.”
Fondness filled me as I watched them interact. They both meant so much to me. I had been so emotionally scarred when I was medically discharged. They’d helped pull me out of that dark place. They’d loved me despite all of the darkness I was battling at the time.
“Okay,” Tinsley said, bringing me from my reflection. “We’re going tubing. Gotta get ready.”
“Okay, I love you guys. Be careful.”
“Love you, Uncle Tyler.” she said before scrambling off of Elliot’s lap and running to grab whatever he’d told her to.
“We love you,” Elliot added. “We’ll see you soon,” he whispered before ending the call. I looked around my bedroom and sighed again. I needed to get my ass in gear.
Elliot
“Are you sure this bus is safe?”
“It’s safe, baby,” I assured her as I helped her settle into the leather seat.
“It looks questionable.”
I laughed. “It’s a hot pink bus with yellow swim trunks painted on the side. I don’t think it's too questionable.”
“It’s probably gonna take us down the road and harvest our kidneys.”
My shoulders shook from laughter. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, little one, but even if it did, I am a doctor so I think we’d be okay.”
“Hmm, I wonder if you’re still going to be saying that when you wake up without a kidney.” She shivered, turning to look out the window. “It will be super hard to be a doctor if you’re missing a major organ.”
I shook my head. She always kept me on my toes. I hoped her spirits would lift once we got to the river. She couldn’t be such a nervous Nellie when she was staring at such a fun adventure. I hoped, anyway.
Several long moments later, the bus pulled out of the lot and she gripped my arm for dear life.
“It’s okay, baby. The water will feel so nice since it’s so hot out.”
She didn’t answer.
“And I bet if you ask nicely, we can even get you a pink float.”
Nothing.
“And maybe you’ll see a mermaid,” I tried.
Her head shot up and she turned to look at me. “Mermaid?”
“Maybe! Maybe we’ll see some mermaid magic,” I said, so thankful I’d packed a surprise, color-changing, mermaid Barbie just for today.
“We’re gonna drown.”
I worked hard to keep from chuckling at my Little one’s duress. She was genuinely panicked.
“We’re not going to drown, baby. The flow of the river isn’t very fast and it won’t be over your head in any part of the trip today. Plus, the guides will be there in case anything goes wrong, okay?” I soothed, kneeling in front of where she was sitting on a large, pink tube. I took her hands in mine and stroked the backs of them with my thumbs.
