Page 104 of Daddy, Take Me Away
I studied the tattoo parlor as we passed by, reading the sign of things they offered. Daddy and Uncle Tyler had lots of tattoos. I wanted one, but I was too scared.
The outside of the Christmas store looked like a train and I was instantly delighted. It was so cute. Daddy held the door open for me and we entered the shop. I gasped with delight at the beauty. There were dozens of Christmas trees up, each one displaying gorgeous ornaments. Instrumental carols played over the speakers and the shelves glistened from fake snow.
“It smells good in here,” Daddy commented. It smelled like sugar cookies.
“Hi. Welcome to the Christmas Shop. My name is Hazel,” a woman said. “Can I help you with anything?”
“We were hoping to purchase some pretty ornaments. Do you have any customizable ones?” Daddy answered.
“Yes, sir. All the ones on these shelves can be personalized,” she said, pointing to a large section of the store.
“It looks like we will have lots of options to choose from, baby.”
I nodded and followed Daddy over to that section.
“Oh, look baby. They have some military ornaments. Should we pick Uncle Tyler out a few?”
“Yas-huh, Daddy.”
I really missed Uncle Tyler. I hoped he was doing okay.
Chapter Seven
Tyler
My phone rang, stopping me from my task at hand. I sighed in annoyance. I had so much to do. My frustration disappeared when I saw Elliot’s face on my screen.
Sliding the bar and waiting for it to connect, I smiled when I saw my favorite Little girl come into view.
“Teenie!”
“Uncle Tyler!”
“I miss you, baby.”
“Miss you too. ‘Specially Dada!”
I chuckled. “Oh, Daddy misses me the most, huh?”
“Mhmmm,” she said, giving a cheeky grin.
“What did you do today, brat?”
She gasped in mock outrage. “Not nice.”
“Shopping,” she added after sticking her tongue out at me.
“Oh, did you find lots of treasures?”
She nodded, her curls bouncing. “We found some guns that shoot marshmallows! And some sparkly Christmas ornaments! And some bows! And cannie!”
Her excitement was adorable, and I smiled as she talked so animatedly about the candy shop. A feeling of fondness filled me again as she slid in and out of her normal headspace to a slightly bigger headspace. I hoped one day she would be comfortable enough to stay teeny with me all the time.
Elliot came into view and the camera shifted around while he settled her in his lap.
“Hey, man, how was the game the other night?”
“Good, I think I spent more time laughing at Emily, though. She ate enough snacks for everyone in the stadium. You should have seen her face when she took her first bite of cotton candy.”
