Page 54 of Daddy, Take Me Away
“I don’t think it will be that invasive, but it’s your choice.”
“Maybe we should get out of line and?—”
“Not an option,” Stone said, instructing her to put the backpack in the bin, dropping his watch, phone, keys and belt in another. She did so, adding her phone and Apple watch before her head whipped back to look up at him again.
“You’re enjoying this,” she hissed.
“I’d actually not considered checking in, but, yeah, I am. You are so cute when you’re flustered.” At the narrowing of her eyes, he quirked his brow. “It could be worse,” he said as the line before the body scanner grew closer.
“I’d like to know how,” Micah shot back.
“I’d think a little strand of resin beads tucked inside would be far less obvious than a leather and steel chastity belt buckled securely around my Little girl’s naughty bits, but if you’d like to test that theory, we can?—”
“No thank you, I’m good,” she said, her tone suddenly much sweeter.
As if to prove it, she stepped into the scanner, spread her feet apart, lifted her arms above her head and actually smiled as the equipment took an x-ray.
Stone didn’t quite buy her nonchalance, especially when her face flamed scarlet as the attendant scanning the carry-on items paused the conveyor and then looked up at her. The man’s glance had then gone to Stone who simply smiled as if the backpack held nothing more unusual than a rather large stuffed duck.
The machine started again as the agent grinned. “Have a safe and fun time.”
“We shall, thank you,” Stone said, waiting until the bag appeared on the other side of the scanner. “Grab your toy bag, babygirl, I’ll get our shoes.”
She’d not only grabbed it, she’d opened it and for a brief moment, he feared she was going to toss the polka-dotted bag at him or in the trash. Instead, she pulled out Mr. Quackers and hugged him as she slung the strap of the backpack over her shoulder.
Stone gathered their remaining items and then knelt to put her shoes on her feet. “I’m sorry, Webby. I had no intention of embarrassing you or making you angry. I’ll make sure to put the bag in my suitcase for our flight home.”
Micah looked at him over her stuffie’s head. “I’m not mad at you Daddy. It’s not like others haven’t seen the things we play with at the club. It’s just that?—”
When she didn’t continue, Stone tied her laces and then placed his hands on her thighs. “It’s just what?”
The corner of her mouth twitched as she fought from smiling. “It’s just that I can’t stop thinking that now there is an x-ray of me holding my baubles, and I don’t even get to see it!”
Shocked, it took a moment before Stone’s laughter erupted to be joined by his Little’s giggles. If people who’d been moving mindlessly around them now paused a moment to discover what was so amusing, they’d only see a man kneeling with his forehead pressed against that of a petite woman’s, holding a well-dressed stuffed duck, both laughing at something existing in their own little bubble.
“Daddy, come on!”
Her entreaty brought him out of his thoughts. He grabbed their two suitcases from the trunk. She skipped along beside him as he walked across the gravel driveway to the steps of the front porch.
“I’ll get the key,” she said, bounding up the six steps and not looking beneath the welcome mat as many people would assume to be its hiding place, but moving to one of the many colorful flowerpots on the porch’s wide railing. She slipped her fingers beneath the ivy cascading over the pot’s rim and withdrew an old-fashioned key.
Again, he knew that somehow the very house had communicated with his Little girl. He’d been concerned at other times when such things had occurred, having witnessed her going from totally relaxed to something resembling the Tasmanian Devil character, moving at full speed, preparing trays and readying staff even before a call about a multi-car accident had reached the hospital’s ER. Today, however, she was calm and flashed him a big smile as she slid the key into the ornate lock, and he instinctively knew she wasn’t feeling the least bit threatened. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t stay alert; it just meant he wouldn’t be on pins and needles waiting for something to happen.
“Welcome,” she said with a large wave of her hand.
“Thank you, milady,” he said, stepping into the house. It didn’t take but a glance to see she’d nailed it. “I think you’re right, Webby. This is a very nice house indeed.”
Micah laughed, and they spent the next several minutes taking a tour. Every room was filled with antiques right down to the crocheted doilies on the arms of the sofas and embroidered samplers hanging on the walls.
“Look, Daddy, she stitched this one when she was only ten years old!”
Knowing far less about samplers than he did the inner workings of the human body, he could still appreciate the tiny stitches on the cloth. The alphabet ran in precise alignment across the middle of the sampler, flowers and leaves wove around the borders. A rabbit in various poses stood in each of the four corners. It truly was an example of how the children of yesteryear occupied themselves and, as far as he was concerned, beat staring at a screen and pushing buttons of a video game.
“Her stitches are almost as neat as the ones you make, Webby.”
“They are far neater, Daddy. Only mine are in flesh and hers were on linen.”
The small room at the back of the house had Micah squealing in glee. Most of the floorspace was taken up by one of the largest and most colorful chairs he’d ever seen. Dozens of different types of flowers were splashed all over the upholstery.
