Page 62 of Spencer's Satisfaction
“It doesn’t hurt that you’re going to be taking business away from Gerald, either,” he mutters darkly, then laughs when I smack him.
“Daddy, we’re not that petty,” I tell him.
“You’re right, sweetheart.” Spencer’s words are conciliatory, but his tone is anything but. I understand, though, so I let it go.
When I ask, Spencer offers me suggestions and advice on the practical aspects of applying for permits and starting up new bank accounts specifically for the business, and tips on dealing with the trickier paperwork I’ll need to lodge when I register my business, but otherwise he is perfectly content to leave the control of my idea to me. I appreciate that more than he can possibly know. It’s confirmation that, while he’s my Daddy, he’s also my partner and equal when it counts.
The future looks bright with him.
* * *
“That’s the last box,” Tanya informs us, dusting her palms off on her jeans once she drops the offending item on the floor in front of the stairs. “You guys can lug it wherever it needs to be. I’m done being your pack horse.”
I lunge at her, wrapping her in a tight hug. “You’re the best,” I tell her.
“Excuse you,” Zephyr teases me as he descends the stairs with the effortless grace that being a dancer affords him, “but I’ve just spent the last hour unpacking your clothes and getting them all arranged in the wardrobe and drawers.You’re welcome.”
“It was twenty minutes, and I helped,” Ash adds as he appears behind our mutual friend.
I still can’t believe that all the guys have helped me move into Spencer’s house. It’s a vastly different experience to the last time Tanya and I moved, hiring a U-Haul truck and doing the heavy lifting by ourselves.
“Well, if that’s the last of it, I say we get to celebrating,” Spencer says, coming up to wrap an arm around my shoulders and press a kiss to my temple.
“Celebrating?” I question.
“House-warming parties are a thing, angel.”
I squint at him, confused. “But…you already lived here.”
“Butyoudidn’t. So this isyourhouse-warming party.” Spencer pulls a blowout party whistle from his pocket -the kind you get from a dollar store- which unrolls and unleashes an unholy bleating sound when he blows it to emphasize his point.
I gasp and blink at him for a moment, then smile widely and make grabby hands, demanding, “Gimme!”
Asher is at my other side almost immediately, doing the same.
Matt and Katie pop their heads out from around the hallway, matching puzzled expressions on their faces until they spy the toy. Then they’re bouncing over, too, also begging for a whistle.
Daddy laughs and points back towards the hallway. “The packet’s in the lounge room. Go nuts.”
We all take off at a run, giggling and shoving at each other to find them, heedless of the voices behind us telling us to be careful.
Any lingering guilt I felt about taking advantage of Daddy melts away as I lose myself in play with my friends.
We blow the whistles at each other and attempt (badly) to bleat outMary Had A Little Lambwith it until Cherie and London break at the same time and tell us it’s time to play another game while Daddy fires up the grill in his small courtyard outside.
Ash finds my stuffy collection in the toybox, and soon enough we’ve handed over our whistles (to our caregivers’ obvious relief) and are taking our plush friends on an adventure.
“Mister Bear is an astronaut,” Matt says, holding up the soft, floppy brown bear I’ve dubbed ‘Bouncer’. “And this-” he grabs one of the now empty packing boxes, “-is the rocket he’s gonna take to the moon.”
“Well, Lambchop here,” Katie waggles my stuffed lion, and I giggle at the name she’s given him, “is also an astronaut, and he’s going with Mister Bear.”
Ash looks at the other toys and reaches for a white bear wearing a beret. “It’s a whole crew,” he says, “and Fancy Pants is also going to the moon. He’s, um, the guy who fixes stuff.”
“Mechanical engineer?” Matt offers, sounding amused.
Ash rolls his eyes back at him. “Those words are too big.”
We all seem to be hovering at the same sort of Little age, and I’m a little bit blown away that my friends are doing that for me, matching me where I am comfortable. There hasn’t been any discussion about it or anything, but I know that Ash and Matt generally sink into younger headspaces quite naturally. I still only manage that when I’m alone with Daddy.
