Page 9 of Saving Little Jenna
"Yes, I sure have!" Michael said before breaking into a fit of giggles. "You know I'm the best-behaved boy there is, uncle Clark. You say that all the time."
"Lies!" John said, pinching Michael's diapered bottom and causing him to squeal in surprise. "You've been a bad boy and you know it."
Michael covered his bottom with both hands before his daddy could pinch it again. Michael liked to get into trouble and his Daddy liked him that way. Such was a Daddy and Little relationship. No matter how misbehaved or naughty Littles were, their daddies loved them just the same.
"You know how naughty my boy is," John said to me. "He decided to live in the nude yesterday after his bath, so I had to chase him around the house with a diaper. I had to dress him up six times since he kept taking his clothes off when I wasn't around. It's almost as if he writes down all these ways of being naughty and cycles through them each day. It's the third time in four years he decided to try the nudist lifestyle, and each time he made me chase around the house."
I gasped in pretend surprise. "Is this true, Michael? You're not a good boy anymore?"
"I don't know if I want to be good anymore, uncle Clark." Michael put the back of his hand on his forehead dramatically. "Why should I be good when being bad feels so much better? Do you want to play with me now, uncle Clark? Daddy bought me a new wolf figurine collection that I've been dying to show you."
"Soon, darling." John took Michael in his arms, kissing him on the head and putting him down on the floor next to the coloring book. "Why don't you crayon for a while? The grown-ups need to talk first and then uncle Clark can join you."
Popping the pacifier back into his mouth, within seconds Michael was immersed in coloring a picture of an Arctic wolf.
"So how have things been with Jenna?" John asked, sitting back and resting an arm on the armrest. "Do you still think she's running away from someone?"
I nodded. "More so. She wants to keep her past a secret but she has a habit of slipping up. From what she's told me, I've gathered she didn't have a pleasant childhood. She wasn't allowed to go outside and she wasn’t allowed to socialize."
John looked at me with his mouth half-open. "That sounds like a horrible way of raising someone. Was she neglected as a child?"
"Looks like it." I cringed at the thought of a terrified Jenna being forced to stay in her room all day as a child. "But I'm here to speak to you about a different matter."
"Sure, what's up?" John scooted closer and tried to suppress a knowing smile. He’d probably figured out that I liked Jenna very much.
I wasn't sure how to put it, so I paused to collect my thoughts. "I have this friend and he's been wondering lately if he's a Daddy. He has this immense need to protect and take care of someone in his life, but that alone doesn't make someone a Daddy, does it? I mean, how does one even know if one's a Daddy?"
John's smile widened before he burst out into laughter. "Sure,your friendwants to know. Come on, Clark. We've known each other for how long now? Pretty much all our lives. You know you can talk to me about anything. God, I've been waiting for you to realize this for years. Took you long enough."
I just sat there stunned. How could he have known all along when the thought hadn't even occurred to me until just a few days ago. There wasn't anything in particular that could’ve led him to believe I wanted to be a Daddy.
"Surely, you're joking." I shook my head in disbelief. "You couldn't have known. I hadn't even considered it until Jenna came into my life."
John shrugged and sat back proudly. "Sometimes you just know, but in your case, it was pretty obvious. You've spent decades dating women and they all ended it for the same reason. You were protective and dominating but they found it suffocating. They wanted to make their own decisions and they didn't need someone to make them feel safe. To me, it was a clear sign that you wanted to be a Daddy. But only when you came across Jenna - who needs a Daddy - did you consider the possibility that you might be one."
I couldn't believe my ears. "So you've known all along and you said nothing? You could've saved me years of heartbreak had you said something."
John shook his head defensively. "Sometimes it's best you come to the realization on your own. I should know since I'd been in denial all my life about being gay. I only realized I was a Daddy once I fell for Michael. It's just like you with Jenna. You can only accept the truth when you're ready."
I sighed as I realized that he was probably right. I would've laughed it off as ridiculous had John suggested I was a Daddy before Jenna came into my life. Wanting to take care of Jenna and keep her safe had awoken the sleeping Daddy in me. Now thanks to Jenna, there was no going back or living in denial.
"Well," I said as I rubbed my temples. "You might be right about Jenna needing a Daddy. It's surprising you guessed that right, considering you haven't even met her. I've had my doubts that she might be a Little like your boy here, but I'm concerned it might just be wishful thinking. Every once in a while, she shows her true self to me, and it's beginning to look like she's secretly a Little."
Michael turned around and bounced with joy before climbing onto his daddy's lap and popping his pacifier. I should've said 'L-word'instead of using the wordLittle. Michael absolutely loved playing with other Littles. It's all he ever talked about with his daddy, wanting to go on playdates and playing with Little friends. Any mention of another Little turned him into a ball of energy as it did right now.
"A Little girl, uncle Clark?" Michael looked up at me with big eyes as he joined his hands together and began wiggling in John's lap with excitement. "Are you going to be a Daddy soon? Can you please bring her over tomorrow to play with me? I haven't made a new Little friend in ages. I promise I'll be nice to her. I share all my toys, I play house and I let her nap in my bed."
John pinched Michael's bottom and he squealed again in surprise. "We've talked about this, haven't we, Michael? You can't ask a Daddy to hurry things along with his Little just so you can play with them. Daddies and Littles need time to get to know each other before the Daddy takes them on Little playdates. Your uncle Clark here has only known Jenna for a week, you know."
"I sorry, uncle Clark." Michael stuck his lower lip out in a pout and frowned, putting the binky back in his mouth and sucking it vigorously as he looked at me apologetically.
"It's alright, Michael." I patted him on the head. "I'll bring Jenna over the moment she's ready. She's never had a friend before, let alone a Little friend. So she'll be just as stoked to have you as her friend."
Michael's chest swelled with pride as he looked at his Daddy. He was thrilled to be someone's first friend. I was sure he'd made a great friend to Jenna.
When Michael buried his face in his daddy's chest and closed his eyes, John wrapped his arms around him and stroked his head.
"So where were we before my boy interrupted us?" John asked quietly.
