Page 94 of Daddy, Take Me Away
“I should have waffles too?”
“Yas-huh.”
I smiled down at her. “What if there are only enough ingredients to make one waffle? Then we both couldn’t have one. How sad would that be?” I teased.
“So sad,” she agreed.
“Maybe to play it safe, I’ll just pick an omelet.”
“Howdy, folks. My name is Kelsey. What can I get started for you?” Our waitress appeared, cutting our banter session short.
“Hi, Kelsey. My name is Tinsley. We are going to have an easy order. Two coffees with cream and sugar on the side and two chocolate-chip waffles, please,” Tinsley said before I could even open my mouth.
“Well, that is an easy order! Alright, I’ll get that right in for you.”
I waited until the waitress was out of earshot before turning to look at the sassy Little girl sitting beside me. She gave me a grin fit for the Cheshire Cat.
“What was that about, baby?” I wasn’t really mad. Definitely amused, though.
“Dada needs fun.” A confident head nod accompanied her words.
“I need some fun? I have a bouncy Babygirl to keep me fun,” I teased, tickling her neck.
Giggles filled the private booth. “Tinsley loves you.”
“I love Tinsley.”
Kelsey came back and set all of our plates on the table. I thanked her when I saw the whip-cream smiley faces. She set an apple juice on the table with a wink. “I heard the conversation and thought maybe I’d bring a juice, just in case.”
I looked over to see Tinsley pouring copious amounts of sugar and milk in her coffee. “Thank you, I think we’ll need it.” I chuckled, looking back at Tinsley.
Satisfied, she took a sip before promptly spitting it back in the cup. She turned to me, her horror and disgust evident in her sour expression. Biting the inside of my cheek to contain my laughter, I slid her the glass of juice.
After taking several gulps, she looked at me sheepishly. “Gross.”
“Yeah, it probably is gross to Little girls. That’s why it is for grown-ups.”
“Maybe Tinsley will like it when she’s three,” she answered with a shrug.
“Oh, yeah. Because three-year-old Little ones are so big,” I agreed dryly.
“So big,” she agreed, not registering my sarcasm.
Tinsley
I held Daddy’s hand tightly as we walked through the entrance of the water park.
“Are you doing okay, babygirl?”
“Little scared,” I admitted. I was a walking conundrum. I craved all the adventures, but was terrified of anything new. We've had a fun morning. After breakfast we’d done some shopping at the small boutiques in the area, but I’d grown more and more nervous as more time rolled by. Daddy decided to bring me to the park a bit early, so I could stop worrying about it.
“It’s okay to be scared, baby. New things are hard. What makes you brave is the fact you’re willing to do these things while you’re scared. Look how strong you’re being! You’re holding my hand, walking in like such a brave girl. I’m so proud of you!”
Daddy was the best hype man. “Proud?” I loved making Daddy proud.
He set our things down by the locker he’d rented and knelt to take off my sandals. “So proud.”
“Uncle Tyler will be proud?”
