Page 36 of Baby Boy

“Please, Daddy.” It made things so much easier when Jace just took over. Jace might be worried about being too controlling but Avery needed that. He just didn’t know how to tell his Daddy.

“I think I’ll grab your animals and building blocks,” Jace declared. “Then you can make up your own zoo if you want.”

“Yes!” That would be awesome.

“Good. Come on.” Jace picked up several containers then led the way out of the room. Avery followed, popping his thumb in his mouth. He just felt so comfortable and safe there.

Once they were in the living room, Jace set the container on the coffee table. He turned and Avery quickly yanked his thumb out. Jace didn’t say anything. Instead he walked over and grabbed a…rug?

He rolled out a rug and Avery saw the outlines of a zoo. It had squares of grass, mountains, dirt, trees. It was awesome. “Daddy!” He hopped around.

“I have all different playmats for you,” Jace told him. “But I need you to keep your toys on the mat so I don’t step on them.”

“Yes, Daddy!” Avery dropped down and crawled to the mat. He sat on the edge and set Jared down on the carpet. Then he wrapped lily around Jared’s neck like a scarf so Jared wouldn’t get cold.

“Here you go.” Jace set the containers beside him.

Instead of removing one animal at a time, he dumped over the first box. He laughed at the loud sound.

Jace chuckled. “That’s one way to do it.”

“Fun,” he said as he crawled to spread out his animals. He already knew what he wanted to do.

Jace moved to the couch and grabbed the TV remote. He settled on a dinosaur cartoon. Dinosaurs were awesome so when Jace turned and lifted a brow at him, Avery nodded.

“Let me get you a drink,” Jace said.

He waited until Jace was almost out of the room before calling out to him.

“Yes, baby boy?”

“Thank you,” Avery said just loud enough to be heard. The bath, clothes, toys— everything was so awesome.

“My pleasure,” Jace responded.

Avery dropped his chin and went back to playing. He dug out some of the blocks so he could make an enclosure for his giraffes. They should be next to the zebras. Zebras were cool too but they didn’t have long necks. Oh, lions! He didn’t want the lions next to the giraffes so he stacked them up by the mountains. He thought lions liked to climb. Maybe not. He’d ask Daddy later if he knew.

He jumped when Jace rubbed his back.

“Shh, it’s okay. You were having so much fun that I wanted you to remember to drink some water.” Jace handed over his sippy cup.

Avery took the cup while scrunching up his nose. He didn’t mind water. If he was running late, he could grab a bottle from the store, but it wasn’t his preferred drink. He’d much rather have juice or chocolate milk. Those had been yummy.

“Just take a drink,” Jace urged.

Avery lifted the cup to his mouth. He took a small drink then a bigger one. He turned toward Jace.

“Just because I said water doesn’t mean it’s plain old boring water. I want my baby boy to be healthy and happy,” Jace told him.

Avery leaned against Jace’s shoulder before drinking again. “It’s good.”

“I infused some strawberry and kiwi into the pitcher. Natural and tasty,” Jace said.

It really was good.

“And I have other flavors we’ll try as well so you don’t get tired of one.”

“You’re the best Daddy,” Avery said honestly.

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