Page 33 of Daddy's Little Dreamer

He’d barely just refrained from squealing realizing we’d likely end up in a car crash if he did. “I love doing project and crafts and really everything with you, Daddy.”

This boy warmed my heart through and through. “And I you, Sweet Bee. This one will be a lot of hard work and we’re gonna get dirty but in the end it will bring your love of many things together.”

As the words sunk in, his face scrunched up.

“Don’t hurt yourself over there,” I teased as we pulled into the garage. “Your thinky face is thinky intense.” I couldn’t wait to see his face and dodge the millions of questions headed my way when he saw the piles of random stuff out back.

“Daddy, what’s going on out here?”

“That, my beautiful bee, is most of your surprise.”

“Construction was something I love?”

My laughter echoed through the house. “No, Sweet Bee. You don’t love construction that I’m aware of, do you?”

He shook his head. “But a gift as big as this one requires a hammer and tools and your daddy just doesn’t work well with those. Open your present on the table.”

Trevor ripped into the paper far more cautiously than he did with the crepe paper from his first gift. “You found dungarees with bees on them and the cutest straw hat. Thank you, Daddy.”

These were perfect for the work we’d get dirty in tomorrow. Dungarees were built for it and would easily wash up.

“You are very welcome. Are you ready to hear about the rest of your surprise?”

“Yes, please.”

“Follow me.”

We went out into the maze of messes, and I watched as he wandered around, picking up random things here and there. Trevor was organized if nothing else and I figured this would drive him mad.

“See the “U” shaped raised beds over there?” I pointed over toward the area where the contractor had built the raised beds.

“Yes.”

“Those are the beginning of our new garden. We’ll have sunflowers and lots of other flowers plus some fruits and veggies so all the bees and ladybugs can land here for you to enjoy.”

“OMG! Daddy. Seriously?”

“Seriously, my little bee. And over there.” I pointed across to the other side of the yard. “That wood frame is filled with sand and inside it will be your new jungle gym. The contractor will be back tomorrow to put it together for you while we fill the flower beds with all those bags of soil and plant the seeds. It’ll be a really busy, really dirty day that will end with us playing in the sprinkler.”

“Yay!” He jumped up and down, cheering and clapping. “My daddy is the best.”

“You deserve all the happiness in the world, my love.”

This was something I’d wanted to do for some time now. It took a bit of planning because I wanted it to be just right. Eventually we’d live here together, and I already pictured my little bee out here with the hose watering everything and talking to all his little insect friends. Gods, I couldn’t wait for that. Trevor was my everything. Now next on the list was converting the spare room into his playroom. Though the shelving and bins in the living room would work for now, it was important he have his own space within our future home.

After dinner, we ran to the plant store to pick out all the plants for our garden so we’d be ready to get to work early tomorrow morning.

“I have an idea, Daddy. What about the middle section is sunflowers then one side is fruits and the other our veggies?”

“That’s a fantastic idea. Why don’t we pick out a couple of planters to put flowers in and set them on the porch?”

“I love that.”

We ended up with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries for our fruit side. For the icky veggie side, Trevor’s words not mine, he picked tomatoes and basil while I chose carrots, bell peppers, chives, and squash. I promised Trevor I’d make dishes he’d enjoy, though I saw the doubt in his eyes. My boy was not a fan of vegetables at all.

“The pansies look happy, Daddy, let’s get those for the pots. The lavender smells wonderful, too.”

We ended up with both and a lot of sunflower seeds. “Daddy, can we get another pot for these really pretty Gerber daisies?”

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