Page 30 of His Middle

“Yes, you can.” Daddy gestured for Noah to follow him. “It should be here in about thirty minutes. That should give you enough time for several laps.”

“I’ll do a Grand Prix challenge. Wanna play?”

Noah pushed past Daddy as he bounded down the carpeted stairs.

“Slow down, and sure.”

“Okay!” Noah jumped onto the landing with a smack from the third step up from the bottom. He winced from the sting to the soles of his feet. “Ouch.”

Daddy caught up to him. “Are you all right?” His gaze landed on Noah’s bare feet. “Why aren’t you wearing slippers?”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Slippers are for babies.”

“I’m wearing slippers.”

Noah took a peek at Daddy’s rubber slides. They weren’t too bad. Little nubs blanketed the footbed and he wondered if they tickled.

He pointed to Daddy’s shoes. “Do those bumpy things feel good on your feet?”

Daddy nodded. “They do. It takes some getting used to, but I like them. Should we get you a pair?”

Noah inclined his head. “Do they have Deadpool or Joker ones?”

“I have no idea. We can check and see later. In the meantime, go put on your pool shoes.”

“Mypoolshoes? In the house?” He guffawed. “Are you crazy?”

Daddy crossed his arms with a scowl and Noah clamped his lips shut.Oops.

“Don’t speak to me like that young man, or else I’ll tell the delivery person to take the bread thingies away. Now march right back upstairs and put them on.”

“Don’t take the cinnamon sticks away!”

They were just in reach. It would suck if he didn’t get them now.

“Then go upstairs and get your shoes.”

Noah poked out his bottom lip. “I can’t.”

“Noah…you’re trying my patience. Look like it might be corner time instead of Mario time before the pizza gets here.”

“Daddy, no! I didn’t mean Iwouldn’tput them on. Just that I can’t because they’re outside.”

Daddy rubbed his brow with thumb and forefinger. “What are they doing out there?”

Noah rocked back and forth on his heels. “I dunno.”

He’d almost said, ‘they’re resting’, but stopped himself in time. He didn’t doubt that if he’d blurted such a thing there wouldn’t be Mario, dipping sticks and maybe not even pizza.

Daddy let out a sigh. “Please go outside and get your shoes, put them on then you can go play your game.” He wagged his finger, his expression becoming more serious. “However, after dinner, before we do anything else, you’re going to pick up whatever other things you’ve left outside.”

“Oh.” That could take a while. “I’ll be right back.”

Noah took off like a shot. He yanked open the sliding glass door then bounded outside. The motion sensor lights came on, illuminating not only where he’d left his shoes—one on one side of the pool, the other on the opposite side—but all the other stuff he’d be stuck picking up later.

Noah grinned. Maybe he could make Daddy forget somehow.

Once he’d slipped on his thongs, Noah rushed to get back inside so he could get at least one race challenge in before the pizza arrived.

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