Page 17 of The Defense Rests
"I think not, little one," I tell him before holding my hand out for the scissors. He places them in my hand. "Thank you. That is a daddy's job. Scissors are dangerous and can hurt you."I give him a little wink and walk over, slicing through the tape on top of the box.
I set them down on the counter because I'm not sure if I will need them to cut tags and open the smaller boxes. I may have gone overboard.
Kai lifts the flaps on the box and gasps. "What's all this?" He looks at me with wide eyes.
"I wanted you to have a few things to play with while I was here. We can always order you some more stuff, or maybe we can go shopping together. I hope you like them." I offer an explanation.
"It's all so perfect," he says, lifting the items from the box one at a time. "I love this doll. I see it all the time at the store, but never allowed myself to buy it. She can go in the water and will be great in the tub at bathtime." He tells me, holding up the Ariel doll.
"And her tail changes colors depending on the temperature of the water. When it starts to turn green again, you know the water is getting cold and it's time to get out of the tub." I thought it was a clever idea, so we didn't have to argue about bath time limits in the future. He pulls out a stuffed animal, Flounder with blue sparkles, a new princess coloring book, three storybooks all about mermaids, and a set of mermaid-themed plastic items, including a plate, bowl, sippy cup, and bottle. "Is that all that's in there?" I ask him because a few more toy items are missing.
Kai looks into the box. "Yep. That's all, Daddy. Was there supposed to be more?" He asks like he can't believe it.
"Yes. A few items are scheduled to be delivered later. In the meantime, how about I wash your new plate so you can use it for your pizza while you take your new toys to the living room and play while we wait?"
"Sounds perfect," he says, gathering up his two new toys and bringing them to me. "Tags, please." Ah, yes. I cut the tagsbefore he’s running off toward the living room. He's not entirely in littlespace, but I know he's relaxed and letting me take care of him.
Once dinner is cleaned up and all the toys are in the basket under the coffee table, sans the mermaid doll in the bathroom for the next bath time, we sit back on the couch, and Kai is nowhere near littlespace.
"I think now would be a good time to talk," he tells me.
"We have a lot to talk about." I agree.
"Should we talk about us first, or the case?"
"How about we talk about the case first. Once we get that stroke of business taken care of, we'll know what we're doing and can enjoy the rest of our evening before I head out," Kai's brows pinch together.
"You're leaving?" he asks, rushed.
"I have a hotel room for the night and need to get an Uber to pick up my car," I inform him.
"Oh, right." He tells me with sadness in his tone.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing. It's just…I was hoping… you'd want to stay here." Oh my sweet boy.
"Thank you for being brave in telling me. Now, is that an invitation?" I smirk. "Because that didn't sound like a question."
"Shaun?"
"Yes," I say teasingly.
"Would you stay here while you're in town? Please." He says it in the most ridiculous mock-seduction voice I've ever heard.
"Well, when you put it like that, how can I resist?" Our laughter dances together, breaking the tension from the discussion that still needs to take place.
We spend the next hour going over our game plan for the case. Kai tells me about all his findings, and we collaborate on what some of these things might mean. Of course, he tells meit's all speculation and he'll have to dig a little deeper. We agree not to delve too deeply into it tonight and that we will start fresh on it tomorrow. He tells me that he has a meeting on Wednesday morning that he can't miss. I say to him that I have one, too, and then I will be heading back to Rockport Ridge on Wednesday afternoon.
"Do you want to come back with me? To Rockport Ridge that is." I ask with hope in my heart.
"I could do that. I can work on the case from there, and I have nothing keeping me here." He looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn't.
"Great. We can caravan down so we're driving together, but not together." I tell him. "I mean, I would drive you, but I don't want you to be without a car while you're there, and I do have patients on Thursday and Friday. Typically, I have a half day on Fridays, but since I was out, they are booking me for a full day."
I would offer him a place to stay, but I don't want to…screw it… "You can stay at my place if you'd like."
"If I'd like? That doesn't sound like an invitation to me." He winks.
