“I isn’t hungry,” she grumbled.
Oh, she was in a mood, wasn’t she?
“I think someone needed a longer nap today. Or maybe a longer spanking.”
“Papa!” she cried. “I did not.”
“Really? Because you’re in a bit of a grumpy mood. And one or both of these things should cure that.”
“I’m not grumpy!”
“Hmm. Well, you might want to think about that for a while. And you are eating some dinner.” He moved so he was sitting on the seat next to her.
Then he reached for her plate and forked up some mashed potatoes. “Eat.” He held the fork up.
She just stared at it.
“Ahh, you must want the choo-choo train.” He drew his hand back and then brought it toward her mouth. “Here comes the choo-choo train. Chugga-chugga-choo-choo.”
It seemed to do the trick as she giggled and took the mouthful of food.
“That’s better,” he murmured, feeding her some more food.
He got a kick out of feeding her.
Hell, he got a kick out of taking care of her in all ways.
That was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
He continued to feed her until she claimed to have had enough. He figured she’d eaten enough so he ate his dinner while she did her lines next to him.
“Sit still,” he warned as she sighed, fidgeting.
“This is just so boring, Papa!” she complained as he got up and carried their plates to the kitchen to put them in the dishwasher.
“It’s meant to be. It’s punishment. How many lines have you written?”
“Twenty!”
“Only thirty to go.”
He turned away, smiling as she groaned. She really was adorable.
Matthieu settled onto the sofa in the living room. Dougie jumped up beside him as he turned on the television. Afteraround five minutes, his girl walked over to stand in front of him.
“Finished, Papa.”
“Let me see.” He held out his hand and she put the piece of paper into it.
He checked over her lines, which said:I will listen to Papa and not stomp my foot.
There were fifty of them and he set the piece of paper to one side.
“Good girl,” he praised her.
He could tell she liked that. She practically preened as she climbed onto his lap when he held his arms open.
“I’m sorry I was grouchy, Papa,” she told him as he hugged her tight.
