“Oh, I absolutely do,” he said, “it means room service, ice creams, and a getting ourselves into food comas.”
He might have had a point there, I was absolutely going to order room service and pig out. I hadn’t had a vacation in so long, even a temporary one. The next best thing to a vacation was Saddle Up, it was my favorite event of the year, and knowing that was months away had been keeping me together while dealing with animals that tried to get caught up in the dirty rain-sodden grounds.
“Thank you,” I said again as my belly rumbled.
“Guess that’s a sign. You want to sit on the blanket while I get everything ready.”
I was enjoying the warmth of his lap, but I was willing to sacrifice that for soup from my new favorite bowls.
This was all new to me, the experience of a Daddy planning things for me without any nudging. I think he was learning to, and he’d come a long way, more than just how far he’d come from Texas, but with how much of an effort he’d made to no longer be a lone cowboy.
After the picnic, where I got soup on my shirt, and squeezed a whole juice box into my mouth and began coughing,we headed back to the ranch just as the dark clouds rolled in, bringing the thunder and rain with them.
All the horses were back in their stables when the bang of thunder hit. There was a lot of neighing as the sounds stressed them. Lorenzo played the radio, masking the thunder, and I went around giving them treats. Mary wasn’t too phased by the sounds, laying on her bed of hay while the other three seemed to be talking to each other with their heads over the stalls.
We stayed with the horses until the storm passed, which wasn’t too long, but we kept the radio on for them once we left. The other animals weren’t great with thunder either, but they also didn’t have the same rage power as the horses, and the last thing the ranch needed was to anything broken. Plus, the barn cats were good at keeping order in the barn. I think it might have had something to do with how big and fluffy they looked, they were so huggable, if they ever let you.
That night, I played with my toys for a little while longer and in the openness of the living room too. Feeling the acceptance to play and be proud in front of Lorenzo was something I’d dreamed of experiencing for the longest time, so he was making that dream come true, alongside my dream of living in the guest house—which was nowourhouse, and I wanted to make it mine—ours.
“Dinner’s ready,” he called to me. “And I made it special for you.”
“What is it?” I asked.
He gestured to the mess of wooden toy blocks on the floor. “Clean those up and come see.”
I knew better than to disobey him. I cleaned them away and headed to the kitchen.
In the center of the small dining table there was a lit candle, one of those long ones where the wax was already melting down the stem to the coaster it sat on. And twoplacemats, one the regular rolled wood, and the other was all colorful with little squares on it.
“More surprises,” he said. “Come on, take a seat.”
“Which side?”
“You know which side.”
All giddy, I sat at the side with the placemat and noticed the boxes there were asking to be written on. I looked up, and Daddy provided me with a small pack of pens. “Oh my god.”
“They’re whiteboard pens, so go to town on that thing with it if you want,” he said. “There’s also some drawing stuff there as well, in case you run out of coloring pages, you can always use this until we get you another book.”
I was already happy, he didn’t even need to feed me, I was being fed with all these nice surprises he’d been giving me all day.
“And dinner,” he said as I pulled out a black pen from the pack and at the top of the placemat, I wrote my name. “I’m sure this is to your liking.” He slowly placed the plate in front of me, the same red with all the animals on it that I’d seen on those bowls. “Spaghetti hoops, Vienna sausages, and some mashed potatoes with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. The good stuff, the imported stuff.”
Salivating, I gulped it back. “Have you been rummaging around inside my soul?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve definitely been inside you, if that counts.”
I slowly nodded. It definitely counted for something. “And what do you have?”
“Steak and potatoes, kinda similar. Unless you also wanted steak, there’s another in the pack if you want it.”
“Oh no, my little mouth cannot chew such a big steak. And I wouldn’t be able to cut it with my knife as it only cuts soft foods.”
He patted my head, ruffling his fingers through my hair. “I know what you like, we’re practically perfect for each other.”
“Like a jigsaw, you fit inside me.”
Lorenzo let out a laugh, putting his plate down at his setting. “I like that,” he said. “Is it ok if I turn the light out? I was trying to set a mood with the candle. I hope it’s working.”
