“Morning bluebird,” I whispered as she blinked open her eyes.
She let out a little groan as she burrowed into my chest and hid her face. “I don’t want to get up. Not yet.”
“I don’t either, but Charlie?—”
In an instant, she rolled away and clutched the covers to her chest. We’d fallen asleep in the clothes we wore yesterday, so it was comical she was trying to hide. “Oh my God. Charlie,” she said, glancing at the door. We could both hear her padding down the hall.
“It’s okay,” I said. “She just normally likes to come lie in bed with me in the mornings, and I wanted to give you a warning.”
“She can’t see me in here,” Cleo hissed, jumping out of bed.
“Where do you think she believes you are right now?” I chuckled. “I guarantee she checked the couch first and is coming in here to tell me you aren’t there.”
Cleo narrowed her eyes and dashed into the bathroom just before Charlie pushed open the door. She stood there, hair wild and drool stains on her cheek, with her bunny clutched in her arms.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I said, holding my arms out for her.
She padded over and crawled into my bed, taking Cleo’s spot at my side. “Daddy, Miss Cleo isn’t on the couch.”
“I know, sweetie.”
Charlie’s lip wobbled. “Did she leave without saying goodbye?”
I opened my mouth to answer when Cleo stepped out of my bathroom. “Nope, I’m right here. Just needed to use your daddy’s bathroom really quickly.”
My daughter smiled. “Yay! I’m so glad you’re still here. I wasn’t ready for you to leave. I wanted to show you my room and all my stuffies.” She hopped out of my arms and held out her hand for Cleo to take. “Come on, let’s go.”
Without waiting for an answer, Charlie tugged Cleo toward the door. Cleo looked back at me, and I shrugged. “Duty calls,” Imouthed to her before Charlie managed to get her all the way down the hall.
As I lay my head against the headboard, I listened to Charlie chatter a million words a minute. She began telling Cleo a complete history of each stuffed animal she had lined up on her bed, and the ones that were on the dresser. Occasionally, I’d hear Cleo ask a question or murmur her appreciation, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to see the two of them together. Curiosity finally won out, and I quietly got out of bed and tiptoed down to Charlie’s old room.
“Did you know this used to be your dad’s room?” Cleo asked. She was sitting on the blue and cream checkered rug on the floor, surrounded by every stuffed animal Charlie owned.
“Really?” Charlie asked, hopping down from the bed to sit in front of Cleo.
“Yup. But it looks so much better now that it’s yours. It used to be filled with pictures of cars and sports, with dirty laundry all over the floor.”
Charlie scrunched up her face in disgust. She looked around the room, and I wondered if she was imagining what the space used to look like before. “Yeah, I like this better for sure.”
“In my defense, I really liked cars and sports.” Charlie and Cleo both startled as I stood in the doorway. “And I hated doing laundry.”
“I know for a fact your mom did your laundry,” Cleo said, crossing her arms. “You were just a dirty teenage boy who couldn’t be bothered to put his clothes in the hamper.”
“You knew my grandma?” Charlie’s voice was softer.
Mom had died well before my daughter was born, but I did what I could to make sure she knew how much they would’ve loved each other. When Dad was home, he always brought out the thick scrapbooks Mom made. Charlie loved looking at pictures of me from when I was a kid. Without knowing it, she’d seen Cleo, too.
Cleo cleared her throat. “I did. She was an amazing woman. Would’ve loved you to pieces, you know?”
“That’s what Daddy says. He said she loved to make sweet treats, too. Just like you!”
“Your grandma actually taught me a lot about baking. She’s the reason I’m so good now.”
Charlie’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can you teach me?” Charlie asked, hopping up and down on her bed.
