I crouch down to her level. She snuggles onto Elodie’s leg. “I have a banana, crackers, yogurt pouches, and grapes.” At Elodie's soft throat-clearing, I glance up. "Cut in half, of course." Her smile returns.
“Cookie?” Lola’s eyes light up.
I remember what Elodie told me once about Lola's favorite foods. “Blueberry bagels.”
She stares up at Elodie with a wide smile. Standing, I’ve achieved a step in winning her over, and I grin proudly.
“The way to her heart,” Elodie casually mentions.
Inside, I beg a higher power that it’s true.
I continue to walk, and they follow behind me. Elodie pauses to set Lola’s little backpack down on the side table along the wall. I’m not entirely sure what the contents are, but I’ll assume something to play with.
But it’s not needed. “I have toys,” I blurt out. “You didn’t need to bring any.”
“Oh? Okay.” Elodie continues to smile.
I head straight to the built-in shelves near the television and open the bottom cupboard to reveal toys.It doesn’t take long to hear little feet running toward me, and when I see Lola’s expression, then I believe all humans in the room areabsent to her. Elodie stands next to me, watching the scene unfold.
Lola is quick to check out the new boxes of toys: crayons and coloring books catch her attention first. She also explores Play-Doh, wood puzzles, toy animals, and whatever else my assistant crammed in there.
“Wow, okay. That’s a success,” I remark as Lola already drags out a puzzle.
“Lola, ask first,” Elodie reminds her. I’m thankful that Elodie is raising Lola to be kind and have manners.
Little blue eyes look up at me. “Puzzles now?”
“Please,” Elodie whispers.
“Please,” Lola adds.
My grin grows to the extreme. “Of course. Play away.”
She flops down onto her bottom and gets to work.
We both watch her ignore the world around her, and I feel Elodie bump into my arm. “Nice play, Hayes. Snacks and toys.”
“Yeah? Thanks.” We glance at one another, and I’m grateful that in terms of our daughter, we are more and more on the same page. “I can show you the rest of the place.”
“Depends on how big this place is. I don’t want to leave her alone. Safety, a new place, and all. It takes two seconds for her curiosity to turn into an adventure.”
I didn’t think about that. “You can have a wander if you want. I can stay with her.”
Elodie’s eyes blaze open. “Really? Just letting me loose to explore?” She seems surprised.
I shrug. “Why not? You’re going to be here a lot.”
“Logical.” Her mouth slides back and forth, and she considers as she studies Lola for a long second. “Okay. But let’s take a few minutes for her to get used to you.”
I nod in agreement, and for the next ten minutes, we allplay on the floor with Elodie next to me. Elodie gives me a glance as the cue that she is going to escape.
“Have fun.” I touch her shoulder.
“I’ll be right back, Lola. I’m just down the hall. You okay with that?” Lola nods as she continues her quest of discovering the toys.
I can’t help noticing how Elodie flutters her eyelashes, still trying to adjust to all of this, but after a few seconds, she walks away.
For the next few minutes, Lola and I break out the small wooden train set.Admittedly, that was a selfish purchase I asked my assistant to arrange. I loved having a train when I was a kid.My dad and I would spend hours playing together. It's a fond memory. Even as an adult, when I walk by toy stores and see one in the window, I always stop to peek. Now it's a reminder to me how I want to be a hands-on father like my own was. I want to share the experience with Lola who is clearly a pink princess and unicorn girl, but maybe I can win her over with the train.
