“Ewwie! Ewwie! You here!” I couldn’t help but laugh as I was being dragged further into the house by my adorable bestie. When we reached the living room, I expected we’d stop, but Tristan kept dragging me down the hallway toward the bedrooms.
“Where are we going, buddy?” Tristan stopped and looked back at me, his pacifier firmly planted in his mouth.
“Pwize for chu!.” I giggled in excitement. I had no idea what his slurred words meant, but I assumed he was trying to tell me he had something to show me.
When we got to the playroom, he opened the door and led us inside, stopping in front of the large gliding chair. In the chair sat two crocheted dragons. One was obviously Ember with his red body and orange accents, but the other was different. It was the same design except the colors were different. The dragon sitting beside Ember had a purple body with green accents and wings. My favorite part was the purple yarn, which also had silver sparkles. It was beautiful.
“Oh my gosh, bestie! Did Ember get a sibling! It’s so adorable, and the purple sparkling yarn is amazing!”
Tristan smiled behind his paci, clapping his hands in excitement. Confusion filled me when Tristan picked up the purple dragon and thrust it toward my chest with a grunt. “Umpf.”
“You want me to hold him?”
Tristan thrusted the dragon toward me again with the same grunt, and I cocked my head in confusion as I became even more unsure of what he wanted.
He spat his pacifier out and tucked his chin to his chest while still holding the dragon with both arms stretched out toward me. “I made dis for chu.” Tristan lifted his head ever so slightly to meet my gaze. He thrust the dragon toward me again, and this time I happily took it from his hands. I brought the soft dragon to my chest to give it the ultimate hug test.
“I wanted you always to have your mighty dragon even when we’re not together.” Tristan’s voice was soft and slightly nervous, although I wasn’t sure why. This was the best gift ever.
“Bestie, this is the best gift ever. I’m going to name him Tristy after my favorite dragon ever!”
Tristan’s whole body was now full of excitement instead of nerves. “Tristy. Wike Tristan?”
Keeping Tristy tucked to my side, I stepped closer to Tristan and ruffled his hair. “That’s right, buddy! Now you’ll always be with me, no matter what.”
Tristan squealed with joy and tackled me, causing both of us to fall into a giggling heap on the floor. “I wub you Ewwie!”
“I love you too, buddy.” With Tristan firmly in little space and my new dragon secured safely in my arms, I felt my little side slowly come to the surface. “Guess what! Daddy just took me next door to see the house, and it was amazing! Do you think if we move in next door, our Daddies would let us dig a secret tunnel leading to our special rooms?”
A deep chuckle came from the doorway, making both of us freeze. “I don’t know about digging any tunnels, but maybe we could discuss knocking down the connected fence in the back yard.”
We both scrambled up into sitting positions, thrilled with David’s suggestion. “Really? We can do that?”
“Dat is mazing!”
Daniel moved further into the room and picked up Tristan, popping him onto his hip. “I don’t see why not. But we’ll have to ask David. It’ll be his house too.”
Tristan deflated with a sigh. “Otay Dada.”
Feeling determined, I looked at Tristan with a smirk. “Don’t worry, buddy. Our Daddies are the best; they would never do anything to keep us apart.”
Tristan’s blinding smile was back, but Daniel let out a half groan, half laugh that made me giggle. “You, princess Ellie, know exactly what you’re doing. We’d never keep you apart, but there are other things to consider when making changes like that.”
“What changes?”
Daddy’s voice cut in, and I immediately jumped off the floor and ran to where he was standing by the door.
“Daddy, you’re back!”
Daddy opened his arms, and I wrapped my arms around his neck as he grabbed the back of my thighs. His strong arms hoisted me up so I could wrap my legs tight around his waist.
“I wanted to dig a tunnel from my playroom to Tristan’s, but Uncle Daniel said we couldn’t. But then he said we could ask you abouttearing down the fence between our back yards! Can we do that, Daddy? Pleeeaaassseee.”
Daddy threw his head back laughing so hard I almost worried he’d drop me. “Oh, princess, you are just too stinking cute. I have to admit, I think a tunnel would be super cool, but I think your uncle’s right, we should probably play it safe and knock down the fence. Maybe even get a couple of fake plants to hide keys so we can just let ourselves in.”
Daniel cleared his throat, and we all looked at him as he cocked an eyebrow and shot David a stern glare. “Why don’t we stick to knocking even if the door’s unlocked. I don’t know about you, David, but I can think of plenty of reasons why we might not want to waltz into each other’s house unannounced.”
All four of us erupted in laughter. I couldn’t help but watch Daddy as he smiled and laughed. I loved Daddy’s smile, but this time it felt different. It felt brighter; it was a beautiful sight, and I felt honored to be a witness.
