“What?”
“I want Joey and his daddy to come on the Pride Trip. Can they? Can they ride with us?”
“Of course. I already asked Vince, and they said yes. And I cleared it with Drew. You know he doesn’t mind.”
“Yay!” That was going to be so much fun. I snuggled in again, focusing my thoughts on the trip rather than the moving-in part, but I still had a wonky feeling hanging over me.
I wanted to have a super fun day, so to get it started early, I bounced on the bed to wake Daddy up. “Easter! Easter! It’s Easter morning.”
“Shh…Cody. Go back to sleep.”
“No…it’s eggie time!”
Daddy groaned, then grabbed me, pulling me down by his side in the bed. “Shh…Daddy was up late setting Easter up for you.” He booped my nose. “The least you could do is give me a little more sleepy time.”
I huffed, “No. But how about I go get you a cup of coffee to wake you up?” Look at me compromising!
“That sounds great but be a good boy and no peeking.”
He knew me too well. I rushed down the stairs, averting my eyes to face the kitchen and not the living room, and dashed over to the coffee pot. It was set up and ready to go, so I pushed the button to start the brewing. A big yawn hit me, so I figured I might need a cup too. Like it or not, I wasn’t as young and energetic as I used to be. Still, I wasn’t old either. Only twenty-eight. My older brother and sister had turned the magic three-oh a couple of years before me, but I was ahead of my little brother and sister by a few years, especially Kirby, who was the youngest. He’d been the surprise baby and was twenty-two now. He’d finished college and spent all his spare time andmoney clubbing. Being smackdab in the middle meant I had to fight for everything growing up, from attention to toys to, well, everything. I sighed deeply. This wasn’t the time to be thinking about family issues—it was the time for fun. I’d dwelled on those issues long enough, and normally, it didn’t bother me. It was all Daddy’s talk about the future and moving in together that did it. Particularly that last part.
Ignoring my stupid thoughts, I grabbed a couple of coffee mugs, picking the kissy ones. They were cute and had kissy faces on the side that fit together. “Smooch-smooch.” I touched them together with a clink. The coffee was half finished, so I grabbed cream and sugar, dumping a load into mine, but only a little bit of cream in Daddy’s, no sugar, then grabbed the pot to pour without letting it finish. I couldn’t wait any longer.
I did walk slowly up the stairs, so I didn’t spill, and set Daddy’s coffee on the nightstand beside him. I sat in the little sitting area by the window to drink mine. I wasn’t allowed in bed with coffee or any drinks, really, because I couldn’t sit still. I’d been in trouble for spilling a few times before Daddy made that rule.
After a few sips, I was ready to go, but Daddy hardly stirred yet. “Daddy. Warner. Get up.” I kicked the bed and he groaned.
“Okay. Okay. I’m moving. Give me a sec.” He sat up and rubbed his eyes before grabbing the coffee. “Mmm…perfect. Thank you.”
“Smooches.” I held my mug up, making Daddy chuckle.
He sip, sip, sipped, and finally, it looked like he was awake, but still moving slowly.
“Let’s go. I know you’re about to jump out of your skin.” He put his mug down and pulled his soft sweat shorts on. “You can go first. Did you peek?”
“No, I was good and looked the other way.”
“Alright.” He motioned for me to go, and I left my mug on the little table between the chairs because I’d be bouncing down thestairs. “Be careful, little bunny.” He ruffled my hair as I bounced down the stairs and turned to the living room.
On the coffee table, a big basket waited for me. Inside was a little stuffed bunny holding a carrot. I squished him. “Cute.” I didn’t have a ton of stuffies like some of my other little friends, but I had a few. There was also an Easter-themed coloring book with lots of little forest creatures, and, of course, candy in a fun assortment. “Yummy.” I grabbed a Reece’s egg.
“Hey. That’s for after breakfast, please.”
“Rats.” I pulled all the candy out on the table with my bunny and picked up my basket. “Okay, eggies, ready or not, I’m coming to find you.”
Daddy snorted. “They’re shaking in their shells.”
“Haha, funny.”
He sat in the big recliner chair and waved his hand around. “They’re all right here. Get going.”
I searched for the eggs, and Daddy watched, and laughed. A lot. But it wasn’t at my expense; he was obviously enjoying it. I found one that I wrote on with the wax crayon before coloring. It was bright blue and saidCody. The writing seemed better before I actually colored the egg, but it was still fun. I held it up to show Daddy. “Got my Cody-eggie.”
“Yep. I liked that one.”
He’d hidden a green egg in the plants, sneaky Daddy, trying to camouflage it. “Ah-ha.” I held it up to show him before putting it in my basket with the others. The eggies piled up in my basket pretty quickly. They were no match for me.
“How many do you have, Cody? I don’t want any left unfound.”
