“I’ve heard horror stories,” I admitted, “but never had the misfortune. This is easy though, see?”
I snapped the next two pieces together and added them to the first two, while he propped himself up on his elbow and reached for another piece.
“I’m glad,” he replied. “It’s hard to be patient and put everything together correctly when all you want to do is play.”
“Then why don’t you go ahead and get out the outfit you want for the movie and grab any stuffies and accessories you’d like to bring with you, and by the time you’re through, it’ll be playtime,” I offered.
“Yay, thanks Daddy Stone!”
He was off the bed and across our cabin before I could blink, not that he had far to go, but if it worked out that I got to be his forever Daddy, then I knew going in to assemble all gifts before I gave them to him so he could jump right into playtime.
Sure enough, by the time he’d finished getting his things together, I had the track assembled and three train engines lined up on it, waiting to take turns around the track.
And the race was on!
“Wee!” He declared as he drove Thomas around first, making me glad I’d positioned him that way. “Chugga, chugga, chugga, I’m off to find the magic railway.”
“Wait for me!” I said, following him with a bright green engine. “Chugga, chugga, chugga, watch out up ahead, there’s another train on the tracks.”
“Screechhhh,” he whined, halting Thomas so he could take over the next train, which he promptly flew off the tracks and onto the bed. “Oh no, it’s jumped the tracks. It’s a runaway train.”
“Come back,” I called, jumping off the track with the green train and following his little orange one onto the bedding, leaving Thomas on the tracks to observe the chaos in a dignified manner. Well, as dignified as a toy train could be. “You’re going the wrong way! The magic railway is in the other direction.”
“Woo-woo!” he cried, playing a merry game of cat and mouse with me as we drove the trains around on the bed. “I’m not going to the magic railway! What if we can never come back.”
"There’s always a way back,” I insisted. “Look at Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.”
“And?” He asked, continuing to keep his train out of reach of mine.
“And…and…ummmm…”
Well, shit. Talk about being out of aces.
“See!” he declared. “Woo-woo! No magic railway for me.”
We had a blast playing trains until it was time to get ready, and we never did find the magic railway either, but the movie would take us there after I grabbed a quick shower and helped him adjust the straps on his Thomas outfit. He’d chosen dungarees with stripes on them like the conductor’s hat he had perched on his gleaming hair. The Thomas onesie he wore beneath it had the engine’s face on the front, and I discovered that he didn’t like both shoulder straps clipped, just one, while the other dangled. There were enough pockets that he could fit anything he needed, including a wide, deep one across his chest where we tucked his Thomas stuffy.
Just seeing the way his face lit up when we stood before the mirror with him standing in front of me looking positively adorable cemented for me how much I wanted this to work beyond this trip.
I couldn’t fuck this up.
I couldn’t lose him.
I needed to kickstart a few brain cells and come up with a plan that would let me keep him forever.
And I needed to do it in less than a week.
Chapter Nine
Payden
Will it always be this way, or will Stone tire of me as the other daddies had?
Tonight is our only night off the train. I had a suite booked for bad Daddy and me at the Embassy Suites in Seattle near Pioneer Square right across the street from the train station. Bad Daddy didn’t deserve it, but Stone did and hopefully he’ll enjoy it.
According to the fine print, this night was for a change in crew members, a thorough cleaning of the train, both common areas and our rooms, and restocking supplies so we were all fresh and ready for the return trip back to L.A. in the morning.
These last few days have been some of the best of my life and instead of verbally sharing that, I decided to show Stone that in a grown-up way. Consummating what I hoped would become our forever relationship.
