Page 14 of Schooling Little Sage

“Daddy, can we have a juice box, please?” Devon asked. Sage’s eyes widened, taking in our exchange.

“Of course. Would you like one too, Sage?”

“Yes, please.”

No Daddy from him but I didn’t expect it either. This was far too new, and it would take him time to grasp the concept and fully embrace the lifestyle. If he ever did, that was.

Did I look forward to the first time he’d say it?

That answer came easily. Yes. Yes, I did.

“Do you boys want to hit the arcade next?”

“Yes!” Devon cheered and took my hand. He was clearly more comfortable with his Little side.

Sage looked at our hands, then up at Devon. I held my other hand out and it took a moment before he slid his into mine.

“Look at all the prezzies we can win, Sage.” Devon pointed to the counter. “I want the panda stuffy. Which one do you like?”

“Um,” Sage paused. “How do we win them?”

“With tickets, silly. The games give us tickets when we get a certain amount of points.” Devon’s confused glance met mine.

“This is all new to Sage. He’ll get the hang of it. Why don’t you show him how to play Skee-ball, then he can see how the tickets are won.”

“Good idea, Daddy. Come on, Sage.” Devon took his hand and led him over to the game. This was exactly what Sage needed. Not only to see others playing, but to have a big brother of sorts to show him the ropes and to let him know it’s okay to let go and be yourself.

I hung out near the ticket counter, eyeing the prizes and mentally selecting a few for the boys. It was their choice, of course, but it was kinda fun to see if our picks aligned.

After each game, the two of them ran over and handed me their tickets. Laughing, skipping, holding hands and having the best time as they tried each game. Sage wasn’t great, at first, but Devon was patient and showed him how to play each one. That boy was a caregiver Little for sure.

But when their yawns increased, it was time for this old cowboy to put on his Daddy hat. “Alright, boys. Let’s get your tickets turned in.” No fussing, guess I made the right decision.

“Panda please, and the candy and the fuzzy pen,” Devon told the prize guy after he and Sage split the tickets evenly. “Thank you. Which stuffy do you want, Sage.”

“Um, I want the cowboy ’roo that looks like Da-err… Warner, please.”

Almost but not quite.

“Ooohhh, I like that one too. Don’t forget the other stuff. Look at the cute erasers and toy cars.” Devon was just as excited about what Sage chose as he was for his own goodies. Sage picked out a couple of cars and a bag of candy then I walked them to the elevator.

“Did you boys have fun tonight?”

“Yes, thank you for letting me play with you guys.” Devon smiled. “May I hug you both?” Sage nodded and hugged Devon.

“I’ll take a hug too. You boys shower and get right to sleep. Sage, I’ll see you bright and early for work. I’ll be waiting right here… ooof!” Sage’s surprise hug knocked me back a bit.

“Thank you, for everything.”

“Sleep tight, sweet boy.”

They disappeared behind the elevator doors. I smiled all the way to my apartment until the door shut behind me and it hit me just how quiet my place was. Hopefully, one day it would be filled with the giggles from a certain Little.

Chapter Five

“Can we take Devon to see Master Arlo’s zoo?” I was having a great time playing with Devon. Right now, he was in classes and doing vacation stuff while we worked. I couldn’t believe I had my first real friend. It was gonna be hard when he left on Sunday though.

“We can on Saturday if that works for him.” Warner smiled as he tugged on my hat.