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He stopped, swivelled to look at her.
“Yes?”
“This Daddy thing, I still don’t fully understand how I am supposed to behave.”
He chucked her under the chin. “Just be yourself. There are a few rules, which I’ll print out for you, but this is a negotiable dynamic. However, just to warn you, my core rules are not up for discussion.”
“What happens if I break a rule?” she asked.
“That depends on your behaviour and how many times you repeat the mistake,” he replied.
“Can’t you give me an example?”
“For instance drinking and driving, even if you have a single drink, you will find yourself upended with your butt bared and my belt whipping your ass!”
She relaxed. “That’s all right. I would never drive if I’ve had alcohol,” she assured him.
He winked at her. “Great! I’ll print out the list and we will go over it together after breakfast.”
* * *
When she entered thekitchen he was at the stove.
“I’ve had two phone calls about you,” he told her as he decanted eggs from a pan of boiled water.
“Yeah?”
“One was from Clare. You have an MRI scan on Thursday and the other was from a work colleague of ours whose wife is also a little. They want a play date today.”
She froze, her hand in mid-air clutching a slice of toast she’d picked up out of the cute birdcage-designed toast rack.
“A play date?” she asked, bewildered.
“Yeah, Mark has a business meeting and she wants to come over and play. I said that was fine, they’ll be here at eleven.”
“But what am I supposed to do with her?”
He crossed to the table and set a boiled egg down in front of her. “Ooo, how cute!” she exclaimed, distracted by the yellow chick egg cup. It reminded her of her father’s nickname for each of his daughters, his little chick, or chickens. A warm glow filled her at the thought of her dad.
David grinned.
“It’s your favourite egg cup,” he told her and took his seat opposite.
“So what do I do with what’s her name?” she pressed.
“Emily. I dunno, you play together doing the kind of stuff you like to do. Colouring, dressing up, dolls, puzzles, Disney movies, all those things,” he explained, reaching for the toast.
“How well does she know Penny?” she asked, frowning.
“Not all that well, you two have played together twice before, once here and once you went there. Don’t look so worried, it will be fine, just relax and have fun!”
“Okay.” Perhaps it might be fun to have a friend over who knew how to be a little. It would take her mind off her own troubles.
After breakfast he rummaged in the kitchen drawer and set a piece of laminated paper down in front of her. She read it through.
“Only five rules? I expected more,” she announced, surprised.
“They cover us and our dynamic pretty well. Why don’t you read each one out loud and I’ll comment.”
