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After breakfast, Nick had walked them over to the multi-purpose room, where they were currently all decorating colorful Christmas cards together. Allie was making two, one for Nick and one for Michelle, and she couldn’t think of one single thing to make this day better.
Well, maybeonething. She still hadn’t gotten up the nerve to call Nick “Daddy” yet. He was acting like one, and Michelle had referred to him as her Daddy a few times, but she just couldn’t seem to make herself say it for some reason.
Which seemed stupid, even to her, because she’d wanted a Daddy forever and now that she had the chance, she was chickening out. Maybe that wasn’t really the right term because she wasn’t scared, not really.
Calling someone Daddy was just a Really Big Deal. Or at least, it should be, as far as she was concerned. It was important, and she couldn’t help but feel like everything would change once she finally said it out loud.
At another table, there was a pretty girl with long, dark hair like Allie’s, seated between two giant men. Under other circumstances, they might have been scary, but it was hard to be intimidating when your face was sprinkled with glitter from trying to help your Little girl do arts and crafts.
Seeing the glitter on their cheeks reminded her of something she’d seen online one time and she snuck a look up at Nick. He had a beard like Santa, only his was a sort of red-orange color like his hair instead of white. And maybe it would get her butt spanked again, but she absolutelyneededto see what it would look like decorated like a Christmas tree.
Since her Tops were distracted, she took the opportunity to pour a bunch of glitter into her hands. “Nick?”
“Yes, little one?”
Just as she’d hoped, he turned to smile at her. Not wanting to make him suspicious and risk ruining everything, she lifted her hands to his face and pressed her glitter-covered hands against his cheeks. “I have a very important question.”
She didn’t, not really, but she needed him to stay distracted long enough for her to really get the glitter in there.
“What’s your question, little one?”
“Do you know… the muffin man?”
One reddish eyebrow lifted, as if he was wondering what the heck had gotten into her. “The muffin man?”
“Mmhmm.” Going with it, she nodded solemnly as she shifted her hands up and down in his beard. “The muffin man.”
“Yes, I know the muffin man. He lives on Drury Lane, right?”
“Allison Rae!”
Uh oh.Giving Nick a sheepish grin, she held up her hands and waggled her fingers. “Whoops.”
For a moment, it seemed like the entire room had gone silent, waiting to see what would happen next. Nick glanced at her fingers, then back at her, his eyes narrowing as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Holding it up, he checked the damage in the camera.
And burst into laughter.
Shocked, Allie could only stare at him. From behind her came Michelle’s annoyed huff. “Nick! It isn’t funny!”
“I beg to differ, darlin’. I happen to think it’s hilarious. And actually, it doesn’t look half bad. I wonder what else we could find to decorate it.”
Equal parts relieved and disappointed that she wouldn’t be getting her butt roasted in front of a bunch of strangers, Allie giggled and added more glitter to his beard. “We should find some mini ornaments! Then you can be a Christmas tree!”
“That does seem rather fitting,” Michelle admitted with obvious reluctance.
“Oh, I know where to find some!” The Little seated between the two men jumped up from her spot and raced to a closet at the far end of the room. She disappeared for a few seconds and reappeared triumphantly carrying a box over her head.
When she approached their table, Allie went to grab for the box, but the sound of Michelle deliberately clearing her throat stopped her. “Allison, if you need a reminder on good manners, I would be happy to give you one.”
Realizing she was treading on thin ice, Allie shook her head. “No, Ma’am. I’ll be good. May I please see what’s in the box?” she asked the other Little girl.
“Sure! I’m Eloise, by the way, and those are my Daddies, Tiago and Rhodes.” Setting the box on the table, Eloise opened the flaps, exposing dozens and dozens of small, colorful ornaments.
“Oh my gosh, these are perfect!” Allie squealed as she all but dove into the box. “How did you know they were there?”
“We had a contest a couple weeks ago. Each Little got their own tiny Christmas tree and we got to decorate them however we wanted. I didn’t win, but that’s okay ‘cuz it gave me lots of ideas for pictures to draw later.”
“This is Allie,” Michelle said before Allie had a chance to respond. “And I’m Michelle. It’s very nice to meet you, Eloise.”
