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‘Pick more than one, it’s not like you’re choosing your Forever Friend,’ Nicky giggles. ‘Hey, try this one for starters.’
Nicky hands me a purple and yellow zebra with a huge mohawk style fluffy haircut. Instinctively, I bring him in for a big squeeze and feel myself breathe a huge sigh of relief.
‘Feels good, doesn’t it?’ Nicky says, happily pushing his squirrel around in the train. ‘And when you find your Forever Friend, it’s just even better!’
‘And have you found yours?’ I say, taking the zebra and making him trot along the floor as I too get on all fours.
‘Yes, his name’s Boost and he’s the sweetest little dolphin in the world,’ Nicky says. ‘Boost’s at home today drying off after we had too much fun in the bath last night!’
‘Hehe, sounds awesome,’ I giggle.
We start to play together and before long our two stuffies are conducting the entire collection around the room. It’s so much fun, and exactly the kind of activity that I’ve always dreamed of doing again since becoming an adult.
‘I want my milk now,’ Nicky says a little later, sitting on his butt and giving the squirrel stuffie a cuddle. ‘I’m thirsty.’
‘Me too. I wantmymilk,’ I say, feeling myself regressing and allowing myself to simply go with it rather than try to analyze what’s happening. ‘Where can we get our milk?’
‘Don’t worry. Milkies are coming,’ Nicky grins at the sight of a member of staff called Celeste walking in with two bottles of warm milk for us. ‘Yay!’
‘Yay!’ I say, blushing a little as the staff member hands me the milk, but not feeling myself coming out of Little Space. ‘Fankyouuu.’
‘Now you two be good boys and drink your milk,’ Celeste says. ‘And then take yourselves off for a nap under the blankets in the corner. I think after all that playing you both need a rest.’
‘Yes, Celeste,’ we both say in unison. ‘We will!’
Celeste smiles warmly and walks out of the room.
I look over to Nicky and see that he is already holding the bottle in both hands and happily glugging the milk down.
Without a second thought, I do the same as Nicky. The second the milk hits my tongue I feel myself sinking deeper into my happy place.
With the warm milk trickling down my throat, I feel safe, secure, and a little bit sleepy too.
‘I… tired,’ I say, a little dribble of milk at the corner of my mouth.
‘Me… too,’ Nicky replies. ‘Come on, follow me.’
I watch as Nicky crawls on all fours toward the big pile of bean bags and blankets in the corner. Without hesitation, I crawl behind him and snuggle up on top of two purple bean bags, my body sinking into their warm embrace as I pull up a patchwork quilt.
‘I’m having fun,’ I say, smiling to myself as I pull the blanket right up to my eyes. ‘Can we be… friends?’
I glance over to Nicky and see that he’s already half-asleep, but still awake enough to respond to me though…
‘Yay! Of course,’ Nicky replies. ‘I think we’re going to be friends forever. Now all we need to do is help you find your Forever Friend stuffie.’
‘I’d like that,’ I reply, beginning to doze off.
‘Try and dream about him,’ Nicky says, his eyelids drooping as he snuggles deeper into the beanbag. ‘And when you wake up you can te…. te… tell…’
Nicky drops off to sleep and I feel my eyes shutting too.
This might have been my very first playdate, but I know in my heart of hearts that it’s just the beginning.
After a great first week at work and now a wonderful playdate with my new BFF Nicky, I’m feeling like Los Torros might just be the place where I truly settle down.
Now all I need to do is work out where Harrison fits into all of this – and most importantly, whether he could actually be my Daddy…
Chapter8
