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“I made something for you,” he announced before bringing the paper from its hiding spot. “I hope you like it.”
He handed over his drawing and a wide smile crossed my face as I examined it. “Oh Henley, I love it.” All over the sheet, he’d drawn flowers of all shapes and sizes. All of them were orange and purple. “You made them our favorite colors.”
He nodded proudly. “You gave me Officer Bear to remind me of you when we’re apart, and I thought this picture might remind you of me.”
“It definitely will, and I know the perfect place for it.” I carefully creased the paper until it was a small square, and pulled my wallet from my back pocket. I held the flap open and slid the drawing behind the cash it held. “I always have my wallet on me. When I’m missing you, I can take out the picture and think of how sweet you are.”
I rolled up on one hip to replace my wallet, and Henley surprised me by throwing his arms around my neck in a big hug. I snaked my arms around his hips and cuddled him just as tightly.
“Thank you,” he told me quietly, and just when I was about to argue that I should be thanking him for my pretty drawing, Henley added, “For supporting and helping me in all of this, for liking me just the way I am, and for…everything.”
I let loose just enough to look up at his handsome smiling face. Henley was impossible not to like…or more. My feelings were growing deeply and rapidly for my sweet boy. Every part of himself that he showed to me was beautiful, inside and out.
I wanted to show some of those feelings with a kiss to his pouty lips, but I wasn’t sure what he was comfortable with during playtime, and I didn’t want to make him nervous by bringing it up.
But Henley took the words out of my mouth by asking, “Is it okay if I kiss you, Daddy?”
“Kitten, you never have to ask me that. I always want your kisses.”
He smiled and pressed a sweet, quick kiss to my lips. He didn’t move to deepen it, and neither did I; I was grateful for everything he gave me.
“Would you like to color some more?” I asked, nodding towards the kitchen, but Henley shook his head no.
“I want to play with the police car you got me. I’ve got some other cars under my bed, too.”
“Do you need help getting them?”
“Nope! I’ll be right back.” Henley hurried away and returned only a moment later, carrying a plastic bucket full of cars. He laughed as he tipped the bucket over, dumping them all onto the carpeted floor with a clatter. He dropped to his knees before popping right back up onto his feet. “I almost forgot!”
As he ran into the kitchen, I chuckled, marveling at his agility. I wasn’t that much older than Henley, but it had been a while since I could move my body in those ways. He returned with ‘Officer Bear’ in his arms, and the two of them hit the ground again to play together.
Watching Henley play was like admiring beautiful artwork. I got to witness the inner workings of his heart and soul as he put them on display. And I particularly enjoyed the game he came up with; all of his little cars were driving along, minding their own business, when wouldn’t you know, a white car bumped into a blue SUV before speeding away.
But not to worry; Officer Bear arrived on the scene (riding on top of his wooden cruiser). He calmly told the driver (which was a crayon Henley swiped from the table) that he was there to take care of him and everything would be okay. It was precious to see the familiar scene playing out again, and witnessing how much our meeting had meant to Henley.
The game got a little less sweet when he abandoned that storyline and instead had all of his cars enter a demolition derby. They crashed and crunched against each other, sending their poor crayon drivers flying. Even Officer Bear got a wicked case of whiplash. But a smile never left Henley’s face. Or mine.
In fact, my boy didn’t even look up from his game until a knock sounded on the door. Then he seemed to snap out of the zone when he gazed at me worriedly. “I don’t know who that could be.”
“It’s just the groceries I ordered,” I assured. I’d gotten a message on my phone saying they’d arrived.
“You ordered me groceries?”
I nodded. “You needed a few things in your cabinets, and I wanted to get something to cook for dinner.”
Henley blinked his rounded eyes. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I love the way you take care of me, Daddy.” And just like that, he went back to his game, as if he didn’t give me the best compliment I could ask for, and sent my heart on a wild ride.
