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“Daddy, Mommy showed me your wedding photos. Is it true a pig brought your wedding rings?” my five-year-old daughter, Missy, asks. She tucks her chin under her quilted blue-green Moana blanket.
She’s been obsessed with it for months, refusing to part with Moana even for just a day. Piper and I had to buy two more sets that looked exactly the same, just so we could wash the first one.
Leaning forward to sweep her bangs to the side, I smile and kiss her forehead. “Yep. But he’s not just any pig. His name was Thor, and he was there to witness our love grow.”
“Thor? Like the Avengers? The big guy with long, blonde hair who carries a hammer?”
“Yep.”
Her eyebrows pull together, and she pouts. “But a pig doesn’t look like a Thor. Who named him?”
My voice is low, like maybe I’m hoping she doesn’t hear. “I did.”
Missy gets into a sitting position to scowl at me. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why’d you name him Thor when you could’ve named him Piglet?”
“Piglet is so uncreative and unimaginative.”
“So is Thor.”
Ah. No one can humble me faster than this tiny girl who barely comes up to my waist. She stares at me with a mixture of confusion, disappointment, and curiosity. Her gaze is so intense that I have to stop myself from squirming.
God, I don’t have the mental energy to argue with this kid. “Oh, look. It’s bedtime. Lights off, Missy.”
“But…”
“No buts. You heard your mother. School starts early tomorrow.”
“Fine. Goodnight, Daddy.” She grabs the eye mask from her bedside table and slides it over her head.
“Goodnight, sweet.”
The door closes behind me with a click, and I sigh in relief. Missy definitely takes after Piper. She’s stubborn and strong-willed. Our other child, three-year-old Addie, shows the beginnings of a carefree, fun streak. Here’s hoping she’ll be my exact carbon copy.
I reach our bedroom to find the entire floor covered with Piper’s dresses. She’s sitting on the edge of the mattress with her head hung low and shoulders slouched.
Alarm bells ring in my head, and I get to her in three long strides. I lower myself on my knees in front of her and hook a finger under her chin. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
Her gaze is distant, her mouth turning downward. “Nothing fits.”
Ah. Understanding dawns on me, and my heart clenches. It breaks me to see her like this. She has always been the core of our family, and I can’t stand watching her self-esteem and confidence wither in front of me. I won’t have it.
“Baby,” I tell her. “You know you’re the most beautiful, sexiest woman in the world, right?”
She scoffs and rolls her eyes.
“You don’t believe me?”
Piper finally locks her gaze with mine, but her chin trembles. “I want to, but I can’t even wear any of these dresses.”
“Then, we’ll buy a new set of clothes.”
She sighs and busies her fingers with the collar of my shirt. “That’s not the point.”
“What is? Enlighten me.”
