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“Sunshine, I don’t think this is going to work.” Looking around at the different piles he’d made in the playroom, and really, throughout the house, I just didn’t see a way to give him everything he wanted. “You’ve done a very good job of organizing your toys, and just everything in general, but there’s no way all of this will fit in one bedroom.”
He collapsed in a heap of theatrics and pouting in the middle of the playroom. “I changed my mind. I’m not going.”
Oh, that wasn’t good.
It was the third time in the past three days he’d said that, and he was looking more and more believable with every performance.
Eventually he was going to talk himself into not going to college if we weren’t careful.
The closer he got to going, the more dramatic and extensive his list of worries got. That wasn’t to say they weren’t perfectly understandable fears but refusing to go to college because he might have to eat squishy vegetables wasn’t exactly logical.
I thought we’d have a bit more time before we got to this point but I’d clearly underestimated his stress levels and how strange his organizational systems would be.
Sitting down behind him, I wrapped my theatrical boy in my arms and pulled him against my chest. When he was still pouting but feeling more relaxed, I kissed his head. “I thought we’d decided what you were going to bring for the first few weeks and what was going into storage?”
With the way every pile had changed overnight and how there seemed to be twice as many as when I’d left the day before, something had changed.
Clearly, going back to my place last night had been a bad idea.
“I got an email from the school.” Taking a deep breath as I gave his head another kiss, I waited until he explained that in more detail.
Over the past few weeks, the first thing I’d learned was how to wait him out. My sunshine vomited out everything he was thinking as long as he wasn’t stunned silent. I’d never seen that side of him come out in full effect until we’d run into a fascinating couple one night when I’d taken sunshine out to dinner.
He’d told me later they were the naughty couple he’d served before and I probably should’ve guessed that by the way they’d… well, the way one man kept waving at Addison every time he glanced in our direction.
Which was a lot.
Addison hadn’t said two words until it was time to pick out dessert. When he was stumbling over that, I’d made the executive decision to get cheesecake to-go and we’d escaped. He’d promptly deflated in the car and then told me every naughty thing he’d originally overheard when they’d come into his restaurant.
He met the most interesting people.
But my mental wandering was cut short as he sighed again and snuggled into me. “They said I could have one of the apartment-style housing options that are just off campus. They didn’t spell it out but I think it’s because I’m a little older.”
I wasn’t really seeing the problem but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a very interesting one out there somewhere.
“You’re going to have a lot more space then.” Kissing his head, I tried to stay positive. “So let’s get you one more storage box and say you can fill that up, then the rest of the toys will go into storage for rotations.”
If I was remembering that option correctly, he might have room for more depending on how we organized the bedroom and what size bed he’d put in there. “Isn’t that the one where you can have your own furniture? You’ll like that.”
He’d like having his own stuff around.
“But… but I’ll have to share with someone else and what if they think my dresses are silly?” He took a deep breath but didn’t feel any more relaxed in my arms.
“Sunshine, you already knew you’d have to share your space with someone else. This way you’re just going to have more room and more privacy. You’ll have a living room to share and even a kitchen where I can bring you cookie dough.”
That got a small laugh from him as he turned and shifted so he could rest his head on my chest. “I like cookies. You bring the best cookies, Daddy.”
And I was no longer talking to grown-up Addison.
“My sunshine loves cookies and I can bring you chicken nuggets. Even if I’m not your delivery man anymore, I can still bring you surprises.” And a few vegetables but I wasn’t going to point that out when he was already so theatrical.
“I like nuggets… and I can bring sauces too, Daddy.” He stroked my chest like I was his newest stuffed animal, the stress finally fading as he sank deeper into his Little side. “And my fuzzy peoples.”
He looked over at the pile of stuffed animals that seemed to be doubling every time I turned around. “All my fuzzy peoples.”
