Page 114 of Love Limits

He led them over to the kitchen island and helped them onto the stool. Did you eat a good dinner? he asked sternly.

Yes, Daddy. They never got tired of saying it. Lena and I got tacos and we shared a salad. They could feel their little coming to the surface. When big kids ate all of their dinner, they got treats.

Good. Daddy ruffled their hair and they warmed under his approval.

He pulled five stacked bowls out of the refrigerator. With a flourish, he lined them up on the counter.

Ash bounced in their seat. One was M&M’s. Then peanuts. The next one was dried coconut. The fourth was… chocolate pudding? And the last looked like whipped cream. Two gooey, gloppy treats full of dairy and sugar and all the things that Daddy said weren’t good for them, but were sooooo yummy.

They reached out for all of the yummies, then pulled back. Can I eat them?

You can paint with them, Daddy said. He looked like he was just as excited as Ash was.

Of course, that was impossible because nobody could be as excited as they were right now. They got to paint with chocolate.

They dug right into the dark one. It was cool and squishy and it oozed out between their fingers.

They scooped out a big handful and smeared it across the counter. Then they had to have a taste. Yeah, it was chocolate pudding.

They needed to make it really smooth. Oh, but the little lines they could draw in it were so much fun. They zigged and zagged, then wiped it through and started all over. After just a few more tastes.

And what was the white stuff? They reached their other hand in for a good taste. Hmmm… Cool Whip? They plopped it on like clouds. It was lighter and squishier than the pudding and made swirling streaks when they waved their fingers through it.

They reached for the M&M’s to add some color, but their hands were gooey and that hid all of the fun colors. They looked up at Daddy to pout just as he snapped a picture.

He started laughing when they explained their conundrum, the delicious goo flying from their fingers as they signed.

Let me get you some spoons, he chuckled.

He put one in each bowl. Smart Daddy. Now the spoons could get yucky but the treats would still be pretty.

Daddy got them to look up for a few more pictures, but they were too busy to pay attention after that. The peanuts would be the stars and the M&M’s would be the jewels. The coconut slivers had to ride on the cloud ship to go collect them all.

Then Ash got to eat them.

Something pressed at Ash’s back and they moved forward till their feet hit the ground. They looked up at Daddy in question.

He slid onto their stool, then pulled them backward so their back was pressed to his chest and their butt was resting on the edge of the seat. Oh, yeah. This was so much better. Especially since Daddy kept his arms around them and watched over their shoulder.

Sometimes he even gave them little head kisses because he was the best Daddy in the world.

They wanted to save this forever and ever. And also eat it. Hmmm…

Make a movie, Daddy!

They could feel Daddy chuckling in their ear. It tickled. He took out his phone though, so Ash got back to work. They decided to search for undersea treasures. There could be a peanut shipwreck, and Ash could go exploring with the little coconut fish. Unless a big shark came, nom, nom, nom, and ate them all up.

They could feel Daddy’s belly shaking with laughter behind them.

Fishies were delicious. They got a little bit of ocean on their nose, though. And maybe their cheeks. And, yeah, there was a line of pudding across their shirt.

It was a good thing that Daddy had all of those stacks of towels.

Chapter 23

Zhong

Zhong had a plan. The past few weeks with Ash had been amazing. They’d spent every night together, and even with Ash’s long days at work it had been a dream.