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“Um, coffee and apple juice please, Mr. Casey.”
“You can call me Uncle Casey if you want. Would you like your juice in a sippy cup?”
“Yes, please.” The only uncles I ever had were technically Bowie’s. Daddy fixed up my coffee the way I liked it while Uncle Casey got my juice.
“Come sit by me,” Chase said, skipping over to the table. “Our Daddies will bring the stuff to us, so we don’t spill it. I don’t like to get in trouble,” he made a pouty face. Another story I’m sure I’d learn about someday. Littles liked to talk when they played and you never knew what secrets they’d spill.
“Sweetheart,” Uncle Casey kissed the top of Chase’s head as he sat his plate down, “I know you’re excited about your new friend, but you don’t want to scare him off.” Chase got really sad and I wanted to hug him again.
“Sorry, Tony, I’m just excited. No one plays with me unless we go to the club.”
“That’s not true. What about Henry and Jamie.”
“Oh yeah,” Chase perked up. “I forgot about them. But Tony has the same job as me, so he understands stuff. And-and, Jamie looks at me like I’m a lollipop.”
Chase’s Daddy snorted and had to turn away. “You’re a handsome boy and he’s a fan of your band. Besides, his Daddy taught him boundaries, and he doesn’t hug you without asking now.”
“True. I’m not a piece of meat,” Chase crossed his arms and got all frowny. “Right, Daddy.”
“Right, Little Songbird.”
“It’s okay to tell people no when they try to touch you, Tony. Member that.”
He was serious as could be and even though I wanted to laugh, I didn’t. “I will, I promise.” Chase nodded and dug into his pancakes, wiggling his butt as he ate.
“What do you want to do today? We can play with my toys, or play outside on my swing set, or go swimming, or watch movies, or color. What do you want to do?” My smile grew each time he opened his mouth. My new friend was adorkable.
“All of it!”
“Yay!” Chase patted his Daddy’s hand. “See, Daddy, besties already.” I giggled, triggering the same from Chase.
“Silly boys. Finish your breakfast so you can go play.” Uncle Casey seemed really nice, but everyone knows I have the bestest Daddy.
As soon as Chase was done, his arms shot up in the air. His Daddy came over and wiped him clean. “Come on, Tony. I’ll show you all our fun stuff then you can pick where to start.”
I glanced over at Daddy for approval. “Go ahead, Little Wren. This is your special trip with your new friend.”
“Stay out of the pool, Chase,” His Daddy hollered after him. “Wait until later when Daddy is with you.”
“Okay, Daddy. Let’s go outside first.”
He opened the sliding door into an outdoor oasis. “Whoa, your yard is huge.”
Chase giggled. “That’s what he said.” Little Chase was full of energy. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. When Daddy and I first moved in together he had a smaller house. Fans kept finding out where we lived and showing up at all hours. So, we had this house built in a gated community.”
“It’s sweet. Man, I’d love to have a pool, but it doesn’t make much sense in Seattle.” Though Joey and Stoli had the right idea, enclosing and heating theirs. They used it year-round.
“Yeah, we swim a lot. But this is what I wanted to show you.” We came around the corner of the yard and into a playground that rivaled any park.
“Whoa. That is seriously cool.” The biggest sandbox ever had the coolest jungle gym in the center of it. There were half built sandcastles and sand toys all over.
“Look at my little table. Daddy hooks a hose up to it, then I have water when I make my castles. When it’s summertime the sand’s too hot to play in though. I get burned super easy on the toys. He put these big kite sails over it, but it doesn’t really help.”
“Bummer. I only have a few toys, I’m still trying to figure all this little stuff out.”
“My best friend David, our bass player, he knew I was a little before I even knew what a little was. Sent me to the club him and his boy Jordan go to and that’s where I ran into Casey.”
“Jordan, Ely’s catering partner?” He shook his head. “He’s a little?”
