“Now, I hope you’ve learned your lesson about obeying Papi, Pequeña.”
She stared up at him, her face flushed. Whether it was from the crying or the kiss, he wasn’t sure.
“Let’s go have a look at your toys, okay?”
He had to admit, he’d kind of just expected her to start playing with her toys. Instead, when he carried her over and set her down, she just sat there and stared at everything.
He wasn’t sure why she was so reluctant to play with them.
He peered at the instructions for the oven. “Wait. What the hell? This actually cooks stuff?”
Her eyes widened, and she nodded.
“This is considered a toy? I don’t want you using this. You could hurt yourself. What the heck? Nope. This one is going away.”
He felt like he’d been deceived. Maybe he should have paid more attention. He set the oven on a high shelf, only to hear her make a sad noise.
It made him freeze and he turned back to look at her. Then he looked at the oven with a sigh.
“Fine. You can play with it. But only under supervision.”
She clapped her hands.
“It sounds like we need to get a special mix for it, anyway.”
She nodded.
“All right, well, how about we play with your doll? What’s her name?”
Nothing. All right then.
He started opening the packaging.
“I guess I’ll just have to name her. How about Veraminta Naughty Bottom?”
She gasped and shook her head.
“No? Damn, that was some of my best work.” He laid the doll down on the floor and watched Cat. She was staring at it hungrily. Like she wanted to touch it but didn’t know if she should.
It was an odd reaction. Didn’t she know he’d bought the doll for her? She seemed so unsure.
“Okay, so we mix up this stuff with water. Seems easy enough.” He got some water from the attached bathroom and made up the food. “Ew, looks gross. Do you want to do this?”
She shook her head.
He fed the doll some of the green slop. It made noises like she was happy with the taste.
“She seems to like it. Sure you don’t want to try?”
Again, she shook her head.
“She’s your dolly, Pequeña,” he reminded her. “You can touch her.”
But she didn’t make a move toward Veraminta.
“Okay, I guess she’s eaten enough. Now, according to the instructions . . . she’s going to poop that out? Hell. That’s gross.”
The doll suddenly started talking, telling him she was thirsty. He spotted a juice box. He had to get water into the juice box first. He hurried into the bathroom, then came racing out as the doll started to lose it.
He gave her the water and she grew quiet.
Thank the Devil. Crisis averted.
He glanced over at his own baby girl, only to find her grinning. She quickly erased it as she saw him looking. But he sent her a sharp look.
Oh, she thought this was funny?
Suddenly, the doll started crying. What fresh hell was this? “It’s crying! Real tears! Fuck, what does it want?”
Cat cracked up. Giggles escaped her as he stared down at the doll in horror.
Did it need its diaper changed? He laid it down, then carefully undid the diaper.
“Oh no. Fuck. Not. Happening.”
“You have to clean the poop, Papi,” Cat told him.
While he was grateful she was talking, there was no way he was cleaning up a doll’s poopy bum.
“Nope. She’s your problem.” He held her out to her. “You clean her bottom.”
“You should be a good Papi.” She waggled her finger at him.
“I am a good Papi. But that stuff is green. That’s unnatural.”
“Silly Papi.”
“You’ll have to do it.” He put his hand on his stomach. “I can’t handle it.”
Cat eyed Alejandro suspiciously.
She knew he wasn’t the squeamish type. She bet he wasn’t worried about a bit of fake green poop. This was all a trick. A sneaky ploy to get her to do what he wanted.
Although it had been funny, watching him run around and fetch things for the doll.
“She’s yours, Pequeña,” he told her gently.
Right. It still didn’t feel like she’d earned her, though. Or any of this stuff, including the outfit she had on.
“You sure, Papi?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It’s just . . . all this stuff is so nice. Too good for me.”
He scowled, then he grasped hold of her chin as he kneeled in front of her. “You listen to me. There is nothing that is too good for you. Understand? I do not want to hear you to say that again. You can touch everything, and play with it all. It’s all for you.”
She sucked in a breath. “Okay, Papi.”
Taking hold of the doll, she cleaned her up before putting on a new diaper. Then she rocked her until she stopped crying.
“Good girl,” she praised, settling her down to sleep on the floor with a small blanket that she’d come with over her.