3.182 Boss lady

When we return home, we find the mailbox stuffed with cards and small gifts, and the porch covered in packages, all for my sweet baby. She is so loved, and it brings a smile to my face. I tell her all of this is for her from our friends who couldn’t come to her birthday party. She probably still doesn’t know what a birthday is yet, but as she looks around at all the boxes, I’m quite sure I saw a picture forming in her head as a smile spread across her face. It was getting late, so I brought the stuff inside, made dinner, and put Desi to bed. The next morning, I woke up early and spent a few hours opening the boxes and turning the empty spare room into Desi’s Play Palace. She has something in there to feed her mind and creativity in every way. After setting up the room, I go outside to set up a play zone in the side yard.

I peek in on her when I came back inside, and she was just waking up, so I bring her downstairs and make a bowl of cereal because it’s quick and easy. But just like at the restaurant, and when she was an infant, she thought breakfast time was play time and actually knocked over the entire bowl. Milk spattered on the wall and oozed across the floor to the rug. Colorful, mushy rings shot up like confetti out of a party popper. This is by far the biggest mess she’s ever made, and I didn’t handle it well.

“Come on,” I yelled. “Are you serious right now??”

I didn’t mean to be so loud, especially since Sophia was still asleep, but I was just so over this behavior. But what’s worse is I scared Desi, and she cried.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But…this is not okay. You’re supposed to eat the food, not play in it.”

I cleaned the mess while she regained her composure and presented her with a new bowl of cereal, reminding myself that it was only cereal and not a labor-intensive feast or something that could ruin the upholstery.

“If I give this to you, are you going to eat it?”

“I eat it. I hungwee!”

“Are you sure?”

“I eat, Daddy!”

“Okay,” I said warily.

I place the bowl in front of her and watched to make sure she ate. But she doesn’t eat. She just looks at me funny.

“What’s wrong?”

“You sit down, Daddy!”

Okay, little boss lady.

After breakfast, we got dressed and worked on potty training because the faster we can be rid of diapers for good, the better. Just like when she was an infant, she sat on the pot with marked hesitance but stuck it out, glancing at me now and then to make sure she was doing the right thing. And also just like before, I was her cheerleader. She didn’t make a mess, and a little something landed in the pot, so for a first-timer, I’d say that session was a success. She’ll be fully trained in no time.

I stuck her in the playroom so I could get stuff done, but the doorbell rang. It was Maira, and I was glad to see her, of course, and I would never turn her away, but I was really looking forward to knocking out the tasks I left behind when we left suddenly for the wedding. I’ve learned, as a parent, when a window opens, you better jump through it or else. Oh well. Everything will still be waiting for me when she leaves, so I put that frustration out of my mind and gave her my full attention. Well…maybe just a third, heh.

While we were away, she went on a second date with that guy. Before she got into whatever details she wanted to share, I asked her to tell me about him since she’s here and I have a little time. His name is Rahul Chopra, and she actually knew him already. They’re both from Henford on Bagley and had mutual crushes when they were younger, but he’s a little bit older than her, so nothing ever happened. He used to deliver groceries, but now he owns the whole business. They ran into each other when she visited her parents the other week and kept in touch. They’re both pretty active, so I was glad to hear they had something in common. He loves fishing and is in a fishing club. He also loves dancing. The second date went well enough for him to want to see her again and for her to want to kiss him, but she refrained for fear of things going too fast.

She could have told me all this over the phone, but the reason she ran over here was a plot twist at the end of the night. Rahul said he would call her again, and they said goodnight and parted ways. No sooner than he disappeared into the darkness, another man slid into his place and chatted her up. That rubbed her the wrong way and reminded her of how the boys in school used to treat her like the flavor of the week. But this man was FINE. Her words, not mine. He was so fine, she couldn’t take her eyes off him if she tried—and she tried. She let him talk, and he seemed like a nice guy who just wanted to shoot his shot. He apologized for showing up so abruptly, gave her his number in hopes she would call, and left her alone in a state of confusion and lust. Naturally, she came to me for advice. She showed me a selfie she and Rahul took, as if that was supposed to help me.

I sat there, smirking at her, proud of how she’s finally putting herself out there, but also laughing internally at how she went from swearing off love to having two men vying for her attention. I secretly hoped Sophia was listening and would insert herself into the conversation because I didn’t have any advice for her. She’s probably still not looking to settle down as of yet, so I felt like the situation isn’t as serious as she’s making it out to be. Also, seeing that I was halfway dating three women at once, I wasn’t the best source of advice for this. Still, as much as I just want to say “have fun and do what you want,” I can’t help but think about it from the men’s perspectives. What if one or both of them is looking for a wife? It wouldn’t be right for her to play around with them and waste their time, so I suggested she get to know them both and figure out if she’s on the same page with either of them. For good measure, I told her what Mama said to be: be real about your feelings. I swear that’s the best advice anyone has ever given me.