Trained By Her Daddy by Shelly Douglas
Chapter 20
“Daddy, where are we going?”
“Remember the stuffed bunny that I bought for you at the amusement park?”
“Who could forget? And you know I’ll be sleeping with Pinkie the next time you go out of town for work.”
“Well, I was thinking she might like a friend.”
“How thoughtful of you,” I offered through a jagged smile.
“Well, I happen to know there’s a company called Build-A-Bear. Have you ever heard of it?”
“No, should I know who they are?”
“Build-A-Bear is a brand which has been in the business for twenty years, and their tagline is that they make special memories—one furry friend at a time. To shop, we can drive to one of their brick and mortar stores, or I can order your new friend online and guess which animal you’d like to have.”
I peered at him out the side of my eye. “Apparently, we’re going to the store…”
“My first inclination was to surprise you with a friend for your pink bunny, but then I thought it might be even more fun for you to choose your own. I checked out the store, and they were so helpful and friendly as they explained what kind of experience their young shoppers might expect.”
“Are you going to give me an outline of what I can anticipate, or do you want me to be surprised?”
“Well, we’re here,” he said, parking the car. “So why don’t we go in and explore. I think it will be more enjoyable that way.”
John opened his door and then ran to my side to open mine. As he took me by the hand, I almost started to cry. My new Daddy was always so intent on not only making me feel loved and cherished as a woman, but he also wanted to fill some of those dark empty holes from my childhood which were still gaping wide open.
“Hello,” the young greeter at the door said cheerfully. “Can I help you find something?”
John squeezed my hand while smiling at the young clerk. “I’ve been here before, but my fiancée hasn’t. Could you fill her in on how this purchasing process works?”
“I’d love to. Our goal is to satisfy all our customers—young and old, because we recognize that a hug is understood and appreciated by all ages.”
Okay. This woman was close to becoming my best friend. “But I noticed the furry animals haven’t been stuffed yet, so do you perform that function here?”
She was probably wondering what spaceship I had just landed on. There was no doubt I was wet behind the ears when it came to knowledge about this kid-friendly company that had been in business for two decades. But nevertheless, she remained polite and friendly. “Your first step is to pick a furry friend from one of our shelves, and then we have several sounds for you to choose from which we can insert in her paw. After deciding on whether you would like her to have a silent or beating heart, we’ll stuff and sew her closed. And when you’re all done—you can create a birth certificate on our store computer. Now then, will this be a gift for a niece or nephew?”
If my face had grown any hotter, it would’ve melted off. Of course, it never occurred to our salesperson that this new friend was for me, and thankfully John came to my rescue. “I’ve heard there’s a tradition for a new mother to pass a beloved stuffed animal to her baby. But unfortunately, my fiancée never owned a furry animal friend as a child.”
The woman immediately threw a hand over her mouth and gasped. “Never?”
I did love telling people I’d been raised by wolves, but it didn’t seem appropriate at that juncture. This was clearly a woman who spent her days selling toys to happy children with loving mothers and fathers—so, I simply shook my head and listened as John continued. “I thought it would be meaningful for us to pick out a new stuffed toy while she’s pregnant, so we could pass it to our first child.”
“Oh my, I guess congratulations are in order!” the clerk politely exclaimed, trying to see how far along I was in the pregnancy.
My hand flew to touch my tummy. “I’m not showing yet, I only recently found out we’re going to have a baby.”
She bobbed her head and grinned. “Wonderful news! Just let me know when you’ve made some choices. Obviously, we have shelves and shelves of furry friends and plenty of sounds which you can choose from.”
“Thanks for coming to my rescue,” I mumbled to John through one side of my tight lips as the clerk walked away.
He looked up and down the shelves and then casually whispered in my ear. “You know, I came up with that idea off the top of my head, but I really like the notion of handing down a special new friend.”
My eyes pooled with tears as I joined in the search for my new toy, scanning rows of brightly colored and pastel shaded stuffed animals. “Do you think it’s the hormones, or am I really choked up over choosing a new friend?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say you’re dealing with an abundance of emotions right now. But either way, I’m glad you’re not holding back your tears. And I wouldn’t worry about anyone watching—a release is probably what you need.”
As I wiped my wet cheeks with the flat of my hand, the clerk joined us once again. “Maybe if you decided what type of friend you’re looking for—I can help you narrow the search.”
“I was thinking a bunny might be nice…”
“Peter Rabbit, Soft Pawlette, and Snuggly Bunny are not only in stock today, but they’re on sale. And their colors are brown, pink and vanilla. Which one would you like to see?”
Wow. I could feel my eyes burning in disapproval of her sales technique. Would someone really pick their best friend by color? Or choose one just because they were on sale? Dear God, I had an urge to smack that woman upside her head. Luckily, John sensed my mood swing and joined the conversation. “I think Snuggly Bunny sounds like she could fit the bill. Don’t you think, sweetheart?”
“Yes,” I said, trying to control myself. “Where is the bunny? Can I see her?”
The clerk hurried over to the appropriate shelf and brought the furry vanilla colored bunny over to me. “What do you think? Would you like to help bring her to life with some stuffing?”
A flood of tears returned to my eyes as I thought of how much John and I loved our new baby growing in my belly. He’d already proven to be a wonderful Daddy to me, and though he was a young man by today’s standards when Jake was born—it’s obvious he’d always taken his role as a father seriously. John is a man rooted in ethics and good values, and I felt confident that our son or daughter would always receive unconditional love from him. “Y-Yes,” I quavered, choking back the tears. “I’m ready to bring her to life.”
After we helped to stuff Snuggly Bunny by stepping on the machine’s pedal to fill her with a fluffy polyester filling, I handed the clerk a “beating” heart to put inside her chest. Then a recorded sound was inserted in her paw, so when you squeezed it—she giggled. Dear God, it really did seem like she was born in front of our eyes.
“Thank you so much for all your help,” John and I said simultaneously as we headed toward the cashier to pay for my new furry friend.
“Don’t forget to stop by our in-house computer, so you can create a birth certificate for her,” the clerk called out to us in a singsong voice.
John knew better than to ask if I felt it was necessary to construct the legal paperwork, and though we filled out most of the pertinent requested information with ease, I paused at the last question. “What should we name her, Daddy?”
Jesus, I just called him Daddy in front of a store full of people and didn’t even flinch. What in the hell was happening to me?
“Well, do you want to call her something fun, or go with a heartwarming and sentimental name?”
“I think my funny bone is on vacation right now…”
He tipped his head and grinned. “Okay, I get it. How about Marshmallow?”
“Are you serious?”
“Well, it’s the color of the bunny, and your hormones have been raging lately, so I’d say your emotions have been… well, let’s just say…”
“You might as well call a spade a spade, Daddy. I’m a puddle of mush.”
“And how do you want to pay for this bunny, sir?” the cashier asked John as we approached the register. It was difficult to ignore the little girl who stood to the side of the checkout line with tears coursing down her face. And it was obvious by the mother’s loud obnoxious tone that she never intended to buy her young daughter anything. So why bring her in the store?
“I’ll be paying by credit card, and I’d like to buy that child a stuffed animal, too. Just don’t tell the mother I’d paid her bill until we’re gone,” he whispered.
As I carried Marshmallow out of the storefront in a large cardboard box, I felt the need to voice my opinion. “Why would anyone bring a child into this store with no intention of buying, and then call her little girl a brat when she started to cry. I think the woman was just being mean.”
“What goes on in other people’s lives isn’t for us to judge. But since Jake brought us together, I’ve never been happier—and it seemed like a good time to pay it forward. No matter what her mother intended, I suspect the child in that store needed someone special to love.”
“I know you’ve said it’s okay for children to feel sad sometimes, but right now, she looked like she needed a furry friend to tell her troubles to, and I’m so glad you were able to help her out.”
“We helped her out,” John gently corrected as he stopped walking. “We’re a team now, remember?”
Staring up at him through blurry vision, I nodded and smiled.
Now, I have an important question for you, young lady,” John said, bending down to meet my eyes. “Do you think you’re ready to look forward instead of looking back?”
“Yes, Daddy,” I purred, patting my belly. “I think it’s finally time for me to turn the page and start a new chapter in my life.”
The End