Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 63601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
And clearly not as big as he’d been when we’d started our conversation.
Argument?
Whatever we were doing.
“Thank you for being patient.” I wasn’t going to tell him he was wrong. I was a dick, but not that much of one. “And I really am sorry for being mean.”
And his arms came up again.
“And you’re sorry for ignoring me.” His attitude was adorable too. “I had to find the funny people by myself. My mother worried.”
He’d found who?
He’d told his mother he was little?
“Your mother knows you like…funny people.” I really needed to get back home more. “Does anyone else know it?”
Head cocking, the question clearly confused Chipmunk. “My dad? My friends?”
Yep, he thought I was an idiot.
“I was kind of worried that the people back home had been mean to you too.” That confession had his anger subsiding again.
“No…the bad naughty people are mean but the fun naughty people are good.” He shrugged like that made perfect sense. “You talked to bad naughty.”
Wasn’t that the truth.
Wait.
“There are good naughty people back home?”
Who was that?
And when had he found them?
Chipmunk was a little?
Could this year get any weirder?
Chapter 4
Teddy
“Yep.” Daddy Levi was just silly. “Lots.”
His grumbly Daddy sigh was cute but he was still a meanie who needed to be nice. “We’ll come back to that.”
That was Daddy talk to distract a little, but I’d remember.
“But I am sorry about how mean I was.” Daddy Levi made a big-big Daddy sigh. “I’ve been taking out my…my frustration on everyone around me.”
“Yep.” That wasn’t nice. “Be mean to the meanies, not me.”
Daddy Levi scrunched up his face. “What…”
He paused, needing thinking time.
“How…”
More thinking time.
Daddy Levi was like the dogs in the button videos.
I liked dogs.
I liked buttons and thinking-time circles too.
Maybe he needed to go in circles?
“Come on.” Taking his hand, I remembered to shut the door so no one would yell at me and I took him through the house. No meanies and no bugs. “Thinking time.”
Round and round we go.
Where we went…nowhere.
“Thinking time, huh?” Daddy Levi finally made a kind of laugh when we went through the kitchen and around to the tiny door that went back to the living room, but it was too small to really be happy. “This layout is insane.”
“Yep.” I shrugged and made him start again. “Round and round.”
“No kidding.” Daddy Levi made more thinking sounds but groaned when it was time to go again. “We’re going to keep walking until I’ve thought about what I have to say, huh?”
“Yep.” I shrugged. “And about being a meanie.”
“Ugh. This is like corner time for Doms.” Daddy Levi grumbled as we got back to the kitchen. “Fine. Okay. What was I going to say?”
Nothing.
Stop.
Start.
Stop.
Start.
“This is ridiculous.” Daddy Levi kept grumbling but he held my hand and kept walking. “Okay, I need to make it up to you because you’re right, Daddies shouldn’t be meanies.”
I gave him a big nod since he was being a good boy now.
“And?”
But he had to keep going and going.
So we went round and round again.
That got more Daddy sounds from him and more mumbles and grumbles, but he kept walking because he knew he had to be a good boy. He was ready to try again when we found the living room one more time. “How can I make it up to you?”
Hmm.
“Christmas.”
Yes, then he’d be happy and then he’d be nice.
More big Daddy grumbly sighs and huffs but he reached over and fluffed my hair. “That’s really making it up to your mother, Chipmunk. What can I do to make it up to you?”
It was my turn to make a big sigh like a Daddy.
“We need to go around again so you can think this time, don’t we?” Daddy Levi made dramatic sounds but he was a good boy and kept walking when I nodded. “I thought so.”
Yep.
Round and around again.
And again.
“I gotta be selfish, right?” I thought that was the plan but Daddy Levi made big sounds and looked up like he was talking to Santa or the spirits or God.
Hopefully one of them listened.
Oh, hopefully he knew who he was talking to…it’d be rude to talk to God when Santa was listening.
“It’s not selfish to make sure I remember to be nice to you.” Daddy Levi frowned and didn’t seem to believe it, but he was kind of stubborn. “The Christmas stuff would be making it up to your mother since I was inadvertently rude to her.”
“You’re a good Daddy and will be nice.” He’d remember now. “But I’ll help.”
Yes, I was a good helper.
“Playing.” Yes, he was a Daddy so he could play with me. “You have to play with me.”
Daddy Levi tripped over something invisible but he caught himself and didn’t crash. “Playing?”
“Yep.” Playing was a good way to remember to be nice. “You have to play with me.”