Songbird [H.S]

FORTY-THREE

June 1978

Josie: 4 ½ months old

Harry was a lover. He was a gentle soul that aimed to comfort and nurture those he loved and nothing showed that more than the way he cared for Marley and Josie. Touch was a special love language of his, constantly needing to shower his girls with gentle touches, soft kisses and loving cuddles to express his feelings.

Watching Harry become a father was such a precious experience for Marley, seeing how his face lit up with every little sound or dimpled smile that Josie gifted him. Their daughter brought him a certain purpose in life that had previously disappeared when he lost his grandmother Josephine. He was always meant to be a Dad, Marley could see that a mile off.

A content smile graced her lips as she sipped on a warm mug of tea, and snuggled up in a blanket on the floor as she watched Harry playing with Josie on her little activity mat in the middle of the living room floor.

It was a quiet Thursday morning, everyone else had gone to work and Josie was all bright-eyed and smiley, ready to start the day. Harry was laying on his front, talking animatedly to his daughter as he helped her play with the abundance of toys littering the floor around them. Marley couldn't help but admire how attractive Harry was with his messy bedhead, pretending to make his daughter's bunny talk with an unlit cigarette perched between his pink lips. He'd been trying to have his morning smoke for the past half hour but every time he got up to stand by the back door, Josie would do something that distracted him.

"Is my sunflower girl happy today?" He cooed with a bright smile, gently stroking her cheek to try to coax the dimpled grin he loved so much out of her. Josie babbled in response, stretching her tiny hand out to grab the ring dangling from the chain around his neck. "Uh oh, you can't play with that, sunny. How about we play with bunny instead."

Harry was quick to tuck his necklace back into his shirt so she couldn't get her hands on it anymore, making the girl's face scrunch up into a grumpy frown. Recently, she'd developed a habit of grabbing onto things, her tiny fist clutching tightly on the first thing she could find. She really loved to grab onto Harry's curls if he didn't push them back with his bandana - one of the only things that Josie did which annoyed him.

"Don't be giving me that attitude, sunny. Look, bunny wants some cuddles instead." He mumbled, holding out the toy rabbit to see if she'll grab it. She reached out for it with a smile, her face lighting up as she recognised her favourite toy in front of her. Her hands were a little too small to properly grip the soft toy so it fell against her chest when Harry let go, however, the girl scrunched up her legs while her arms wrapped around the bunny. She cooed contently as a wide grin showed off her dimpled cheeks, hugging her toy happily as Harry pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Harry, are you going to smoke that cigarette at all?" Marley chuckled, seeing how the boy had to take it from his lips every time he wanted to kiss their daughter.

"Lovie, are you trying to get rid of me?" He teased, glancing over at her with his brows raised playfully. A smirk tugged at his lips as he waited for Marley's response. "You just want me gone so you can get her first giggle."

For the past few days, Josie had been showing signs of giggling properly for the first time. Harry was determined he would be the one to get it out of her, naturally creating a competition between the parents to be the one to make their daughter laugh. Any chance he got, Harry was pulling weird faces at Josie, tickling her uncontrollably and bouncing her around in little dances to earn even the slightest giggle. So far he'd managed to get Josie to kick her legs and wave her arms excitedly while making content babbling noises but it wasn't quite the cute little laugh he was hoping for.