Tʜᴇᴀ's Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ : Aᴄᴇ Eᴠᴀɴ

[Fifteen]

"Are you sure? What about mom?"

"Well, I don't care what she thinks or wants. I wanna be little Ace's nana and there's no stopping me from it."

I smile, feeling a bit relieved and excited to have my family reuniting in some way.

"Thanks, dad. So, when do you wanna come in?"

"How about we go to movies and grab dinner together at some fancy place? The three of us."

"It sounds amazing."

"Friday it is then."

"Sure. Bye, love ya."

"Love you too, dad."

I hang up and go up to Ace's room to get him up for his classes.

When I enter his room, he's already up and sitting on the bed, sucking his pacifier and Anna clutched in his arm. My heart cooes at how adorable he looks, my little boy.

"Hey, honeybear." I softly call and he turns to me, eyes still droopy but a small smile forms at the corner of his lips as he looks at me with affection.

"Mama." He lisps around his pacifier.

"My sweet little baby." I lower the rail of his bed and lift him out of it, cradling his head as he leans on my shoulder, and sway us around. "Did you sleep well?"

He nods his head, clinging onto me more. I kiss the top of his head and carry him over to the changing table, lying him down on it.

I remove his diaper and throw it away then let him lie there while I go to the washroom and let the tub fill in. Returning to him, I strip his clothes off and carry him to the washroom, turning the faucet off and putting him down in it.

Taking his pacifier out of his lips, I help him rinse off his mouth and hand him the toys he needs while bathing. He doesn't speak much except saying 'mama' a few times and splashing around with the toys while I apply soap and shampoo on him, then rinse them off with a shower head.

He squeals when I wash his hair. I cover his eyes with my hand so the shampoo doesn't go in there and he giggles, trying to pry it off thinking I'm playing 'peek-a-boo', I laugh along.

When we're done, I wrap him in towels and carry him back to the changing table, thoroughly drying his body and hair.

"Mama, hungwy." He rubs his tummy.

"Aww, baby. I'm almost done. Let's get dressed up and we'll get food in that tummy of yours." I blow a raspberry in his stomach and he giggles.

Powdering and strapping his bottom up with a fresh diaper, I dress him in a onesie and a red and white over-all. Sitting him up, I brush his hair and rub cream on his blushy cheeks. He grins when I'm done dolling him up and I smile proudly.

"Pretty baby." I praise and he kicks his feet happily, raising his arms, wanting to be carried.

Picking him up, I carry him downstairs and sit him in his highchair, quickly preparing his breakfast so my baby doesn't have to be hungry for long.

After breakfast, we get all buckled up in my car and I drive off to his college, then I'll head for my office.

I've officially graduated early, just need to collect my certificate when it's done. Ace still has a year to go before he graduates. He hasn't talked about what he wants to do later, but I'm not insisting him on anything, if he doesn't want to do anything at all, that's also fine by me.

Adjusting the rearview mirror, I glance at Ace through it, pondering for a few seconds before putting out the words.

"Baby, would you be okay if we spend this friday with my dad?"