Keep You In Mind

Love All Over Me

2019

A gurgle.

The tiny collection of cells had merely gurgled, a normal sound for  infants, but it had still been enough to wake her father up.

Technically, it was two gurgles. The first had entered Isaac Gardner's ears, but the second one caused his eyes to shoot open. He first looked down, his wife sleeping peacefully with her head on his chest and her arm sprawled across his stomach. Lightly caressing the top of her head, he looked over to the baby monitor, waiting for another confirmation sound.

Sure enough, he heard it again.

The gurgle.

Slowly moving her arm, Chamony almost immediately stirred in her sleep, turning over and replacing his body with that of one of her long body pillows.

Peeling the covers off, he looked back at her to make sure she was still sleep and when he heard her soft snoring, he knew he was okay.

Sliding his slippers on, he left their large master bedroom and shuffled down the hall. Entering the elaborately decorated nursery, he made his way over to the crib.

Sure enough, the tiny baby was up, looking around the room, waving her tiny arms around for no legitimate reason.

"There's my girl," the Heisman winner whispers, leaning over the crib and gently rubbing his index finger over her stomach.

Seeing her father, the baby begins to make more babbling sounds and even moves her lips into what could constitute a smile.

"Now why aren't you sleep?" In response to his question, she babbles even louder, forcing him to quietly 'shh' her. Of course, that only makes the baby increase her babbling.

"Trying to wake up mommy, huh?" He sighs, leaning over and lifting the petite child in his hands, making sure to support her head in the crook of his arm.

The little girl kicks her legs around, laughing and smiling up at her father as he makes his way over to the sitting room connected to the nursery.

"You're gonna get us both in trouble," he mumbles, carefully sitting down on the sofa and smiling at his happy little girl. "But you don't care about that do you?"

She only offers a gurgle in response.

Taking his index finger, he places it on her stomach, letting her grab it and 'shake' it before trying to stick it in her mouth.

"No," he scolds lightly, knowing full well she doesn't understand and even if she did, she wouldn't listen. Only 6 weeks and he can tell she's going to be a handfull, "You're gonna give me ulcers you know that?" A beat. "And don't even think about dating."

Again, commence the gurgling.

"Because I'll shoot him before he even makes the porch." He mutters, just cringing at the thought of his daughter, the tiny human being who's almost small enough for him to hold in one hand, one day going on a date.

Over his dead body.

Looking down at her, their eyes meet, blue attracting blue and both offer one another genuine smiles. Leaning down, he kisses her forehead and shuts his eyes. "You know I adore you, right?" Using her tiny fingers, she tries to eat his hair. "I thought I loved your mother, but that's nothing compared to what I feel for you." Moving his head slightly, he connects their cheeks, grinning as she feels his stubble. "Don't get me wrong. Mommy is my world, but you?" He turns his head and places his nose against hers. "You, my little Ledicia, are my soul."

In return, the baby lifts her legs and kicks him in the mouth.

Chuckling, he pulls back a little. "You are your mother's child."