Golden Jaguar Redeemed

That's My Face

Erik 'Dadmonger' Stevens

The upbeat song of the children's show invaded air of the master bedroom. Just loud enough for the two on the bed to hear. A empty cheeto puffs bag rested on the top of the soft cotton comforter next to Amari's head as she watched television. Her soft humming almost unnoticed. Erik sat back against the headboard, smiling as he found himself humming along with her.

Her little puff sat atop her head, the rest of her dark hair hidden by the scarf the that matched Erik's durag. Bubblegum pink because the little princess liked that color. You were out for the day with your cousin, trying on dresses and sending pictures to him of what you had tried on. Making him wonder what you'd look like coming down the aisle in a wedding dress.

His phone buzzed in his lap, taking his attention from the cartoon on television. Another photo of you in a form fitting dress. Licking his lips, he shot you a text back to tell which dress he'd liked best. He awaited your reply until something slapped his face. A small foot.

"Amari, what you got going?" He raised an eyebrow, not moving to remove her foot from his face. She giggled, looking down at him, giving him her dimpled smile. His little twin. "That's funny, huh."

She did a little dance against the covers, switching each foot to tap his cheek. The song from the cartoon caught her attention and she started her singing again. Her words soft and high pitched. Erik smacked his lips, taking out his phone to capture this moment.

As the phone began recording, he looked to the screen. Her foot still to his face. "You see what yo daughter doing to me?" Amusement laced his voice as he pouted. "She get stuff like this from you."

You did often have your feet on Erik, but mostly in his lap. Maybe on his chest when you wanted to bother him in the privacy of the bedroom or maybe the living room when it was movie night for you three. And he'd pressed a kiss to your ankle in response.

"Yo, lil mama.." He chuckled, glancing to the camera. "You wanna say hey to the video for mama?" She stopped her singing, lightly tapping her small feet against his face again as she yelled 'hey mommy!! I miss you!'.

"And daddy misses you too." He beamed a smile, looking back to the camera. Amari chimed in a louder, 'I miss you more!!'. Dramatically holding her arms out towards the ceiling, singing the words.

He turned his head to look at her, his eyes rolling playfully before he ended the video. Sending it to you. "I swear you're just like your mama."