Show Me

1.

The blaring of the alarm, coupled with cheery sunlight pouring into the previously darkened room served as an annoying yet inevitable and unavoidable wake-up call. 

Morning.

Bradley groaned, tugging the pillow tighter around his head as he shot a hand out aimlessly, fumbling to turn off the cause of the high-pitched screech, cursing as he nearly knocked it over in the process.

Admitting defeat, he slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. No sooner had he slowly placed one foot over the side of the bed when he heard chatter coming from two rooms away.

He smiled. If the first wake-up call hadn't worked, his own little personal alarm surely would have made certain he was ready to begin their daily routine.

Padding down the hall, he saw that Lea was on the floor, her toddler bed long since abandoned, playing with her baby dolls, who were apparently engaged in a serious conversation.

"Daddy!" She immediately noticed him in the door frame, dropping the dolls to run to him.

He lifted her to his shoulder, kissing the apple of her cheek as he ruffled blonde curls. "Good morning."

She regarded him seriously, her blue eyes so like his own it was almost eerie. "School today? I wear princess dress?"

He chuckled. "Not today. School's tomorrow. Nonna's coming over to spend the day with you, remember? While Daddy goes to work."

The answer seemed to satisfy her and she nodded. "I have pancakes?"

"Of course you can, baby. How about banana chocolate chip. What do you say?"

"Pwease!"

Bradley grinned, shifting the little girl to his hip. "Only if you'll be my sous chef."

As they headed together into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, he couldn't help but reflect on how vastly different his life had been prior to Lea's birth.

He'd stay out all night, drinking himself into a near stupor, maybe pick up a woman to spend the evening with, barely catching their name and waking up the next morning filled with regret; awkwardly trying to see his way out of the situation.

Or he'd party and come home solo, only to sleep in until noon the following day, rolling out of bed just in time to haul ass for his dinner shift.

Times had certainly changed, he mused, lifting Lea up to sit on the breakfast bar as they pulled items from the pantry, grabbing a couple of aluminum bowls from the cupboards.

His daughter helped him dump a generous amount of chocolate chips in, giggling as she grabbed a handful and shoved the entire stash into her mouth while Bradley peeled some bananas and whipped up a quick batter.

"Hey, careful, love, we don't want you choking."

Nonplussed, Lea giggled again and he shook his head ruefully. "Silly girl. You wanna help me put both of those into the batter?"

She clapped her hands gleefully and set about throwing the toppings into the the mixing bowl, creating a large splash with each toss. It would be a hell of a mess to clean up later but he had some time before he had to leave and he loved their mornings together.

Lifting her down onto the hardwood, he set about preparing the griddle, putting on an elaborate show; dropping batter onto the hot surface, contorting his face crazily to make her laugh even harder.

If anyone had told him ten years ago, he'd be staging a breakfast time comedy routine for a toddler while singing and dancing to Baby Shark, he would've probably had them committed.