The Dad

Number

"Um, hi,"  I stuttered.

"Hi. It's Vivian, right?"

"Yeah. Namjoon?"

"Oh, you got my note?"

"Yeah, um, I was going to text you last night, actually. I wanted to thank you, but when I finally looked at it I had ran through the rain so many times it had gotten wet so I couldn't read it."

"Oh. Yeah, I just wanted to help out. You seemed so frantic yesterday, I just wanted to help you."

"You did, though. You made my day a whole lot better." We were interrupted when my phone started ringing. Started ringing.

"You said you'd be home twenty minutes ago. Where are you?"

"I'm still at the store."

"I thought you were only grabbing milk."

"Yes, but Vi's almost out of Pull-Ups."

"Ok. Please be home soon."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Sorry, that was my mom. I gotta get home. I guess I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I'll see you around." I turned to leave, but stopped after a few short steps. "Actually," I said, turning around. "Can I get your number? You know, in case I need anything." I chuckled a little at the last part, and he did, too.

"Of course." We swapped numbers before I left and headed home.

(-)

"Momma, I'm cold."

"Ok, let's get you out of the tub." I lifted her from the bathtub and wrapped her in her Princess Mulan bath towel. I took her to her room and dried her off, sliding a fresh nightgown over her head.

"Momma, can we have ice cream?"

"No, honey. You know the rules, no ice cream before bed." 

"But-"

"No buts. You can have ice cream tomorrow."

"Ok." She pursed her lip into a pout before crawling into bed. "What happens to Sarah after the birthday party?" I always told her stories before bed. Sometimes they were fairy tales, sometimes they were just regular old stories. Recently, I had been telling a story about a little girl who found a strange black cat in the woods behind her friends house during a birthday party and decided to follow it. 

"Well, she followed the cat for what seemed like hours before they came upon a creek. It extended farther than she could see. She watched the cat jump right in, and just disappear." I watched as her eyes lit up.

"Where did it go?"

"She didn't know. So she jumped right after it. She fell down down down, until she though she couldn't fall any further. Then she landed something soft and fluffy. She looked around and saw she was on a cloud, high above the ground. The cat walked right up to her and laid on her lap. She stroked its soft, black fur and listened as it purred. She looked around and saw so much. There were birds flying around, right by her head. She looked down and saw children running and playing, animals were running around everywhere, she even saw a pasture of horses running together."

"I bet they were really pretty."

"They were beautiful. And she watched them for a really long time. But then she started to get really sleepy, and had to lay down on the cloud. The cat curled up against her and she drifted off to sleep."

"And now it's my turn to go to sleep."

"Yes ma'am." I pulled the blanket up to her chin and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Bug."

"Goodnight Momma."