He was scared, not disobedient. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d pulled his thumbs out of his mouth, his nails almost ruined from his nervous biting. The only time he managed to shake it off was when he talked to his Memaw every night and little time with me.
Brushing my hand against his cheek, I gently nudged him awake. “Miller, we’re landing. It’s time to get up.”
“Hmmm?” Lifting his head, he looked around with blurry eyes. He rubbed at his eyes and stared out the window at the city below us. “Oh.”
The plane landed, and we shuffled off with the rest of the passengers. I held his hand through the airport and tightened my grip when we retrieved our luggage from the baggage carousel. He’d watched the revolving belt with a gleam in his eye, and I could just see the little in him wanting to ride it.
Thankfully, our rental car was waiting for us outside the airport. After getting Miller situated and all our stuff in the trunk, I got into the driver’s seat, and we were off. Wanting to give him a little more time, I drove into the heart of the city before turning south, making the appropriate noises as Miller pointed out various buildings and monuments and told me of their histories. And in a city rich in history like Richmond, there was a lot to point out and a lot to distract him as he shared his home with me.
Further out as the buildings turned sparse and the towns got smaller, Miller preoccupied himself with pressing every button and turning every knob in the car, the radio changing station after every song.
We stopped for lunch, but Miller’s nerves caused him to pick at his food. Knowing my boy needed to eat, I caught his gaze and lifted a brow in warning. We hadn’t had a punishment scene yet—if Miller had ever been the bratting type, those impulses were long gone—but if Miller didn’t start taking care of himself, we would be having words and a trip over my knee.
Catching my expression, his eyes widened, and a fry quickly disappeared followed by a bite of his chicken tenders. He ate more than I expected, but there was still a good portion of his food left on the table. Chalking it up to nerves, I let it go and set about cleaning up our mess.
Noticing Miller's gaze was glued to the other side of the room, I looked up and saw the row of gumball machines that dispensed cheap toys in those little capsules. With a sigh, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the spare change from our lunch. Sorting through it, I picked out the quarters.
“Here, little darling,” I said, holding them out to him.
With a happy little squeal, he took the quarters and jumped out of the booth. “Thank you!”
After refilling our drinks, I followed Miller to the toy machines and watched over him as he made his selection. Spying the large claw machine, I eyed the contents, my eyes instantly drawn to a cute pink sheep plushy. Picturing it in Miller’s arms, I knew I had to get it.
Feeding a dollar into the machine, I sensed Miller’s presence at my side as I carefully moved the flimsy metal claw. Pressing the button, we watched as the claw lowered, grabbed the sheep, and dropped it before it reached the end.
“Ohh you were so close.” Miller bounced around the machine to get a better view as I put in another dollar.
“A little bit that way,” he said, pointing his finger back as the claw hovered over the sheep.
Following his directions, I moved the claw back and hit the button to drop it. The claw landed perfectly over the sheep. We watched it as it traveled toward the hole, paused above it, and then dropped the sheep into the exit.
“Yes!” Miller danced around the front as I grabbed the sheep with a laugh.
“Here you go, little darling,” I said, placing the sheep in his arms.
“Thank you, Daddy,” he replied softly even though the restaurant was practically empty. “I love her.”
I grabbed our drinks and eyed the little toy capsules in his hands as I led him back toward the car. “What else did you get?”
“I got a bouncy ball,” he said, lifting the clear plastic so I could see the ball inside.
“Nice,” I said, making sure to sound appropriately impressed.
“And a pom-pom keychain.” He opened the capsule and rubbed the blue furry ball