Tides and Tidings

Chapter 52

Charlie

B lythe and Wren just went upstairs to get ready for bed, so I knew I had fifteen minutes or so to set up our living room.

The first step is the foam pads we use for camping from the garage. I threw those in the living room.

Next up, bedrooms to gather all the pillows I could find. As I found them, they were chucked down the stairs.

Finally, I grabbed all the blankets from the closet in our guest bedroom.

My final stop was in the bedroom to grab my matching pajamas. Blythe had ordered three sets a few weeks ago. She insisted that we needed to match, so she hatched a sneaky plan to surprise Wren. She and Wren would get into her pajamas first, and then I would. Our kid was going to lose her marbles when she saw we all matched.

I moved the tables around to give us more space. I placed the pads down and got to work on making it cozy. As I was putting the pillows on top of the blankets, I couldn’t help but remember what Wren said to Blythe. She thought of her as a mom.

If I wanted a sign from the universe, this was surely it. I ran upstairs for one final touch for this evening and found Wren in her room in her new pajamas. She was admiring herself in the mirror.

“Whatcha doin’?”

The poor thing was so lost in her world that she jumped.

“Oh!” Her shock quickly turned into a smile. “Hi, Daddy. Look at the new pajamas Birdie got me!”

“Those are beautiful!” I complimented her.

“Thank you.”

“Do you need Birdie?” She went to sit on her bed with a book.

I shook my head. “No, I just had to come get something.”

“What?” My kid was a nosey one.

“None of your business.” I gave her a playful side-eye.

“Fine.” She leaned back against her headboard and opened her book. “Where are my pillows?”

Shit .

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.” Wren challenged.

“Am not.”

“Are too.” She glanced down. “What’s in your hand?”

The child was observant.

“A surprise.”

Her eyes went wide. “ Another surprise?”

“You have no idea.” I walked over and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “You know you’ll always be my number one lady, right?”

She looked at me with skepticism all over her face. “Yeah.”

“Cool.” I pinched her little cheeks. “Are you going to look at your book while Birdie is in the shower?”

She nodded, eyes locked on the colorful pages.

“I’ll see you downstairs.”

I popped into the bathroom to get changed into my matching pajamas.

“No peeking!” Blythe called from the shower.

The last thing I had to do was get the snacks ready. As soon as Blythe suggested we get our tree and decorate it, I knew I wanted to make a fort for us tonight. Before we left, I texted my mom and asked if she could run to the store and get some things for tonight. The woman sought every opportunity to leave the house and talk to people, so it was an easy yes.

Right around the time the pizza showed up, my mom dropped the snacks off and was gone before Blythe or Wren saw her. I threw the bag of goodies in a coat closet, and Blythe was none-the-wiser.

As I dumped the freshly popped popcorn into the bowl, I heard a loud squeal from upstairs. “Birdie!”

“We match!” They said in unison before some uncontrollable giggles.

I placed the final bowls of snacks on top of the blankets. After I gave everything a once-over, everything looked perfect. I flicked off the lights and let the light from the tree illuminate the space.

Wren bounded down the stairs and ran to the kitchen to find me. “Daddy, Birdie, and I match!”

She ran into the living room, her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open, releasing a squeak. “What are you wearing?”

“I match you! Do they look okay?”

Wren nodded in between giggles.