Daddy's girl She heard her parents talking in the kitchen, but evidently, her scurrying feet, despite the lightness of her steps as proportionate to her small size, had given her away, as their conversation paused. Then Daddy said her name, and she could almost hear his smile in his tone. “Eden.”
“Well, she’s awake,” said Momma in a way that sorta made Eden feel bad for coming downstairs, but she was hungry and wanted her breakfast. By now she was in the doorway, listening to see if she was in trouble or something, because usually adults only had conversations in the kitchen if they were hiding from naughty kids. Momma seemed to sense her though. “You can come in, Eden. It’s okay.”
She slinked in sheepishly, angled neck sending blonde waves down her front, covering much of her blue eyes. “Am I in trouble?” she asked without looking up at either parent.
“What?” Momma exclaimed. “Of course not!” Eden looked up weakly and saw her mom smiling down at her. “Say, what do you want for breakfast? French toast?” A big smile crept onto Eden’s face too, and she nodded eagerly. “Great. I’ll get to work on that, and you and your father can go sit in the family room.”
Eden reached out and grabbed her dad’s hand, which she knew instinctively would be extended and waiting for her, and pulled him into the other room. She pushed him gently onto the couch (though he made a comically big deal of falling over, as if she were so very mighty) and hopped up beside him, leaving less than an inch between them. Eden was a daddy’s girl through and through.
She gave a mighty yawn and immediately felt her father’s gaze upon her. “Did you get much sleep?” Eden nodded unconvincingly. “When did you go to sleep?”
“Just ten o’clock,” she answered honestly. Eden never lied to her parents, but she especially never lied to Daddy. “That’s not too bad.”
“Just ten o’clock,” her dad repeated incredulously. “That’s pretty late when you’re just ten years old. How come you didn’t go to sleep when we sent you up at eight thirty?”
“I dunno,” she admitted guiltily. Another yawn swept through her next words. “But then I woke up later cos I had a bad dream. I dreamed about something scary happening to Dee.” Eden shrank into her father’s side.
He reached a large hand down and patted her head. “Why didn’t you wake me and your mom up?”
“I think you were already up,” confessed Eden. “I thought I heard you guys talking. But it was really late, so I thought that talking meant something was wrong. That’s why I thought I was in trouble when I got to the kitchen. The only thing I can think of that I did was breaking that vase last week, but it was accidental magic, and I said I was sorry! I’m not in trouble, am I, Daddy?”
Her father pulled her in closer, and she encircled his middle with her arms. “Everything is okay,” he reassured her, and though he didn’t actually answer the question, she felt genuinely comforted. “And just to prove it to you, as soon as Dee’s up, you can talk to her as much as you want, okay?” Eden grinned and snuggled into him. Her daddy always knew just what to do. He was invincible.