Chapter 6

Shane Hollander woke with the sun, just as he did every day. The toddler sat on his bed and waited for a while, hoping that one of his parents would come to get him out of bed, but when they didn’t, he reached out to the plush toys stacked at the foot of his bed and started to play almost silently.

The only sound he made was the soft rustle of his clothes, while the conversations between his soft, furry friends happened all in his head.

It didn’t take him long to become deeply engrossed in playing with his teddy bear and a long-eared, fluffy bunny. He wasn’t hungry yet, and while the pull-up diaper he was still wearing at night was a bit wet, Shane wasn’t all that bothered by it yet.

He knew he could call out for his parents and they would come and help him change, but Shane didn’t want to be around them just yet.

He liked this quiet time this early in the morning, needing it to fully wake up without his Mommy talking to him, lecturing him about one thing or another, while doing all the things mommies do.

Shane just wanted to sit, play, and watch his world turn from dark blues to bright red, oranges, and yellow, while it turned from cool to warm.

He was fascinated by the color changes in his world, and he liked to share this quiet time with his teddy and his bunny. They were his favorite friends because they were soft and their fur was gentle on his skin.

The golden morning light was filling his room when his wet pull-ups started to feel uncomfortable.

Shane carefully put his teddy and bunny on his pillow and slipped down from his big-boy bed. He pushed his pajama pants down, ripped open the pull-up’s sides before rolling it up the way he had seen his Mommy do it before he took it over to the bin she used to put them away.

He opened the lid, put the pull-up in the compartment, and closed the lid. It immediately started to make the funny sound like it always did for Mommy, so Shane was sure he had done it right.

Once he was sure the pull-up was taken care of, he wandered to the changing table, grabbed the packet of wet wipes and cleaned himself up meticulously, the way his Mommy and Daddy always did when he used the pull-ups.

Shane tossed the used wipes in the trash bin and went to get himself clothes for the day, when the door to his room opened and Daddy was there.

Shane yawned and looked up at his Daddy, smiling and reaching for him to be picked up.

Daddy gamely picked him up and settled him on his pajama-clad hip despite him being half-naked.

“Morning, Daddy,” Shane chirped softly, cuddling against his father’s strong chest.

Daddy leaned down and kissed the top of Shane’s head, the same he did every morning.

“Good morning, Shane,” he said, gently ruffling Shane’s black hair. “Look at you already getting yourself ready for the day.”

As he spoke, Shane knew Daddy was proud of him for starting already. Shane liked things to happen in a specific order every day. It was really important to him, and when they didn’t happen the way he was used to, he got unhappy quickly.

He looked toward his wardrobe and tallboy, babbling at his Daddy about wanting a specific pair of underwear.

Daddy gamely carried him over to the tallboy and picked up Shane’s favorite red underpants with a car print on them. He put Shane on the bed again and helped him get on the underpants before asking him which t-shirt he wanted.

“The one with the white kitty,” Shane told him, talking about a black shirt with Marie from The Aristocats movie.

Daddy nodded seriously and got the t-shirt from the wardrobe, bringing a pair of jeans with him. He assisted Shane in putting the clothes on and insisted Shane put on a pair of socks.

“Don’t wanna,” Shane protested, but Daddy told him firmly that it was cold outside and good boys wore socks, which led to Shane pulling them on with a pout.

“Shane good?” he asked when he was done.

“You are Daddy’s perfect little boy,” Daddy confirmed, pulled him into his arms and settled him on his lap after sitting down on the edge of Shane’s mattress.

“Daddy needs to talk to you before we go out to have breakfast with Mommy,” Daddy told him earnestly, causing Shane to focus on his Dad and tilt his head to the side.

“Is it?” Shane asked seriously.

“Do you remember Mommy and Daddy talking to you about our family helping children, who have no Mommy and Daddy? Or whose Mommy and Daddy need help take care of their children?” Daddy asked carefully.

Shane thought about it for a moment and vaguely remembered them talking about it, so he nodded although he didn’t remember everything.

Daddy nodded too and continued to speak.

“Yesterday, long after you went to sleep,” Daddy said. “Mommy and Daddy got a call about a little boy who was left at a firehouse. He had a sleepover with us, and Mommy is currently getting him ready for breakfast.”

Shane looked a bit confused.

“‘leepover?” he questioned, not knowing what it meant, but Daddy explained it to him patiently.

“He ‘tay?” Shane asked.

“For now,” Daddy told him. “Evan has no one to take care of him, so Mommy and I agreed to do it.”

Shane looked at his father with a very serious expression.

“Shane too?” he asked.

Daddy tilted his head to the side.

“We’ll take care of both of you,” Daddy assured him, but Shane shook his head.

“No!” he shouted. “Shane too! Take care of ‘van!”

Daddy blinked, looking confused for a moment before he realized what Shane meant.

“You can help Mommy and Daddy to take care of Evan,” Daddy said gently, cupping Shane’s cheek. “Evan is a lot younger than you. You can show him all the things he doesn’t know about yet.”

Shane nodded. He was about to ask something more, but his tummy growled, letting him and Daddy know that he was hungry.

Daddy laughed, wrapped his arms around him, and stood.

“Let’s go have breakfast with Mommy and Evan,” he said, already walking out the door.