BTW – here’s the final chapter. 4
The morning started out wonderful, and the day had only gotten better with each passing moment. After all those very bad days for Daddy over November and December, and another bad stretch in February, he was having a good day today. Good days were rare anymore, so they were treasured that much more when they happened, and Gina and Daddy made sure they enjoyed them to their fullest. These days, thanks to her bladder troubles, Gina was wearing some sort of protection all the time, and Daddy having a good day meant a little-girl day for Gina, which meant thick diapers and a pretty dress over them on such a warm spring day as this. Letting Daddy worry about her tinkles, with all the intimacy of careful diaper changes that came along with it, made Gina feel so very little, which was a wonderful respite from worrying about Daddy’s health all the time. In those moments, Daddy being sick was forgotten,
Daddy had decreed a junking day, which was also a very special treat. They wandered off into the countryside, stopping at every oddball-looking secondhand shop and antique store along the way, making sure to take rest breaks when needed. They found some neat little treasures so far, a beautiful ceramic music box, a beautiful Satsuma vase, and a lovely antique brooch of brightly colored flowers and sparkly gems. All were protected in the back of their van, wrapped in blankets and tucked into one of the storage bins fixed to the side wall. Daddy bought the work van years ago. It was a way to ensure privacy for Gina after so much difficulty finding private places to change her diapers when they were out and about, and once Gina actually started needing protection on a routine basis, it became a place of respite, comfort even.
Gina was very comfortable as they entered this shop, Daddy having changed her a mere twenty minutes before, and though he wouldn’t say anything, Gina knew by Daddy’s movements and his breathing that this would probably be their last stop before heading home. The subtle rustle under her dress, the sound which once gave her so much anxiety in public places, now gave the gray-haired babygirl quiet joy. She and Daddy wandered through the little shop together, chuckling at silly things they’d seen a million times in a million other shops together, and marveling at some of the oddities that were unique to this one.
It seemed so strange, really, when it happened. Surreal, almost. She and Daddy usually started looking for their annual ornament in late summer and early fall at the earliest. Many years they’d had to rush around in November trying to find that special something before it was time to put the tree up on the first weekend of December, as they did every year. But here it was, March, and here they were on a completely unplanned trip, and here it was. As though the perfect ornament had found them. They looked deep into each other’s eyes and smiled together, both knowing. It was perfect…
Gina smiles wistfully as she places the old bearded man holding his tiny granddaughter high above his head into the perfect spot on the tree, just to the right of the sleeping baby, above the boy and girl snowmen holding hands. “It was perfect, Daddy.”
She steps back to admire her handiwork. Seventeen beautiful ornaments, sixteen Christmases with Daddy and, well… Her smile grows strained at that last thought, and her eyes well up as she looks out the window at the cloudless December evening sky. “Do you like it, Daddy? Did I do good?” she whispers, her voice beginning to falter.
Tears flow freely now as she sits in the rocker. So many nights she spent curled up in Daddy’s lap here, diapered and jammied and nursing her bottle, watching a movie together, or him reading her a story. She curls up, pulling her knees tight to her chest, and her princess pink diaper reveals itself from under her nightgown with a pronounced rustle. She gazes once more out the window.
“I miss you so much, Daddy…”
