All The Small Things

152

[Luca POV]
About a week later, Jacob had to take me to the store to get stuff for the shower. And stuff for me. I don't remember what all he said I needed, but it was something.
"Which smell do you want?" He asked, getting my attention.
"Mmm, do they have coconut?" I asked, making Jacob start scanning over labels.
"Yeah. Is that the one?" He confirmed.
"Yeah!" I said, excited over nothing in particular. Jacob handed me the soap, so I set it in the cart.
"Can I look at the fishies?" I asked, suddenly remembering Walmart had live fish.
"I don't know. You aren't gonna wander off, right? You gotta be there when I come find you," He said, still searching the shelves for something specific.
"I won't! I just wanna see 'em. I'll stay," I tried to convince him.
"Alright," He finally agreed, turning away from the shelves and kissing my face before telling me to go find them.

I made myself not run. I just speed walked to all the big tanks with mostly Beta Fish. They were all sorts of pretty colors. Reds, greens, blues, purples. Honestly, the Beta Fish weren't the only ones I was looking at. They had the fishies that were like Nemo. I watched them the most. I knew it was mean to touch the glass 'cause it scared them, so I didn't. I just watched really carefully. For longer than I thought I did.
"Boo," I heard Daddy say, only surprising me a little. "C'mon. We gotta go look for a new sippy," I guess that's what we needed for me this time.
"No, I wanna watch the fishies," I whined, hoping he'd cave and let me.
"Uh-uh. You've been over here for more than twenty minutes," He told me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't wanna leave the fishes, but I also wanted to be good.
"Just two more minutes?" I tried to offer.
"Luca, come on," He firmly told me.
"One more minute?!" I negotiated. He exhaled and thought about it for a second longer.
"One more minute. That's all," Daddy finally agreed. I quickly hugged him and let him kiss my head before I started watching the Nemo fish again.

"If you had a fish, what would you name it?" He eventually asked.
"Mmm... It depends on the fish. If I hads a Nemo fish, I wouldn't name him Nemo," I answered, not pulling my gaze away from the tanks.
"Really?" Daddy asked.
"Yeah, 'cause I wouldn't name a red fish 'Red'. So, I can't name a Nemo fish 'Nemo'," I explained, very factually.
"Well, your minute's up. You gotta come on, Buddy," He informed me, making me pout but turn around and grasp his hand, which he had stretched out to me.

"Daddy, can I have a fishy?" I asked while I watched him pick out sippy cups I might like.
"We don't have the room for one, babe," He said, shaking his head and still trying to pick between a couple.
"That's no fair!" I whined, leaning against the side of the cart.
"Pick between these," Daddy instructed, not responding to my complaint. He had narrowed it down to three sippy cups. One was blue with a bunny and was almost all plastic, unlike the others who had more silicone. The second was green with a dino, and the last one was clear with blue and red stars across it.
"Blue one," I mumbled. He held up the one with a bunny to make sure that's what I was talking about, setting it in the cart when I nodded.

"Can I have a kitty instead?" I asked while he scanned the stuff from the cart.
"I've told you no to a cat before. They take a lot of money," He answered, not looking at me.
"Daddy, I'll pay for it?" I offered, on the verge of crying when he said no anyway.
"Luca, look at me," He gently said, pausing for a minute, "We can't have pets right now. I know that hurts your feelings, but we can't," Despite how gentle he was, it didn't make me feel too much better.
"I want Auggie," I whined.
"Do you want me to see if him and Jess are busy?" Daddy asked, making me quickly agree. Daddy texted him before we left, and we got a response before we even left the store.
"They aren't busy right now. You wanna go over and play with him? Jess said you can sleep over if you want," He asked.
"Ya! I miss him," I agreed, clutching my daddy's hand when we stepped outside so I didn't get hit by a car.

We stopped on the way to their house to get my stuff so I could spend the night. I was mostly concerned about Leo being left alone and not about what I'd wear to bed. But Daddy was. He packed me a pair of my PJ's, stuff to brush my teeth, stuff to put my hair up with, clothes for tomorrow, and some of my little stuff. I kicked my feet the whole way there, which I guess was starting to get on Daddy's nerves.
"Baby, quit," He told me at a stop sign, holding his hand on one of my legs.
"Sorry. 'M so excited! I never had a sleepover 'fore," I slurred.
"You'll have fun," He reassured me when we pulled onto their street. "I'll stay here 'til it gets dark, and then I'll pick you up tomorrow after work,"