8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Marcel

“Dear boy, I already told you we’d get trees we could plant in the yard come spring. Please don’t cry.” Poor Ralphie was so distraught over the fact that trees died for our holidays. I hadn’t ever thought of it from that perspective before this and now felt the same way. “They can line the fence in the back yard. They’d be ideal for creating an air of privacy.”

“But they’re so expensive, Daddy.”

I had to get that boy out of the habit of reading the price tags. I understood why he did it, though it was no longer necessary for him to do.

“Let’s pick a smaller one for your apartment then a medium sized one for the den, and a big one for the front window. Can you help Daddy with that?” Tasks. Tasks were good for focus. It was all coming back to me.

“Yes, Daddy. I’m your good boy.”

My good boy with a bright red nose like Rudolph. It was colder than the North Pole outside today. Time to wrap this outing up, get my boy warmed, and have the trees delivered.

Who knew this sweet lad could be so nit-picky about trees? An hour later, I finally paid the kind man who’d helped us—and provided him with a handsome tip for how well he handled Ralphie—and we were finally off to a late lunch.

“That was quite impressive, sweetheart.”

“What do you mean, Daddy?”

“You had a keen eye for finding just the right trees for us. Such a smart, good boy.” Ralphie preened beside me, absorbing the praise. “As a treat, you get to pick where we’ll eat.”

“Yay for the good boy! Let me think. Hmm, what does my tummy say?”

He sat there for a few moments, his thinky face hard at work as I’m sure was his brain. Then he jumped up, as far as the seat belt would allow and hollered, “Pizza, Daddy!”

“Then pizza it shall be.”

Thankfully we were headed in the direction for the one parlor I knew he’d enjoy, most littles I knew did. It was full of games and fun prizes and the pizza wasn’t half bad. To compare it to the ones I’d eaten while in Italy wouldn’t be fair, but by American standards, it was acceptable.

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Cheesy! Cheesy! Cheesy!” he chanted as I pulled into the infamous parking lot for Little Slice of Heaven. “I’ve always wanted to go here.”

Again, my heart. How many fun things had this adorable boy missed out on?

“Hold tight, little one. If you injure yourself you won’t have any fun.”

“Sorry, Daddy.”

“All I ask is that you take great care with my sweet boy, okay?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

Ralphie could hardly contain himself for the walk up to the building. Had I not held onto his hand he’d have darted into traffic.

“My love, you must proceed with caution. Now, let’s order our food first then we’ll get a bucket of tokens.” His eyes lit up. “Is that okay?”

“Isn’t a bucket a lot? Like a lot of money?”

We ordered our food, and I opted for the package that included more tokens than any one boy could use in a day. The jittery boy beside me was ready to run and play. What I really enjoyed about this place was there was no age limit on using the toys or climbing and play areas and that was due to the fact a Daddy with a little himself owned the place.

“All right, Ralphie, where shall we start?”

“Skee-ball, Daddy. You get lots of tickets there. At least, that what I’ve heard.”

“Once upon a time I was rather skilled at this game. On to the Skee-ball tables!”

As we played, I kept a watchful eye on the man and the employee he was speaking with behind the counter. Was he a hater? Would he ask if Ralphie was my son? I despised that question to the nth degree.

“Excuse me, I don’t mean to intrude. My name is Samuel, and I own this place. Is your boy a little?”

I released a heavy sigh, and all the tension left my body. “Yes, hello, Samuel. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Marcel and this is my boy, Ralphie.”

“Hello, Ralphie, I’m Daddy Samuel. Are you having fun?”

“Yes, sir, I am. This place is great.” Ralphie’s excitement poured from him.

“I’m happy to hear that. My boy, Tommy, is working the ticket counter today. Make sure you visit him because he has a special surprise for you.”

“Best. Day. Ever!” Ralphie cheered. “Maybe he could be my friend?”

“I think he’d like that. You two enjoy your day and thank you for stopping by.”

Money well spent and this place would become a must return to for Ralphie and me.

“Thank you so much, Samuel. Your generosity and kindness will not go unnoticed. We have other friends in the lifestyle I’ll be sure to share your place with.”

“Word of mouth is the best kind of advertisement. Here’s my card, I’d love to get together for playdates.” We exchanged business cards with a promise to reach out.

“Why don’t you go meet Tommy and see what he has for you.”

Ralphie skipped over to the booth, and I followed behind. Tommy was an adorable little and a bit shy, but he smiled wide when Ralphie approached.

“Hi, Tommy, I’m Ralphie. Your Daddy said to stop by and say hi and maybe we could become friends?”

“I’d like that, here,” he thrust a bear with the Little Slice of Heaven logo on it at Ralphie. “Daddy said I could give this to you.”

“Thank you so much,” Ralphie cuddled it tight. “Want to exchange phone numbers? Your Daddy said we could have a playdate sometime.”

Tommy’s head bobbed up and down as they handed each other their phones. Silly boys, one could’ve done it all and shared it with the other via text, but I let them have their fun. No reason to be a fuddy duddy and correct either of them.

“Daddy, I have a new friend!” Ralphie thrust his phone at me.

“Yes, sweet boy, and you also have a bucket of tokens to spend so let’s do that then Tommy can help you pick out prizes with all your tickets.”

“Bye, Tommy,” Ralphie waved. “I’ll be back in a little bit.” Tommy waved back then returned to his duties, but the once shy boy was now all smiles. This heart my boy had was so full of love and kindness. How had I been such a lucky man not once, but twice?

We played until our number was called then ate. Ralphie devoured half a pizza and a few wings. Thankfully our meal was delivered with those packets of wipes. Samuel covered all the stops where littles were concerned and I for one was very thankful and decided to start a group chat text with Alex and Richard to let them know.

Me: Good afternoon, friends. I brought Ralphie to Little Slice of Heaven today and I cannot recommend it enough. The owner Samuel is a Daddy, and his boy Tommy works here as well. They are very accommodating to our lifestyle.

Alex: Yes, I’d heard about that place but hadn’t had a chance to take Orion there. This is very good to know given how many places treat us like deviants.

Richard: Agreed. We need to schedule a playdate there and show our appreciation to Samuel.

What a brilliant idea to combine a business that suited not only children but littles as well. If only more places like that arose.

Lightbulb…

“Daddy, you look like you just had a piffany.”

I didn’t mean to laugh but couldn’t refrain. “Do you mean an epiphany?” His head bobbed up and down. “I believe I did, smart boy.”

Me: Gentlemen, I believe I have a wonderful idea we should look further into.

Alex: Do tell.

Me: Businesses that cater to our lifestyle. Building a platform to promote them on and even possibly opening some of our own.

Richard: In the words of our British friends, that’s bloody brilliant!

Me: Let’s set a meeting for after the holidays.

Alex: On it!

Knowing Alex he’d have the list compiled, the numbers pulled and a plethora of suggestions to fill a book by the time we met. Between the three of us, we had more than enough capital and investors in the form of Daddies to amass quite the repertoire of businesses both existing and new.

All of this also spawned the final big present I’d been searching for to give to my boy for Christmas.

After we ate, we played for an hour or so more and Ralphie still had half a bucket of tokens.

“Daddy, is it okay if I give these to that family over there?” He pointed to a table with two adults and three children. The kids couldn’t take their eyes off the game area.

“My sweet boy, I think that’s a wonderful suggestion.”

I watched as Ralphie tentatively approached them and spoke to the parents. I could tell when the father tried to protest but my determined boy wasn’t about to give up. In the end, Ralphie won, and the smiling boy returned to my side clearly proud of himself. As he should be.

“Incoming,” I warned him as one of the boys slid underneath the table and chased after Ralphie then wrapped his arms around him.

“Thank you so much. You made us so happy.”

Ralphie teared up. “You are very welcome. I hope you have fun.”

I saw the male from the table approach us and wasn’t sure what his intent was. “Why don’t you visit Tommy and turn in your tickets.”

“Okay, Daddy,” he skipped off. Samuel was now back at the ticket counter, eyes keenly upon us.

“Sir, what you and your boy did for us was, well, let me just say there won’t be much of a Christmas for our family this year due to my being laid off. This meant the world to them and my wife and I, and I just wanted to say thanks.”

“You’re very welcome and may I ask what you do employment wise?” I hoped I wasn’t overstepping but enjoyed helping where I could.

“I’m a finance auditor.”

Christmas lights blared in my head.

“Would you mind if I reached out to a friend in finance to see if their company may be searching for someone of your caliber?”

The father’s eyes widened then quickly changed, the sudden hope replaced by the reality of the hard times they faced.

“That’s kind of you, sir, but not necessary.”

“I like to help where I can.” I fired off another text in the new but busy group chat.

Me: Friends, I just met a man that was laid off. He is a finance auditor and has a family to feed. Would you happen to have any job openings he could apply for?

Alex: I believe we do, what’s his name?

“Sir, my name is Marcel Allard, may I ask yours?”

“It’s Jonathan Myers.”

Me: Jonathan Myers.

Alex: Can he come for an interview Monday at eleven?

“Jonathan, would you be available for an interview Monday at eleven at Worthington Investments with the CFO Alex Numminen?”

“You’re kidding, right? Things like this don’t happen to people like me,” Jonathan shook his head. “What am I saying? Yes, please. Of course. Thank you,” he rambled.

Me: Jonathan is confirmed for Monday at eleven. I tell you, I have a good feeling about this guy. He’s really excited.

Alex: Excellent. Thanks, Marcel.

Richard: You’re a good man, Marcel.

“You are confirmed.” I turned my phone screen toward him so he could see I wasn’t joking.”

“They’re right, you are a good man.”

“Just someone who likes to pay it forward where I can. Speaking of which,” I pulled a couple hundreds from my wallet and handed them to him. “It’s not much but hopefully you can get the children some presents for Christmas. They are our future, after all.”

“As scary as that thought is, they are,” we both laughed. “Someday I’ll find a way to repay you.”

“Never you mind that, just pay it forward to someone else when the time comes.”

“I can promise you that. Thank you, Marcel, for everything.”

“You’re welcome, now go spend time with that family of yours and enjoy them while you can.” He jogged back to the table and as soon as he told his wife she burst into tears. I returned to my boy and our new friends who watched on with wide eyes.

“I don’t know exactly what you did over there,” Samuel began, “but you just made one family’s Christmas from the looks of it.”

“I just hope it all works out for them. Ralphie, are you all set?”

“I am, Daddy, look at all the prizes,” he pulled the tote bag wide open. I gazed inside and whistled.

“That’s like Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one.”

He and Tommy both giggled. “You’re so silly, Daddy.”

“All right, say goodbye to your new friend. We have trees to prepare for.” Samuel and I shook hands while the boys hugged, then we waved to them as well as to Jonathan and his family on the way out.

Buckled in and on the road, it was time to tackle the rest of our holiday need. “We’ll have to get all the boxes out of my storage room for the trees and decorating.”

“Daddy, I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweet boy. But what was that for?”

“I know what you did for those people back there and you have the hugest heart of anyone in the world!”

“In the world, huh?” I teased. “I don’t believe I do, but it feels good to help others when you can.” And I felt damn good, so much so I made a mental note of other ways to start helping those in need. “Speaking of big hearts, had you not offered those children your coins none of this would’ve happened and for that I am immensely proud of you.”

“Thank you, Daddy, and you’re right.”

“I always am,” I winked at him, “but what am I right about this time?”

“It felt good to do something good.”

I truly believed with this wonderful boy by my side we could tackle anything.