His daughter had her mother’s curly hair, his crooked smile, and light blue eyes that came from some combination of genetic rules involving big B’s and little B’s he vaguely remembered from high school biology.
That all made sense.
The part Jim couldn’t follow as well, was where Cecelia had gotten her temper. He liked to think of himself as a pretty go-with-the-flow kind of guy and, a few pregnancy hormone related outbursts aside, Pam was the most even tempered woman he knew.
So how was it that their 16 month old had taken to pitching fits on a multiple time a day basis?
Cece had been a docile newborn, a curious infant, but in the last weeks, she’d taken to throwing tantrums.
And food. Copious amounts of food.
“Come on, Cece,” Jim chided. “Isn’t there anything you feel like eating?”
She responded in a manner she clearly thought was appropriate and Jim sighed ruefully. Sure, Dunder Mifflin wasn’t an ultra formal office setting, but he was pretty sure coming into work in a suit splattered with rice cereal would be frowned upon.
“All right, monkey, up you go.” He lifted a hollering Cecelia out of her high chair, balancing her on one hip while wiping her with a cleaning cloth. “Maybe you’ll eat later, huh? Just no counting calories, okay?”
She pressed her round face to his shoulder. He bounced her until her cries subsided, feeling his jacket becoming more damp. When she’d calmed, he held her up, bringing her close to him.
“Can Daddy have a kiss, please?”
She pressed her wet little lips to the closest target, Jim’s nose, and he smiled, feeling warm and trying not to focus on how much he would miss this in the future.
Her debt paid, his daughter countered with a demand of her own.
“Botty.”
For the most part, they’d gotten Cece into the sippy-cup habit, but sometimes all she seemed to want was her bottle. The pediatrician had said she was developing just fine, she was just a little reluctant to grow up sometimes.
Jim could sympathize.
But he also had to be a parent.
“Sippy cup,” he answered, holding up the red one Cece seemed to appreciate.
“Botty,” she replied, her voice going louder.
He steeled his resolve.
“Cecelia, you’re a big girl,” he instructed her. “Bottles are for babies.”
Cece screwed up her face, seeming to coil in his arms.
“Botty!” She screamed. “Botty, botty!”
He sighed. “All right,” he replied, hoping Pam was still in the shower. She was a wonderful, calm mother, but he knew hearing Cece cry broke her heart a little, same as his, so he preferred when the little monkey would throw her fits to him.
“All right,” he repeated, going to get the bottle. Maybe he could blend a banana in with her milk so she’d get more nutrients. Yeah, that was a good idea. “At least you’ll be getting something to eat. But we have to work on this resistance of yours, young lady. Cups are perfectly fine drinking receptacles.”
She whimpered at him.
“I know, I know,” he soothed. “They’re not as fun, they don’t have nipples, I get it. I like nipples too. But before I know it, you’re going to be all grown up and going off to prom, and you can’t be socially well-adjusted if you take a bottle to prom, now can you?”
At least not that sort of a bottle. It all flashed in front of him then -- teen years, boys, cars, prom, credit cards -- and he felt a little dizzy. Okay, a lot dizzy.
“Oh boy,” he sighed, reaching into the refrigerator to get the milk, “Daddy is so screwed.”
Story Notes:
Since the one chapter per year formula served me well with "In My Life, I Love You More," I'm going to try it again. This will be almost entirely daddy and daughter, Jim and Cece. Thanks to Hannah_Halpert for talking me through ideas and encouraging me on this story.
As always, no copyright infringement intended. I own nothing, sadly.
As always, no copyright infringement intended. I own nothing, sadly.
Author's Chapter Notes:
All right, kicking off this next story... fingers crossed.
Chapter End Notes:
If anyone has any ideas for events to happen each year, feel free to share them. I'm looking for little moments, not necessarily milestones. Your thoughts are deeply appreciated!
