Hard for Him
His beautiful daughters were only one and half year old when they started the tradition of toddling towards him the moment he came back from work. Their giggling face as they tripped over their tiny feet as they walked towards him warmed his heart.
Grinning back at them, he picked up his daughters one in each arm.
Now nearing five years old, they are not as light as they used to. Nonetheless, he is not a man who takes tradition that his daughters start lightly. So despite his strain back from hours of sitting in an uncomfortable lab chair, he still bend down and picked them up.
And then the unmentionable happened.
A stabbing pain at his back was the only warning that he received before he slowly collapsed to his knees. A tear stung his eye.
"Daddy?" Alice asked worriedly, patting his cheeks that now covered with fine five-o'clock shadow with both of her chubby hands.
Alyss, his sweet little Alyss who thankfully inherits her mother's perception ran, calling for Lacie.
Gathering himself, he gave a small almost painful smile to his Alice who now looking as if she is ready to cry at any moment. "Sweet Alice can you please help your sister and find mummy for daddy will you?"
Feeling proud at his daughter determine look that she puts on her violet eyes before she to hurried to find for mother, he will himself not to wail in pain the moment he could no longer heard the pitter patter of Alice's footsteps. Taking in a deep breath, he tried his best not to move despite the stabbing pain.
Slipped disk! Out of all days and times! It happened now!
Looking up when he saw the hem of Lacie's favorite purple sundress, he winced in pain when the movement jarred the slipped disk; renewing the pain.
With much difficulty and wails in pain coming from him, she managed to helped him to the guest room which is the nearest from the living room. Without a word, she rushed back to the kitchen for the hot water bottle. With tenderness that he rarely experience from her, she pressed the hot water bottle at the slipped disk.
Sighing, he savored the comfortable between them before a low chuckle escaped from her lip. Before long, she was laughing at him.
"Oh Levi!" she chuckled, her ruby eyes glint with amusement as she took in scrunched up face; clearly finding the situation amusing.
Huffing and indignant, he tried to turn around before he was reminded that he currently more or less indisposed due to the cursed slipped disk.
"Come on Levi. I had been telling you for two years now that sooner or later this will happened. But have you ever listened to me?"
"You wouldn't understand" he replied back sulkily. It is not that he is unaware of the fact that he is not getting any younger and his babies is no longer toddlers much less babies and carrying them will put on strain on his back. But he needs to do this never mind that his back will pay the price.
"You never try to explain." Lacie said quietly, trying to placid his deep anger and resentment to himself. Oh, she knows how hard it is for him to accept the fact that he is not that young anymore. How he cursed the ache on his back and joints, the slightly thinning hair that he tried to hide from her and his usually lean tummy that now is not so lean.
Staring back at his wife's red eyes, he sighed. "They grow up so fast. Yesterday they were just learning how to walk and now they are five. Fifteen years from now, another man will come and carry them away from me; changing their name to god knows what. Then they will forget about me. After all, I'm just an old man who can't even carry his own daughters." He finished the last sentence with resentment before he pout.
Hearing that, she smiled. Bending down, she kissed his forehead ignoring his protest.
"Don't you worry much Levi. Trust me, girls always remember the first man who carry them. Perhaps now you can be their first man who teaches them how to dance."
As if he is a hundred and fifty volts of light bulb that just been plugged in, he beamed at her. "I shall do just that." In his hastiness to get up, he was reminded of his slipped disk. Cursing, he pout as Lacie laughed.
"Thank you for being such a good father for them Levi."
With that, she left him resting on the guess room bed before ushering in his two daughters that only too happy to keep him company.
And Happy Belated Father's day!