Rosie giggled as he bounced her on his knee. She had loved this game from as far back as Michael could remember. She would run up to him barely reaching his knee, screaming "Daddy! Daddy! Bounce me! Bounce me"! He would grab her up and tuck her under his strong arm and carry her off to the living room, plopping them both giggling down on to the couch. She would be beaming with excitement as she scrambled on to his knee, his little smiling flower. And then he would bounce her.
When she was a
baby it was the only thing that would stop her crying. Sara would be
at her wits end by the time Michael came home from work. But within
minutes of his arrival little Rose would be calm and happy bouncing
on her Daddy's knee. She was 4 now and the game had not yet lost it's
appeal. Usually Rosie would be talking a blue streak of excitement
about her day. But today as Michael bounced her she was quiet. He was
bouncing away his bare feet lifting off the thick carpeting, when she
broke her silence. "Daddy, why do you only have 3 toes on that
foot"? she asked in awe, pointing at the foot in question. He
was at a loss for words. What could he tell her? The truth ? A 4 yr.
old wouldn't understand the truth of the situation.
So, he told
her as close to the truth as he could.
"I gave them to your Uncle Lincoln a long time ago", said Michael reaching around to tweak her nose. "So Uncle Linc has", and she held up her fingers to help herself count, "seven toes on his foot"? she said in an awestruck voice. Michael, wondering how he had gotten himself into this situation wasn't sure how to answer that question. "No sweetie. He just needed them for a little while. He doesn't have them anymore", he said finally when he saw her giving him that look. It was the same look Sara gave him whenever he stalled for an answer. She gave him a confused look and reached down to touch his remaining toes. "Will they grow back"? she asked suddenly, and Michael detected a tremble in her voice. "Nope, but thats' ok" he said cheerily, "'cause I've got eight good toes and ten good fingers"! he said pulling her close and tickling her worries away. As she laughed happily he told himself, toes were definetly 'not' overrated.