David shifted on the couch in the living room later that evening as the credits to a Disney princess movie rolled.
From across the room, in the recliner, Amanda remarked, "Does it occur to you that she has been asleep for the past half hour, and yet we still finished the movie?"
"She is?" David craned his neck, trying to see the face of the pretty little girl curled up on his lap.
Amanda nodded.
David smiled softly, allowing himself to gently pull his young daughter closer to him. "Is it bedtime?" he inquired of her mother.
"Just about." Amanda replied.
"Do you want me to go put her in bed or what?"
The hazel-eyed beauty across from him shrugged. "Sure."
David eased up off of the couch, trying not to shift Olivia. She stirred anyway, her long eyelashes fluttering as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Do you want to go to bed?" David murmured softly.
Being a four year old, Olivia shook her head. "I haven't gotten ready yet." She explained.
"Okay." David set her on her feet on the carpet and she took off down the hallway. As he settled back down on the couch, Amanda yawned. "I should leave." David decided, moving to stand.
"No, no." Amanda waved him back to his seat. "It's fine."
David shrugged and relaxed back onto the couch.
"If you don't mind," Amanda said. "I'll be right back."
Again he shrugged. "Don't mind me."
Amanda stood up and headed down the hallway to her bedroom. David rubbed his eyes and when his vision cleared, he saw Olivia standing in the doorway, looking around for Amanda.
"Mommy will be right back." David informed her. "Is there something that I could do for you?"
Olivia bit her lip and looked at the hairbrush in her hand.
"Ahh… I can brush your hair, if you want." David volunteered.
Olivia gave him an assessing look before nodding, apparently deciding that he wouldn't rip all of her hair out and leave her bald. She crossed the room, handing the brush to him. David slid onto the floor resting his back against the couch and sitting cross-legged, and Olivia sat down in front of him, facing forward. David leaned forward, gently running the brush through his daughter's silky hair.
"You know, I used to brush my mom's and sister's hair when I was your age." David informed Olivia.
"You have a sister and mommy?"
David nodded. "M-hm. My sister's name is Wendy."
"When did you get her from the hospital?"
"Huh? Oh, I get what you mean. Well, it didn't work quite like that for my mom and dad. Wendy was adopted."
"What's that?"
David smiled at her inquisitiveness and answered the question as best as he knew how to.
Amanda padded down the hallway, stopping in the doorway. Unnoticed by both father and daughter, she smiled to see them sitting on the floor where David was actually brushing their daughter's hair.
Mine. Oh, forget it! He's gonna be fine for her. She belongs to the both of you.
Amanda took a step back into the hallway, into the shadows, and took a picture on her phone of the scene before her. She stayed where she was, listening in, letting curiosity get the better of her.
"Are you 'dopted?" Olivia asked curiously, absently winding a thread from her pajamas around her finger.
David opened his mouth to answer, and Amanda saw his eyes fill with thought. "Well, not by my mom and dad, but Jesus has adopted me."
"What's that mean?" Olivia asked, her face pinching with confusion.
"Well, it means that… when I die, I'm going to have a place in Heaven with Jesus and His Daddy because Jesus died for me and came back to life when He lived here on earth, before going back to Heaven."
Olivia turned her head to look at David, and he casually turned it back to the angle that he needed it in. "But you're not going to die for a long time, are you?" Olivia asked in concern.
David raised his eyebrows. "I sure don't intend to."
"Well, anyway, that 'dopted stuff sounds confusing."
David smiled and patted her back to indicate that he was done brushing her hair. "I'll explain it better when you're older."
"'Kay." Olivia changed her position so that she was sitting back on her feet, facing David. She looked at him skeptically, asking. "Does that mean that you're going to be here for a long time?"
David nodded. "I live near here and I'll be with you as often as I can."
Olivia's head tilted to the side when she asked, "But why?"
Amanda sensed the honesty in his voice when he answered, "Because you're my little princess and I love you too much to be anywhere else."
"Do you love Mommy too?" Olivia asked innocently.
Out of the mouths of babes, Amanda thought.
She was surprised when David took time with his answer. "We're friends." He answered carefully.
Olivia accepted this without another comment about it.
"So are you ready for bed, then?" David asked.
"I still have to tell Mommy 'g'night'."
"I'm right here." Amanda said, stepping out of the hallway and making her presence known.
David's breath caught for a second when Amanda stepped into view. Barefoot and wearing a t-shirt and pair of leopard print pajama pants, she looked really pretty.
Maybe listening to Nathan's advice wouldn't be so bad…Wait a second here, what is wrong with you?!
David closed his eyes for a second and opened them again as Olivia ran to give her mother a good night hug. Then Olivia turned and ran back to him.
"Can you turn off my light, Daddy?" she asked sweetly.
"Is that okay with Mommy?"
Amanda shrugged. "Sure."
David unfolded his legs and stood up. Olivia took his hand and led him down the hallway into her bedroom. Once there, he flipped on the light as she crawled into her bed, grabbing the white Bible on her bedside table.
"What am I supposed to do now?" he asked.
She wordlessly held the Bible out to him and he knelt beside her bed, taking it.
"We have to say my verse."
"Okay. Well, where is it?"
"Psalms 100."
"All of it?" David asked, flipping through the Bible.
Olivia nodded.
"Wow, I'm impressed."
She granted him a huge smile and her eyes lit up. "It's a song."
"Is it?"
Again she nodded.
"Well, I guess that I'll just try and follow along, okay?"
Olivia nodded, beginning to sing, putting the verses to a tune. David smiled, listening to his little girl sing, and trying to do the same. When the song ended, Olivia slid off of her bed, falling to her knees beside David. David bowed his head when she did, listening.
Her first words caught David in such a way that he opened his eyes and just stared at his daughter. "Dear Father,"
He shifted, trying not to disturb her as she continued. "Help me and Mommy to sleep good. And Daddy, too, now. And help Miss Kate and Miss Helen at daycare. And help Mommy with her new job. And Daddy with his, too. And help me to be good. In Jesus' name, amen."
"Amen." David murmured.
Olivia lifted her head and crawled back into her bed, pulling the covers over her. "I'm all ready now." She informed him.
David placed a kiss on her forehead and tucked the blankets in around her. "Good night, princess."
"Good night, Daddy."
David flipped off the light, standing in her bedroom doorway. "I love you."
As he shut the door, he heard her small voice say, "I love you more."
David smiled to himself and whispered, "I doubt it."
Here it finally is, the third installment of my Star series! Please review, thanks!:)