Daddy's Sweetheart Parts 1-5: The Complete Collection

by Rachel Burns

  “Nervous about your performance yet?” she asked me.

  I gave her a mean look before I looked up at Daddy to see if he’d heard.

  Rosalyn was one of the few not giving a live performance tonight. The picture she’d painted was being especially lighted in the art room for all to see. I hoped that mine were in a dark corner.

  We moved off to get some cookies and hot chocolate.

  My Daddy leaned in to my ear and whispered, “One.”

  I took a napkin and the biggest cookie I saw. If I was just getting one, then I had to make that one count.

  Rosalyn was telling her daddy that she wanted coffee. She told him, she didn’t ask like I had to do. He poured her a cup and gave it to her.

  Daddy frowned on that. Coffee, and in the evening, for such a little girl, I imagined he’d say later in the limo on the way home.

  I noticed a lot of the other girls were checking out my Daddy. I looked at who the others had for daddies too, but they all looked alike to me. My Daddy did look the most interesting, but still they were here with their own daddies.

  Daddy didn’t notice anything along those lines as he talked business with Rosalyn’s daddy.

  “You look absolutely precious,” she teased me.

  “Be nice, Rose, or I’ll call you up on stage to sing with me,” I threatened her.

  She laughed at that. A few minutes later, Rosalyn’s daddy suggested we look at what we had achieved this school year. He just wanted to show off Rose’s picture.

  Daddy seemed to guess that too. I hoped that he’d be proud of me after my performance.

  They looked at her picture for a while. Daddy was really impressed with this work of art. He tried not to laugh as he looked at my stuff, which was by far the worst of all the pictures hanging on the walls.

  The headmistress came and called everyone into the auditorium. We all filed in, and Nanny came back to us. Daddy wanted to take a seat in the back, but I grabbed hold of his jacket and pulled him towards the front.

  We had reserved seats in the front roll.

  Daddy was very surprised to see our names on cards there. Nanny Prim was beaming with pride. Mine was the one on the corner up front. Across the aisle sat the headmistress. The music teacher was already on the stage, and another girl sat at the piano.

  I felt Daddy’s eyes on me, but I was too nervous to look at him.

  When everyone was seated, the headmistress went up on stage and thanked everyone for coming. She thanked us girls for making her job so rewarding. We’d all played a big part in making this evening special for our daddies and nannies.

  I’d be so happy when my part was over with.

  I reached for Daddy’s hand. I could feel him getting worried.

  The first performance was a girl reciting the night before Christmas. When she finished, I’d start in. They were clapping for her. I pulled my hand away from Daddy’s and smiled at him in a nervous here goes nothing way.

  I went up on stage and stood next to the piano. I saw Nanny and Daddy whisper with each other.

  As soon as things quieted down, the headmistress told everyone who I was, and that I’d be singing Winter Wonderland.

  Nanny and Daddy had never heard me sing before. They looked very surprised.

  The piano started and my heart raced. All eyes were on me. I looked into the lights, so I couldn’t see anyone anymore. I just sang as if I were all alone and happy.

  When I finished, I looked back into the crowd of people. Daddy was on his feet clapping his hands.

  I blushed and moved off to the side after I gave a slight bow.

  Daddy looked a little disappointed. He figured I’d be coming back to him now, but my part was far from being over.

  Ten or so girls were acting out a scene. I had a microphone and sang at some parts. I was an angel that no one could see. I was spying behind the curtain. I was watching Daddy while he wondered if that was me singing.

  A couple of performances later it was me again and other girls. There was a Christmas tree and some school desks that had been taken out of one of the classroom.

  The curtain opened, and I was sitting at the desk writing my letter to Santa Claus. I got up with it and sang the first part of Santa Baby.

  I could see Daddy laughing and shaking while I sang. Another girl got up as I sat and sang some more lines of that song. There were five of us in all. I sang the last part too.

  My heart was racing, as always. But Daddy looked very pleased.

  He sat up straighter when the song was over. He thought I was finished again. All the girls with singing parts were going to sing again.

  One of the teachers read the Christmas story, and everyone was quiet.

  I sang ‘What Child is This’ as a solo. It was the only religious song in the program. After I was finished, the other girls and I all sang Santa is coming to town.

  When that was over, the program was over. I went back to Daddy.

  He hugged and whispered, “There is really isn’t anything you can’t do sweetheart. You were amazing.”

  The noise level in the auditorium was high as the girls all went back to their families. The other daddies congratulated Daddy a lot. I liked that other daddies didn’t talk to me.

  I went off to talk with some of my friends.

  Nanny was watching us as we laughed and giggled.

  I really did feel like a little girl today, a lucky little girl whose parents came to watch her at school. I was on cloud nine.

  I went back to Daddy after a bit. He was talking to another younger daddy, who looked so perfectly groomed. If he didn’t have a little girl, I’d have thought that he was gay. He was one of the few black men here. He actually looked at me.

  “Where did you find that outfit?” he asked Daddy.

  “I had it especially made for Amelia. She’s a teddy bear girl.” He was smiling playfully at me.

  “Really? And you have so many dolls at your office. I would have thought that she loved dolls.”

  “I’m more the zoo keeper type.” I smiled at him.

  Daddy was happy that I wasn’t upset about the talk of dolls.

  “Amelia this is Samantha’s daddy. He’s a designer.”

  “How do you do, sir?” I shook his hand.

  “I’m guessing you two were in Germany. Am I right?”

  “We honeymooned there. We just loved the clothes at the teddy bear store.”

  “They’re to die for. I wish my little girl would wear something like that. She can be so stubborn about dresses, such a tomboy. I had to spank her to get her in one tonight.”

  He was right Samantha was the one who always wanted to play catch and ball after lunch.

  I played catch with her a couple of times. She threw hard. I had a feeling that with her and her daddy it was an opposites attract mix. She was white.

  On the way home, Nanny and Daddy praised me in the highest cords.

  “I don’t know why I was so surprised, but I just didn’t even put two and two together,” Daddy said.

  “What do you mean Daddy?”

  “Well, my brother told me that we went to an opera as kids. Your mother was an opera singer. She was the star of the show. You must get it from her.” He looked so proud of me.

  I’d already been leaning on his chest, but he pulled me in even closer. I could tell he’d loved daddies’ night at school.

  I was glad that I hadn’t embarrassed myself.

  Chapter 9 – Voices Intertwined

  Brian was getting nervous. Not because it was Amelia’s first Christmas, he had all of her presents and everything planned.

  No, the thing that had him worried was his family. Not only were his brother and sister-in-law coming to visit them but also his uncle Ned.

  What would he think of their marriage?

  His brother had raised an eye at their wedding. He didn’t understand, and he’d called a couple of times, asking how Amelia was.

  What would he say when Amelia called him Daddy
?

  Should he ask her not to?

  Would she think that he wasn’t serious about their kind of marriage if he did?

  No, that he couldn’t do. He had to walk a straight line with his wife. The rules that were in place yesterday needed to be in place every day. It was only fair.

  He decided to let the chips fall where they may.

  Worse case scenario, his family would turn their backs on him.

  No, that wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. The worst thing would be if they hurt Amelia’s feeling and tried to get her to divorce him. If they turned her against him and she left him, he’d only be a shell of himself.

  She was the one who helped him be who he really was.

  ***

  Today was the last day of school. I stood ready and waiting in the doorway for Nanny to come and get me. I had their presents hidden in my bag. I also had an extra bag for my art things and the basket I’d made.

  I didn’t plan to give them to anyone for Christmas. Personally I thought that the fireplace would be the appropriate place for them. I sure did hope that Daddy didn’t feel a need to hang them up.

  Nanny came running in and grabbed me. She asked me how my teachers had liked the gifts that she’d sent along with me today.

  I told her that they didn’t get a chance to open them, yet.

  She looked disappointed about that. She wanted me to hurry. The roads were already congested because of the holidays and a snowstorm was on the way. Our guests would be arriving tomorrow, and she still had lots to do.

  I wondered about the guests. I’d already met his brother and sister-in-law, but only briefly. Nancy had been really nice. I was glad that I got to see her again.

  But the older uncle made me a little nervous. I’d be doing my best to behave and not draw attention to the fact that I was being kept like a little girl.

  Daddy was home when we got there. He took me by my hand and brought me up to my room to change. He chose a warm German dress. I really did look adorable.

  Daddy was so happy that I loved my clothes. That always made his day.

  We went down to the living room. I was rarely allowed in here, just like back home with my father.

  But today he sat at the piano and played jingle bells while I sat next to him and sang. The storm was really blowing outside. It whistled against the windows, like it was trying to get in. I was glad the fireplace was on.

  It was starting to get dark, and the tree was lighted up, and everything just felt like Christmas should.

  I leaned on Daddy’s shoulder. “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” I told him.

  “But sweetheart, this isn’t Christmas.”

  “I know, but still, if it stopped right now, it would still top all of my other Christmases.”

  He petted my cheekbone and stared at me with pity.

  This had been one of those times when I’d said something wrong, but I couldn’t understand what.

  “This year we’ll do everything right, and Santa will come to you too.”

  I’d never heard anything about Santa until I got to school, and the other little girls told me about him. That same day I found out from other girls that he didn’t exist. My hope was really short lived.

  Still, I liked the idea of a man living with his wife and helpers at the North Pole making toys for children. Maybe even for a forgotten child like me.

  The doorbell rang awakening me from my thoughts. Daddy was surprised by it.

  We both got up and went to the door.

  The butler was already letting a man in. This man bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus.

  “Uncle Ned,” Daddy looked really excited to see him.

  “Brian my boy, how have you been?” He gave him a big bear hug, lifting Daddy off of his feet a bit. This man was great.

  “I’m fine, Uncle Ned. How are you?”

  “As well as can be. You’ve had a very exciting year. Is this the little woman?” He smiled at me.

  I smiled back. I wasn’t as shy as I usually was. But that was because he looked so much like Santa I felt I knew him already.

  “Yes, Uncle. This is my Amelia.”

  “I can see why you wanted to get married so quick. She’s breathtaking. I’d have acted fast too before someone else snatched her away.” He was talking to Daddy as he looked at me.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy cane. “This is for you.”

  “Oh, Daddy, may I?” I asked him.

  Uncle Ned smiled even brighter. “She calls you Daddy? Smart girl. Knows which side her bread is buttered on.”

  Daddy looked embarrassed. “You can have it, Amelia.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I said as I took it. I hoped that I wouldn’t get into trouble.

  “We’ll be having none of that. You’ll call me Uncle Ned. Of course you will. We’re family now.”

  “Thank you, Uncle Ned. Can I hang it on the tree for tomorrow, Daddy?”

  He nodded, and I took off.

  “She is a very well behaved wife. You seem to have your house under control. So many young men nowadays don’t. Back in my day woman respected their husbands. Does yours?”

  “Yes, Uncle Ned. Amelia is a very good little girl.” I could still hear them.

  “Make sure she stays that way.”

  He walked into the living room with Daddy. I was still hovering by the tree. I guessed that Daddy took after his uncle without even knowing it.

  “I heard you two singing as I approached the house. Would you again?” Uncle Ned asked.

  I went right to Daddy’s side, and he shrugged and started to play again.

  “This is how the holidays should be,” he told us.

  We were making an old man really happy.

  Later, at suppertime, Uncle Ned didn’t even bat an eye that I had a Nanny. He acted like this was perfectly natural.

  I wondered how he’d treat Nancy tomorrow. She was so sophisticated. They’d be arriving in the morning around ten. A big brunch had been planned.

  After supper, we went back into the living room, and I sang a couple of songs at Daddy’s request.

  Again Uncle Ned didn’t bat an eye when Daddy announced that it was my bedtime. He promised to come back down after I was tucked in.

  Daddy praised me as he changed me and brought me to bed. I think he thought that I was the best little girl in all the world.

  Chapter 10 – Uncle Ned

  “Brian, sorry that I came a day early, but I wanted to get here before the storm got worse. I also feel that I got a better impression of how you run things around here.”

  Brian wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

  “I know her father. I didn’t realize that he had a daughter. I knew his wife too. She’s the spitting image of her mother, has the same voice too. I’m surprised he let her go. She must be his only hold to the past,” Uncle Ned mused.

  “He didn’t see it that way. He was eager to get rid of her. I was eager to take her in. It all worked out for the best.”

  “I gather that she’s still very young.” Uncle Ned raised an eyebrow.

  “She’s eighteen.”

  “She leans on you a lot?”

  “I don’t have a problem with that.” Brian wasn’t sure if he should be defensive or not. He wasn’t planning on talking about how he ran his home with anyone. It was his business.

  “You never met your aunt. She passed before you were born.” Ned fumbled with his wallet and pulled out a picture. “This was my Susanna.” He handed the picture to his nephew.

  Brian took it and looked at it. She was standing next to him smiling. They were even holding hands. She was dressed like a little girl too. “So I get it from you?” Brian asked, astounded.

  “Looks that way. I won’t judge you. I know how you feel. She just needed me so much. I lived in constant worry that she was just playing with me for my money, but then at the end when she was in so much pain she clung to me and thanked me for taking such good ca
re of her. I never married again. No one could compare to her.”

  He took his picture back and hid it away again. “Take good care of your little girl.”

  “I always do.”

  “Is she always as good as she seemed tonight?”

  “Yes, she really is. We’ve had problems in the past, but nothing compared to what some of the other daddies went through. She truly loves me and wants everything to work. I feel very lucky to have found her. The other daddies usually got married to a girl their own age and tried to mold them the way they wanted them. That ended in divorce. First now have they been able to find their true loves.”

  “What other daddies?”

  Brian told him about Amelia’s school and the other daddies. Brian was so pleased to be able to talk openly with his uncle and to be accepted for his preferences.

  They talked long into the night.

  ***

  The storm was going at full speed. Nancy and Daddy’s brother, whose name I didn’t even know were trapped somewhere on the way here. They’d be here as soon as possible, but from the looks of things outside that would take awhile.

  Daddy let me stay in the living room again. I’d been given a coloring book with a Christmas theme and told to go to work on it. I sat on the floor in the living room with my book and crayons on the coffee table.

  Nanny was on the sofa working on her needlework. She’d told me I could work on my needlework too after I’d colored two pictures perfectly.

  I’d answered ‘yes Nanny’. Uncle Ned was pleased at how well behaved I was. He and Daddy talked about business and things while they drank coffee and sat on the sofa.

  I finished my pictures and showed them to Nanny. Daddy called me over so he could see them too. I was a little embarrassed by that, but putting up a fuss would have only made it worse.

  Daddy laid his arm around my waist as he looked at it. He looked pleased. I went back to Nanny. I got my basket out and started working quietly.

  Uncle Ned started talking about all the plus points that a nanny brings with her. He even said that he wished that he’d have thought of it himself for his wife.