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If anyone asked Chimney would say it was all Bucks fault.
Because to be honest it probably was.
(It also was hilarious to watch him splutter and pout whenever he was thrown under the bus, a poor choice of phrasing for sure, but a true one.)
It was his day off and he was taking Mango out to spend the whole day with his kid and to do some good old fashioned bonding. He picked up the papoose that Buck bought them and mentally prepared for the laughter he would be getting, even though he had the feeling Buck had used the baby strap because it was always left mysteriously too loose whenever he left after he babysat.
But it was Daddy Daughter Day (yes, even mentally he had the words in caps) so he strapped his baby girl to his chest, put her little sunglasses on her face, gently eased her floppy hat on her head and took her on a walk to get some fresh air.
First stop they hit was the park where they found out in a very vocal way that Mango did not like the swings, thank you very much. The slide was a smaller success, placing her on his lap as they went down the two foot long open air slide. There was no way he was going to go down the enclosed curly one because with his luck they would get stuck and the 118 would be the one responding to the call. They avoided the springy horse because he doubted it would go any better than the swing.
“How do you feel about getting lunch?” He asked her when he noticed the time. Mango just chewed or teethed on the fabric of the baby carrier. “Yep, lets go get lunch.” He nodded heading across to the street to a sandwich shop to order himself something to eat while Mango amused herself by squishing cheerios into her mouth. He pulled his phone out and pointed it at her. “Smile for me~” he was totally the cliché of the dad who took too many pictures of their kids and showed it to anyone who showed the smallest bit of interest, but he was totally unashamed of the fact.
Mango looked at him and gave a messy smile, wet cheerios smooshed and crumbled in her hand. He snapped a picture and quickly sent it off to Maddie where it didn’t take too long to get a response.
I’m so glad that Daddy Daughter Day is going well! <3! I know its your fun time with her, but o you think you can pick up a couple of things from the store?
Of course!
“What do you think? Lets go to the store?” He asked as he cleaned Mango’s face. She fussed a little but beamed at him.
“Da!” Chimney was beyond pleased that Mango’s first word was ‘Da’ shortly followed by ‘Muh’ which was close enough to please Maddie. Buck was now on a mission for his name to be the next word she spoke, but so fat it was only a ‘Bah’ sound. Chimney just nodded at her babbling and strapped her back to his chest and headed off to the store to pick up some formula and diapers.
He was looking at the boxes of diapers and was mentally calculating how many of what size he would need to get before they either were in the danger zone, or how many they would use before she grew out of them.
“Buh Buh!” Mango flailed her arms towards a wall of stuffed animals. Chimney was confused as they approached the wall of stuffed toys. “Buh Buh!” Mango repeatedly reaching out for something.
“Where is Buck?” he asked as he picked up a deer and offered it to Mango who did not quiet down or take it continuing to call out for ‘Buh!’
“Oh she’s a smart one isn’t she?” Chimney turned to the voice to see an employee with the name Daisy on her nametag smiling at them. He must have had a confused expression on his face because she quickly clarified what she meant. “Because the chicken goes buck buck?” Chimney blinked then laughed nodding. The Buckley parents had sent one of those spin and speak ‘educational’ toys and it was obvious that Mango had retained some of the information.
“Buh Buk!” Mango declared reaching out for the stuffed chicken toy again. Chimney gave it to her, heart melting when she hugged it tight and ‘claimed’ it. “Buh buk.” she nodded.
“I guess we are taking Buh Buk home with us. Remember to show it to your Uncle Buck alright?” He told the baby who looked around, then at him at hearing her favorite uncle's name but not the actual man. Daisy who was still watching gave an amused laugh at the visible confusion before going off to help another customer.
A few hours later when Maddie got home, she was met with the sight of Chimney, Mango and a stuffed chicken asleep on the playmat on the floor. She decided to let them sleep a while longer as she got dinner ready, she could ask Howie the story behind the chicken after they ate.