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“Wakey-wakey, Ronnie-baby.”
“Nnh.”
“Yes.”
Someone set off a firework outside and Veronica jumped, eyes popping open, clutching Cody tighter to her chest. “I’m awake!”
Daddy chuckled, lifting his arm from the backrest of the couch to ruffle her hair. “Just a little longer, okay? Then we can go to sleep.”
She nodded, stifling a yawn behind the palm of her hand and she playfully batted his hand away. “I know, I know.”
It was late, 11:50pm to be exact, and to say Veronica Sawyer was sleepy was an understatement. Little or not, her usual bedtime for Sunday through Thursday was 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11pm, but New Year’s Eve was the annual exception—not only was she allowed to stay up until midnight, Daddy actively encouraged her to. And New Year’s just so happened to fall on a Saturday this year, so by all accounts she was good to go.
So there she was, sitting on the couch with her blankie over her legs, her blue teddy bear in her arms, the TV lowered to a dull hum across the room, and she was still so sleepy. It didn’t help that the last thing she had to drink was warm cocoa with mini marshmallows, which always tasted better when Daddy made it, and that Daddy’s shoulder made a very nice pillow with his soft Christmas sweater and willingness to stay still for long periods of time.
She looked down at Cody, plucked a few of her hairs from his soft blue fur, and hugged him, helping him wrap his warm little arms about her neck, pressing his little cheek to her shoulder, and cradling the back of his head, breathing in his warm, familiar scent.
“Maybe we won’t do this next year,” she mumbled, patting Cody’s back.
Daddy shifted, taken aback. “You want to sleep through the new year?”
“A new year comes every year!” Veronica countered, though she couldn’t help but burst into giggles when her daddy began to laugh. “What? It’s true! It’s the same thing every single time!”
Daddy raked a hand through his hair, pushing it back. “But we haven’t been together every year. Maybe you’ll want to stay up late next year, and when I bring this up, you’ll say you were kidding. Or I’m lying!”
Veronica scoffed, pouting a little at the thought. “No I wo—”
The next series of fireworks sounded more like cannon fire than a gunshot like the last one, and with a startled cry, Veronica jumped again. Boom! Boom! Boom! One after another. She covered her ears until there was a lull, and with Cody in her arms she climbed onto her daddy’s warm lap, burying her face in his shoulder.
“Don’t like fireworks,” she pouted, turning her head to face him. “Fireworks bad.”
“Okay,” said Daddy, kissing her forehead as he pressed her to him. “I’ll protect you from the scary fireworks.”
Veronica’s pout deepened, and she shifted so she was safely tucked under the crook of his neck, clinging to the front of his sweater. She tapped Daddy’s chest with one of Cody’s blue paws. “Let’s move.”
Daddy laughed again, squeezing her shoulder before moving on to rub her back. “No. We’re staying here for now.”
“Please?” asked Veronica, batting her lashes as she looked up at him. “Cody agrees with me. Don’tcha, Codster?”
Cody nodded his head.
“Oh, yes!” he said, though his voice was really just Veronica deepening hers, “We should move right away! Far, far away from all this noise!”
And Daddy looked down at Cody, lifting him up by his neck, and, leaning a little ways to the left, dropped him at the far end of the couch, much to Veronica’s audible dismay. And he smiled, slipped his warm hand under her chin, and leaned in.
Before their lips even touched, Veronica was already grinning again.
“Happy New Year, Daddy,” she giggled when their alarms went off.
He nodded. “Happy New Year, Veronica.”