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I got to stay with Dad all summer. I usually live with Mum and Doug but they got married which means they had to fly away for a little bit. Dad says it’s called a honeymoon and it’s a very romantic holiday but they don’t actually go to the moon, I checked.
I like staying with Dad, he lets me and my big sister Alma play pirates. Mum told him he wasn’t allowed to play that game with us because it gave me bad dreams once, but I am bigger now and it’s not so scary but I don’t like it when Alma ties me to the table leg. She says it’s the ship’s mast and I have to stay tied to it because she is Captain Alma and she caught me and is going to make me walk the plank, but Dad came to rescue me. Alma never lets me be the pirate captain but Ed says pirate ships are allowed to have more than one captain if they work together. Ed is Blackbeard when we play pirates even though his beard is grey and he is the best pirate that ever lived, but me and Alma hit him with our swords until he gave up and said we were the best.
Ed is Dad’s partner, like Doug is for Mum. I asked Dad if he was going to get married to Ed and his face got very red and he said he would like that a lot but he wants to ask Ed if he would like that too in a special way that Ed will like and make him happy. I said he should make Ed dinosaur nuggets and ask him then. Dinosaur nuggets make me happy and Dad said that was a very good idea. He said that Ed is his dinosaur nuggets which means that Ed makes Dad happy.
I like Ed. He is very cool and has metal in his ears and his mouth and he has lots of drawings on his arms and legs that he lets me colour in. Dad laughs a lot when he’s with Ed. We went out for ice cream and Dad laughed so much at Ed that he forgot about his and it melted all over his hand!
Ed gives the best piggyback rides but Dad says me and Alma aren’t supposed to ask him for them. Ed’s knee gets quite sore so he wears a special bandage around it to make it feel better and it must work because he can carry Alma on his shoulders when he wears it even though she’s much bigger than me. Ed can pick me up with one hand because he’s very strong. Alma says it’s because I’m still small but Ed says she’s wrong and it’s because he is very strong and he can even pick Dad up but Dad never lets him because he thinks Ed will hurt himself.
Ed took us out for lemonade and Alma got peach flavour but me and Ed both wanted strawberry but they only had enough strawberry flavour left for one cup and he said I could have it because he knows I like pink. I know the strawberry one is Ed’s favourite too because he gets it every time but he got the normal lemon flavour so I could have strawberry and I think that was very nice of him. Ed is very nice and fun and plays games with us and he buys me and Alma presents even when Dad tells him off. He got Alma overalls with butterflies on because she likes them and he got me cool sneakers that light up when I stomp around. I drew a picture of us and I am wearing my cool new sneakers. I was going to bring it to show to everyone but Ed put it on the fridge and his eyes get all wet when he looks at it but he smiles and I think that means he likes it a lot. So I let Ed keep my drawing because it made him happy.
I didn’t like saying goodbye to dad and Ed when summer was over but they said it wasn’t for long. Before I went home Dad asked if he could make some of my dinosaur nuggets for Ed. I said yes but only the stegosaurus ones because I want to eat the T-Rex ones and he said ok.
Dad and Ed came to see us last weekend and Ed brought colouring pencils for me and Alma to take to school for our first day back. They both looked very worried and asked to talk to me and Alma. I thought something bad happened but Dad just wanted to know if we would like to call Ed our step-dad or keep using his name. I like both and so does Alma and when I called Ed step-dad Ed his eyes got wet again.
We won’t get to see Dad and Ed for a bit because Dad says they’re going on their own honeymoon. I know they won’t go to the real moon, but Ed said he is going to bring some honey back for me because he is nice. They are going on a boat to see lots of places but they said they will take lots of pictures and show me when they get home. Dad told me that the dinosaur nuggets worked and he told Ed he makes him happy and Ed said Dad makes him happy so that’s good. I am happy that they are happy with each other and I like the pencils Ed gave me. I used the pink one to write this and Dad helped me with the hard words. Ed drew the picture of the pirate ship at the bottom because he said he owed me a drawing. Ed is very good at drawing but I am better and Ed says I can give him lessons.
And that was my summer.
