Buddy reaches up with one hand from my lap, and grabs hold of the flesh beneath my chin. I had been rocking him to sleep, and made the mistake of hunching over him to check if his eyes were closed. I would take his hand away, but each of my arms is pinned under his body as I hold him on my lap, and I do not want to disturb his comfort. He is tired, and even though his hand is latched onto my chin like a pair of vice grips, I can tell he is almost asleep.
“Are you… uh… okay there, pal?” I whisper. I have to bend over somewhat, because his small fingernails are sharp, and if I extend my back to a more comfortable position, I feel like I’ll lose a good deal of skin in the process.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Buddy replies, smiling. His little voice is tired, and he yawns as he says this, oblivious to the fact that he is hurting me. Before grabbing my chin, he seemed on the verge of sleep.
“Then why are you grabbing my chin, hon?” The skin was sensitive, as I had recently shaved off a beard.
“Because I hated your beard.” He yawns again.
“Well, that’s why I shaved it off. Remember?” The kids told me the beard made me look like a stranger, and I had shaved it off within the hour. It’s not like it had any fans who would miss it.
Buddy is too tired to reply to this, instead he lets his claw-like fingernails retract from my chin flesh and runs his hand delicately down my cheek and back to its previous position, feeling the smooth skin.
“Don’t ever grow a beard again, Andrew.”
“Why not, Buddy?” I have already promised him and Karen that I will not, but I find their objection funny and like to hear them explain it.
He lifts his other hand up to cradle my face, as I had so often cradled his face, and his small eyes shine with sincerity. “Because,” he announces, lickings his lips as he tries to find the words, and focuses on the skin underneath my chin, “Because this is the most magnificent piece of your body.”
I smile. He giggles a bit, knowing that the sentiment is ridiculous, before he falls asleep in my arms. I pick him up slowly, carry him through the house, and I put him to bed.
