I'm Not a Hero

“Sweetie, we’re home.” I gently shook Dora awake. Seconds later, her beautiful blue eyes fluttered open. I picked her sleepy body up and carried her into our house . I set her down on the couch.”Stay right here, alright?”

She nodded and I went back outside to bring the bags in. Dora really had a fun time shopping and so did I. She was so cute and well, innocent. Sometimes I wish I could go back to those days of childhood innocence. I set the bags on the kitchen counter and looked at Dora to find her asleep again. Wow, she really was tired. I picked her light body up and carried her to my bed and laid her down to sleep.

While she was sleeping, I decided to put her clothes up, along with the rest of the things I’d bought her. The guest room was soon turned into a little kid’s fantasy bedroom. I hope she would like it. When I was done, I checked in on Dora. She was still sound asleep on my bed. A smile was plastered on her face. I grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and started the shower. After cleaning myself and shaving, I got out of the hot, relaxing water. I quickly put my clothes on and went out to see Dora sitting up on my bed.

“Hello, sweetie. Have a nice nap?”I asked her.

“Yeah.”She rubbed her eyes.

“Would you like to get a bath?”

“Bubbles?”She grinned.

“Yes, of course. Now, come on, I’ll take you to your bathroom okay?”Pandora nodded and jumped off the bed to follow me. I lead her to the bathroom next to her room and started her bath, making sure to put in extra bubbles. Then, I helped her get undressed, into the bath, and get washed. During her bath, Dora played with the bubbles and giggled a lot. I giggled along with her.

“Here you go, Dora. Now, let’s go get you dressed.”I wrapped a towel around her and led her to her room. She gasped when she entered.”Do you like it?”

She nodded, unable to speak. I smiled; glad she did in fact like it. I walked over to her dresser and picked out an outfit. She nodded in approval when I showed it to her. I helped her get dressed into the black and pink skull dress and headband. She picked out her own shoes, a pair of zebra-striped converse with pink laces.

“Do you want to watch TV? I’m sure we can find Dora on.”She nodded and we walked to the living room. I turned the TV on and started to search for Dora the Explorer. I couldn’t find it. So, I put on the next best thing. Barney. Dora seemed to be captivated by the talking purple dinosaur, so I snuck off to the bathroom. I seriously had to pee. I heard a doorbell, but thought it was just from the television show.

“Mommy!” I heard a shout. I shut the water off and quickly opened the door. I ran down the hall.

“Dora? Are you okay?”I called, coming closer to the living room. I didn’t give her time to reply and entered the living room. I saw my best friend, Sammi.

“Hello, Andromeda.” Sammi had that ‘I-should-kill-you-for-not-telling-me’ look on her face. I grimaced.

“Hey Sammi. Um, this is Dora. I sort of adopted her last night. It’s a long story.”

“Well, you’re going to explain it.”

“Alright!” I turned to Dora, “How about you go watch TV?”

Dora nodded and went to go back to watch TV. Sammi and I sat down in the kitchen to talk. “Alright, how the hell did you get a kid?”

So, I told her what had happened. Everything. I couldn’t leave anything out.

“Are you serious? Damn-“

“No cussing, Sammi.” I interrupted, aware of the little ears feet away.

“Sorry. Do you need any help with her? I can help.”Sammi offered.

“I think-crap! I need to call Summer and Jade!”I jumped up, realizing I’d forgotten to call my band-mates. I took my phone out and texted them to come over. Oh, yeah. Did I not mention I was in a band with Sammi, Summer, and Jade? Oops, sorry! Well, I am. Our band is called Full Confession; Sammi plays keyboards, Jade drums, Summer does bass, and I sing and play guitar. It’s quite fun.

“So, um, when do you want to meet BVB? They just got off of tour.”Sammi asked.

“How about tomorrow? We can go to the beach. I’m sure Pandora would enjoy it. Wouldn’t you, sweetie?” I turned around to see Dora blush and nod.

“Cool, I’ll tell them.” Sammi got up and went to call them. My phone binged and I looked down. Two new messages, it read.

From: Jade
To: Andy
OK. Be there in 5.

From: Summer
To: Andy
Alright, hoe. Be there soon.

I smiled and put my phone down. Well, hopefully they won’t freak out.

“Mommy?” Dora called out. I realized that was the second time she’d called me that. It surprisingly didn’t feel weird; it felt normal. I probably should’ve corrected her, but I didn’t. Instead, I looked at her questioningly.”Who is she?”

“That, sweetie, is my friend Sammi. She’s nice. Would you like to eat some lunch? I can make grilled cheese!”

“Yes!” A smile stretched from ear to ear on her face. I then began to make enough grilled cheese for her, Sammi, Summer, Jade, and myself.