Parenthood

“Emma, stop fidgeting.” I said with a hair tie between my teeth. Emma squirmed again before finally sitting still in front of me. I picked up the brush and ran it through her hair once more. My beautiful five year old crossed her arms and huffed as I finally pulled her long, brown hair into a ponytail.

“Oh, stop pouting.” I teased while setting the brush down. Emma stood up and faced me, putting her hands on her hips.

“Mommy, I don't want to wear a dress.” She whined for what was now the third time in the last hour. I sighed.

“Emma, you have to look nice for Uncle Mike's wedding.” I asserted. She frowned.

“But I don't want to!” She exclaimed.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. Emma seems to never want to cooperate when you really need her to. Billie was busy taking a shower so I was fending for myself. “Emma, you only have to wear it for a little while.” I reasoned. Emma crossed her arms again and frowned. I raised my eyebrows.

“Daddy will like it.” I hinted. Emma smiled a little.

“He will?” She asked. I nodded.

“Now, will you let me put it on you?” I asked while picking up the pink dress. Emma nodded and willingly let me put it on her. I knew the minute I mentioned Billie she'd cave. I finished buckling her Mary Jan's as I spoke. “You can show Daddy whe-” I didn't even get to finish my sentence, Emma bolted away from me and ran straight for our bathroom.“Emma, stop!” I shouted behind her. I ran after her, but unfortunately I was too late.

“Emma, no!” Billie exclaimed. My eyes widened as I discovered that Emma had opened the bathroom door just as Billie had gotten out of the shower. I ran over to her, covering her eyes as I whisked her away.

“Mommy, what was that?” She asked as I carried her into the living room.It's never a dull moment with Emma. A lot has changed in the last five years since Emma came into the picture. She made every day an adventure in this funny thing called parenthood, and today was a testament to it. I made her sit on the couch as I stood in front of her.

“Emma, you can't just go into the bathroom when Daddy's in there.” I scolded. Emma frowned.

“Why? I do when you're in there Mommy.” She answered. Shit. I knew that would come back to bite me in the ass. I crouched down in front of her.

“Emma, we're both girls, Daddy is a boy, he has...different parts.” I explained.I shuddered to even think of having to explain to my five year old about 'boy parts' this early. I could have blamed Billie for not locking the bathroom door, but it's my fault for letting her run off. Emma looked down at her shoes.

“I'm sorry, Mommy.” She mumbled as she started to cry.“I don't want Daddy mad at me.” She whimpered.I sighed again.

I couldn't really punish her for this, she seemed more embarrassed than curious which at the moment was just fine with me. I could handle tears. “Emma, Mommy's not mad at you and neither is Daddy, it was an accident. You're not in trouble.” I said while wiping her tears away.

When she had finally calmed down I took that opportunity to go check on Billie. When I walked into our bedroom, he was buttoning his shirt. I closed the door behind me as I walked in. Billie turned to me as he finished the last button. “Jules, what the hell was that?” He asked while sitting down on the bed to put on his dress shoes

“She just took off and before I could get to her, she had already burst through the door.” I explained. “I think she's more embarrassed about what she saw than curious.” I added. Billie sighed.

“Why was she even coming into the bathroom?” He questioned. I ran my hand through my hair.

“She wanted to show you her dress.” I mumbled. “I told her you'd like it and that was the only way to get her in it.” I confessed. Billie fought the urge to smirk.

“Billie, she thinks you're mad at her.” I said as I sat down next to him.“For once I'm not sure how to handle this.” I admitted.

“Do we need to address what she saw?” He said as he motioned down towards his crotch. I bit my lip.

“I kinda did, sorta. I mean, I told her you have different parts.” I answered. Billie snorted.

“Way to keep it vague, Julie.” He teased. I raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you are more than welcome to go explain to your daughter the difference between boys and girls.” I offered.“Oh, and be sure to mention what she saw today is called a penis.” I smirked. He'd never go through with it. Billie's face paled.

“Julie, I can't tell her that!” He gasped.I laughed.

“See? That's why I think we should just leave it alone for right now. If she asks questions we'll answer them, but until then let's not go asking for it.” Billie nodded.

“Let's hope she doesn't decide to announce what she saw to all the guests today.” He said while standing to put on his suit jacket. We'd really have to watch her now. Emma loved nothing more than to impress people with her knowledge, even if it's inappropriate. We made our way out of the bedroom to find Emma still on the couch where I left here. I looked at Billie as he walked toward her and crouched down.

“Hey, munchkin.” He whispered. Emma looked up at him and then back down at her shoes.

“Hi, Daddy.” She said glumly. Billie looked at me over his shoulder and then back at Emma.

“You look really pretty today.” He said softly. Emma continued looking at her shoes.

“Thank you.” She mumbled. Billie sighed and raised her chin with his finger.

“Hey, baby look at me.” He whispered. Emma obeyed and lifted her gaze from her shoes to Billie. “Daddy's not mad, Emma.” He whispered. Emma rubbed her eye with her small fist.

“Really?” She croaked. Billie nodded.

“Really. Just listen to Mommy next time she tells you to stop, okay?” Emma nodded.

“Okay.” She answered. Billie smiled and leaned forward and kissed her nose. I smiled. Daddy always saves the day.