Izzy sweetly requested pancakes to eat, and when I told him that I unfortunately didn't have any mix at our place, he helpfully reminded me that the grocery store had lots of yummy things I could buy. Luckily, I had a box of cereal that he enjoyed...after I put some sugar on it.
"Are you sure you don't mind running errands with me today?" I asked Izzy as we took the elevator down to the third floor. Aside from shopping at the grocery store, I had to stop at the bank to conduct business on behalf of the corporation.
"I don't care what we do, Daddy; I just want to be with you."
I leaned down and gave my sweet boy a long, deep kiss. The elevator doors dinged and opened, but I couldn't pull away from his lips.
"Well, good morning," an amused, familiar voice greeted. Izzy yelped and jumped behind me. But then he looked around my side and saw that it was Jett who stood before us.
"Oh, hi, Jett," Izzy greeted, coming out from behind me to give my friend a wave.
I led him out of the elevator and asked Jett, "What are you up to this morning?"
"I just came down to grab some breakfast," he replied, holding up the white box in his hand.
"What's in there?" Izzy asked curiously, craning his neck forward.
"Donuts. Happy Glaze has the best donuts in the city." He thumbed over his shoulder to a storefront down the hall.
Izzy's jaw dropped. "There's a donut shop here?" Damn. I completely forgot about the donuts because I never ate them.
"If you haven't already eaten breakfast, you're welcome to share mine." Jett opened the box to display an assortment of pastries and Izzy practically drooled.
"I already ate a bowl of cereal," he replied sadly.
"Just a bowl of cereal?" Jett asked me with an arched brow. "He needs more than that; he's a growing boy." He was teasing, but technically what he said was true; now that we'd bonded, Izzy would inherit some of my higher metabolism and would need more food to fuel him and his long life. Jett shook the box and told Izzy, "Take one."
“Can I, Daddy?”
“Of course.”
“Yes!” He reached into the box but stilled his hand. “Which one is your favorite, Jett? I don’t want to eat it.”
My friend practically melted as he smiled at my sweet boy. “I like them all; take anything you want.”
“Oh wow, thank you. I’ll take...this one.” He lifted a treat covered in a thick layer of powdered sugar and dug in right away.
“So what are you up to today?” Jett asked me as Izzy chowed down.
“We’re just taking care of a few things in town today. We’re headed to the grocery store so that I can buy my growing boy lots of snacks and treats.”
“Sounds like a good time.” Jett chuckled as he looked over at Izzy; my boy had sugar from his nose to his chin, and was licking his fingers clean. "Was it good, buddy?"
"So good. Thank you." Izzy giggled when I wet my finger and scrubbed his face clean.
"We better get going, little one."
"Yes, Daddy." He gave my friend another wave. "Bye, Jett. Have a good day."
"You too, Izzy. Make sure your Daddy buys you lots of goodies." Izzy giggled again and nodded his agreement. "You're blessed," Jett whispered to me. "Enjoy every moment with him."
"Thank you, my friend. I will." He winked again and entered the elevator to take his leave.
Izzy and I took the other elevator to the bottom floor and walked hand in hand to the parking garage behind the building. When we reached my black SUV, I noticed that it was blanketed in a layer of dust, even though it was covered by the garage; I rarely drove it, instead usually leaping or running about the city.
“I think we have another stop to make this morning,” I announced as I helped Izzy up into the vehicle. “I don’t want to drive my boy around in a dirty car.”
Once I buckled him in and took my place behind the steering wheel, we made our way through the city streets. Izzy turned on the radio, tuning it to a station with lively music with a catchy beat, and bobbed along in his seat. He had a pretty smile on his face, perfectly content with the simple things in life.
“Here we are,” I said as I pulled to a stop in front of an automatic car wash. “Have you ever been to one of these before?”
“No, Daddy.” I peeled my credit card out of my wallet and paid at a machine, selecting “Ultra Wash” before pulling into the bay and placing the car in park. “Don’t we need to get out?”
“Nope; we’d miss the show.” Izzy flinched when jets sprayed water onto the back of the SUV. “It’s okay, little one; watch.”
His jaw dropped as the jets came towards the front of the vehicle and sprayed over our windows. “This is so cool! It’s giving the car a shower.” I chuckled as he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned around in his chair, watching the water spray over the back windshield and bumper.
“I think the next part will be your favorite.” The sprayers returned to the front of the car, but instead of releasing water, they covered it in thick multi-colored foam soap. Izzy’s face didn’t disappoint; his eyes twinkled and his lips spread into a wide grin.
“Look at all the colors!” Once again, he spun around in his seat, following the machine on its journey. “It’s like a rainbow is melting on your car; it’s so pretty.” I grinned and rubbed my hand over his back; it was a joy to see the world through his eyes.
Izzy held his breath when the foam stopped, waiting in silence for what came next. Large poles closed in on us from the sides of the room and spun quickly, slapping the car with rubber strips and spreading around the soap suds. I cocked my head when Izzy began giggling and he explained, “I’m glad you don’t give me a bath like this.”
I laughed along with him as we watched the strips beat along the metal and glass. It smeared the dirt off of the car’s surface, turning the lovely melted rainbow into a mud slick and blocking our vision all together. Izzy was a little sad when the water jets rinsed us off and the wash ended, but he thought it was funny when the car got a blow dry.
“That was awesome!” he cheered as we pulled back onto the roadway. “How often does your car get dirty, Daddy? I want to do that again.”
I laughed and placed my hand on his knee. “I’ll bring you back as often as you like.” How could I deny him something so simple that brought him so much joy? He cheered again before I told him, “I wish all of our stops were that fun, but I’m afraid this next place might be a little boring.”
Just a couple of blocks later, I parked in the lot of Homestar Bank, where I’d conducted business for decades. When we walked inside, Izzy marvelled at the high vaulted ceilings which were covered in hand painted murals depicting the history of the area. There were paintings of the first settlers, along with the development of the area and its technologies.
“This place is too pretty to be a bank,” he insisted, and I smiled and squeezed his hand before he stopped in his tracks. “Daddy, is...is that you?” He pointed upwards, to a painting of myself and a few other members of my coven. I was shaking hands with a man in a long white coat; the mural symbolized the day the blood substitute was approved for use in both vampire and human species.