I love my wife and son. Leighanne was the spark that really got me moving, and she’s made me into more of a man than I think I ever would’ve been had I never found her. And, Baylee, well…Give me a few seconds here. Baylee is…
Baylee is the culmination of every hope, wish, dream, and joy that I ever sought. He’s my miracle, my gift from God. Everything I thought I was before his birth dims in comparison to the person I became once I was a father. Life becomes a whole different ballpark when you hold your child. That little person that came from the love you feel for another person. The little person that needs you to take care of them and looks to you to fix everything that goes wrong in their world. God, I love my son.
With Leighanne and Baylee by my side, I could take on the world and everything in it.
Or so I once thought.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
When he woke in the middle of the night to his child pouncing on him, Brian had an instant to fondly remember the days when Baylee hadn’t been able to walk, before he reached a hand out to smack the light switch on the bedside lamp.
Sitting up, he squinted, bleary-eyed, at his kid. Baylee’s blond curls stood up in tufts on his head, and his expression was terrified. “Baylee? Buddy, what’s wrong?”
Baylee crawled onto his lap and pressed his face into Brian’s neck. “There’s something in my room.”
“Oh, buddy. There’s nothing in your room,” Brian murmured gently, rubbing his son’s back as he slid out of bed, Baylee firmly attached. “Come on, we’ll go back, and I’ll show you.”
As he padded down the hall towards Baylee’s room, Brian partly wished Leighanne were here to take care of Baylee’s nightmare. But, she was currently on a trip to visit her sister, who had just given birth. So, it was up to him to assuage his little boy’s fears. Which was weird all on its own, Brian thought. Baylee was never afraid of the dark or things that went bump in the night. It must have been some looming shadow of a toy that had the four year old freaked out.
He pushed open the door to Baylee’s room and noted that the night-light was still plugged in, the door to the closet was closed, and the curtains had been pulled over the windows. Whatever it was that Baylee had seen, Brian couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it could have been.
“Daddy!” Baylee clung to him even more tightly when Brian tried to step into the room. “Can’t go in there! The monster…” His tiny voice trailed off as he hid his face in his father’s shirt.
He knew what he’d seen, and what he’d seen had been scary. Baylee, being the big kid he was, had not been easily scared of anything, he was proud to admit. However, that monster that had opened his closet door and crept along his walls had big, gleaming teeth and glowing red eyes. The sound it had made had sounded like heavy breathing and nails screeching down a chalkboard simultaneously. “Scared” didn’t describe how Baylee had felt when he’d seen the monster coming at him. He’d nearly wet himself, and that would have been horribly embarrassing on top of nearly being eaten. He was glad his daddy was nearby. Somehow, he knew the monster wouldn’t come if his daddy were there to protect him.
“Okay, Bay.” Brian patted his back soothingly and flicked on the light switch as he stepped into the room. He was a little worried now because Baylee was trembling fearfully, and, one look at his son’s face, had him holding the little boy closer. “I promise, I’ll go through your closet and everything. You’ll see that there’s no monster in here.”
Baylee rubbed at his eyes and sniffled. “Promise?”
Brian nodded. “Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.” And grinned when his son offered him a wary smile.
“That’s silly, Daddy. If you stuck a needle in your eye, you’d go blind. Mommy says that’s how come I should be careful with scissors.” Though he was still nervous, Baylee tried to make his daddy see that he felt a little braver with his father by his side.
“She’s right,” Brian said over his shoulder as he moved away from the bed where Baylee sat nervously. “I wouldn’t want those big eyes of yours to ever be hurt. You’re too precious to me, Bay.”
“You’re precious to me, too, Daddy.”
And, because his daddy was one of the most important people in his life, Baylee needed to keep an eye on him as Brian walked towards the closet after making certain that nothing was under the bed, hiding behind the curtains, the door, or in his toy chest. Baylee knew the monster wasn’t in all of those places; he was in the closet, and Baylee needed to protect his daddy. He crawled to the edge of his bed and held his breath as Brian pulled the door open.
Brian flicked on the switch for the closet light and riffled through Baylee’s clothes, knowing his little boy’s eyes were on his every action. “Bay, there’s no monster in here,” he called over his shoulder.
“Not even on the floor?”
Brian smiled to himself as he knelt to look. His baby was meticulous. “Nope, kiddo.” He stood and, closing the door, walked over to Baylee. “There’s nothing in the room. No monsters or scary things that can hurt you. I promise.”
Even though he knew it wasn’t true, Baylee nodded timidly. “’Kay, Daddy. Thank you.”
Brian couldn’t stand the still scared look on his son’s face and knew that he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight. Or, at least, not alone. “Alright, Baylee. Let’s make a deal. You can crawl into bed with me tonight, and, tomorrow night, no more sugar before bed. I bet all those M&Ms you ate gave your hyperactive imagination too much fuel. So,” he held out his arms, “let’s get back to bed, okay?”
“Okay.” Baylee climbed into Brian’s arms and held on tight as they left the room. He peeked over Brian’s shoulder as they left the room and could’ve sworn he saw the closet door creeping open. Too scared to do anything, he covered his eyes and kept quiet.
When they were settled into the big bed in Brian and Leighanne’s room, Brian scooted Baylee against his side and wrapped an arm around him. “You okay, Bay?”
“Uh-huh. Is Tyke gonna be safe?”
Brian frowned. “Of course. He’s sleeping downstairs in his bed. There’s nothing to worry about, Baylee. I promise.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“Great.” Brian hoped that, by morning, Baylee wouldn’t even remember the monster he thought he’d seen. The last thing he needed was to spend sleepless nights to quell his son’s fears. He had an album that was getting ready to drop, and he couldn’t afford to stay home—much as he might want to. “And, Baylee?”
“Yeah?” He burrowed even closer to Brian, his eyes wide open and taking in every corner of the room, especially the closets.
“Let’s not tell Mommy about this, okay? I don’t want her to worry. This will be our little secret.”
Moments passed and, when he was sure his father was asleep, Baylee let out a tiny breath. “Our little secret,” he whispered to himself and spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling, ears alert for any sound.
