Part five
Heyder tapped his foot on the edge of the coffee table as he concentrated on the paper Ali wanted him to look at it. The long complicated and tricky wordings for a simple treaty were starting to piss off the jinn. He had half a mind to call up his council and tell them to redo the whole thing.
As he sat in his living room aggressively crossing out different clauses and writing little remarks to tell Ali to fuck off, he heard the sound of the small plastic craft box rattling from down the hall. A grin appeared on Heyder's face as he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head. Tossing it aside he leaned back against the sofa as Birdie came running in like a storm.
"Baba!" she squealed as she jumped into his lap.
"Hello, my little birdie," Heyden pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
The little girl's messy silver hair was starting to spill out from her ponytail. She giggled as her father tickled her belly and kissed her cheeks. Heyder cupped her tiny little face and pressed a kiss on each one of Birdie's little ears before pretending he was going to bite them off.
"I'm going to bite your nose off!" Birdie laughed as he pushed Heyder's nose.
"Then how will I smell a yummy little jinn?"
"I'm going to poke your eyes out!"
"Then how will I admire the pretty little jinn?"
"I don't know," Birdie shrugged as she leaned back. Heyder laughed as he caught her before she fell off and sat her down firmly on his legs. She leaned back against his propped up thighs and threw open her craft box.
"Can I color you, baba?" Birdie asked, uncapping a marker.
"Will I still get to work while you color?" Heyder asked.
"Yes," Birdie nodded as she climbed off his lap and took up residence beside him on the sofa.
Heyder gave her his arm as he picked his papers back up and went back to reading. Birdie's little cold hands held him firmly as her brows furrowed in concentration and she began to color his tattoos. She took great care to stay within the lines. Any time she made a mistake, she used her wipes to clean the skin off before trying again.
In between this reading, Heyden watched his daughter. His heart was full as she laid across his chest and started to color the little hummingbird on his ribs. He pushed her hair out of her face and smiled as she stuck her tongue out while coloring.
"Baba?"
"Yes, angel?"
"Which one is mine?"
"What do you mean?" Heyder asked.
"Why don't you have a tattoo for me?"
"That's a very good question, baby," Heyder laughed. "Do you want baba to get one for you?"
"Ten!"
"Ten?" Heyder howled with laughter. "Why do many?"
"Because you love me ten more than Mama and Hayden," Birdie chuckled.
"That I do," Heyder grinned. "What should baba get for you?"
"I don't know," Birdie shrugged.
"Wanna draw something for me?"
Birdie nodded her head. She picked up a handful of markers and looked up at her father.
"Where?" she asked.
"Anywhere you want," Heyder said.
Birdie slowly pulled a marker cap open and picked the spot right above her the jinn's heart. Her little hand landed between the feather above his heart and the hummingbird below it. Heyder watched curiously to see what she might draw.
