Daddy's still here.

Life in the blink of an eye

I lay in the my hospital room bed, staring at my jello jiggly as I poke it with my old wrinkled finger.

Man, I've gotten old. Abbie wouldn't like me like this.

"Oh shut up. I love you still." She sasses in my head. I laugh out loud as a nurse walks in and she give me a weird look so I stick my tongue out at her. She tries to hide a smile, but I see it.

"Good afternoon Jason, you have some visitors." She informs me as she finishes checking my charts.

"Who wants to visit an old man like me?" I question

She shrugs with a smile, "hey! What did I tell you about playing with your jello? You're supposed to eat it." She puts her hands on her hips and I roll my eyes.

"It's....it's too jiggly." I fold my arms a crossed my chest and pout.

"Too jiggly? That's what jello-"

"Daddy are you complaining about your jello again?" Maddie walks through the door with Zach and he runs to me.

I open my arms wide, "my hero! Zach tell these beautiful women that I don't need to eat my jello."

Zach laughs as he sits next to me and he pokes the jello too. "It's too jiggly grandpa." He says looking up at me and I look up at my nurse and daughter.

"See?! It's too jiggly." The nurse shakes her head and excuses herself as Maddie comes and takes a seat in the chair next to me.

"How do you feel daddy?" She asks after a few minutes of watching Zach and me debate about  the jello.

"Old." I complain. Maddie gives me a sweet smile and I give her one back.

"Where's that husband of yours?" I question as I help Zach off the bed.

"He said he was going to grab you something." She shrugs and hands Zach a apple sauce from the diaper bag she sets next to her.

She is pregnant with their second little munchkin. It's a little girl.

"How's the little princess?" I ask looking at my princess. Maddie smiles down at her baby bump and rubs it, "she is good, I'm pretty sure she is going to be a feisty one."

I laugh and than do a fist pump. "I win." Maddie laughs and nods, "who knew your bet would come true old man." "I did." I brag, "your mother knew too."

A while back when Maddie first found out she was going to be having a little girl, I told her that it was going to be just like her when she was a baby. A fire cracker. A spit fire. A boxer. Abbie would always tell me how active Maddie was when she was pregnant with her, Maddie wouldn't hold still at night so I'd rub Abbie's stomach and talk to her; which most times calmed her down.

"The little stinker loved kicking my ribs." Abbie's voice echoes in my head.

"Hey. Look what I brought." Jacob walks through the door with his hands behind his back.

We all look at him and than he being the case of jello in front of him.

"Jello!" Zach says excitedly.

I nod in approval. "That's the good stuff." I say looking at Maddie as Jacob hands me one.

Maddie rolls her eyes at me. We all talk for a bit, but I'm not as young as I used to be. I'm tired. So tired. All the time.

"You ok daddy?" Maddie asks kissing my temple.

I nod slowly and lean back onto my pillows. "Just tired maddster."