Dear Daddy, Please Praise Me - Luna David Page 0,2

me, you’re adorable. Should we stick with a faceless photo like last time? I think it’s safer. I already have one that might work.”

He swiped across his phone a few times, then showed me the photo of my chest that I’d sent him when I was worried it might be weird that I had a freckle on the edge of my nipple. He was supposed to reassure me, not save evidence of my nipple freckle on his phone forever.

“Leo! You can’t post that—”

“It’s a good photo! It shows your torso, which is nice, but it’s not too sexy, you know?”

“But I look awkward without a shirt!”

He set his phone down and grabbed both of my shoulders. “Sanders. Chill out, okay? I won’t post it if you don’t want me to. But I think it’s a good option. The photo doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s just a dating app.”

That was easy for him to say. We weren’t contemplating posting shirtless photos of him on the internet. And he didn’t have a nipple freckle either.

The front door of the shop opened, and a few teenage girls walked in. I’d have to argue my case later.

I hurried to the cash register. Coffee was much simpler than dating. You made it for people, they gave you money, and they left smiling.

Unless it was decaf, then they were often disappointed.

This letter to Santa would probably be the same, but I didn’t tell Leo not to post it. A part of me hoped it would work, I guess. Just like all those people who ordered decaf and hoped it would taste the same.

As long as I was okay with being disappointed, maybe it would be fine.

2

Briggs

As I made my way to Main Street in downtown Red Canyon, Utah, I couldn’t help but smile. It really was a picturesque little tourist town with adorable shops. There was an art gallery that sold art from local artists, and the window displayed several pieces from an artist who had painted some of the prettiest spots in Red Canyon. A jewelry store carried gorgeous handmade pieces with colorful stones mounted in unique designs. And then there was Quixotic Books, the first of the stores to draw me in.

“I’ll be right there, hon!”

Smiling at the overly familiar greeting, I called back, “No rush.”

Perusing aisles of books never got old for me. I could shop and sit—if there was a cozy place to sit—in a bookstore for hours, doing nothing but reading books, flipping through the newspaper, checking out the magazines, and drinking coffee. A book lover, through and through, I read any genre I could get my hands on: nonfiction, fiction, romance, suspense, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and more. If the writing was good, I’d take a chance on it.

Artfully decorated and put together, the store was a fun maze of literature, and from what I could tell, it had a little bit of everything. When I’d pushed open the door, I’d noticed the Building For Sale sign with a twinge of disappointment. I hoped this little gem wouldn’t be closing anytime soon. I approached a little table toward the front of the store which contained the latest New York Times bestsellers and just about jumped out of my skin when I heard a squawk, followed by, “Hello.”

There, settled on some sort of bird perch was a colorful parrot, bopping up and down as it watched me. Chuckling, I couldn’t help but respond, “Well, hello there.”

“My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,” was the bird’s reply.

Smiling, I shook my head, completely entertained by the cute little thing. When it bobbed again on its perch and tilted its head as if waiting for me to respond, I laughed but felt it was wise to keep my mouth shut.

The parrot squawked at me again, and I heard the voice from earlier call out, “Ignore Rocky Balboa. He likes to show off for new customers. One more second, I promise.”

“No worries.”

How she knew I was a new customer, I had no clue, but Rocky obviously didn’t like his owner talking about him, as he replied, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”

I snickered at the intuitive reply, and truthfully, I felt a little too compelled to try to out quote my new feathered friend, making me wonder if I was that desperate for company. I lived pretty far out of town, and I found I had a lot of time on my hands. I didn’t know that I’d call myself lonely, but I