A Poignant Fallacy

Scene 46- Fatherhood

Juliette slept soundly that night. The whole house did too. Her Daddy tucked her in, which never usually happened because he was always at work or out of town. Juliette started to notice that he was at home more frequently since the summer started.

She slept on her pink sheets in her pink fluffy canopy bed. She had a white nightgown on with tiny pink rosettes all over it. Her small eyelids were shut gently as she stayed in a harmonious slumber.

Until she realized what she was dreaming. Her worst fear. A car wreck with her entire family in the black SUV. Her sound sleep and sweet dreams turned into a nightmare, as they often did with Juliette. She tossed and turned and cried until she woke up right as the car had run into a truck. Scared and disoriented she gripped her sheets and sat up. She breathed heavily for a few moments before taking in her surroundings. Her dark and silent bedroom left her feeling uneasy and she decided she could fix it the only way she knew how.

She cried, loud. Cried and screamed for her Mommy and Daddy, but really she only wanted her Daddy. Luckily for Juliette, her parents' room is close by so she saw her father standing in the doorway soon enough.

He silently walks over to her bed and hugs her.

"Why are you crying honey?"

Juliette cries, "I had the car accident dream again."

John sighs, "Baby I know it's scary, but it's not real."

Juliette whines, "It's scary in here too. It's too dark."

John walks over to an outlet across her room and plugs in a pink night light.

"There. Now you can go to bed."

Juliette whines again, "Noooo. I want all of the lights on."

John looks at her funny, "Juliette what's going on with you?"

Juliette smiles because she's been caught lying. She doesn't actually need light in her room nor has she ever been severely afraid of the dark.

John senses what she really is letting on but won't say to him, "Sweetheart, if you want to come sleep with me and Mommy then you can just ask. Is that what you want to do?"

Juliette nods and holds her arms up motioning to her Dad that she wants to be carried to his room. He chuckles and picks her up beneath her arms and holds her.

When they get to their room Juliette is resting her head on John's chest, but has her eyes open. She notices that her Mom is sitting up and scrolling through her phone annoyed and that her Dad's nightstand lamp is on.

She now feels a little bad and ashamed that she woke her parents up in the middle of the night. John sets her down and points to the middle of the bed telling her to lay down there.

John says to Laura, "She's scared from her nightmare and wants to sleep with us."

Juliette doesn't say anything as she lays down in the middle.

Laura puts her phone away as she kisses Juliette on the forehead and tells John to turn off the lamp. John switches the lamp off and holds Juliette in his arms. John's favorite part of fatherhood was holding his daughter. He kisses her on the cheek as she falls into a deep sleep. Happy in her Daddy's arms.