"Dad?"
"Dad?"
It took a little while to realise that Helen was addressing Ambrose. He was so deep in thought about the fact that his little 'baby' was now growing up fast.
"Dad?"
"Yes sweetie?"
"Can I sleep in yours and mum's bed tonight?"
"Why's that?"
"Mine stinks of paint and damp and stuff, and there's a breeze blowing through the cracks in the window."
Yeah, Ambrose realised, they'd rushed the expansion on the house, and moved Helen in before everything was all finished off properly.
"Of course you can, sweetie. Anything else?"
Helen paused, shifting from one foot to another. She looked shyly up at her dad towering above her. Twisting her hands, she said quietly...
"Can you read me a bedtime story? Please?"
Ambrose beamed at the whole idea.
"Well of course I will. You just go get settled in and I'll go find a book. Now what do you fancy?"
"Um, dunno. You choose, you know what's best dad."
Whilst Helen snuggled into her parents' bed, Ambrose pondered over the bookcase.
"Hmm, what to read, what to read?"
With a big grin, he snatched out a Logic book.
"There!" he declared emphatically, "can't beat a good old lesson in Logic now, can we?"
He strolled into the bedroom and perched on the side of the bed. Helen was nicely snuggled in, waiting patiently.
"So, how about this one to start off with?"
Helen tried not to roll her eyes. She'd been expecting something in the Jimmy Sprockett series. However, as this was their first time at a bedtime story, she just nodded a little and pretended to be interested.
".... so....." droned Ambrose, "and that's how Albert Einstein discovered the Theory of Relativity!"
He looked across and saw that Helen had drifted off to sleep. Shrugging his shoulders, he closed the book.
"Guess it's a bit too much for you right now," he said quietly, tucking her in, "but later on, you'll understand and learn from it. I promise."
He tucked her in and gave her a goodnight kiss.
"Night sweetie."
"Night dad."
"Sleep well."
"I will."
With that, Ambrose left the room, whilst Helen watched him. She hoped that she'd be able to earn some pocket money to get some of the latest books to read. But for now, she'd have to put up with his long boring Logic theories instead.
