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I snatch it out of his hand I grit ether and ansith a hard, "Fine"

There is no way in hell I’ll use that card

Max turns to his beautiful daughter and whispers loudly enough for us all to hear, "You tell me if Tina doesn’t use that Okay, honey?"

Uh, Max! You suck!

Ceecee looks up at Max like he’s the best dad in the whole world And to tell you the truth, I’ to believe he is She answers him softly, "Okay, daddy"

I look to Nik then Max and point out, "We’ve got to go We’re going to be late"

Ceecee and I wave to them both and head to the elevator

That went better than expected

Ceecee and I are on the sidewalk and I ask her, "Do you want to wheel yourself or do you ?"

She shoots me a shy smile, "I dunno Whatever you want I’m okay with either"

I juhs at my silliness I hoot, "Hot damn! I alanted to drive your car!"

I push her along the sidewalk up the road to the salon I’ve called ahead and let them know Ceecee is wheelchair bound Luckily, they have suitable access

A woo in and thank her

Tanya owns Bells and Whistles salon I’ve been getting irls for two years and I like her a lot When I called I told her I needed a deluxe princess treatment and she worked out a schedule for us Tanya is in her forties but looks about thirty She is alwayshair is dyed a vivid red

As soon as Ceecee spots her et ht of bringing her back to Max with bright red hair

"Well, hey there Tina! Is this Princess Ceecee that’s scheduled in with us today?" Tanya is looking down at Ceecee with a huge smile on her pretty face

I chuckle and state, "This is the one and only Princess Ceecee" I decide to act out a bit I put my nose in the air "I de after all"

Ceecee giggles and covers her , "But, of course Only the best of service for Princess Ceecee Please, come this way"

I push Ceecee over to the first station for a facial As I walk past Tanya she scrunches up her face, puts a hand on her chest and mouths, "She’s beautiful"

Don’t I know it

Tanya takes a seat beside Ceecee’s chair and explains ill be done to her today "Okay, princess Ceecee, today we’re going to start with a facial That’s where I’ll put sooop on your face We’ll leave it on for about ten ernails and toe nails You can pick whatever color you want on them After that, I’ll trie How does that sound, honey bun?"

Ceecee’s eyes are wide She whispers to Tanya, "Good Thank you"

Tanya s at Ceecee, "Well you’re a princess and you deserve the best, sweetie"

Ceecee smiles, lowers her eyes and whispers, "Okay"

Sweet baby Jesus, I love this child

Every time I see Ceecee my heart melts She is so lovable and warm She seeh That bothers ood as she’s ever felt

Tanya applies our facefor the with the radio "You are no rockin’ with WillIAasp and softly reprimand her, "Ceecee, we are ladies and princesses, and we do not say b i t c h" I end on a whisper and have no idea why I felt the need to spell the hen she just said it

Ceecee becohtful then looks back to me and says, "But Britney said bitch and she’s a lady"

Damn it, Britney Now look at what you’ve done!

My eye twitches as I try to think of an acceptable answer, "Ah, I guess…Well…That is…Britney is over the age of twenty one She is an adult and she can do what she likes And she isn’t a princess" I pat her hand and feel I’ve won this round

Her eyes widen and she says slowly, "So, when I’m twenty one I can do whatever I like?"

Without thinking I say, "Sure"

She leans closer to et a tattoo?"

Oh, Poop! How did this happen??!

I sputter, "Uh, yes, I suppose…"

Ceecee becomes so excited she almost yells, "That’s so cool! I want one just like daddy and uncle Nik’s That way everyone will knoe’re family"

"…with your father’s permission, of course"

But Ceecee doesn’t hearall sorts of crazy ideas that people frown upon

After our facials, s us a lunch of sandwiches and fruit salad Ceecee eats half a sandwich and soives me some information I never knew She tells me, "Daddy said people in wheelchairs don’t eat ular people"

Sorrow painfully shoots through my chest I don’t like what she just said

I respond, "Honey, you are regular people You’ve just got a sweet ride, that’s all"

She smiles a sad smile, "It’s okay, Tina I know I’e schools a lot"

My face drops I cautiously ask, "How el?"

She toys with a piece of cantaloupe on her plate, avoiding aze and replies, "Four tie No child should be changing schools that much

"Can I ask why, honey?" I ask carefully

Still avoiding my eyes, she explains in a small voice, "People make fun of me They callI can feel it split in two Her blank eyes focus on s and she continues quietly, "I never make any friends I don’t knohy" She finishes with a s and is so quiet I can barely hear her

This is so upsetting to el feels Bullying is a huge issue nationwide The unfortunate truth is kids can be cruel They don’t realize what they’re actually doing to a person when they poke fun at them