Joy was in a very excited mood. From the moment they entered the car and began to drive, she had been singing nonstop.
Dom and Natasha found it enjoyable to be hearing her sing. She had such a lovely voice in their ears.
Dom sighed in happiness to himself. This was the life, just spending some quality time with his two favourite ladies, and yes, Natasha was one of his favourite ladies because she had given birth to the little lady sitting in the car seat behind them.
Dom glanced at Natasha, she had a smile on her face and her eyes were closed. He could not tell if she was sleeping or just resting her eyes.
"Daddy," Joy called. She had stopped singing.
"Yes, my princess?" he smiled.
"How long until we get to grandpappy's house?" she asked.
"Well, if the traffic is good, it might be two hours, but on a bad day, it might be five hours," Dom said.
"Aww, that sounds so long," Joy said.
"I know my princess. That is why I wanted us to go early, but don't worry, we will be there soon, before you know it," Dom smiled.
"Okay Daddy," Joy smiled.
"How about you continue singing my princess?".
"No, I am tired of singing," Joy said.
Dom laughed and Natasha snickered, an indication that she was not sleeping as Dom had thought.
"Why? Why are you tired of singing?" he asked.
"I am tired of singing, I am starting to get hungry, and also, my voice is not that good," Joy said.
"Who told you that my princess? You have the most lovely voice I have ever heard," Dom smiled.
"Really?" Joy asked.
"Yes, of course my princess. Luckily you did not inherit my terrible voice, you have such a gentle voice," he smiled.
"Thank you, Daddy," Joy smiled. Whatever her father said, she believed, the same with her mother. She trusted what they said, maybe her voice did not sound so terrible after all.
"Never doubt yourself my princess, never, you should always be confident and if you truly aren't good at something, and you want to be, you must make sure to be dedicated and do whatever you can to make sure you become better," he smiled.
"Okay Daddy," she smiled.
"So, my princess, if you are hungry, we packed some snacks that you can eat now," he said.
"Yes, yes, can I have some snacks please?" she asked.
"Natasha, are you awake?" Dom glanced at her.
"I'm awake," she said. "What would you like to eat my darling?" Natasha asked.
"Well, what do we have, Mommy?" Joy asked.
"Some chips, pretzels, juice, candy and chocolate," Natasha replied, she opened her eyes.
"Oooh, can I have some chocolate?" she asked.
"No, it's too early for chocolate, you can have some chips though. Save the chocolate for tomorrow," Natasha replied.
"Okay Mommy," Joy smiled.
"Here you go my darling," she handed her a bag of chips she opened.
"Thank you, Mommy," Joy smiled and started to eat the chips.
"And here is some grape juice," she handed her a juicebox.
"Thank you, Mommy.".
"Can I have some chips as well, Natasha?" Dom asked.
Natasha turned to him, she frowned, she did not know why he was asking her, but then again she remembered he was driving and it was better he kept his eyes on the road.
"Sure," she replied.
She opened another bag of chips, "Can you eat it yourself, or should I help you?" she asked.
"Well... if you would be willing to do that, that would be great," he said.
Natasha picked out one chip and put it to his mouth, he opened his mouth and ate the chip. Natasha frowned and wiped her fingers on her jeans, although he did not touch her fingers with his mouth, you could never be too safe.
Joy giggled seeing this gesture, "Daddy, Mommy is feeding you like a baby.".
"It's just so that I can still focus on the road, princess," Dom replied.
"It's so cute," Joy giggled.
"What's so cute?" Natasha feigned ignorance, she picked a chip and ate it.
"You feeding, Daddy, it's so cute," Joy said.
"Who is teaching you all that? Drink your juice and eat your chips," Natasha laughed and shook her head.
She gave Dom another chip and Joy giggled again.
Joy looked outside the window, she could see the traffic lights, the other cars and people passing by, the way the road behind them disappeared as they moved. She watched the markings on the tar road that seemed to be moving from how far they were.
They stopped at the traffic light. It turned red, Joy watched as it turned yellow and then green and then they started to move again.
"Mommy, Daddy, I can't wait to start driving," Joy said.
"Why do you want to know how to drive so fast?" Natasha asked laughing.
"That's the same question I asked when she told me," Dom laughed.
"Well, because when you know how to drive, it means that you are an adult, and I want to be an adult soon," Joy replied.
"Oh, my darling, why do you want to grow up so fast? Don't grow up so fast, remain little for a while longer," Natasha said.
"Okay, but I can't stay little forever, Mommy, we always grow up," Joy said.
Natasha turned to Dom as if asking if he was also hearing this, he looked at her and laughed.
He too wondered how Joy spoke so maturely. It was worrying and yet a reason to be very proud.
"Where do you learn all these things?" Natasha asked.
"From TV," Joy giggled.
"Of course, TV. Well, I have to be watching some of your cartoons with you, because you are getting way smarter than I realize," Natasha laughed and Dom nodded.
"Mommy, when did you learn how to drive?" Joy asked.
"Well... I learnt how to drive when I was sixteen, my darling," Natasha said.
"Who taught you how to drive, Mommy?".
"My dad taught me. The thing was that I actually used to practice how to drive without his permission in the driveway. I would reverse and park," Natasha laughed.
"Oh yeah, I remember that, one time you almost crashed into your fence," Dom laughed.
"Yes... yes, I'm not proud of it, but yes, I was so eager to drive that when he wasn't home and he left his car, I would practice alone, which is very dangerous, it must never be repeated," Natasha warned.
"Anyway, my Dad found out, and well he decided that if I was going to drive, I might as well do it better, so he started to teach me how to drive, and I got the hang of it very quickly," Natasha said.
"Oooh, you see, Daddy, Mommy's Daddy, taught her how to drive, so you need to teach me how to drive as well," Joy said.
Dom laughed, he wondered why Joy thought she was making a valid point.
"Hey, but I'm right here, my darling, don't you want me to teach you how to drive as well?" Natasha asked.
"I do want you to teach me how to drive, Mommy, but I thought that only daddies teach their children how to drive," Joy said.
Dom burst into laughter. Natasha too could not help it, she let out a snicker as well.
"What made you think that my darling?" Natasha asked. The more Joy spoke, the more she realized that Joy thought a certain way and already had some ideas on some topics that they had never discussed.
As impressed at that made her feel, it also made her a bit worried. Her baby was growing up right in front of her eyes and if she was not careful, she would start to miss the little things.
"Well, I always see daddies teaching their children how to drive.".
"That is not true darling, mommies can teach their children how to drive as well. I am sure that if I had my mommy, she would have taught me how to drive as well," Natasha said.
"Oh, okay, so you and Daddy can both teach me how to drive, that way, I will be an excellent driver!" Joy said.
Natasha and Dom laughed.
"Sure, you can dream, princess. But that probably won't happen until you're eighteen," Dom said.
"But, Daddy, Mommy said that she learnt when she was sixteen, so I am going to learn when I am sixteen as well," Joy laughed.
Dom glanced at Natasha, he shot her an expression that read, 'You shouldn't have told her that you started driving when you were sixteen,'.
Natasha simply laughed, "My darling, when the time is ripe, you will learn, your Daddy and I will both teach you.".
"Yayyyyy!!!" Joy said, she drank from her juice box happily. She could not wait. There were so many things she was looking forward to doing when she got older.