Page 18 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas
“Thank you for helping me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Max said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve had a lot of people help me when I was hurting, so now I got to help you. And next time you see someone who needs help, it’ll be your turn.”
What a lovely kid. I took a well-behaved and kind child as a sign of a well-behaved and kind parent. Sure, that logic didn’t always check out, but if I had to put my money on it, I would bet that this Jeannie woman was the type to practice what she preached. And that was awesome, because the world needed more kindness.
“Hey, if you kids want to get your skates off and put your shoes on, how about your mother and I go stand in line while you rest, then we’ll go inside and eat?” I suggested.
“But I’m not done skating!” Eva objected, raising her voice a little. She rarely did that. I didn’t know if it was because of all the excitement, or if she really was that invested in the sport, but I crouched in front of her.
“That’s fine, baby. I didn’t say we were done for the night. We’re just taking a break so your sister can recover and all of you can eat. As soon as our break is done, you can go right back on the ice if you’re feeling up to it. I promise.”
“Okies…”
“Max, you stay here, okay? I’m gonna go grab our bag,” Jeannie said before stepping onto the ice and skating across it like it was second-nature. I had to admit, my gaze might have lingered a little longer than was polite on her powerful thighs as she practically flew across the frozen surface and expertly dodged around wobbly children and adults alike. If she didn’t smell so entirely human, I would have wondered if she was a shifter of some kind, albeit one that was more suitable to moving on such a slick environment.
It took her less than a minute to get to the other side, and she was equally speedy on her way back, because our kids had only just sat down by the time she was stepping off the rink, holding up a battered messenger bag.
“Here you go,” she said as she handed it over to her son. “Make sure you hydrate. It’s been a while since you’ve had some water or Ensure.”
“Gotcha,” the boy said, taking the bag and setting it down by his feet. His hands were trembling slightly, so it seemed like it was a good time for us to have hot food and go inside to warm up. “Oh, and can I have a hot chocolate too? I heard they make it with real chocolate bars here and not just the powder.”
“I can grab that for you as long as it’s okay with your mom. A growing boy needs something sweet, right?”
“I’ve gained five pounds in the last three months!”
“I… uh, okay?”
“Yes, you have,” Jeannie answered, sounding pleased as punch. “See? You’ve put in so much work into growing that even a stranger can tell. High five!”
“Yeah!”
There was something going on. Obviously, I didn’t have the full story and it was none of my business, but if I had to guess, Max had been either a very sick kid or a very abused kid, and was now on the other side of it. It would explain his gaunt cheekbones, his paleness, his tiny frame, and the hand tremor.
If any of my assumptions were correct, then he had every right to be cranky, misbehaved, or otherwise unpleasant. But this kid was the complete opposite of that. What a little champion.
I was getting him a large hot chocolate.
“Daddy, can I have a burger with fries?” Eva asked.
“I’m not sure they have that here. I only saw hot dogs, but I’ll check.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“And for you?” I asked Addy.
She shrugged, and I gave a softly reproachful look. Addy wasn’t downright food-avoidant, but it didn’t motivate her, either. That would change once she shifted for the first time and her inner bear wanted calories, but there was time enough to prepare her for that. Right now, she knew she needed to use fuel to function, so when I reminded her to eat, she did. I would never force her to eat if she told me she was full, but most of the time that wasn’t the case.
“Uhm… a hot dog and the hot apple cider, I guess? That sounds nice. And can I have a water, too?”
“Of course. Behave yourself while we’re in line, and don’t leave this spot.”
A trio of affirmative answers sounded, which was more adorable than I had expected. Jeannie and I walked over to the lengthy queue, then turned so we could watch our kids.
“You really don’t have to do this,” Jeannie said in a nervous tone. Nervous enough that I covertly scented the air to make sure that I wasn’t scaring her or anything. After all,Iknew I was a decent guy who just wanted to reward her son for being nice to my daughter, butshedidn’t know that. And as much as I hated that it was a thing, there were definitely creeps out there who used their own children to pick up women.
Disgusting.
But thankfully, while her scent was a bit bashful, a bit nervous, with some overtones of stress and hunger, there was no fear. No apprehension.
