Page 2 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas
Now, my girls? They were about as perfect as kids could get, and I was unbiased in every way when it came to that assessment.
Completely unbiased.
“How about we all go grab some ice cream?” my dad said as we joined the queue to pick up our kids. From there, we’d file out to the parking lot where there would no doubt be an even bigger line to get out and on the road.
“Ah, the girls and I have plans,” I said, putting on some thin mittens. It was winter and rapidly approaching the holidays, but I was plenty adept at keeping myself warm without covering up. However, I had learned that humans tended to stare when I walked around in the snow in shorts and a short-sleeved polo, so I wore my faux clothes—as I liked to call them—to blend in a bit better. The family did the same.
“Dad!”
Addy spotted me first, grinning as she walked toward me. Eva came barreling toward me and jumped into my arms.
I caught her and shifted her to my hip. Some folks said an eight-year-old was too old to be carried around, but what was the point of having shifter strength if I didn’t use it?
“Hi, Daddy,” she said, tucking her face into the crook between my shoulder and neck. “Did you see me sing?”
“I did! You were amazing, sweetheart. I couldn’t take my eyes off you and your sister.”
“She’s better than me…”
I froze, not sure what to say, but my mother swept in with her soft voice. If little Evangeline took after anyone, it was my ma.
“Your sister is older than you. She’s had two extra years to work on her singing skills, silly.” She held out her arms, and Eva allowed herself to be transferred. She didn’t trust many people to hold her, not even all of our family, but thankfully, the grandparents made the list. “Besides, you and your sister aren’t in a competition, are you? Isn’t it fun to singtogether?”
“Yeah…” Eva murmured before resting her head on hermamie’sshoulder. “’S’fun.”
“I like singing with you,” Addy said in that matter-of-fact tone she used to deliver facts. I liked to think that despite being homeschooled in a shifter community, I was a relatively learned guy, but my ten-year-old had taught me things like all calico cats were female unless they were mutants, and that Australia was the only populated continent in the world that didn’t have rabies.
It was a sweet moment, but like many things with children, it was over almost as soon as it began. “We gonna go see Mom?”
I nodded. “We are indeed. Say goodbye to Mamie, Pepe, Gammie, and Pop-Pop.”
“Bye!” Adelaide said with a salute. “Merriest Christmas!”
“Bye,” Eva added on. “Merry Christmas!”
“Let’s save our official goodbyes for after we walk y’all to the car,” my mother-in-law said, her eyes practically sparkling as she bounced Eva slightly. “No need to rush things.”
“Okie dokies, Mamie.”
I grinned as we continued to file forward, eventually picking up speed as we exited the school. We said a proper goodbye at my minivan, with lots of hugs and kisses all around.
All the older folks would have been content standing around until every other car had left the parking lot, but my kids had yet to go through their first shift yet, which meant they didn’t have the higher resting body temperature or the enhanced metabolism to keep them warm in extreme temperatures. As much as they loved hanging out with both sets of their grandparents, I wasn’t about to let my girl’s teeth get to chattering. Even bundled up as they were, I was maybe, potentially, just a little bit of a worrywart when it came to their health.
After about fifteen minutes or so, my girls were safely in the middle row of seats in the van, and we were pulling up toward the back of the line to leave.
The sun had set since we’d gotten out, making the temperature drop, so I cranked up the heat in the van for the girls, turning all the vents to them, then cracked my windowjustenough to have the frigid, early night air whip across the top of my head. While it would be way more convenient when my girls were fully shifters too—I wouldn’t have to use the heat other than to defrost—I was in no rush for that to happen. No, as far as I was concerned, every day we had together was a gift, and I wasn’t going to take a single one for granted.
It didn’t take us long to reach our destination, since it wasn’t really a place many spent their holidays. But in eighteen months since my wife had resided there, my girls and I had long sincebecome familiar with the route. Just because she wasn’t living with us anymore didn’t mean we were going to forget her.
Never.
“Here we are,” I said, pulling into the same parking lot we always did. “You girls ready to say hi?”
“Yes,” Addy said, and I heard a bit of rustling. “We’ve got her flowers ready!”
“Thanks, guys. All right, I’ll come open the door.”
I knew my daughters were mature enough that I could turn off the child-safety locks in the back doors of my minivan, but I wasn’t ready for that milestone yet. Sometimes it felt like yesterday when I’d introducing a brand-new Eva to her older sister. How had it been eight years already? All I’d done was blink!
