Page 25 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas
“She would be honored, I’m sure. She was always about community and sharing ideas.”
“That’s wonderful. Thank her for me the next time you visit.”
“I will. And that’s a promise.”
Goodness, who could have guessed such an intense conversation would happen from such an innocent beginning? Not that I minded. Nor did I mind the casual quiet that fell between us as we watched our kids. We both pulled out our phones and started taking pictures and recording videos. The kids occasionally showboated for us when they noticed the camera pointed their way.
It seemed like hardly any time had passed before Max was returning for his break. Eva came with him, but Addy stayed on the ice. Although I didn’t know her and would probably never see her again, I was proud of her for getting back out there after falling. That showed some real character there, all right.
After his break, I sent Max out again, and Remy and I picked our conversation back up, although this time we steered clear of heavier topics and instead discussed my work. I had to dance around some details, since I didn’t really want to talk about spicy scenes with a stranger and had NDAs to keep in mind, but I explained the difference between a developmental editor, a line editor, and a copy editor—all positions I held with different companies and clients.
Before I knew it, yet another rest and session on the ice had passed. When my alarm went off, signaling that it was time to wind down for bed, I gasped at the time. Max was holding onto the wall again and standing still, but his face was lit with joy as he watched Eva and Addy do tricks.
I didn’t want to leave. I was having so much fun, and Max was getting a chance to be an actual kid! But, that pesky little thing called moderation. Max would already be sore for the restof the weekend and would have to sleep more than usual. If I let him keep pushing it, he could backslide.
“Max!” I called after I took off my skates and stood up. “Say goodbye to your friends. It’s time to go.”
The stereotype probably would have been for him to protest and ask for five more minutes, but I swore I saw a sigh of relief from him even from all the way across the rink. Well, if one thing, it affirmed that I was right to end things on a pleasant note.
All three came skating toward us. Max trailed behind the girls, but Addy offered him her hand. It was such a wonderful parallel to how he had helped her earlier, that my heart started doing that swelling thing again. These kids needed to stop being so cute or I’d have to go to a doctor.
“Thank you for letting Max play with us,” Eva said once they were all on solid ground. And then something happened that I never imagined. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around my waist. At least, she tried to. They didn’t quite get there, considering my figure was a bit more blessed than that of someone wearing straight sizes. “It was a very fun night!”
I froze, because hugging another person’s kid without permission was always a bit risky. Remy looked as shocked as I was. It looked like the Grinch wasn’t the only one whose heart was swelling three sizes this season.
“Thank you for wanting to hang out with my big man. You two are the best.”
“Yeah, we’re pretty cool,” Addy agreed as she let go of Max’s hand. “We should hang out again.”
She said it with that finality kids had, like it was the same as breathing. Honestly, I was impressed with her directness.
“I’m open to that,” I said, trying not to soundtooexcited. “Maybe after the holidays?”
“Wait! Mama, wait,” Max said, trying to jump up and down but quickly losing balance on his skates. Remy reached out so fast I almost couldn’t even see his arm and gripped the back of Max’s coat, holding him until he’d regained his balance. “The Christmas lights tour in the city! We still haven’t gone to that one! Could we all go together?”
Chewing on my bottom lip, I looked at Remy. Just because I was down for it didn’t mean he was. I didn’t know how much work he had to do or what his schedule was like. Hell, he was probably just being polite this whole time and wasn’t looking for any sort of future meetups.
It turned out I was worried for nothing, though, because that kind smile split his features again. “Christmas lights? Does that sound like something you girls would like?”
“Yeah!” They declared in unison, fists pumping in the air. I liked how they were a strange mix of a bit too mature for their age and also relentlessly and unabashedly silly. Just like Max.
“Then it sounds like a plan,” Once more his attention focused solely on me, and it became a little hard to think again. “Should we exchange numbers? To hammer out the details after we’ve all had a chance to rest?”
“That’d probably be smart.”
“I don’t get accused of that all too often.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.”
He ducked his head a little and sent me a playfully bashful look. Oh, he was hamming it up a little. “Are you trying to flatter me?”
“Nah, I already got my food. Ain’t got no need for that no more.”
That startled a chuckle out of him. We exchanged phones, punched our numbers in, and sent a test text. When that was done, we all returned our skates—except mine, of course—then walked to the parking lot together.
It was crazy how natural it all felt. I’d literally met this guy and his daughters a couple of hours earlier, yet somehow the night seemed soeasy.Like the entire thing was meant to be.
Or maybe I was a bit too much in my head and into fantasies like the books I edited. The reality was, I was used goods. And I was fine with that, because it had given me Max. I didn’t need a whirlwind romance with a hunk. All I needed was my baby boy to be happy and healthy.
