He turned the laptop toward me, holding it on his own lap still because I’d almost dropped it when I’d gotten too enthusiastic about—yeah, it had to be the cow, right?
“I want the highland cow.” I peered at Daddy. “Not just because it moos.”
He chuckled and ruffled my hair. “Okay. I think I’m gonna go with the elephant with the big floppy ears. They look soft and I know you like soft things.”
How he’d picked that up already would’ve been a mystery if I wasn’t currently rubbing my fingers on one of the fleece blankets I’d rucked up next to me for comfort.
“Okay. That sounds good.” I nodded.
For most of the morning, I’d managed to not think of poor Tonya, but seeing all these stuffies that were whole and perfect and clean suddenly made my lip wobble.
I tried to keep it all in, I’d been pitiful enough last night, but then a small sob escaped me.
“Oh, baby boy,” Daddy cooed. He quickly put the stuffies into the basket and clicked order, then moved the laptop onto the coffee table before pulling me into his side. “Come here.”
I went more than willingly. I’d never felt this safe around anyone, and somehow that made me feel even… well, littler. I didn’t start to cry again, but I let out a hiccuppy sob every now and then, and the tears stayed on the inside this time.
Daddy put on the TV and started to browse Netflix for something to watch.
“You can put on one of your Finnish shows,” I whispered.
He glanced at me. “Crime okay?”
I shrugged. I liked Nordic Noir fine. “I can nap if it’s too much.” Before he could object, I added, “You’re my Daddy and I want you to watch something foryoutoday. I wanna cuddle.”
I felt his chuckle more than I heard it. He foundBordertown—which he liked more than the other one,Deadwind, that we’d watched a bit before—and started from the next episode we hadn’t seen yet.
I enjoyed the slow pace and all the less familiar things on these shows. The fact that sometimes Daddy would pause the show and explain something or comment on something like the accents of the people or something like that, was a huge plus.
I decided to lie down with my head on his lap, and he stroked my hip with his fingers as he watched the show. Meanwhile, I closed my eyes and thought back to what he’d said last night. It didn’t sit right with me completely, I wasn’t sure how to put it into words yet, so for now I’d think about it.
Somewhere between my little and adult minds, I floated half asleep as I listened to a language I couldn’t understand and felt the ever so gentle petting from Daddy.
The doorbell rang right after Daddy started the second episode.
He got up slowly, so I had time to adjust, and went to open.
“Hello, Luukas,” I heard Master Allen’s voice. “I come bearing gifts and lunch.”
Chuckling, Daddy stepped back and let him inside.
“Master Allen!” I bounced up and went to hug him around the waist.
“There you are, Little Bear.” He squeezed me right back. “You look like you were napping.”
“Daddy was watching his Finnish show and I napped on his lap.” I giggled because I almost rhymed. Then I noticed he had given Daddy some takeout bags but was holding another one in his hand. “What’s that?”
“Well, a little birdie—in this case a little who isn’t a birdie, actually—told me that you had a mishap last night and I thought since it’s the weekend, your Daddy probably hasn’t been able to fix everything yet, so I thought I’d bring you an emergency friend.” He handed out the bag.
I opened it and pulled out a large bear stuffie. It was big enough to hug, fluffy instead of short-haired, and it looked a little like the bear from Bear in the Big Blue House. Except this one was darker in color and just… perfect.
“Oh no!” I exclaimed, my lip wobbling again. I raised my eyes to meet Master Allen’s, and he seemed a bit alarmed. “It’s perfect!”
Master Allen wiped his brow theatrically. “Phew. Boy, I swear you almost gave me a heart attack!”
Daddy chuckled and came back from the kitchen. “That’s a lovely bear, Bear,” he said, smirking when I giggled. “What are you going to call it?”
I turned the bear this way and that, including upside down. “I think I should call him Allen, so then we have two bears who are called that.” I giggled and dashed into the kitchen before the Domly types could react.
