We had lunch at the kitchen table, with Daddy and Master Allen sitting on one side and me and bear Allen sitting on the other. My brain got fixated on the words and how I was Bear too and then Allen was a bear but the other Allen was a Masteranda bear and I kept giggling intermittently through lunch.
Daddy and Master Allen both seemed fond while they made sure I ate the tasty sub Master Allen had brought while they talked about Domly things. Oh,oh!
“Am I a tasty sub too?” I asked, eyes wide as I gestured with my, well, sub.
They looked at me, then at each other, and then they both cracked up.
Master Allen could hardly breathe, and Daddy was wiping his eyes by the time I had gone back to eating since they weren’t answering my question.
“Never change, little one,” Master Allen said, patting my arm over the table.
I ducked my head and grinned, because he was being real nice.
Daddy’s phone rang then, and since it was from work, he had to take the call.
“Master Allen?” I asked, because I had a sudden idea.
“What is it, cub?” He winked at me when I smiled at the nickname. I liked it, “cub.”
“Do you happen to have Jamie’s phone number? I forgot to ask for it, and I wanna….” I glanced over towards where I could hear Daddy talking with someone on his phone.
Master Allen tilted his head and grinned. “I do. Do you have your phone?”
I patted my pockets, then shook my head and dashed to get it off the counter where I’d left it after breakfast.
He showed me Jamie’s number and I added it to my contacts. He was putting his phone back into his pocket when Daddy came back.
“What are you two up to?” he asked, raising a brow. He was smiling though, so I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Nothing at all.” Then I picked up my sandwich and finished it.
I didn’t call Jamie that day, nor did I do it on Monday. Daddy was handling the Tonya thing with the toy hospital, and I was kind of antsy because I knew she was away from me.
Sadly, or maybe luckily, I had work to do so I had to shake my littleness for most of the day.
On Tuesday afternoon, while Daddy was at work—I still couldn’t believe I could call Luke that—I caved and texted Jamie.
“This is Bear. I got your number from Master Allen. Can we meet for lunch one day when you have time, maybe?”
I knew he was a paralegal and that meant his job was important.
I felt oddly nervous without knowing why, exactly, but I got the answer to that the next day around eleven, when the doorbell rang, and Jamie arrived for our planned lunch.
I opened the door and then… stared.
“I know, it’s a bit of an adjustment, isn’t it?” He grinned.
He was wearing slacks, dress shirt, a smart tie, and even a jacket. His hair was styled and he had a briefcase with him.
“You look so....”
“Adult?” He raised a brow and we both started to laugh.
“Professional, let’s go with professional?”
“Agreed.”
I invited him in, and we settled in the kitchen to have some chicken salad I’d made as we’d agreed we both liked it.
