She paused. “The board wants you to do these videos. As a good steward, I know you’ll give them what they want.” She drew an imaginary circle with her pointer finger in the air. “Full circle.”
“All right, all right. I get it. I’ll make this video.”
“Yes. Then go home, hug the kids, and maybe ask Erykah to tell you about her sister and brother-in-law.”
Had he even thought to do that before? That was something he definitely needed to rectify. He stood. “Let’s get this done, then.”
“Is YouTube Chris ready?”
He smirked. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Then on my mark.” Cameron held up three fingers, then two while the other hand hovered on the camera, then one.
“Hey, guys. It’s your pal Chris here. I wanted to interrupt yourbusy day to give you a shot of something happy.” He pointed to the wooden box in front of him. A lot of the animals he filmed liked to hide in there before he pulled them out to showcase them to the world. The box was well ventilated thanks to holes positioned all around it.
“What I’m about to show you might make you go awww.” He mimicked the way Cameron usually said it, and she rolled her eyes. “But that’s exactly what you need to get you through hump day. You ready?”
He stared at the camera and waited a beat. “Before I show our mystery guest, let me tell you the poll results.” He always posted a poll on socials and had people comment with a guess for the following week. “The three most popular guesses were a rat, a snake, or a rabbit. Now to unveil our mystery creature...” He slid the cover back, knowing Cameron would be zooming in.
The animals shifted as light hit them but otherwise stayed snuggled together. He reached for one, then the other.
“If you guessed rabbit, you were pretty close! These two pygmy rabbits just want to brighten up your day.” He held them up to the camera. “These little guys like to sleep cozied up. They’re not considered native to Colorado as they’re mostly found in the Pacific Northwest. However, more and more of these little guys are popping up in Colorado, enough to get our attention. These two guys will be transported to a Washington wildlife rehab center as soon as we’re able.” They were so soft, live stress balls, really. He could feel the uncertainty fall away as he took in part of God’s creation.
Chris set them back in the box, knowing Zach would get them back in their proper spot soon. He smiled at the camera.
“Well, that’s your ‘get over the hump day’ animal spotlight. Leave your guess for next week’s mystery box anddon’t forget to hit Like and Subscribe and check out my longer videos.”
“And done,” Cameron said, once the red light went away. “Good job.”
“Thanks for talking with me, Cameron.”
“What are project managers for?”
“You mean friends?” He stared at her pointedly.
She smiled. “Exactly. Now go home. We’ll get everyone settled and lock up the place.”
“You sure you don’t want to leave early and meet Felix for an early dinner?” When her engagement had been fresh, she’d talked a lot about her fiancé. Now she seemed quieter. “Everything okay with him?”
“Yeah, of course. We’re going to be doing the seating arrangements for the reception later. So staying won’t ruin any plans.” She waved him away. “You need to get home for Cheye. Go.”
He nodded.
Erykah had enrolled Cheyenne into the school in his district, and today was her first day. The office had seemed quiet without her.
He glanced at his watch. If he left right now, he’d make it back home in time to see her get off the bus at 3:30 p.m. He whistled, and the sound of a dog collar tinkling reached his ears. Charlie came to stand in front of him.
“Ready to go home?”
Charlie barked.
“Attaboy. Let’s go.”
The pup was fully potty trained now but still had a lot of puppy energy, so Chris always brought him to work. This was probably the best place for him to roam free and not get into trouble.
Once Chris parked in front of his house, the sound of brakes from a bigger vehicle sounded. He looked at the rearview mirror and saw the school bus a few houses down. He got out of the car, putting Charlie on a leash before heading down the street.
A little girl with two French braids who looked like Cheyenne hopped off the bus. He cupped his mouth. “Cheye!”
