“I’m so happy to finally meet you in person,” Jared said. “I feel like we’ve known each other for years. But this is the first time that we’re actually not looking at each other on a screen.” Brad stepped toward the red head and extended his hand.
“Same,” Jared said. “And here is Melinda.” Jared gently pushed his hand against the girl’s shoulder. She turned and looked up at him, a pout on her lips. She wriggled her shoulders and inched away from her dad.
“She’ll warm up to you,” Jared said. “She’s still a bit…”
“She’s still gun shy,” Brad interjected. “And why wouldn’t you be?” Brad smiled at the girl. She turned her head toward her father. Brad could see her chin quiver as she bit her lower lip.
“Hey,” Brad said, “I got you something.” The burly man pulled a large pink gift bag from behind his back. He slowly held it out. Melinda looked up at Jared. He nodded but she just stepped closer to her dad. She turned her head and leaned against his Hawaiian shirt. Jared reached forward and took the bag from Brad. He held it to his other side, away from Melinda, and peeked inside. He gasped. “No way! Where did you find it?”
“I have a guy,” Brad said, “And he owed me a favor.”
“Daddy?” Melinda said quietly. “What is it?”
Jared handed the pink bag to his daughter. She pulled the handles apart and stared into the bag. “Mr. Bear! He’s my favorite. I lost mine in the…”
“I know, little one,” Brad said. “You’re daddy told me.”
“But they don’t sell Mr. Bear anymore. Daddy tried and tried to find one. We even wrote a letter to Santa. He brought me a Baby Bear, but he wrote me a note. He said that his elves were very sorry, but they had given the last Mr. Bear to a kid with cancer.” Melinda squeezed the stuffed bear against her chest. “It smells like oranges.”
“Oh, yeah,” Brad said. “Here in Florida we have a lot of oranges. In fact, I’ve got three trees in my back yard. You’re gonna love it here. You can have oranges every day.”
“I don’t like oranges,” Melinda said. “I like apples. We used to have an apple tree at my old house.”
“If you don’t like the smell, we’ll just wash him, ‘kay?”
“You can’t wash Mr. Bear. He’s… what did momma used to say? Del-kit?”
“Delicate,” Jared said. “But it’s all right. I think it’s kinda nice. I like the smell. Maybe you’ll get used to it.”
Melinda sniffed Mr. Bear’s head. “I guess so.” She pushed her nose into the soft brown fabric of the stuffed animal’s head. “My old bear got burned. I wanted to save him, but daddy said I would get burned. He held me. He wouldn’t let me go.” Melinda closed her eyes and squeezed the stuffed animal. Brad noticed her little fingers disappearing into the bear’s fuzzy body.
“We lost a lot that day, didn’t we?”
“Well, you’re in a different place now,” Brad said, “And it’s going to be fun. A new, fresh start.”
“Daddy, are you really going to marry that man?”
Jared laughed. He raised his gaze to meet Brad’s smiling face. “Um, where did you get that idea, honey?”
“You told the lady on the airplane. The lady that smelled like wet socks. The lady with the little suitcase that she kept pushing her skinny, wrinkly hand into.”
“Well, that was a little basket for her therapy dog, Pooky.”
“I didn’t see anything in there. I didn’t hear it bark, or growl, or even whimper. I think that lady was just playing pretend.”
“Maybe you’re right, Melinda.”
Brad pushed his shoulders back. “Shall we get going?”
“Of course,” Jared said, “Is that okay, baby girl?”
“I’m not a baby,” Melinda said.
“She’s got chutzpah,” Brad said.
“What’s choots-paw?”
“It’s what you are,” Jared said. He bent forward and gently bumped her head with his.
“Daddy gives me head-butts, like our cat used to,” Melinda said.
“That’s sweet,” Brad said. “I have a cat. Did your daddy tell you that?”
Melinda looked up at her father. “NO, he didn’t,” she said. “What’s its name?”
“Guess.”
“Mittens?” Brad shook his head. “Tiger?” She paused.
“Nope.”
“Don’t tell me,” Melinda held the bear’s muzzle up to her ear. “Really? That’s it?” The girl dropped the bear down to her side, holding its furry arm tightly in her fist. “It’s December.”
Brad puzzled, his jaw dropping down. “How did you know that?”
“Mr. Bear told me,” Melinda said. “Mr. Bear is magic. Didn’t you know that?”
“I did not,” Brad said.
“Mommy always liked to have my old Mr. Bear near her. Especially when she got sick. Mr. Bear made her happy.” Melinda held the stuffed animal up to her ear again. “He wants to know why you named your cat December?”
Brad huffed. “Doesn’t he know?”
Melinda held the bear in front of her small face. “He doesn’t tell me EVERY thing. Like he didn’t tell me about the fire. And then he was gone. Like mommy.”
Brad looked at Jared. Jared shrugged his shoulders.
“Dude,” Brad said, “Did you know about the bear? Its special powers?”
“It only works for kids, for some strange reason. But I think that’s why they took them off the market. Kinda spooky.”
“Beyond spooky,” Brad said. The big guy raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.
“This could be useful,” he said. “I mean, maybe Mr. Bear knows other things.”
“Like what?” Jared said.
“Oh, like lucky numbers. You know, the lot-ter-ry?”
“What’s a lot of trees got to do with anything,” Melinda asked.
“Lottery,” Jared said. “It’s when a lot of people take a chance on something but only one person gets lucky.”
“That’s silly,” Melinda said. “There’s no such thing as luck. Mr. Bear knows everything.”
“Your old Mr. Bear didn’t know to stay out of the fire, now did he?”
“Mr. Bear did know,” Melinda said. “But he can’t move on his own. And neither could Mommy.”
“I see,” Brad said. “So is that what happened?”
“I told daddy about the fireplace. I told him that Mr. Bear said it was dangerous. But daddy wanted to make sure that mommy was nice and warm.”
“Hey,” Brad said, “We need to get going. I parked in a ten minute zone. It’s been way longer than that. Here, let me grab the suitcase.”
“My new daddy is so strong, Mr. Bear.”
“Melinda!” Jared said sharply. “Why do you keep saying that?”
“Isn’t it true?”
“Did Mr. Bear tell you that? That we are dating?” Brad asked.
“No, silly,” Melinda said. “I heard you talking on the computer last week. You said that you love my daddy. You said that you want to see how you two… what was the word… jive?”
Brad shook his head. “Yup, that was the word I used.”
“So, do you jive?” Melinda asked.
Jared laughed. “You know that she’s part of this package.” The big read head pointed at himself with his two large hands.
“I didn’t know you had a tattoo,” Brad said.
Jared held out his hairy arm. “It’s mostly faded, but yeah, I got it in the Navy. For my mom.”
“It’s for my mommy now, right?” Melinda said.
“I can get it removed if it’s a deal breaker.”
“No,” Brad said, “That’s not the deal breaker.”
Jared stopped. “Is there a deal breaker?”
Brad turned and looked down at Melinda. “Can I carry Mr. Bear for you?”
Melinda squeezed the stuffed animal against her chest. “But you gave him to me.”
“I didn’t know he was so special,” Brad said.
“Can you ask Mr. Bear if he thinks me and your daddy will be good daddies for you?”
Melinda let out a slow breath. “Mommy and daddy were my second mommy and daddy. My bi-licky parents couldn’t keep me. They are in China. My second mommy couldn’t stay. Cause she died. Will you keep me? Do you promise? Forever and ever?”
Brad took a deep breath. “Do you think you can learn to like oranges?”
“Maybe?”
“Come on,” Brad said. “Say yes and I’ll say yes, too.”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“Really,” Jared said.
“Yes,” Brad said. “Let’s do this. You, me, Melinda, and Mr. Bear.”
Melinda held the animal against her ear. “Mr. Bear said yes, too.”
The end