Chapter 6 #2
She shot a wink my way, and I was surprised when my cheeks heated a bit.
Huh. That was interesting.
“So, what do you say? Piggyback or skate?”
“I… I can skate. Can you help my daddy get there? He’s hopeless.”
Now why am I catching strays?
Nevertheless, it was a relief to hear my daughter sound like herself. I didn’t know when she’d developed a phobia of blood, but at least we found out this way rather than in a more dire situation. Granted, I didn’t want either of my children to be in any dire situation at all!
“Ah, you don’t have to help us,” I said, like a lying liar who was definitely lying. And not well, I might add, because my feet were slowly sliding apart from each other. “Now that you’ve got me on my feet, we’re good to go.”
“Eh, it’s time for our mandatory break anyway,” the woman said with a bit of a shrug. “It really is no trouble.”
“Well, if you were going to stop anyway...”
She offered her hand again, having dropped mine after I’d gotten to my feet, and I grasped it once more.
While I hadn’t even really thought about the contact the first time—the situation had been rather stressful and abrupt—now I couldn’t help but notice how my hand completely enveloped hers even with her mittens, and how she was so much cooler to the touch than I was.
“Right this way,” she said, grinning in a way that I could see even through her mask, and although I was sure that she had more teeth than her son, I could tell that his smile was a copy-paste of her own.
“You can slide forward one foot and then the other if you want, but it can be hard to keep your balance that way, so if you want, you can try walking like a penguin.”
“A penguin?”
As much as I liked to think of myself as a fairly mature guy without that whole toxic masculinity hang-up, my pride was smarting a bit at how completely useless I was at something my own kids seemed to pick up so easily.
My inner bear didn’t care, readily settling down into slumber, but man, my ego sure did.
It made me want to prove myself in some other way, which was pretty foolish.
“Yeah, feet out at an angle, very short steps. You know, like a penguin.”
Oh, now that she’d said it like that, it made a certain sort of sense.
It certainly wasn’t graceful, but it wasn’t like the alternative was, so I waddled along with her steadying me until all five of us were safely off the ice. Although Addy was doing better, I could still smell stress and embarrassment wafting from her.
“I really appreciate you helping out,” I said once my feet were on solid ground and I felt like my normal, capable self again.
“Not a problem at all. I know what it’s like when you see one of your kids is hurting. It’s a red alert of the highest magnitude.”
“You’re not kidding,” I agreed with a laugh.
And I supposed I could have left it there, but it wasn’t in my nature to let a good deed go unrewarded, especially when it was a good deed that meant so much to me.
“Here, let me buy you guys something from the snack booths as a thank you. Something warm?”
“Oh no, you don’t have to do anything like that. Max was just being a regular Good Samaritan.”
“That may be the case, but please, I insist. Nothing like a tummy full of warm food after saving the day.” I would drop it if she declined again, but I figured that social norms were what made her refuse rather than actually not wanting some free food.
“I’d love one of those giant pretzels!” the boy chimed in, and that’s when his mother gave me a bashful sort of grin.
“Well then, thank you, we would love a nice warm treat.”
“The pleasure is all mine...”
“Jeannie, and this is Max,” she answered quickly. “And you?”
“You can call me Remy, and these are my daughters, Addy and Eva. Say hello, you two.”
“Hello, Max! Hello, Miss Jeannie! Thank you for helping my sister and my daddy. I didn’t need any help, though.” Eva said.
I winced because even though my daughters got along just fine, those were fighting words. Thankfully, Addy didn’t even seem to register it. She tilted her head toward the two strangers.
“Thank you for helping me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Max said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve had a lot of people help me when I was hurting, so now I got to help you. And next time you see someone who needs help, it’ll be your turn.”
What a lovely kid. I took a well-behaved and kind child as a sign of a well-behaved and kind parent.
Sure, that logic didn’t always check out, but if I had to put my money on it, I would bet that this Jeannie woman was the type to practice what she preached.
And that was awesome, because the world needed more kindness.
“Hey, if you kids want to get your skates off and put your shoes on, how about your mother and I go stand in line while you rest, then we’ll go inside and eat?” I suggested.
“But I’m not done skating!” Eva objected, raising her voice a little. She rarely did that. I didn’t know if it was because of all the excitement, or if she really was that invested in the sport, but I crouched in front of her.
“That’s fine, baby. I didn’t say we were done for the night. We’re just taking a break so your sister can recover and all of you can eat. As soon as our break is done, you can go right back on the ice if you’re feeling up to it. I promise.”
“Okies…”
“Max, you stay here, okay? I’m gonna go grab our bag,” Jeannie said before stepping onto the ice and skating across it like it was second-nature.
I had to admit, my gaze might have lingered a little longer than was polite on her powerful thighs as she practically flew across the frozen surface and expertly dodged around wobbly children and adults alike.
If she didn’t smell so entirely human, I would have wondered if she was a shifter of some kind, albeit one that was more suitable to moving on such a slick environment.
It took her less than a minute to get to the other side, and she was equally speedy on her way back, because our kids had only just sat down by the time she was stepping off the rink, holding up a battered messenger bag.
“Here you go,” she said as she handed it over to her son. “Make sure you hydrate. It’s been a while since you’ve had some water or Ensure.”
“Gotcha,” the boy said, taking the bag and setting it down by his feet.
His hands were trembling slightly, so it seemed like it was a good time for us to have hot food and go inside to warm up.
“Oh, and can I have a hot chocolate too? I heard they make it with real chocolate bars here and not just the powder.”
“I can grab that for you as long as it’s okay with your mom. A growing boy needs something sweet, right?”
“I’ve gained five pounds in the last three months!”
“I… uh, okay?”
“Yes, you have,” Jeannie answered, sounding pleased as punch. “See? You’ve put in so much work into growing that even a stranger can tell. High five!”
“Yeah!”
There was something going on. Obviously, I didn’t have the full story and it was none of my business, but if I had to guess, Max had been either a very sick kid or a very abused kid, and was now on the other side of it.
It would explain his gaunt cheekbones, his paleness, his tiny frame, and the hand tremor.
If any of my assumptions were correct, then he had every right to be cranky, misbehaved, or otherwise unpleasant. But this kid was the complete opposite of that. What a little champion.
I was getting him a large hot chocolate.
“Daddy, can I have a burger with fries?” Eva asked.
“I’m not sure they have that here. I only saw hot dogs, but I’ll check.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“And for you?” I asked Addy.
She shrugged, and I gave a softly reproachful look.
Addy wasn’t downright food-avoidant, but it didn’t motivate her, either.
That would change once she shifted for the first time and her inner bear wanted calories, but there was time enough to prepare her for that.
Right now, she knew she needed to use fuel to function, so when I reminded her to eat, she did.
I would never force her to eat if she told me she was full, but most of the time that wasn’t the case.
“Uhm… a hot dog and the hot apple cider, I guess? That sounds nice. And can I have a water, too?”
“Of course. Behave yourself while we’re in line, and don’t leave this spot.”
A trio of affirmative answers sounded, which was more adorable than I had expected. Jeannie and I walked over to the lengthy queue, then turned so we could watch our kids.
“You really don’t have to do this,” Jeannie said in a nervous tone.
Nervous enough that I covertly scented the air to make sure that I wasn’t scaring her or anything.
After all, I knew I was a decent guy who just wanted to reward her son for being nice to my daughter, but she didn’t know that.
And as much as I hated that it was a thing, there were definitely creeps out there who used their own children to pick up women.
Disgusting.
But thankfully, while her scent was a bit bashful, a bit nervous, with some overtones of stress and hunger, there was no fear. No apprehension.
That was a relief.
“Your son has a good head on his shoulders,” I said, figuring some easygoing conversation would help assuage whatever other worries she might have.
“He really does.” Her smile was full of emotion. Yeah, I was pretty sure my theory was more plausible than ever. “I know everyone thinks their child is the best, but I gotta tell you, Max is pretty high up there.”
“What a coincidence, I also think my daughters are pretty high up there.”
“Ah yes, of course. And your opinion is completely unbiased.”
“Naturally.”
“Naturally.”
We shared a pregnant pause, our faces completely deadpan. I was the one to crack first. I let out a laugh, and she joined in. A few people turned and looked at us, but I paid them no mind. It was the holiday season. Why not laugh and be merry?