Fox, Brody, and Autumn
The Fox wrapped an arm around each of his babies as the fireworks lit up the sky.
“Oh, they’re so pretty,” Autumn said, gasping with each one that was set off. They were standing far away.
The Fox wasn’t going to risk anything hitting his Bunny or Pup.
“They sure are,” Brody said, adjusting his glasses as he stared up into the sky.
They stayed silent for a long moment, and he just held them tight, spending more time staring down into their faces than he was up into the sky.
“Don’t you think they’re pretty?” Autumn asked.
“Not as pretty as what I’m looking at.”
“Ooh, that was smooth, Sir,” Brody told him.
“I can be a smooth talker.”
They were both silent.
“Sure you can,” Brody said, patting his back.
“Absolutely,” Autumn added, leaning her face into his chest.
Why didn’t he believe they were being sincere?
He was totally smooth, like butter.
The fireworks finished. Hmm. They were nice, but a bit tame. He could see why those twins had found some more entertaining fireworks.
As Ink and Duke started heading back toward them, the Fox saw some shadows coming out of the trees. There were those boys. Did anyone else see them?
Hmm, it seemed not.
“That was so much fun,” Autumn said, turning to look up at him. “Do you think we could have fireworks on my birthday?”
“Anything for you.”
See? He was absolutely smooth.
And now he had to sort out a fireworks display that was better than anything they’d ever seen before.
Because only the best for his baby.
The boys suddenly lit off one of their fireworks, and it whooshed up, exploding in the sky in a quite impressive display, he had to admit.
There were a few cries of alarm that turned to wonder as everyone stared up at the sky.
“Oh, wow, where did those come from?” Autumn said. “I thought Ink and Duke were finished with the ones that they had.”
“I don’t think that’s Ink and Duke down there,” Brody said.
“Oh. Is that Baron and Royal?” Autumn asked as the twins set another round off that actually shook the ground.
The Fox saw Ink and Duke standing with their hands on their hips, watching the boys. Then Ink headed down toward them.
Several more fireworks went off, and he wondered how many the boys had. Two boxes were a lot. This could take a while.
“Settle in for the show,” he told Brody and Autumn.
“Why do I have a feeling you knew about this?” Brody asked suspiciously as he leaned into him.
“Probably because I know everything,” the Fox said.
Autumn let out a small giggle that turned to a gasp of wonder as another firework exploded several times, going further and further into the sky. It was extremely impressive. Aimed in the wrong direction, it could have caused some real damage.
“How did they get hold of some of these?” Brody said.
“Oh, that one was mine,” the Fox told him.
“You got that one, Daddy?” Autumn asked. “It was so good.”
“I know some people with an interest in blowing stuff up. Sometimes they turn that into making fireworks. Wait until you get to the finale,” the Fox told her. “It’s going to be excellent.”
The display went on for another few minutes, and then he knew they were getting to the big boy. The next firework that exploded had an image of a bunny and a puppy.
“Wait . . . Fox,” Brody said. “What did you do?”
“Wait for it,” he said. Another firework shot quickly into the air, and when it exploded, it formed an image in the sky of a fox’s face.
“Oh my God,” Brody said. “It’s us. The three of us.”
Autumn hugged him around the waist. “Was that a good idea, Daddy? Will other people see that? Will they know that you’re here?”
“It’s just like Batman’s signal,” Brody said.
“It’s fine,” he reassured Autumn. “Even if other people did see it, they won’t know where it came from.” He turned to Brody. “And it’s better than Batman.”
“Of course it is, Papa,” Brody said. “Because it’s you and it’s us. There’s nothing better than that.”