Page 27 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas

“Yeah, I do. Gimme one second,” I said before I returned my attention to my daughter. “Do you mind if I take this?”

“Go ahead, Daddy. Me and the girls have a lot to discuss anyway.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“Oh, but before you go, could you please invite darlingestest Meat to the tea party in your stead?”

“Meat?” I murmured, racking my brain for who that was. I tried to stay mostly on top of the biggest players in my daughter’s world, but I was stumped on that one.

“Yeah, you know Meat.Addy won him for me at the school fair last year.”

Jeez, that was a deep dive into my memory banks for a moment, but then it finally hit. “Are you talking about the chick stuffie with the blue hat?”

“Yeah! Meat!”

“Right. I’ll go invite him.”

I got up and went to find the toy in question. It took me a minute, and I made sure to invite him with lots of loud, exaggerated language, then put him in my spot before I headed to the office.

“All right,” I said as I closed the door. “I have a bit of privacy. Eva is playing, and Addy is reading.”

“Quick question; is Addy evernotreading?” Ana asked.

“Sometimes she takes breaks to plan world domination or teach us a new word.”

“I know a boss bish when I see one. But anyway, I just wanted to touch base with you about some stuff.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

The conversation stalled, which made my curiosity switch back over to anxiety. She had something to say that she didn’t want to say.

“Was that it?”

“Huh? Oh, uhm. Nah, just findin’ my words. If I recall right, y’all are coming to the big ol’ holiday jamboree, right?”

“Sure am. Made sure to RSVP early enough so the girls and I could get our cabin.”

“That’s awesome. I always make sure to get one of those. I’d love a camper like Annabelle and her hubs bring, but I just can’t justify it when we’d only use it twice a year and the kids would outgrow it lickety-split!”

“Same here. But Annabelle only has one cub so it makes sense for her.”

“Yeah, it do, it do. But anyway, enough beating around the bush, I suppose. Why I’m calling is because I know everyone’s been missing you and wants to connect, but I wanted to make sure you werereallyup for this and hadn’t been pressured out of obligation. I know our elders mean well, but sometimes they can be a little… well, ya know.”

I did, but I didn’t say as much.

“No judgment either way, but if you need a break or more time to heal, I can come up with a cover story. I just wanna make sure you’re not being pushed into doing anything you’re not ready for, ya know?”

I’d really lucked out with my community and support system. Technically, my sister-in-law and I weren’t related at all anymore. Her sister had died, eliminating my bridge into her direct family, but no one would know it by the way she still talked to me, still checked in. I truly felt cared for even if sometimes I didn’t feel like I deserved it.

“Thank you for double-checking, Ana, but even though I’m nervous, I’m sure I want to go. It’s time. Besides, the girls are practically beside themselves with excitement.”

“Really? You wanna go?” I could hear her hoping against hope in her voice.

“I promise I do.”

“Hell yeah! Maybe our cabins will be close together. My littlest has been asking if she’ll see Addy this year so she’s gonna be thrilled when I tell her y’all are gonna be there.”