Page 28 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas

“Really?” I murmured. “I hadn’t realized they’d made that much of a connection.”

“I think they interacted at the funeral more than they did two Christmases ago, and apparently that made an impression on Valencia. At least, if I had to guess. You know Valencia isn’t much for explanations.”

“I do indeed.” Like Eva, Valencia wasn’t much of a talker, but her case was more extreme. She had been diagnosed with selective mutism as a child. Valencia had come a long way since then, but still, I was pretty sure I could count the amount of times I’d talked to her on a single hand. “I’m glad to know that they were able to bond a bit. Those weren’t exactly the easiest times.”

“No, they were not,” Ana said with a sigh. “But if that was the price we had to pay for the time we had with my sister, I’d gladly pay it over and over again.”

“So would I.” I meant that right down to my soul. Although losing my wife had been agony, the pain was worth it for all the joy, love, and healing we’d experienced together. Our story was so much shorter than I had wanted, but I would forever be grateful that it existed.

“Hey, this might not be any of my business, but I still see you as my brother, so I want to remind you of something that my sister very much made known.”

“Oh?”

I didn’t think there was anything she could tell me about Zara that I didn’t know already, but then again, sibling bonds were a lot different than matrimonial bonds, so who knew?

“I don’t know why, but recently it’s been put upon my heart to remind you that Zara wanted you to be happy. She knew you had so much life left to live, and she always bragged about how big your heart is and how you feel things so deeply. She never wanted you to wallow.”

Huh.

My heart lurched a little, and the superstitious part of my mind reared forward. Had Zara sensed my emotional infidelity from the grave and sent her sister to warn me? That… didn’t really sound like my wife’s style, but the sliver of guilt in me sure agreed with that sentiment.

Not to mention that thirsting over a human woman whose son was in recovery from a near-lethal illness was borderline creepy. And while I could be a lot of things, creepy was not one of them.

“Why bring that up now?” I asked curiously. Part of me wondered if I should be offended, but mostly I was just puzzled as to why the impulse was big enough for her to call me out of the blue.

“I honestly can’t say. Maybe it was born out of me worrying about you coming to the jamboree too soon. Maybe I’m just a worrywart in general! It’s been on my mind a lot, and I wanted to make sure you remember that. A lot was going on around that time, and I can’t imagine the pain of losing a spouse, so I wouldn’t blame you if you’d forgotten.”

“I hadn’t forgotten,” I said, although if I was entirely truthful with myself, I did remember that particular statement a bit differently. “But thank you for checking in on me. For checking in on us. It really does mean a lot, Ana.”

“No problem. Remember, we’re family. No matter what has happened, Zara chose you, and you’ll always be a brother to me.”

Maybe I really was sensitive, but it seemed like lately those around me really knew exactly what to say to cut through all my defenses and touch me deep in my heart.

“Thank you, Ana, really.”

“Don’t you worry that big noggin of yours about it. Family is as family does. Now, I’d love to stay and chat a bit longer, but I do gotta run. Unless there’s anything else you wanted to talk about before we see each other for Christmas?”

“No, I think I’m good for the moment. I’ll see you soon.”

“I’ll see you soon,” she echoed. “Be safe now, y’all.”

“Will do, and you too.”

With that she hung up, and I was left sitting there alone in my office, mind suddenly very full.Well, wasn’t that interesting?

Chapter 9

Jeannie

Better Every Day

“Mom, look at me!”

“What was that, Maxi-Bear?” I looked up from the document I was reading through to see my son go sliding across the wide doorway of my office, one leg up like he was a figure skater.

“Did you see, did you see?”

“I saw something,” I admitted, getting up and rounding the corner out of concern just in time to see my son continuing his glide across kitchen linoleum in his socks. “Whatcha up to, big man?”