Page 13 of Bigfoot's Wife

Before she can finish, three furry torpedoes launch themselves into our space. The little fuckers were supposed to give me a chance first.

"Miss Bambi!" Elis exclaims enthusiastically, "Will you please have dinner with us tonight?"

Jac, eyes wide and pleading, presses his hands together in prayer pose. “Please, please, please? Uncle Olwydd's cooking."

What? That wasn’t part of the plan. I can’t cook. Last time I tried…

“That’s right,” Elis agrees. “Uncle Olwydd will cook for you.”

I try to subtly wave them off, but they're on a roll.

"He makes the best...uh..." Osian falters, realizing he has no idea what I can cook.

"Burnt toast!" Jac supplies helpfully.

I groan internally. So much for my master plan.

But then something magical happens. Bambi laughs. Not a polite chuckle, but a full-bodied, genuine laugh that makes her eyes crinkle at the corners. It's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

"Well," she says, eyes sparkling, "how could I possibly refuse such a tempting offer?"

Wait, what?

"Really?" I blurt out, hardly daring to believe it.

She nods, still smiling. "Really. If these little fur balls are going to be there, count me in."

The boys cheer, high-fiving each other. I'm too stunned to speak for a moment, which is probably for the best. I might start howling with joy if I open my mouth. I mean, my plan was a romantic dinner just for the two of us, but I’ll take what I can get.

"Great!" I finally manage, grinning like an idiot. "It's a date! I mean, not a date-date, unless you want it to be, but if not, that's cool too, and?—"

Bambi mercifully cuts off my rambling with a gentle pat on my arm. "I'll see you all tonight. Now, I've got a class to teach. You boys get on to where you’re supposed to be first period."

As she herds the kids into the cave, I stand there, still processing what just happened. I've got a date. With Bambi. Well, sort of.

***

The rest of the day passes in a blur. I'm pretty sure I spent most of my shift in the monitor room daydreaming about dinner instead of actually monitoring anything. Oops. Good thing the only visitors we've had lately are squirrels and the occasional confused hiker.

Before I know it, it's time to pick up the boys and start preparing for the big night.

"Okay, team," I announce as we enter my cave. "We've got a new mission:Operation Dinner Date."

"I thought you said it wasn't a date," Elis points out.

I ruffle his fur. "Details, details. Now, what do we know about cooking?"

Three blank stares meet my question.

"Right," I sigh. "This might be trickier than I thought."

We dive into the kitchen with more enthusiasm than skill. I figure, how hard can it be? You just throw some stuff in a pot and heat it up, right?

Wrong. So, so wrong.

An hour later, my kitchen looks like a war zone. There's a suspicious black smoke coming from the oven, something that might have once been a vegetable is plastered to the ceiling, and I'm pretty sure the pot on the stove is plotting revenge.

"Uncle Olwydd," Osian says, eyeing the chaos warily, "I don't think dinner's supposed to look like this."

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