Page 24 of The Omega's Beary Merry Christmas

I handed it to Bert.

“I’m clean and dry.” She came out of the bathroom, skipping. “Did you find an envelope?”

“Yeah.” His voice cracked. “I found one. Why did you write this to Santa?”

“Well, you and Daddy love each other, right?”

“Yeah, we do.” He squatted down to be eye level with her.

“Then you need to get married. And you can be my papa. I know you said you want kids, but I can be your kid. Daddy can be your husband. We’ll be the best family ever.”

Chapter Fourteen

Bert

Christmas Eve had always been my favorite part of the holiday, even when I had nobody to spend it with. But as this one rose clear and sunny, my heart felt as light as a feather. My mate had arrived, and he wanted me. His beautiful daughter not only liked me but wanted us to have a Christmas wedding.

I’d never imagined myself having a wedding, but if it was what my mate wanted or Natalie did, count me in. That wouldn’t be this Christmas, however. If he wanted us to have a special day in the more human style, then I was glad to do it. For now, we had all sorts of plans for the day, and Miss Natalie was the head planner. So many things she had done before or had always wanted to do. We began with a big breakfast cooked by Natalie and her dad. Eggnog French toast casserole had been soaking all night in the fridge, all ready to be popped into the oven and as soon as it began to warm, the kitchen filled with the scent of all the best seasonal spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, mace, cardamom, ginger, and more. They listed them for me, but I lost track after that. While it baked, they squeezed fresh orange juice and topped pink grapefruit halves with brown sugar. They broiled them, creating a brûlée type of topping that Natalie took great pleasure in cracking with her spoon. It was adorable.

After breakfast, we bundled her up and took her out to play in the snow. It was about fun, but also about something more important. Natalie had yet to meet my bear, a fact he wanted corrected as soon as possible. It was very important to him that she know and, hopefully, accept him. In fact, the big furry guy felt a little nervous as we headed out to the porch because it was his big event.

Conrad and Natalie started on a snowman, and, as he and I had discussed, I slipped around the cabin to undress and shift, preparatory to making my big entrance. Conrad thought it would be better for him to explain about my other side to her, so I waited for the signal. I peeked around the corner of the house, anxious to see how it would go.

“Natalie, I have something to tell you.”

“What, Daddy?” she asked. “Is it about Santa?”

“No, he’s fine. It’s about Bert. He’s not just a nice man, you know.”

“Oh, I know that, Daddy. He’s right over there being a bear. Daddy, can you turn into a bear? Can I because I’m already a fairy, but I think it would be fun to have a furry coat and dance.”

Her father’s silence told me he was as surprised as me. But, I couldn’t see another reason to wait. I’d been spotted already, so I walked out on all fours and paused about five feet away from the pair. Sometimes the fact I couldn’t talk in this form was a major disadvantage, and this was one of them. But I’d have to allow my furry side to speak for himself.

“Daddy. I knew the bears were here. Are there more?” She didn’t wait for an answer, just ran over to me and threw her arms around my neck. “You’re the most beautifulest bear. I told Daddy you would be here to dance with me.”

I was having a little trouble following her logic, but that could happen in bear form. I just stood without moving while she patted and explored my bear. Her little hands were so adorable as she told me she was all ready to dance when I was, and, finally, when she’d finished her exploration, I rose on my hind legs.

Natalie began to twirl. The tutu she somehow wore outside of her snowsuit stood out straight while she spun, a blur of joy. I wasn’t sure how it would go, twirling with her on my hind legs, I’d snuck out and tried it before they got up, and it hadn’tgone well. I’d even thought of not doing it at all because it was so awkward, but there was no way I could skip this. Natalie and her dancing bears. To listen to her, you’d think every bear danced through the forest with the fairies. If I didn’t dance, someone was going to be so disappointed. And that someone was a precious little girl who I would bend over backward to avoid disappointing. So, I rose on my hind legs and joined in the dance.

Her laughter was the only thing I needed to make me try even harder than before. I whispered a rumbling wordless prayer to the goddess and began shuffling in a tight circle. It didn’t feel like dancing to me, but Natalie’s applause and encouragement kept me going until finally dizziness and a fear of tipping over made me stop. Drop. And lower myself in invitation to a certain little girl to climb on my back and go for a ride. I couldn’t bring the fairies to her, but I could give her 100 percent of what my bear had to share.

Conrad helped her climb on and showed her how to hold onto my ruff. I didn’t move fast, certainly didn’t leave the yard, but instead padded around in a large circle, avoiding any sudden jerks or stumbles, proud to give a ride to the cutest, sweetest little girl, ever.

“Daddy, I wish we could live here forever,” she crowed, bouncing on my back. “I love it here.”

Later, after I was back to two-legged and dressed, helping with the snowman, her father whispered in my ear, “I wish we could stay forever, too.”

We went back inside shortly after because even though it was not snowing, it was still very cold for a little girl to be outside, and we had cocoa and marshmallows waiting, and of course getting ready for Santa.

Chapter Fifteen

Conrad

Christmas morning started with me hearing Natalie singing, “He came! He came! He came!”

I didn’t need to roll over and look at the clock to know it was far too early to be awake, but that was the way of Christmas. When I came out to the living room, she was sitting in front of the tree, staring at the presents. There weren’t a ton of them—it wasn’t that kind of Christmas; it never was. But there were quite a few, including some I didn’t recognize.

I wasn’t sure how Bert had managed to sneak out and get presents, but he had—or maybe it really was Santa. Either way, it made me smile.

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