Page 2 of Their Little Foursome

Blake immediately slowed, knowing that if she had to remind him a third time, he’d be standing nose to the wall with a very red behind once they got home. After returning the cereal to the shelf and grabbing the proper round container, he hurried down the aisle, anxious to claim his prize. He wondered if the man with the white hair and strange suit in the picture on the container of oats was related to Dr. Bonner because he looked like he could be at least a hundred years old. Suddenly, Blake slammed into what felt like a wall before staggering backward.

“Whoa, careful there.”

Blake might have knocked over a display of stacked cans if not for the hand that reached out to grip his arm. He looked fromthe fingers encircling his wrist up to the face of the man he’d run into…

“Are you okay?” the stranger asked and then cocked his head to one side. “You look a little pale.”

Blake could only stand there and stare as something shifted inside him. Before the thought coalesced in his mind, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It was his Mommy turning down an aisle just a few away from where he stood. Not wishing to involve her in any explanations of who bumped into whom, Blake muttered, “Sorry, I gotta go.”

As he pulled away from the man’s hold, Blake heard, “No running.” He slowed for the briefest moment before logic told him that since the words came from a stranger, they didn’t count.

If anyone had asked him what candy he’d chosen, Blake would have had no clue until he was helping put the groceries away, and his Mommy was emptying the bag into his bright green treat jar.

“These were a good choice,” his Mommy said as she fed the last of the lollipops into the T-rex’s mouth.

“Can I have one now?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s almost lunchtime. But if you’re my good boy and clean your plate, you may have one afterward. Maybe that will help you forget all about the ickies.”

When he just rolled his eyes at the impossibility of that being true, she smiled. “Well, one can hope.” Looking at her watch, she said, “Your show is about to start. I’ll finish putting the groceries away and call you when lunch is ready.”

“Okay, Mommy.” Blake wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a hug. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said, returning the hug before reaching down to smack the back of his jeans. “Now, enough about ickies. Go play.”

Blake grabbed Scott, his blue Power Ranger stuffy and flopped down on his bean bag chair in the living room. Picking up the remote, he turned on the television. While a series of commercials played, his thoughts slipped back to the man at the store. He swore he’d seen him before but couldn’t place him. Blake looked at Scott. “Do you remember?”

When no answer came, Blake shrugged and forgot all about the encounter as his favorite characters set out to save the world from certain disaster yet again.

CHAPTER 2

Beverly

That evening, Beverly looked around the room to make sure everything was ready before she went to track down Blake. Though, in reality, he would soon be celebrating his twenty-seventh birthday, in their world, Blake identified as her precious four-year old Little boy. He was taller than Beverly’s five-foot-six by a good four inches and yet he’d never once attempted to use his size or his superior physical strength to overpower her.

“Blake, it’s bathtime,” Bev called as she left her bedroom. Silence was all she heard as she walked down the hall.

Bev rapped her knuckle on the door where a sign had been posted reading “Dino Den”. Blake had drawn it himself in the Butterfly Room at the Ranch. She remembered the pride on his face as he told her how Master Gavin, his art teacher, had helped him look up pictures of all the dinosaurs so he’d get them just right on his sign. He had an incredible eye and his attention to detail had the behemoths he’d drawn looking as if they could step off his sign and join a herd of their kin . Of course, Blake’s might stand out a bit as she was pretty sure the giants thathad disappeared millions of years ago had not been electric blue with multi-colored polka dots that reminded her of the sprinkles all the Littles loved to see on top of everything they ate. However, she’d kept that fact to herself. Instead, she’d added her compliments to those of his teacher and had taken Blake to the craft store to pick out a frame for his masterpiece.

Beverly gave the door a second rap and then opened it to find an empty room. She took the time to not only look into his closet, but to sweep her hand through the hangers to make sure he hadn’t hidden behind his clothes. His bed was in the shape of a spaceship but sat on top of built-in drawers, offering no hiding place beneath it. Satisfied that he wasn’t in his room, she exited and went to check in the second bath at the end of the hall. Within five minutes, Beverly had searched the entire house, calling his name in every room and still hadn’t found him.

It wasn’t until she looked out the window that she spotted him. He was sitting cross-legged on the platform at the top of his play structure. “Hey, pumpkin,” Bev called as she stepped out on the patio. When her greeting garnered no answer, she became concerned. “Blake?”

His head lifted and he looked surprised to see her walking toward him. “Oh, hi, Mommy.”

“Hi, yourself,” she said, his smile calming her concern. “What’s got you so thoughtful you didn’t hear me calling you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just thinkin’.”

“About what?”

His shoulders lifted and he sighed. “Nothin’.”

It didn’t appear to be nothing to her, and only added to her concern he might have caught some bug. If that were the case, he’d not be going back to school on Monday. Illness could spread like wildfire in the Littles’ Wing and she wanted to avoid thatif at all possible. Well, the sooner they began, the quicker she’d know if additional precautions were going to be on her schedule.

Beverly gestured to him. “Slide on down here. It’s getting late.”

His sigh was deeper, but he straightened his legs and pushed off. Bev watched as he slid down the slide, smiling as she did every single time. The play equipment had been built by Colton Reed. When it came to wood, the man not only had talent, he had a heart as big as the adult-size pieces he constructed for those grown-ups who were brave enough to let the child inside of them come out to play. His wife, Haven, was also a Little, and Beverly was sure had acted as inspiration for her Daddy. Colt made sure that anyone who climbed, swung, or hung upside down on one of his creations felt just as small as they had when they were truly children. Once her Little boy’s sneakers hit the ground, Bev held out her hand. He took it and they walked back into the house and into the master bath.

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