Page 14 of Myths and Shifts

Looking relieved, the man seemed glad it was the men being confusing and not him. “Thank you for explaining that. Our conversation was…difficult to follow.”

“I can imagine.” Daddy was back to his frowny face and was thinking about fussing at the men. “But find us again if you have questions. We’ll be here for at least the next week while we’re meeting about the portal.”

Oh, Daddy frowned again but he looked at me that time. “I just realized we have a lot more to discuss.”

Lots and lots.

Nodding, I decided to stop pretending to be big since the man didn’t seem to mind and he’d already guessed we were fun and not boring. “Lots and lots, Daddy. But can we play first?”

That was more fun and I liked fun.

“That sounds like a very good plan.” Daddy smiled at me then looked back up at the man. “Let us know if you have questions, but aside from the men in the diner, most of the town is very friendly and has a lot more common sense.”

Maybe a little bit.

The man didn’t look like he believed that and it made Daddy chuckle. “The human at the sheriff’s department is married to one of the local dragons and has an abundance of common sense. The dragon who’s married to the librarian as well. Oh, and the local mechanic is mated to a little dragon that’s truly insane, but the mechanic is reasonable and so is their other mate. I only met him once, though.”

Daddy knew almost as much as me.

“Thank you for the advice.” The man waved, stepping back before walking away.

After a few seconds, Daddy frowned. “Did he say where he was from?”

“No.” He was confusing. “Do you know his name, Daddy?”

“No.” He frowned as he watched the man turn and walk down the side of the building. “I thought you might have met him before? Do you think he’s foreign? I assumed he meant he was from the Midwest but now I think he might be Canadian? Or somewhere else? His accent is so neutral it was hard to pin down.”

“He sounds like the men on the news.” Sitting straighter, I looked serious at Daddy. “In today’s news, we have aliens descending and new chaos in Congress.”

Daddy snorted and laughed like he thought I was so funny he couldn’t breathe.

Ha.

I made Daddy laugh.

When he caught his breath, he sighed and leaned against the table, smiling at me. “You’re right. He sounded like a broadcaster and you’re very funny.”

Giggling, I nodded. “I made you laugh, Daddy.”

“You did.” Daddy reached over and squeezed my hand. “You’re going to make me laugh a lot.”

Yay.

Daddy needed more laughs and smiles and giggles.

“And to start all that laughter, we’re going to go play.” Daddy looked around and pretended to frown. “Before someone else wants to come say hi. They’re starting to circle.”

Like the big birds that ate stuff and were scary…but the scary birds here were dragons and they were nosy.

“I have toys, Daddy.” I brought all my toys because I just knew I had to. “We can go play with my toys.”

Daddy gave me a big smile that made some of the nosy dragons smile too. “Toys and playing and privacy.”

Before I could tell him how smart he was, he gave me his Daddy glare that made me want to giggle. “Then we’re going to put real food in your tummy.”

What kind of food?

“Like a sandwich? I have sandwich stuff.” I liked sandwiches. “Or date food?”

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