Page 12 of The Dragon at the End of This Pregnancy

"What am I learning?" I asked.

"Later," Mac whispered in a conspiratorial, "Not in the presence of children," tone I remembered from my youth. I'd never been on the adult side of those conversations before. I couldn't wait to discuss my adult education with Mac later.

First, I ate everything he offered me. I didn't like the jalapeño poppers. They burned my human tongue and most of the way down my throat. I was sucking up air from the bottom of my cup before the pain went away. Thankfully, the rest of the items were a balm, and the tub of ranch dressing dipping sauce cooled the fire in my mouth so I could enjoy the fried mushrooms, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

Rather than let his children eat them, Lark threw the peppers away. "I don't like them either," he said.

"They smell bad." Clementine's little button nose scrunched halfway up her face at the declaration. "You're brave to try them, Galen."

Punky glanced down at his watch. "Crap. We're late." He ushered Clementine back to the van with the others. "We still need to check in at the hotel and slip over to my parents' place to say hello."

It was my fault we'd taken a short break to try all the food. I'd also had a hand in the extra stop at the hotel.

"He's just nervous about seeing his adoptive parents again," Lark said. "Will you two be all right tonight? They invited us for dinner."

Punky rolled his eyes and climbed into the front passenger seat. "Thanks for the reminder."

"We'll find something to do," Mac promised.

The kobold family left the park while we were still cleaning up all the paper bags and plastic containers.

"Humans are wasteful," I said as I filled a third bag with our refuse of paper napkins, plastic sauce containers, and cardboard boxes.

"Convenience and food safety practices come with a hefty price," Mac said. "I'm sorry you didn't like the peppers."

"I am here for the sensory experience," I reminded him. "Not everything will bring me pleasure, nor do I expect it. I would like to speak to some humans, though."

"I understand," he said slowly, "but we can't risk them discovering the truth about us."

"I won't tell them I'm a dragon," I huffed.

"Humans can smell the predator on us," Mac said. "You should have seen the way folks ran from us on extractions, and they knew we were coming!"

"They won't run from a child," I said, forming a plan in my head. "Clementine already understands scientific experimentation. She might be willing to interview the humans for me."

Mac tossed the rest of the rubbish into the large metal barrel near an old grill unit and pulled me to my feet. "She's busy visiting her grandparents," he reminded me.

"Not the entire time." I'd talked Lark into letting us tag along to a tourist trap called a botanical garden. Maybe Clementine could do some scouting for me then.

"They are on vacation," Mac reminded me. "They're not here to do your bidding."

"I know, but I need answers."

He turned to me and took my hand between his. It was strange having a hand with such thin, weak claws, but it felt nice when he slid his fingers between mine and squeezed. "We'll observe and research, first. If you still have questions, we can ask Punky and Lark."

"That's a decent compromise."

I whined when he dropped my hand by the van's passenger door, but then he reached for me again once we were both inside.

I didn't know much about being a human yet, but this, I liked.

ChapterFive

Mac

I couldn't believeour luck when I searched for things to do in Punky's hometown. West Des Moines didn't have much for dragon attractions, but Altoona had plenty, including an amusement park with a dragon rollercoaster and a casino with a horseracing track. We'd missed the Kentucky Derby by almost a month, but Galen hadn't lost interest in watching the horses go around the dirt track Punky had told him about.

The casino was no place for children, so as soon as we checked in at the hotel's front desk, I ushered Galen back to the van for a surprise.

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