Page 93 of Single Teddy
“It’s the closest thing to a zoo this island has. And it’s beautiful,” he’d said.
That was how we’d found ourselves knocking on Duke’s door.
He opened up dressed in superhero pajamas and with his signature bright smile that oozed with flirt and sass.
“Welcome, welcome!” he said, and he immediately crouched to turn his attention to Bear.
“Oh, did we come at a bad time? Are you about to go to bed?” I asked, and Duke looked up.
“No. Not at all. Azrael and I were just having a nap,” he said and winked at me.
Wesley chuckled, and it took me a moment before I chuckled too. He was incorrigible. But at least he kept it PG.
“Hello, Bear,” Duke said and gently tickled Bear’s neck. “Are you ready to have a super phantasmagoric, extravagant, duper time?”
Bear laughed out loud and nodded, so Duke offered him his hand, and he took it.
“All righty, then. Let’s go! Follow me. Don’t get lost. Don’t touch the chocolate river!” he said, and Bear giggled again as we followed closely behind them even though I was certain he was too young to get the reference.
By the time we reached the back garden, Azrael, his dog Clover, and Duke’s dog Max had also joined us.
“Where is Noah?” I asked Azrael.
“His sister and my brother are out with him, entertaining him,” he answered.
“Ah, that explains the nap,” I said.
Azrael winked at me and then looked next to me at Wesley, offering him his hand.
“Nice to see you again, Wesley.”
“You too, Azrael.”
Azrael narrowed his eyes and looked from him to me and then back to him.
“I hear you two like napping together too,” he said.
I groaned.
Wesley bit his lip.
“We like the occasional snooze,” he mumbled.
“Who doesn’t love snoozing?” Duke threw at us from the front of the line, and I buried my face in my hands as if that would fix this mess.
“Okay, Bear. Now we have a crucial decision to make. What do you want to see first? The chickens, the horse, the cats, or the dogs?”
“The horse!” Bear exclaimed, and Duke marched toward the barn, laughing.
We stayed behind and let the happy couple introduce Bear to Calliope. At first, all we could hear was Bear’s incessant giggles, which made us chuckle too. But then, through whatever magic Duke wielded with kids and animals alike, Bear was calm as a cucumber, and he even got to ride Calliope.
“I can’t believe this is the same Bear I met only a month ago,” Wesley said, watching them go round in circles.
“It’s been a bit longer than a month,” I corrected.
Wesley rolled his eyes with a smile.
“Okay, Mr. Pedantic.” He nudged me with his elbow.
