Page 33 of My Secret Snowflake
Sebastian in my bed, those blue eyes staring into mine…
I swallow. “Not much. It’s good training for getting used to sleeping on the couch, in the crib, or in the car. It’s musical mattresses. My older sister showed me how she can actually curl herself into the crib sometimes. But now they’ve bought a bed. They went to the mattress store with their six-year-old, four-year old, and the baby, and they asked for an extra-long twin mattress. The sales associate asked who it was for, and they pointed to the four-year old. And then they explained that it needed to be extra-long so her husband can fit in the bed as well. I don’t know how they do it. I really need my sleep.” I’m blabbering.Idiot.
“Me too,” Sebastian says. He takes a photo of me with it, and as he adjusts his backpack on his shoulder, his shirt rides up, showing very trim abs.
“Got it,” he says.
I hope he didn’t catch me leering at his stomach.
“I had no idea. This scavenger hunt is like a crash course in parenting,” Sebastian says. “Maybe they should’ve limited it to actual pregnant people before they scared the non-pregnant off. Anyway, next clue.” He opens the envelope and reads the clue.
“Throw your heart over thefenceand the rest will follow. Or safety first?”
“These are such odd clues. But the word ‘fence’ is bolded, so that’s the key word. Playpen? Safety gates?” Sebastian asks.
“That clue is kind of poetic. Let’s go with safety gates, because that incorporates safetyanda fence.”
We answer the rest of the clues and report back to the saleswoman at the entrance to the store. Another couple is there already, but we still might have a shot at placing for one of the top three prizes if our answers are correct. We hand in our sheet and show our photos. The store manager checks off our answers. She hands us a gift bag just for participating. It’s filled with helpful products, so Sebastian is basically set for gifts.
We sit down and wait for the rest of the participants to return.
“That was fun,” I say.
“Thank you for doing it with me,” he says. “I thought you’d like it since you like organizing scavenger hunts. What is the scavenger hunt you organized for your sister’s party?”
“I picked some of my favorite things about our block, like the colorful paper balls outside Sticky Rice and the metal sign of a stag rearing up outside Café Katya. When I was little, my dad used to tell me it was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s dad. And I’m sure you saw the bright neon graffitied sidewalk shed. So I made up some clues, with those landmarks as the answers.”
“You should organize a scavenger hunt for Rupert and Lily with book themes. That would be perfect for their engagement party,” Sebastian says.
Rupert must be planning to propose soon.
“That’s such a good idea. I’ll have to think about how to do it,” I say.
We place second and win a $25 Baby Love gift card.
“I’ll give this to Anita. Meanwhile, I’ll buy her some other gifts under the thirty-dollar limit,” Sebastian says. “Do you have any suggestions for something not on her registry? I’d like to be more original than that.”
“I was sure you were going to buy some socks,” I say, teasing.
His mouth tips up at the corner. “Socks are always a good gift.”
“Books are also always a good gift,” I say.
Sebastian decides to buy a few books plus some socks, especially because he can buy a bunch and stay within the thirty-dollar limit. I pick up the breast milk storage bags for my sister.
“What’s your favorite children’s book?” he asks.
“Corduroy,” I say.
“Corduroy, huh? You liked the little bear finding a home?”
“Even though he was missing a button.” I glance at him, my brow furrowed. “I’m not sure you should read too much into it.”
“Well, we’re all looking for someone to accept us, faults and all.”
“But I always buyThe Book with No Picturesas a gift. It’s hilarious to read aloud because it requires the adult to make all sorts of funny noises.”
“I’ll buy both, then,” Sebastian says.
