“No!”
“He also climbed Aoraki Mount Cook, and he went to both the North and South Pole. And he kept bees.” I gesture to my left. “That’s my room there. Chessie can have this room, so if you need her in the night you know where to find her. And I thought you could have this room.” It’s next to the one Chessie will sleep in. It’s decorated in a pretty light-green and lavender color combination. On the way home, I called in at a furnishings store and bought a couple of plush pillows—one a unicorn, one a purple owl—and also a bedside lamp she can keep on all night that’s like a willow tree with small, colorful LED lights.
I show her how she can switch it on just by tapping the base, and she plays with it a few times, then jumps onto the bed and hugs one of the pillows. “Can Bearcub sleep on my bed?”
I hesitate. He usually sleeps in his crate. He can go about five or six hours without needing to go out, but I normally take him out once in the night.
But her eyes are full of hope, and I don’t have the heart to say no. “Sure. I’ll have to come in and take him out before I go to bed, but I can bring him back afterward.”
“Yay!” She bends and lifts him onto the bed, then giggles as he tries to tug the owl out of her arms.
“What’s going on here?”
I turn to see Chessie leaning against the door jamb.
“Tug of war,” I say. “How are you doing?”
She sighs, then gives Thea a small smile. “Your dad’s doing okay. They’re going to keep him in hospital overnight and make sure he feels well enough to go home tomorrow. And he’s also going to see a counselor.”
“Will that make him better?”
She glances at me, then back at her niece. “He’ll be okay physically. Mentally it might take a little longer. But at least he’s getting help now.”
“How’s your dad?” I ask.
“Back on IV antibiotics. He’ll be in overnight, too.” She looks at the plush pillows and the nightlight. “Are these yours?”
I grin. “No, I picked them up on the way home.”
“Aw, that was sweet.”
“I am occasionally thoughtful.”
“Kingi said Bearcub can sleep with me,” Thea announces.
“Well, that was kind of him. Are you sure?”
“I can take him out before I go to bed,” I say, “and he should be all right until we get up. Okay so I’m going to start the Bolognese so it can cook for a bit. What would you two like to do? I’ve got Disney+ if you want to watch a movie. Bearcub’s fond ofMonsters IncandToy Story.”
They both laugh as we go out into the living room. “I’m not going to ask how you know that,” Chessie says.
“Hey, I love Disney. Actually,The Little Mermaidis my favorite, but I don’t usually tell other people that.”
“I loveThe Little Mermaid!” Thea looks delighted. “I’ve seen it thirty-seven-and-a-half times.”
“Wow.”
“Ariel looks like Chessie,” she states as we go into the kitchen.
“That’s why it’s my favorite.” I wink at Chessie, who blushes.
I find the movie and put it on, and Thea takes a coloring book and some pencils out of a bag that Chessie gives her, and sits on the floor by the coffee table to color, with Bearcub curled up by her side.
I go into the kitchen and start getting the ingredients ready for the Bolognese: beef mince, a tin of tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, garlic, carrots, celery, olive oil… I turn to put them on the counter, expecting to see Chessie sitting with Thea, and discover her sitting instead at the breakfast bar, leaning her chin on a hand, watching me.
“You all right?” I ask.
She nods. I can’t tell what she’s thinking, but there’s a small smile on her lips. “You’re a good man,” she says.