store on the Saturday before Christmas
Day. Never again.”
Carlos started to laugh again and then
stopped. He held his head in both hands. “Crap.”
Nedra raised her eyebrows at him. “You do
have your baby girl’s Christmas gifts, right? She’ll be here in
three days.”
“I kept putting it off, and things got so
wild at both my shops. I have some clothes and a doll, but I was
supposed to get her these electronic bugs. She wants them so bad.”
Carlos looked at Nedra with desperation stamped on his handsome
face. “You’ve got to help me.”
She shook her head. “Oh no, I’m not going
into a toy store this late in the game. Those places are like war
zones.”
“Please, baby. Please. I can either be a hero
daddy or scar my little girl for life,” Carlos blurted out. “Tell
you what, let’s go to my place and search the internet for them. I
still have time to pay extra for emergency shipping.”
“If those bug things haven’t sold out,” Nedra
said.
Carlos blinked at her. “Don’t even say it! If
we can’t get them online Friday, we can go to…”
“Uh-huh. You got yourself into this mess.
I’ve still got the scars from last Christmas when I tried to beat
three grandmothers to the last three electronic car tracks we all
wanted. Those little elderly ladies were cold-blooded killers.”
Nedra shook her head.
Carlos grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
“Please, baby.”
She continued to shake her head at him.
“Start praying to the online-shopping angels, sweetie.”
All through dinner they enjoyed pretending to
argue. Nedra laughed at the way Carlos grew frantic every time she
reminded him of the date, and he promised her whatever she wanted
on the condition that she helped him brave Toy Central. By the time
they finished eating, Nedra’s sides hurt from laughing at the
panicked father.
“In all seriousness, I love the way you take
being a father seriously. A lot of men don’t even visit their kids,
let alone have them over for Christmas. If you tell me you comb
Carly’s hair on your own, that’s it and I’ll help you out.” Nedra
grinned at him.
Carlos sat up straight and patted his chest
in pride. “I’ve been styling Carly’s hair since she was crawling. I
even painted her little fingernails and toenails a few times.” Then
he dropped his voice and glanced around. “Uh, let’s keep that
between us. Not even my best friend, Brian, knows about the polish
stuff. He teases me enough about being a family man.”
Nedra melted at the image of Carlos lovingly
putting ribbons in his child’s hair. “That’s beautiful, Carlos,
really.”
He shrugged and blushed at the compliment.
“Well, I call it our bonding time. So, you see why I have to bring
my A game when she visits.”
“Then we better get on our job and find those
bugs. By the way, what exactly are these things and why do kids
love them?” Nedra patted her lips with a large paper napkin.
“They’re actually neat. You’ve got a spider,
a caterpillar and a beetle. They crawl around and change direction
if they bump into anything.” Carlos’ eyes lit up as if he were a
kid describing what he wanted for Christmas.
Nedra raised an eyebrow. “Um, are you sure
they’re for Carly? You sound suspiciously excited about getting
your hands on them.”
“Ah, now you know the benefits of parenthood.
You have a good cover for playing with cool toys.” He grinned back
at her. “No, we’re not splitting the tab this time. It’s the
holidays and I’m treating both my girls.”
“You mean bribing me to help pull your butt
out of a tight spot,” Nedra wisecracked. Still, she shivered at his
reference to them as a family.
“That too,” Carlos replied and hooked an arm
around her waist.
They left the restaurant and went to his
apartment. Within minutes of being inside, they were sat at his
computer, searching. Three websites later, it became clear that
finding the little bugs was going to be a huge challenge.
Day. Never again.”
Carlos started to laugh again and then
stopped. He held his head in both hands. “Crap.”
Nedra raised her eyebrows at him. “You do
have your baby girl’s Christmas gifts, right? She’ll be here in
three days.”
“I kept putting it off, and things got so
wild at both my shops. I have some clothes and a doll, but I was
supposed to get her these electronic bugs. She wants them so bad.”
Carlos looked at Nedra with desperation stamped on his handsome
face. “You’ve got to help me.”
She shook her head. “Oh no, I’m not going
into a toy store this late in the game. Those places are like war
zones.”
“Please, baby. Please. I can either be a hero
daddy or scar my little girl for life,” Carlos blurted out. “Tell
you what, let’s go to my place and search the internet for them. I
still have time to pay extra for emergency shipping.”
“If those bug things haven’t sold out,” Nedra
said.
Carlos blinked at her. “Don’t even say it! If
we can’t get them online Friday, we can go to…”
“Uh-huh. You got yourself into this mess.
I’ve still got the scars from last Christmas when I tried to beat
three grandmothers to the last three electronic car tracks we all
wanted. Those little elderly ladies were cold-blooded killers.”
Nedra shook her head.
Carlos grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
“Please, baby.”
She continued to shake her head at him.
“Start praying to the online-shopping angels, sweetie.”
All through dinner they enjoyed pretending to
argue. Nedra laughed at the way Carlos grew frantic every time she
reminded him of the date, and he promised her whatever she wanted
on the condition that she helped him brave Toy Central. By the time
they finished eating, Nedra’s sides hurt from laughing at the
panicked father.
“In all seriousness, I love the way you take
being a father seriously. A lot of men don’t even visit their kids,
let alone have them over for Christmas. If you tell me you comb
Carly’s hair on your own, that’s it and I’ll help you out.” Nedra
grinned at him.
Carlos sat up straight and patted his chest
in pride. “I’ve been styling Carly’s hair since she was crawling. I
even painted her little fingernails and toenails a few times.” Then
he dropped his voice and glanced around. “Uh, let’s keep that
between us. Not even my best friend, Brian, knows about the polish
stuff. He teases me enough about being a family man.”
Nedra melted at the image of Carlos lovingly
putting ribbons in his child’s hair. “That’s beautiful, Carlos,
really.”
He shrugged and blushed at the compliment.
“Well, I call it our bonding time. So, you see why I have to bring
my A game when she visits.”
“Then we better get on our job and find those
bugs. By the way, what exactly are these things and why do kids
love them?” Nedra patted her lips with a large paper napkin.
“They’re actually neat. You’ve got a spider,
a caterpillar and a beetle. They crawl around and change direction
if they bump into anything.” Carlos’ eyes lit up as if he were a
kid describing what he wanted for Christmas.
Nedra raised an eyebrow. “Um, are you sure
they’re for Carly? You sound suspiciously excited about getting
your hands on them.”
“Ah, now you know the benefits of parenthood.
You have a good cover for playing with cool toys.” He grinned back
at her. “No, we’re not splitting the tab this time. It’s the
holidays and I’m treating both my girls.”
“You mean bribing me to help pull your butt
out of a tight spot,” Nedra wisecracked. Still, she shivered at his
reference to them as a family.
“That too,” Carlos replied and hooked an arm
around her waist.
They left the restaurant and went to his
apartment. Within minutes of being inside, they were sat at his
computer, searching. Three websites later, it became clear that
finding the little bugs was going to be a huge challenge.
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