Dragon’s Curvy Patient

by Daniels, Mychal

  Her smile returned as she stuck out a hand and said, “Deal, as long as we keep it simple.”

  They kissed on it. Colson liked how comfortable they’d become in such a short time. What he thought would take weeks to do had been done in a matter of a long weekend. He had to marvel once again at how accurate everyone had said a mating thrall worked.

  He would have never thought Sabra would be so willing to accept how her life would change, or how considerate she’d been to his particular circumstances of coming to her with a ready-made family.

  “Anything you want that I have is mine to give. Now, how about we get you moved into the bedroom?” he asked.

  “Which bedroom is that going to be?”

  “Mine and hopefully ours soon.”

  He loved the smile that spread across her face.

  “And, will you be sharing this bed with me?”

  He paused but knew he had to be open and honest with her.

  “Not tonight. I have to make sure Ava doesn’t get up in the middle of the night looking for water and come in without understanding that we’re mating.” A new thought came to him. “How about this? If after you wake tomorrow and you’re still set on mating, we do it after I take Ava to school? That way, we’ll have time to enjoy and be free.”

  ‘Never thought I’d be making an appointment to get my mating on, but yeah, that will work.”

  “Welcome to the life of parenting,” he said understanding. “We’ll be able to have the house to ourselves from around nine to two.”

  “Got it. Five hours to change our lives forever.”

  The way she said it had Colson wanting to make sure she wasn’t pressed. Before he could say anything to that effect, she stopped him.

  “Don’t do it. I’m fine, and yes, I’ll want to still mate with you in the morning. Even if we only have five minutes in the corner of the pantry, I’ll be there with bells on.”

  “Bria, I’ll make sure our mating is everything you want and more.”

  “As long as it can be done in five hours, I’m good,” she joked. “Now, help me hobble to the medical suite. We have to pack up all the stuff Bronwyn brought over, and I need to empty my bladder again,” she said, comfortable talking about her body functions as if they’d been together forever.

  Colson stopped short. In a way, they had been together forever. Then he remembered her complaint about her privacy and let out a chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Oh, nothing. Just noticing how you went from needing your privacy to announcing your bladder status with freedom.”

  She positioned her body to stand, indicating that she was ready to get up. Colson moved the way he usually would now that she knew he was a Dragon.

  “Whoa! Did we fall into a speed wormhole?”

  “No, now that you know I’m a Dragon, I can be free to do what comes naturally too. You need to use the bathroom, and I need to get you moved. You go empty your bladder, I’ll move your things, and we can get ready for bed.”

  “Together?” she smiled.

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Come on then. Time for me to spend my last night as a single woman.”

  “You better believe it. This time tomorrow I plan to have you mated so hard, you feel it through your past.”

  “Ooh, I can get used to this side of you, Dragon.”

  19

  Bria

  “Ow, Papa, that hurts.”

  Sabra’s eyes popped open at hearing Ava’s voice. The new surroundings took a moment to register. She was in the middle of an enormous bed with the best sheets she’d ever experienced.

  It all came rushing back as Ava made another noise of protest.

  “That’s not how Aunt Bronnie does it. Papa, I don’t think that piece goes there.”

  What were they doing?

  Sabra sat up noticing her thigh was better but still held a dull, muted pain deep down. She listened to try to figure out what Colson and Ava were up to. She didn’t want to intrude if he was giving the child a bath. Then she shook her head realizing Ava was old enough to give herself a bath.

  “Hold still so I can get this part to fit through this one,” she heard Colson say.

  “Stop, that hurts. It’s too tight,” Ava wailed.

  That was it. Sabra had to know. Her suspicions said he was trying to comb the child’s hair. She eyed her scooter in the far corner of the room and made the necessary hops to reach it.

  Sabra wanted to curse at how much her loose breasts flopped about as she’d made her way to the corner that might as well have been in Downtown Atlanta for how much effort it took to get there.

  “Yep, just as I thought,” she said making it to the door of Colson’s bathroom to see what looked like an electrified lion’s mane of hair in angry protest to Colson’s hair combing skills.

  Sabra pressed the scooter into the large bathroom and demanded the comb and for him to move out of her way with a silent eye stare down.

  “Okay, fine, you take a try,” he said dropping the comb in her hand.

  That poor child. Ava’s face was streaked with tears and frustration as the neat plaits from yesterday were gone to be replaced with a thick wall of long hair with a mind of its own.

  “Hi, Miss Bria,” the child said through sad little sobs.

  “Hi, baby girl.” To Colson Sabra asked, “how did you manage to turn her hair into this?”

  “All I did was take down the plaits and try to freshen them up. This always happens, and I don’t know how to get them back in.”

  Sabra ran fingers through what she could of Ava’s tangled mass of hair. The child had beautiful hair that was coarser and wavier than Colson’s. She managed to part the child’s hair with her fingers to see her little scalp was red and irritated.

  Sliding back into hair work mode as easy as melting butter, Sabra looked around for the minimum hair items.

  To Colson, she asked, “Where are her hair cream, water bottle, and barrette box?”

  “Her what and what?” His look of confusion would have been cute if Ava wasn’t still sniffling from the colossal mess he’d made of the child’s hair. Before lashing into him, Sabra took a moment to regain perspective and patience.

  “Miss Bria, can you do my hair like Aunt Bronnie? We get to go to the big library today, and I wanted my hair to look like when Aunt Bronnie did it, but I messed it up when I went to sleep.”

  “Yes, baby girl. We’ll make your hair look good.” To Colson, she asked, “Did you make sure to tie her hair down last night before she went to bed? And, where is her hair bonnet?”

  More confused looks ran across the gorgeous man’s face. “I wish I knew what you were talking about.”

  Ava spoke up, “He doesn’t have the stuff that Aunt Bronnie has, but she said she put stuff for my hair in my treat bags from the mall.”

  Without Sabra having to ask, Colson turned and said on his way out of the bathroom, “I’ll get them.”

  Alone with Ava, Sabra placed a gentle kiss on the little girl’s tear-stained cheek and said, “Don’t you worry, we’ll have you fixed up so pretty, your friends will want to wear their hair like yours.”

  Ava’s eyes lit up. “You think so?”

  Sabra’s heart melted at the little girl’s growing faith in her. There wasn’t anything Sabra wouldn’t do to make sure this baby went to school with the best hairstyle possible.

  “How much time do we have before you have to leave?” She was about to say never mind and that she’d ask Colson when Ava replied.

  “Forty-three minutes. That includes my breakfast and getting dressed.”

  “Oh, yeah, don’t know how I forgot that part about you Dragons with your excellent perception of time.”

  “Yeah, Uncle Mac wears a watch, so people don’t think he’s special,” Ava volunteered.

  “You talk about your Uncle Mac a lot. You must really like being around him.”

  “Yes, because he’s so happy now.”

  Sabra’s
curiosity meter jumped again. “Why was he not always so happy?”

  “Yes, before Aunt Bronnie was around. He wasn’t around that much. He was gone most of the time, but when she came and made his Dragon happy, he became so cool.” Ava looked up into the mirror to capture Sabra’s attention before adding, “You do that for my Papa and me. He was so happy this morning, and I am too.” Ava paused and picked up one of the barrettes Colson had been struggling with earlier to twiddle around her fingers. “Miss Bria?”

  “Yes, baby girl?”

  Ava looked to be contemplating her next words. Sabra encouraged her to speak her mind.

  “Go on, say what you want.”

  Ava was still quiet. Sabra proceeded to turn on the sink faucet to warm up the water. Ava watched as she checked under the counter to find some of Colson’s hair pomade. Sabra determined to stay busy and give Ava enough time to gather her words and courage to speak up.

  She had finished smelling the three different men’s grooming creams to determine which one smelled the least like a guy to use on Ava’s hair when the little girl spoke.

  “Miss Bria?”

  Sabra softened her tone and lowered her voice before answering, “Yes, my love?”

  Ava smiled at the term of endearment as if it was what she’d wanted to hear. “I was going to ask if you’ll still be willing to be my Mommy when my little brother comes?”

  “Huh? When your brother comes?”

  “Yes, from your tummy. He told me he’ll be coming soon, but I want to make sure you can still be my Mommy too.”

  Sabra put the pomade down to focus on the child. “Ava, how do you know that? I’m not—I mean—I don’t have a baby in my tummy.”

  “I know that. Not yet, but you will soon. He told me that I was going to be his big sister.”

  “Okay, and what else did he tell you?”

  “That’s it and that you’re a great Mommy.”

  “Oh, I see.” Sabra grasped at all the training she could remember to deal with what Ava said. Unable to find any previous memories of how to deal with this, she decided to wing it. “Baby girl, do you know things like this often?”

  Ava was back to playing with the barrette but stopped to consider Sabra’s questions. “Yes, I guess so. But you didn’t say yes.”

  “Say yes? Oh! Yes, of course. I’d love to be your Mommy. I just want to make sure that you never forget your first Mommy. I’ll take over from here if you’re all right with that.”

  Ava thought about it and without looking proposed a solution. “Miss Bria, may I call you Mama then? That way I’ll keep Mommy for my first Mommy, and you’ll be my Mama that’s here with Papa. That way, I’ll have a Mama and a Papa, with me here then.”

  Sabra was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say. Before she could form words, Ava turned and plastered her face into Sabra’s stomach without warning. Wild hair cascaded down to Ava’s waist as the child forgot about the barrette and anything else, but the vice grip hold she had on Sabra’s hips.

  The soft wisp of a thought lit Sabra from within that Ava had been waiting for her for as long as she’d been alive. This time the tears stung as they fell with force down Sabra’s face.

  Colson came back into the bathroom with a handful of plastic bags to see his mate and child having an emotional love fest. Without Sabra having to explain, he came up behind and hugged them both as the newly forming family took a moment to just be.

  Ava’s voice broke the moment as she announced, we have thirty-six minutes. Everyone jumped into action at her time check. Sabra made a mental note to get Bronwyn’s number and call her today. Seeing his work was done, Colson beat a hasty retreat to the bedroom to grab Ava’s clothes.

  Inside the bags were the best hair products, cute hair accessories, and maintenance bonnets and silk tie downs. Sabra went into her zone like this was a costume change of mere minutes. With the new tools, Sabra’s skillful hands worked to make an intricate lattice pattern in the crown of the child’s head. With the amount of hair Ava hosted, the effect would be jaw-dropping. Sabra wanted to make anyone seeing the child’s hair envious of how beautiful it was. She didn’t know how she knew, but Sabra could tell Ava had been ridiculed for her hair many times. It was that and the idea that Colson was clueless about the proper way to care for his daughter’s hair needs.

  Unlike with her father earlier, Ava held still without as much as a word while Sabra worked to interweave in pastel ribbons. She finished with a fat but immaculate princess braid around the perimeter of Ava’s head and made sure Ava’s edges were secured with the right hair product to keep the little wispy baby hair controlled.

  “Time-check?” Sabra asked as both Colson and Ava told her they had eighteen minutes.

  Ava looked in the mirror and jumped up and down with excitement. Colson came back into the bathroom from gathering his daughter’s clothes from her bedroom to stare in wonder.

  “How did you manage to do that? I’ve never seen something so amazing,” he mused staring at Ava’s hair.

  The little girl indeed looked like a princess. Sabra had made her air into a tiara that would stay in place the entire day. Hair done, Sabra moved out of the way to let them finish getting Ava dressed and ready for school.

  She scooted out behind them following to the kitchen where Colson pulled out a plate of fresh fruit and began to make cheese and veggie omelets. He placed one in front of Ava and the other in front of her.

  When Sabra asked where his plate was, his comeback was quick.

  “You’re my plate when I get back.”

  Ava continued to eat as if nothing happened, humming through her meal. The rest of the process was a whirlwind of activity. Ava grabbed the cutest backpack while Colson packed another one of those bento boxes with her lunch.

  At the door to the garage where Sabra saw three late model expensive vehicles, Ava reached up for a hug. As Sabra finished the hug and placed another kiss on the child’s cheek, Ava said, “Thank you for my hair. I love it.” She gave Sabra a quick peck on her cheek and added, “You always smell so good.”

  Then she was off to follow her father to one of the cars. Sabra watched as he buckled the child into the booster seat in the back. Ava waved frantically through the tinted window and turned to say something to her father. Her window rolled down. As the vehicle pulled out of the garage, Ava shouted, “Be here when I get home, please?”

  “I will,” Sabra yelled back.

  “See you when I get home, Mama!” the little girl said before the window rolled back up.

  Sabra’s hand stopped in mid-wave. Ava had called her Mama, and it made her want to cry with joy.

  Sabra turned the scooter around surprised her thigh wasn’t smarting. Colson had promised he’d be back within an hour. That would give her enough time to wash up, check and return calls and get ready to be mated!

  20

  Bria

  Two-hundred, eighty-five thousand dollars.

  That’s the amount of the combined grants that were deposited into her account. Sabra sat and stared at the new line items in her bank account with a detached numbness. Amongst the five-figure grants sat a whopper. It made up the bulk of the awards at two-hundred thousand dollars. Who in the world had she impressed that much to give her a fortune like this? Never in her life had she ever possessed so much money.

  The first call she’d made after a somewhat comfortable shower was to Doctor Hassenberg. Heeding Colson’s warning, Sabra was able to sidestep a few bait traps the woman set attempting to pry. There was a decidedly hunter-prey vibe to the woman’s approach. Knowing that she was a Dragoness helped Sabra to pick up on subtleties that had previously escaped her.

  Doctor Hassenberg was extra nice and accommodating when it came to the grants, though. She confirmed the bank information was the same as before and surprised Sabra by announcing that Jon was initiating the direct transfer as they spoke.

  After Doctor Hassenberg waited to make sure Sabra confirmed receipt, the woman put her
off the phone promising to reach out again soon for possibly more alumni and donor-related events.

  Her phone went dark from being idle only for Sabra to refresh and stare at the amount once more. What a difference a week made. No, make that less than a week, as Sabra counted five days from when she’d taken that call to speak to having a grand total of three hundred and ten thousand dollars from her association with Doctor Hassenberg.

  Good manners kicked in as Sabra sought to find a way to send thank you notes. Doctor Hassenberg’s voice came back as a reminder of the anonymous condition of the awards. It was weird not knowing who had been instrumental in helping to change the trajectory of her life.

  A quick list of paybacks, catchups, and necessary bills formed a line in her head for attention. Realizing that after satisfying her immediate debts there would be plenty of the grants left over, Sabra clapped her hands in excitement.

  A sense of invincibility cloaked her in a new swagger. She could finally get her perfume company off the ground. The strange thing was that unlike folks who gave you two dollars and wanted an accounting for every penny, these grants were all anonymous and required nothing—no check-ins, updates, presentations, executive summaries, or status calls.

  Doctor Hassenberg had stressed that the grants were given without restriction and that she was to use the money however she saw fit. The only warning the other woman gave was to make sure she consulted her accountant for tax purposes.

  Her phone flashed Chloe’s face and number.

  “Hey, Bitch! So, is you still crippled?” Chloe’s voice came through her speaker.

  “Hey Chloe, and how many times do I have to ask you to stop calling me a Bitch?”

  “Girl, please. You know it’s a term of endearment.”

  “One that I don’t like or want.”

  “Pff, well anyway, I was calling to check on you. We still don’t know where you are. Where do I need to come to lay eyes on you myself? Tilar acts like you’re fine and don’t need us to do anything, but I want to make sure I hear it from you. Girl, you good wherever you are? Cough two times if you’re being held hostage somewhere.”