Christmas Doings

by MariaLisa deMora

  I rocked backwards as the puppy let go suddenly, the volume of his growling growing. He was tucked under Tiny’s chin, peering at me from that dubious safety. “Okay, not Ox. Jeez.” I passed the sock toy back to the little girl and bent my legs double, tight to my chest, chin on my knees. “So far we’ve a lot of nots.” She giggled and held up the sock toy, composed entirely of knotted single socks, mismatched in such a way that they matched perfectly. “A lot of knots.” I laughed. “Touché, which does not mean to touch.” She dangled the toy in front of Tiny, who took the tip of the fabric between his front teeth, tossing his head carefully to pull just enough. She nearly toppled over and he dropped it, his eyebrows getting lost in the shadows of his ears, drawn up on top of his head in concern. Laughing, she whipped the sock away and gave it to the puppy, who settled between Tiny’s legs. One of the pup’s white feet rested on top of Tiny’s, and I laughed at the difference. “He’s so small. Small, but fierce.” She nodded and lay down, her head on Tiny’s flank. He stared at me. “I know,” I told him. “I like them, too.” He and I sighed in sync, and I laughed. The pup’s eyes were active as he chewed on the socks, darting from dog to person to dog to thing to dog. “You’re going to see everything eventually. There’s no rush. You’re here with us now.”

  “Tiger.” She popped her thumb out of her mouth to give me his name, and I took that with careful attention, knowing what it meant that she’d gifted us so.

  “Tiger.” I breathed the name out and felt how right it was. He might be small, might be not even half grown, but his heart was big. He’d tried to keep Tiny away from the girl until he got to know the Dane’s heart. Just like Tiny was big outside, but his inside was wary and submissive. “Oh yeah. I see it. Tiger is perfect. You already knew his heart-name. He’s so big inside; it doesn’t matter what his outsides are.” I petted her hair, angling around to lean against Bones’ desk with my back. Tiny stretched out a foot and put it on my leg. The only thing missing was…I reached high, waving my hand over my head, and a moment later, strong fingers folded around mine. “We’re all perfect just how we are.”

  ***

  Bones

  The chill woke him, and Bones opened his eyes, reaching to the side to find Ester gone. He listened closely and could hear sleeping breaths from Tiny, wedged against the door as the dog did every night. An early warning system he hadn’t expected. Ester’s breathing was in the room, too, but not sleeping. Quick and light, each respiration told him she was awake and aware, but closer to the floor than the mattress. He rolled to the edge and looked down.

  One of the heavy blankets from their bed had been spread across the floor, and Ester lay on it, one edge of the cover curled up over her hip and across the girl sleeping in front of her. He saw the glinting dark eyes of the puppy, Tiger. Then the animal laid its head back down, having deemed him no threat.

  Ester’s hand moved slowly, rhythmically, fingers working through the little girl’s hair. He wasn’t surprised to see them, not really. The child had gone to sleep in the spare bedroom just up the hall, but had looked lost on the wide mattress. The bed too high for her pup to jump up, Bones had lifted him to her, earning a nip on the finger for his efforts. Ester had planted herself inside the room until she’d nearly been sleeping standing up and he’d forced her to their bed.

  They still had no name for the child.

  Myron had uncovered exactly no birth records, which was surprising.

  Tawny’s body had been recovered by the authorities, and she was in the morgue now, cared for as best as she could be given the situation. If no autopsy was ordered, the club would pay to have her cremated, and Bones would pick up the box of ashes in a week or so. He’d already decided to store it until the girl was old enough to decide what to do with her mother’s remains.

  Ester had discovered the girl’s favorite foods, and he’d ordered a mass delivery of oriental dishes like she’d described. Then the girl had surprised again, because even as hungry as she looked, cheeks gaunter than he wanted to see, limbs thin, she’d shown restraint in her selection of foods and portions. That likely had more to do with discipline than with manners, because when Ester had noted what the girl favored from the assortment, she’d piled more on the child’s plate. He’d laughed when her little eyes grew round, mouth opening slightly in shock, and then she’d flashed a smile at Ester before digging in.

  Each thing the little girl did hooked deeper into his heart. Too trusting, but she was a child after all. It tore at his mind to think of her in another’s hands. She’d come with them without question, not once asking after her mother, only ensuring they’d brought her dog’s things along. On the short ride from the clubhouse to their home, he’d watched in the mirror as the girl turned to check on her puppy’s toys and dishes a dozen times, ignoring the bag that held her few possessions.

  Red had come by during dinner, carrying a duffle stuffed to bursting with clothing to fit, winnowed from a stash his old lady had in the attic. Ester had wrinkled her nose and dumped it all in the washer, shaking copious amounts of detergent in on top. Once they were out of the dryer and she’d been satisfied, Ester had sat and clapped with each wardrobe change, the little girl darting in and out of the hallway bathroom, clothes clutched in her hands.

  It has only been hours, he reminded himself. Myron still had a chance of locating someone who had a stake in the girl. If they were good people, she’d do best with family. Blood. His heart whispered, She’ll do well here.

  Without lifting her head, Ester whispered, “I don’t want it back.”

  “What, my love? What do you not want back?” He reached down and stroked her hair, matching her movements with the child.

  “My heart. She took it clean out of my chest, Bonesy. Easiest thing in the world.” She sniffed quietly, but he heard the thick in her throat when she said, “She’s the most perfect of anything. It was scary for her here, but she came to me when it drove her out of bed. Floors are comfortable when that’s what you’re used to, so I left you there.” Another sniff. “I’m sorry.”

  “Shhhh. You did exactly right, my Ester. In my eyes you are the most perfect of anything, and that is what you have given her.” He shook his head. “I did not think how the bed might seem. So big and tall, and she is so small.”

  “She’s big on the inside. She and Tiger, they’re a match.” She pulled in a deep breath, shoulders hitching twice as she settled closer to the child. “She’s a match.”

  Red’s words came back to him, and he tried to hold tight to caution. Still, Ester deserved to know he understood, and was of the same mind. “I cannot guarantee you anything, Ester. There are too many unknowns at this point. But if I can, I will. I promise you that. If I can, I will, because she fits.”

  “She does.” Ester rolled her head and looked up at him from her position on the floor. She hesitated a moment, then told him, “I love you the same. Every day is Bonesday in my heart.”

  “Things like this do not divide love. They multiply it.” He slipped half off the bed, bracing himself with an arm beside her head as he dipped low to touch his mouth to hers. “I love you more.”

  Ester sighed against his lips; then he felt them move under his kiss and knew she was smiling. “Bring another blanket when you come.”

  Without hesitating, he reached behind him and gripped the comforter, dragging it to cover the three of them as they lay in the nest Ester had created on the floor. He tucked his arm around Ester’s belly, felt the heat of the child’s back against his arm and shifted his hold to include her, too. Something moved under the blankets and he froze, then felt the sting of tiny teeth on his toe dig deep before releasing, the furry ball of heat curling around his feet. It seemed Tiger had found his sleeping place for the night.

  “Good night, Bonesy.”

  Ester stiffened against him and he smiled.

  That hadn’t been her voice, pitched quiet and high. That graceful lilt that had filled the air and made him lighter just by hearing it…be
longed to the little girl.

  Chapter Five

  Bones

  “No, there has been no word on our side.” It had been three days since Tawny’s child had been discovered living in a closet in the clubhouse, and they were no closer to knowing anything about her. “You have exhausted options with her family, then?”

  Myron was on video today, having decided to take his family back to Fort Wayne for the holidays. There was too much going on here to have the kind of visit he had wanted. But Bones knew Myron hadn’t stopped searching. The list of dead ends he’d already recited testified to that. He shook his head. “No, I found a sister, but she’s dead. Parents are both dead. There’s literally no one else who could have a claim on that little girl. With no birth record, and nothing even in the private midwives’ database fitting the timeframe I’ve isolated, it’s like the child just materialized out of thin air.”

  “You are frustrated.” Myron tipped his head back at Bones’ words. “It is not a bad thing, Myron. That just says you care. Maybe too much.” He winced at the death glare received through the camera. “Have you given thought to her using an alias? Tawny’s government name was memorable enough; perhaps she chose something else to hide behind?”

  “Carson DeLauro. I’d say that’s unique.” Myron studied a paper in his hand. “Sister’s name was Carlton.”

  “When did the parents pass?” Bones wasn’t focusing in on anything, but from years of working with him, he knew how Myron’s brain was wired. If he could maneuver him into looking at random things associated with what he needed to solve, it kept his active mind busy, while his subconscious kept picking at the puzzle.

  “Eight years ago. It was sudden. The club helped with expenses.”

  Bones vaguely remembered something about it. “It was a car crash, yes?”

  Myron nodded. “On the Dan Ryan. Wintertime. Slippery as snot, and cars didn’t have any business on the roads. They slid into the back of another vehicle already crashed.”

  “No grandparents, aunts, or uncles?” Myron shook his head. “The sister, Carlton. When did she die?”

  Myron consulted another paper, then brought his computer in front of him to type something on the screen. Bones waited. “Four months ago.” There was a tone in his voice Bones knew well. A vibration that said Myron had caught wind of something that mattered. More rapid typing, and then an inrush of breath. “Jesus. And not quite five years ago, she gave birth to a little girl, father unknown.”

  “Is there a paper trail from the sister to Tawny for the girl?” He didn’t doubt for a moment that she was Tawny’s niece, not daughter. It matched the known details too well, much better than Tawny having a child of her own. “Were the courts involved?” Tawny had a will that said everything she had went back to the club. Red had found it when cleaning her things out of the bedroom. A club attorney had drawn it up, and when they checked with him, found it was still in effect. “I know a little girl is not a thing, not a possession, but if there is documentation, it would be good to know now.” Something hit him, and he ground his teeth, holding his silence for a moment. He could know. Only moments from now, he could know and then take it to Ester. “Myron, show me the birth certificate. Please.”

  In response, Myron tapped something and the view changed, showing the computer screen. There were dozens of windows, websites, and folders Myron had open, but the mouse clicked one of them, and then it grew to take over the entire width. It moved up, then down, and then stopped. His disembodied voice asked, “There, that’s what you wanted, right?”

  Bones didn’t voice a response, just nodded. On the screen was a copy of a document. Stamped with the seal from the Illinois Department of Vital Records, it had several lines of information.

  Infant girl born to Carlton DeLauro on January 16, at 3:32 a.m. Weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces, she had measured an even 21 inches.

  Essence Rena DeLauro.

  My little girl is nameless no more. Bones didn’t even flinch at the possessive thoughts. He just stared at the name, etching it onto his memories. “Essence.” He closed his eyes and blew out a quick breath. “Brother.” When he looked back at the screen, the document was gone, and Myron’s attention was on him. “Find what you can. This, though, this is not bad news.”

  Without shutting down the computer, he turned towards the door, shouting, “Ester. Where are you?”

  Without even a second thought, he closed the study door on the sound of Myron’s laughter.

  ***

  Ester

  Essence and I sat on the edge of the kitchen table, bowls in hand, eyes fixed on the birds outside.

  “Tomorrow’s Christmas.” I sighed. Her feet kicked back and forth, covered by the smallest pair of my socks. Now hers. “You can keep those.” I pointed my spoon toward her feet. She looked at me with a tiny smile and nodded shyly before shoving another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

  She was still quiet, and I tried to explain to Bones the why of it all. So much had happened to her in such a short time, it would have seemed everything was out of her control, so she took hold of what she could, spending her words carefully. We knew from headshakes and nods, from smiles and frowns, that she hadn’t known her aunt before Tawny showed at the hospital to take her home. Too young to understand death, she’d looked for her mother everywhere they went, and still looked in the oddest of places, just for reassurance that she hadn’t missed seeing her mom under the couch, in the cabinets, or in the laundry hamper.

  Her mother had been murdered, so my Ronnie was looking into things. He and Bones had been careful with the details around me, not understanding that I didn’t care. I did not care what had happened in the past, except where it could stop things from happening today. I realized a long time ago that the only thing I knew was I loved Bones, and Bones loved me.

  And now I could add the realness of love for Essence. Even her name was perfect, because she was the heart of rightness in this house. Our house. Since she’d come home with us, the place had seemed more real than before, more his and mine and hers and ours, and I was home. I was home, and so was she.

  “You’re staying here.”

  She nodded, the metal edge of her spoon scraping along the bottom of the bowl, gathering up the final smears of sweet, creamy goodness.

  “We’re home.” I held out my hand for her empty bowl, taking it and placing it on the table behind us. Her legs swung, back and forth, and back, left leg getting out of sync with the right for a swing or four, then easing into rhythm again. She leaned against me, and I rested my elbow on her head, dishing up the last bite.

  “You want this?” I brought the spoon down in front of us, and in the reflection, I saw her little mouth open like a baby bird, trusting me to provide for her. Lips closed around the spoon, she pretended to growl like Tiger, clamping her teeth to pull it from my fingers. My laughter brought Tiny and Tiger running, the white puffball winding through the rangy limbs of the Great Dane, both managing to make their way to us without painful incident.

  Essence grinned up at me, lips parting around the stem of the spoon still in her mouth. “Watch this,” I told her and grabbed the spoon from her bowl. I licked the inside and stuck it to the end of my nose, then held my hands out to the side like a magician doing a big reveal. Her eyes went round and she tried to emulate me, giggling when her spoon fell off time and again. “Want to know the secret?” She nodded. “Lick it.” I showed her again, and then we were sitting on the kitchen table staring out at the backyard, reflection in the windows catching the glint of the suspended spoons.

  “What are my girls doing?” Bones’ voice came from behind us, but neither Essence nor I jumped. It was our home, after all. Plus, I’d seen him in the reflection. I’d watched as he paused for a long moment in the doorway, the fractured expression on his face readily readable to me. Love.

  “Watching.” Essence’s head bobbed, hair brushing against my arm. I’d braided it for her last night before bed, and she’d been amazed at
the tangle-free condition this morning. Now it was wild again, puffing up and out after a long day of freedom. “Tiny’s birds. I feeded them.”

  “And then you ate ice cream.” I loved that there was no judgment in his voice, no anger at spoiling her supper. Even without knowing how hard she’d run and played in the backyard, which would mean her appetite could stand a tiny treat, he didn’t aim any barbs of disapproval towards me. “I am chef tonight.” He leaned against my back, one arm beside me, one beside Essence. He kept his attention on her while he placed soft kisses up my neck. “I shall make lasagna.” Another kiss, followed by a nudge of his nose to turn my head. I surrendered to him, placing my lips against his for a sweet, short but deep kiss that would have made my legs weak if I weren’t already sitting. “My girls can keep watching.”

  I saw her reflection move, chin lifting in a clear demand he didn’t ignore. Bones placed a sweet, short and loud kiss on her forehead. Essence and I laughed at the smack, and Tiny whined piteously, the sound trailing on and on.

  “No, Tiny. I did not forget you.” Bones went to the cabinet where we kept the treats, taking out a handful. Then he was cursing and moving back, the room filled with vicious-sounding growls. “Dammit, Tiger.” I turned to watch as the tiny Spitz dashed back and forth, the toe of Bones’ sock in his mouth, legs pumping as he tried to pull it free. “Ester, help.”

  Essence sighed beside me, then jumped down, her socked feet sliding on the floor. “Tiger,” she called, her voice the firmest I’d heard from her, “come here. Papa Bonesy, he’s not scawwy.”

  Bones froze in place, and I smiled at him. She’d called him papa without being asked, telling him she’d absorbed the messages he’d given, both from his lips and from his heart. He was her home, like he was mine.