Bear

Chapter 12

"Nope, these are my favorite jammies." She said matter of factly.

I looked at her t-shirt and it said, 'One HOT Gigi' I laughed and Mia rolled her eyes.

"Amy gave them to her for Christmas last year." Mia said.

"That's awesome." I said smiling.

The doorbell rang, and Mia left the room to go answer it.

"Here baby, play with Bear while I check the food." Lynn said. I leaned over the counter and played the game with Izzy.

"Oh, hey, Damien. I didn't know you were going to be here." I heard Amy say.

"Bear slept in Mommy's bed." Izzy said without looking up from the iPad.

Mia was standing next to me, and she whipped around to Amy, and held out her finger pointing at Amy, "No... NO... NO!" she said as Amy's smile grew. Mia's back was to me, and Amy's eyes flicked up to me, and I nodded with a smile. Mia realized that Amy was looking at me, and spun around, and caught me nodding. Her cheeks went red, and she buried her face in my chest.

"Don't be ashamed. It's about time." Amy said as she sat next to Izzy and started playing with her.

"About time for what?" Lynn asked, confused.

"NOTHING!" Mia practically yelled into my chest. I rubbed her back, and handed her her cup of coffee.

"Can I help you Lynn?" I asked as she puttered around.

"Nope, I've got it, and you don't have to call me Lynn. It's very formal.' She said smiling.

"What should I call you then?" I asked.

"Oh I don't know." She shrugged.

"Well, Mia calls you 'Mom', and Izzy calls you, 'Gigi', so maybe I should call you 'Mama G'. It'll be your gangster name." I said with a chuckle.

"I have always wanted to be a gangster!" She said excitedly. Mia and Amy just about lost it laughing.

"Mom, when you're mad, you get pretty gangster." Mia said.

"Well, now I have an official title." She said.

"Every gangster I know has brunch on Sunday." I said, shrugging, "So it fits."

The girls set the table while I helped Izzy wash her hands in the bathroom. When she was done, I picked her up and flopped her over my shoulder. She was giggling like crazy until I set her down in her chair.

We all ate breakfast, and helped clean up. Mia set Izzy up on the counter and handed her stuff to dry after she washed it.

"What should we do this afternoon?" Lynn asked.

"Park!" Izzy said, throwing her arms in the air.

Mia looked over at me, "Can you stay for a while? Or do you have to go?"

"I'm free all day." I said with a smile.

That afternoon, we loaded up Mia's Forerunner with everything the girls wanted. Amy, Izzy, and Lynn sat in the back, and Mia sat up front while I drove.

I backed into a parking spot that was next to the field of grass. I opened the back hatch, and the girls started pulling out a big blanket and the coolers they packed.

"Mommy! I wanna go play." Izzy said as she pulled on Mia's shirt.

"Hang on, we need to get stuff out." Mia said.

"Why don't you take her, and I'll unload the car." I suggested.

Mia smiled at me. "You can take her if you want. We've got this."