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Bear
GRETA’S FACE WAS PLASTERED to my shoulder, and she was snoring softly. The credits for Top Gun played on the TV, and I struggled to reach the remote.
I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t sleep with the TV on. I needed it to be dead quiet while I slept so I could hear the quietest noise.
Greta murmured and snuggled into me. “Don’t leave,” she called.
“I’m not going anywhere, mama. I just need to turn off the TV.” The remote was on the arm of the couch behind her. I just needed to grab it, and we could both go to sleep.
Greta sleepily lifted her head and reached behind her for the remote. She pointed it at the TV and laid her head back down on my chest. “Can you sleep here?” she asked.
“I sleep here every night,” I chuckled.
“No,” she grumbled. “I mean, do you need to move to the recliner?”
Oh. “I’ll be fine for now.”
She lifted her head and stood. “Get in the chair,” she ordered. She ran her fingers through her hair and yawned.
I didn’t want to get in the chair if it meant she was going to go to her bed.
If sleeping on the couch with her in my arms meant I was going to wake up sore in the morning, I would be fine with that.
I reached for her hand, but she yanked it away.
“Get in the chair, Bear.” She did not seem happy at all.
“Fine,” I grumbled. Maybe someday, I would be able to spend the night with her.
I moved to the chair, but instead of Greta shuffling up the stairs, she moved over to me and climbed onto my lap. “Hit the lever thingy,” she ordered sleepily.
I reached down for the lever to raise the footrest, and she reached behind me to grab the blanket I left draped over the recliner every morning.
She draped the blanket over us and curled into my side. She was half laying on me and half in the side of the chair. One of her hands rested on my chest and the other was tucked under her head. “Goodnight, lumberjack.”
“You okay like this?” I asked. My back was thanking me for relieving the pressure I had when I laid down, but I was worried that Greta was not going to be able to sleep well.
“I can sleep anywhere, Bear. Ask Easy about our weekly camping trips in summer.” She yawned and relaxed even further into me. “This is heaven right now compared to that cot and sleeping bag.”
A cot and sleeping bag didn’t seem too bad.
“Just let me know if you need to go to your bed, mama. You need to get your rest.”
She huffed and lifted her head to glare at me. “And you need your rest to so you can find Dr. Douche, yeah? So, I’m good here, and so are you, so let’s sleep. Deal?”
“You’re kind of grumpy when you wake up, mama.”
She rolled her eyes and laid her head back down. “Only when I’m woken by a man who would rather make himself uncomfortable than move me. Sleep, Bear.”
Her breathing evened, out and a slight snore echoed from her lips.
It hadn’t taken much for her to go back to sleep.
It didn’t take me long to fall asleep, either.
And I had the best night’s sleep in years with Greta cuddled up to me.
That was something I could more than get used to.
