Annie and I recently watched a TV program, the episode had something to do with Build-a-Bear, you know the place. You can get your own customized teddy bear assembled and accessorized. As the episode wrapped, Annie and I had a chuckle about that time I took Reggie to Build-a-Bear.

“When did that go down?” She asked.

“Hmm. Winter, I think. We were in a mall, so the lockdown had not yet happened.”

“The Before Time.” She said, dramatically.

“Nice one! Boy, if we knew then, what we know now.”

“Toilet paper, Kitchen Wipes, Jars…” She replied wistfully.

“Lunch at a restaurant, a drink at a bar,” I added.

We were both quiet, thinking back to those halcyon days. Back when sweatpants were worn at the end of the day, not the beginning.

Annie pointed at me, “Dude, you were taken that day! You were taken hard!”

“How was I supposed to know? You knew I was ignorant of the place and you let it happen! You know how Reggie can be.”

“You were taken down by a little girl!” She taunted.

“There was a teenager involved as well. A good one.”

“How did that all actually play out?”

“Well, we were running separate errands. You had Lyd, I had Reg. We likely texted.” I grabbed my phone, opening messenger and typing “Build-a-Bear” as a search term. “Ah here we go!” I proceeded to read the messages out loud. Annie added her “thoughts not sent” during the entire exchange.

It was February of 2020; Lydia had a school project that required a lot of very focused shopping. Regina is a bad person to have along for focused shopping. Truthfully, the apple doesn’t fall far. The idea of having Regina and me along made Annie clench her jaw. So, the decision was made for Annie to take Lyd herself.

February is a rough month in Wisconsin. The cabin fever starts to kick in and everyone is getting twitchy. Both parties agreed (In this case, it was Regina and I) that being locked in together while Annie and Lydia went running off to get stuff and have all the fun was unpleasant.

(Oh, if only we had known. Less than one month later, the Covid lockdown happened. What I would have given to be locked in together for only one afternoon!)

“Daddy Daughter date!” I suggested to Annie. She Loved the idea. After some going back and forth, we decided that a nice simple stroll through the mall, followed by Reg picking out a new dress, maybe some jewelry from the local tweenage boutique. We both get to stretch our legs, she gets something “fancy”. Everyone’s happy!

We could regroup for dinner somewhere and head Home! Yay!

Things changed.

Reggie found the situation absolutely charming. When we arrived at the mall, we were pretty much wandering aimlessly. Annie wasn’t there with her whole we-have-a-task-at-hand attitude, Reg and I were free to roam.

We hit the first dress store, she wasn’t too terribly impressed, and I was not impressed with their prices. The second one was better, but she wasn’t ready to commit to anything just yet. She wanted to see all her choices.

Then we walked past Build-a-Bear. Her eyes widened.

“I’ve heard about this place Daddy! You can build a bear here!”

“Hence the name!”

“Ha!” She pointed, at me, as if she were adding, “good one!” She grew silent, staring. I looked over at the dress store, with dresses ranging from $5 to $10.

“Ready to go pick out that dress Reggie?”

“Uhm…” She bit her lower lip. “What do you think of that rainbow jaguar Daddy?”

I smiled, “Pretty! A bit over the top!”

“Huh?”

“Uhm, it means it’s cool-ish. So…how’s about that dress?”

“It’s cold outside.”

“Yeah?”

“When will it be warm?”

“I don’t know really. Two, maybe three months?”

“I can’t wear my dress for three months?”

“Uhm….”

“But I can play with the rainbow jaguar now.”

“I…uh…” She stared straight at me, her pupils dilated, and her eyes doubled in size. The bears, plus the stuffing, was only a couple dollars more than the dress and the jewelry. Why not? I looked at her again and ran my hand through my hair.

Annie’s thoughts: “Brooks, you are an oak.”

Annie: “Oh no. He’s a virgin! He must reek of it. Poor boy’s gonna get fleeced.”

Annie: “Yep. He’s a goner.”

I clapped my hands together. “All righty! Let’s build a bear!”

“Rainbow jaguar Daddy.”

“Right. Rainbow Jaguar.”

“Welcome to Build-a-Bear!” Wow! She’s friendly! She had her hands on her knees, talking at eye level with my daughter. “Wonderful choice with the Rainbow Jaguar! He’s one of my favorites too!” No kidding? That’s cool! Who da thunk it? She continued, “Now before we put in the stuffing, would you like your rainbow jaguar to have a heartbeat?”

“Would I?” Reggie yelled. Heartbeat? Where is…oh. Well what do ya know? A device that makes a heartbeat sound, right there on that shelf.

I spoke up, “Uhm, excuse me?” Jeez, she is really attentive to Reggie! “Scuse me? Yeah. How much is that heartbeat?”

“Only a few dollars sir!”

“Oh. Well, I suppose. Rainbow Jaguar can have a heart for that price.”

“Great!” She exclaimed. She inserted the heartbeat and began emboweling

Is that the opposite if disembowel? No? Oh well. I’m keeping it.

“There is your rainbow jaguar! Is there anything else we can do? Perhaps…a dress?”

Now wait one minute here

“Well OF COURSE she needs a dress!” Reggie replied.

“Wonderful! The dresses are right over here around the corner!”

She’s so attentive…Hey lady, my eyes are up here! Oh well. It’s just a dress. How bad can it be (I rounded the corner) . . .holy crap! Do not pick the sparkly…and she picked the sparkly one. Great. I opened my wallet.

“So, how much is this going to cost?” I asked, digging out my Andrew Jacksons.

There was no reply. I looked up from my wallet. Her eyes were no longer on Reggie. She was looking at me, smirking. “You wouldn’t want rainbow jaguar to be barefoot now. Would you?” She looked down at my daughter, “Regina?”

She’s attentive all right, like a Jackal pays attention to a flightless bird.

“Noooo! She can’t go out without shoes!” Reggie had a crazed look in her eyes. I sighed heavily as I stared at Rainbow Jaguar and quietly cursed. She was right. They were both right. The shoes really would complete the look.

“Fine” I mumbled

“Hooray!” They both yelled.

As we walked away, Reggie asked, “Can I still get a necklace from the boutique?”

“No brakes. Why steer?” I muttered.

An hour or so later, we all regrouped at Culver’s, “So,” Annie said, smiling, a little too big, “How did Build-a-Bear go?”

“Look at what I got Mommy!” Regina frantically held up the garishly dressed and garishly fleshed jaguar.

“Wow! She looks…just like something you would pick out! And that’s a pretty necklace you have there!” Annie stared at me, still smiling, incredibly smug. “I’m going to order lunch now. Do you want the usual? Double patty?”

“Perhaps a single patty would be more prudent today.”

“I thought so.” She pinched my cheek as she went to order.

To that teenage jackal. I hope you earned employee of the month. I hope it was worth it. Well played.