The next morning, the family set off for Garaat after a quick breakfast with, as promised, Marie riding on Anima’s shoulders. She’d walked the road countless times before, but seeing it from a new point of view was as if a brand-new world had laid itself out before her. She excitedly looked around, taking in the new experience to the fullest.
“You’ll get dizzy from whipping your head around like that.”
Myuke’s warning went in one ear and out the other. She was so absorbed in the new experience that her sister’s words didn’t even register. However, that wonder could only last so long. Bored of the unchanging forest road, she looked to a different activity.
“Daddy, run!”
“All right! Hold on tight!” Anima started running, answering Marie’s request. He kept it slow so she wouldn’t fly off his back, but for the little Marie, even his jogging speed was like using a magic stone that granted super speed. “We’re turning! Hold on tight!”
“Go, Daddy!”
Anima took a turn, kicking dust up in his wake, and returned to Luina and the others.
“Welcome back.”
“That looks super fun, m’kay?”
“Uh-huh, it was! Daddy suuuper fast! I wanna be fast like Daddy!”
“I’m sure you can be. You have a real talent for running. You’ll catch up to me in no time, that’s for sure.”
“I can? I wanna pactice tag!”
“You do? Does that mean you want to get down?” Anima asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He thoroughly enjoyed pampering Marie.
“Uh-huh! But, but, I want piddybag later!”
“Of course! I’ll give you a piggyback ride whenever you want!”
With that promise made, and with Myuke and Bram chasing after her so she wouldn’t be alone, Marie got down from Anima’s shoulders and immediately started running. She ran full speed ahead for a couple of seconds, then, copying Anima, turned around and ran back.
“I back!”
She buried her face in Anima’s stomach.
“I was right; you’re really fast.”
“So fast that your hair got ruffled in the wind.”
Luina fixed Marie’s hair with her fingers—to Marie’s absolute joy. Practical purpose or not, she loved having her head pet.
“Daddy, up!”
“Okay, here we go.”
She wanted to be carried in his arms for a change of pace, so Anima picked her up and they made their way to Garaat. Once there, they made a beeline to the tailor via the busy main road.
“What tailor are we going to? They better be pretty good, m’kay?”
“I was thinking we would go to our usual place. Unless, of course, Luina wants to go to a different one.”
“No, that sounds perfect. I know exactly what I’m looking for, so we probably won’t take long. I’m confident they’ll have a loose dress in stock.”
“How about we grab something to eat after we’re done shopping?” Anima proposed.
They had come into town with a specific goal in mind, but they’d had very few chances to go out as a family as of late. They were going to have some fun before going home.
“I want wapples!” Marie exclaimed, to the surprise of absolutely no one. She loved waffles to the point that they had even become a motif in many of her drawings. Anima wasn’t about to forego seeing her smile as she munched away at one.
“That sounds great to me. How about you, girls?”
“I’m totally in. Waffles are yummy!”
“I really like them too.”
“I’m starving, m’kay?! Mine’s gonna be doused in chocolate sauce!”
“Honey for me!”
“I’m, I’m, I’m, umm...”
There was no shortage of topping choices, which was making Marie panic.
“You don’t have to pick right now.”
“Anima is right. In fact, why don’t we each get a different topping and then split them all into five pieces? That way, we get to try all kinds of different toppings.”
“Uh-huh! I try aaall the nummies!”
They reached the familiar tailor just as Marie’s conundrum was resolved. Inside, the shop was covered wall to wall with all kinds of colorful, mostly women’s clothes. Anima had a hunch that finding maternity clothes wasn’t going to be an issue, and sure enough, they dug out a nice-looking, black one-piece mere seconds into their search. It was a bit larger in size than her usual clothes, which meant that it would likely fit her perfectly.
“What do you think of this?”
“I like it. It’s really nice to the touch, and it looks thick. I probably won’t need to wear anything above this to stay warm.”
“I’m glad to hear that. We should get a couple more, just so you have options.”
“Hmm, let’s see...” Luina muttered as she went back to looking through the clothes.
“How ’bout this?” Myuke asked, holding up a dress.
“I love it, m’kay?”
“Cuuute!”
The girls rifled through clothes as well, and they definitely had an eye for fashion. Every single piece they suggested looked great, leaving only the question of whether they would fit Luina.
“These all look very comfortable, and I like the colors too. The girls were kind enough to pick them out for me, so we should get them.”
“Sounds like a plan. Go try them on; we’ll wait here. Will you be okay by yourself?”
“Don’t worry; I won’t trip over my clothes.”
“That’s good to hear, but don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Just say the word and I’ll be there in a flash.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll go now; I shouldn’t be long.”
Luina took the clothes to the tailor and disappeared into the back of the shop. After a few minutes, she returned with the clothes in hand.
“They’re a bit baggy, but that’s okay because all of them are really comfortable.”
“Great! Let’s get them, then.”
Anima took the dresses from Luina and went to the counter to pay.
“Time for our well-deserved waffles, m’kay?!”
“Woo-hoo!”
Bram and Marie cheered for the upcoming treat the moment they stepped out of the store. Marie had even started to drool at the thought of them—Anima’s cue to hurry up.
Excited to see their smiles as they all got their hands on their waffles, he and the girls started making their way toward the plaza when they heard crying nearby. He looked around and found a woman panicking in front of a baby stroller. She was trying to calm her crying baby by dangling a rattle in front of them.
“Is something wrong?” Luina asked him.
“I was looking at that.”
Anima pointed at the baby crying in its stroller.
“The baby stroller? We’ll need one once our child is born.”
“Why don’t we get one now?”
“This early?”
She was surprised, and rightfully so. She still had about five months until childbirth, so there was no need for them to buy one so soon.
“I don’t want to drag you around town right after you give birth. And who knows, maybe there will be a baby boom right around the time of your delivery and the strollers will be sold out.”
It was highly unlikely, but there was a chance of that happening nonetheless. Leaving such an important purchase until right after delivery would only put unnecessary stress on them, so he wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible.
“Seriously? C’mon, Daddy, that’ll never happen. But still, I agree with you. We should get everything as soon as we can. Having a bunch of baby supplies at home will really make it feel like the baby’s coming soon, which’ll help all of us prepare for it.”
Myuke’s sound argument managed to convince Luina.
“Okay, let’s go buy some supplies now.”
“Thank you. Sorry, girls, but you heard your mother. Waffles are going to have to wait a bit.”
“It’s fine, m’kay?”
Marie was a little bit sad, but Myuke and Bram readily agreed.
“Daddy, what we buy?”
The postponing of the waffles must have temporarily blocked Marie’s hearing, as she apparently missed their conversation. Either that, or she didn’t understand what was happening.
“Clothes and toys for the baby.”
“We buy toys?”
“Yes, so we can cheer up the baby if they start crying.”
“I like toys! I choose!”
Anima had feared that she would be upset over the waffles, but the mention of toys took her mind right off of them.
“That would be perfect! You’re an expert on toys, after all! Do you think you can find the best ones for the baby?”
Marie’s eyes sparkled, set on rising to the challenge.
“I’m glad you guys’re excited, but I dunno where to buy baby stuff, m’kay? Do you?”
Anima’s drive was halted by that simple question.