My daddy the bear

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What else was left to do? If he let his gut talked for him, he would have already ripped at the fur over his head and would have insisted on knowing her matter. So stressing keeping arguments up! It even looked like Frederick's gut did not spring out of fat, but out of his poor liver swelling for too much yelling. His disheveled fur did not help improve his brown bear's look.

   When Mallory went out for her refreshing walk, Frederick saw this solitude moment as an opportunity to reread his life's inner book. Its title? The one Bailey, her aunt, repeated again and again: 'Don't think a boyfriend or girlfriend is the solution of your life. Know your self-value'. And at this point, maybe Frederick had already lost his track.

   Of course he liked the idea of him starting a new life with Mallory, in which all of his duties—home-like and personal ones—were hanging by his shoulders and not his mom's. Ah… woe is her, right? How she would have longed for seeing his little Freddy with her going to thank God for everything he has given to us, and regret all of our sins.

   Sins? The only sin around here was to force a child to learn something that stopped him from playing with a ball at home! The worst part of it was not getting up during those cold mornings with a frozen nose, but what that poor little bear had to do once inside the church. Oh, mommy, my back!, he complained for such cold, hard and wooden benches; oh, mommy, my knees!, he hated when the priest asked them to get on their knees and Freddy's stout arms did not reach the front bench; oh, mommy, and how was I supposed to know that?!, he complained once again when everyone inside the place knew exactly when to sign themselves and what to say when the priest took back the word.

   Those days now drifted far away, but… they were special days as long as he got to be with his mom bearing a pure smile, knowing that God was watching over her. Frederick did not understand that as a child, and how would he do it? If all he cared about as a pup was to arrive home at twelve o'clock to watch “Dragon Ball" on time.

   What did I do wrong?, he was wondering while mulling over Mallory's new mood. What if she keeps that mood even after giving birth? Am I gonna stand her like that for the rest of my life? Why did I let her go out with just a few days to go? What if she gets contractions around the park? And there he went again: worrying about the if's.

   Well, at least Mallory arrived home not too late. Frederick was in his homework chair trying to keep building their travel project, but the resentment and the tiredness were enough for him to fall asleep right there. Mallory, seeing him like a wreck for another heinous day, decided to leave him be and give him a chance to get back on track by himself.

   What? She was also hurt and was not complaining like that old bear getting a bigger gut every day, and not for pregnancy!

   Between gibberish, Frederick mumbled as he dreamt:

   "My happiness does not depend on her, it depends on me."

   Oh! If Mallory would have heard that, she had already mopped the floor with his face. He must have been down on his luck, because that did not wake him up, so Frederick spent the whole night there.

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These following days were not helpful to improve their moods, but, at least for Frederick, the big day had finally knocked on his door, and he, deep down, without even realizing, was expecting it to get rid of all of his problems. It should do it, right? After all that was what they were waiting for after these nine months, or even before.

   Lucky both of them, this happened in a morning in which Frederick was about to leave. Mallory'd come out of the bedroom feeling her womb a few seconds away from bursting. Why didn't I look over Youtube about this pain!?, she asked herself contraction by contraction.