Ollie's Bear

On Ollie's first birthday Olivia had presented him with some toys and the other gifts from family members. Money was very tight for the family  but Olivia had scraped enough together, working her three jobs, to get Ollie a few gifts for his very first birthday and be able to pay the bills and keep food on the table and buy the baby necessities. The last gift she gave him on his birthday was the beautiful black teddy bear Owen had gotten for him. Young Ollie latched on to the bear as soon as it was in reach of his little grabby hands. Out of all the presents he had been given today the favorite of them all was the black bear with green plaid lined ears. Seeing this reaction from her son Olivia held back sad tears, while she thought of Owen's reaction to the baby's obvious love for the toy if he were there. Olivia watched, throughout the rest of the party, Ollie clutch the bear to his chest and never let it go. As for the locket, as soon as Olivia laid eyes on the beautiful necklace she snapped it around her neck, and never, ever,

From that day forward Ollie never left anywhere without the beloved bear. The bear tagged along to the grocery store, his grandparents house, and even sat on the bathroom counter during bath time. If he had ever misplaced his bear there surely was a screaming fit until it was found.

When Ollie was the age of three and spoke more than just a few select words, he decided he would name his bear. He named the bear Owen. When Olivia heard the name he had chose she let out an unintentional anguished cry. But recovered herself quickly so she didn't scare her little boy. " Owen, that's a nice name , baby." She encouraged while holding back the hot tears that started to build up. Ollie just smiled with pride at picking such a good name, he didn't understand what the name meant to his mommy, he just liked that it started with an O just like his.