Tiger in Her Bed

“Mom, your ears are showing,” said Quinn again.

Vanessa saw the transformation. It was very cute. Two furry-striped ears emerged on top of Quinn’s mom’s head. Having Savannah as an in-law would be very interesting. She found herself looking forward to it.

Savannah quickly recovered. She turned to make sure none of the nurses witnessed her spontaneous transformation. Nobody but the three of them were in the room. “Ah, forgive me, dear. I get so worked up when someone threatens my family. Yes, I think of you as my new daughter and you’re important to me.” She turned to her son, inquiring. “You are going to marry this girl, right, Quinn? I’m going to bring back your father from the dead if you’re not.”

“Yes, mother. I’m going to marry Vanessa,” said Quinn in mock tone. “As soon as she says yes, which isn’t going to happen because I haven’t had the chance to propose to her yet.”

Savannah waved him off. “We’re passed that kind of formality already. How about we arrange to meet your parents and your sisters next? Over a nice dinner party, of course. I personally know a chef who worked at Le Bernardin and I could ask him to oversee the menu. And naturally, we’ll need to go shopping for a new dress, shoes and—”

“That’s it. Out.” Quinn herded his mother to the door. John and Trent had just arrived at the hospital and were about to enter. “We’ll see you all at home. Goodbye.” He closed the door, ignoring his mother’s protests. His wicked grin returned. “Where were we?”

Vanessa smiled. “You have a lovely family.”

“They’re insane.”

“Mine, too. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Quinn closed their distance in two steps. “I have an idea—let’s go somewhere, just the two of us, for a few days. You need someplace with a lot of sun to recover. I’m thinking the Bahamas.”

“You want us to play hooky from work?”

“As your boss, I approve your extra vacation days. You can’t say no.”

“Hmm. I hear the weather is nice there this time of year.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll buy us tickets then get our stuff from the house and go straight to the airport. I need a real vacation and we need to work on getting you pregnant.”

“What?”

“Don’t make me beg with bad poetry.”

Vanessa laughed. She pulled him down and kissed him. “Deal.”

The End.