It's a little known fact in life that, in order to achieve anything, there will be one or more tests involved. A test doesn't necessarily mean putting a pencil to paper and coming up with answers to questions specifically designed to fool the taker. Sometimes, as is the case in joining the police or military, it involved shooting guns.
Yes, in order to achieve anything, there was a test involved. Odafin Tutuola learned this in his days in Narcotics. Going undercover often required proving loyalty to a drug dealer, a test. Those were harder, as they involved anything from getting high to having sex with multiple women. It wasn't as great as it sounded.
The detective was finding himself in a test right now. This test was perhaps one of the most important tests he would ever take as a person. If he should fail, the results would be catastrophic. He couldn't afford to fail.
It was the test to see if he was worthy enough to date doctor Melinda Warner, the medical examiner of his dreams. And who was the one giving the test?
Fin stared into the unforgiving eyes of the test-giver. They were the eyes of Hannah Warner, Melinda's eight year old daughter. At least, she would be eight in a month.
It was just him and her, alone in his living room. Fin had so foolishly agreed to watch her while Melinda ran to the office to pick up some paperwork. A chore she had stated would "only take a half an hour at the longest." It was the longest half-hour in the world.
"What's your favorite animal?" Hannah asked. She had the same look in her eyes he had seen in coworkers during am interrogation. He would not screw this up.
"Penguins," he stated. They weren't really his favorite animal. They were the first thing to come to mind. But it was a safe answer. Everybody liked penguins.
"What's your favorite food?" the next question. Her eyes squinted at him.
"Chinese."
"Can you use chopsticks?"
"Yes."
"Can you teach me?"
"I can."
"What's your favorite color?"
"Blue."
"You have a funny name."
There was another silence. She continued to stare into the depths of his soul, taking all of the information obtained into considerations.
"Would you be able to give me a little brother?"
Fin smiled at her.
"Hannah, I am always willing to do the difficult and tiring process of making babies. I will attempt it every night if I have to."
He enjoyed the fact she was in the third grade, not yet knowing the facts of life. It made that answer that much more noble. Ken didn't have sex-ed until he was in fifth grade. Although, his mother had explained it to him in the fourth grade. What if Melinda already taught the girl about sex? Oh god, what had he done?
He looked at her face for any sort of reaction. There was none. Just the same serious look she had before. Dear god, Melinda's daughter was Alex.
"Can you cook?" The next set of questioning had begun. Fin nodded.
"Yeah."
"Are you a good cook?"
"I am."
"Can you cook me Macaroni and Cheese?"
"Yes."
"Every day?"
"With your mother's permission."
The questions were getting harder. If he gave her a satisfactory answer that wouldn't make Melinda happy, he was done.
"What would you get me for Christmas?"
"That would ruin the surprise."
He may have been mistaken, but he was pretty sure that he saw a hint of a grin.
"Do you love my mommy?"
He smiled at the little girl. That question wasn't so hard.
"Of course," was the simple answer, "I love her with the greatest love that ever existed."
"Does she love you more than me?"
His heart stopped. He was not prepared for that question. He looked into the eyes of the child, and could see just a little bit of fear. Then he remembered with his own parents. Their divorce. Their dating life. How he hated their partners. He didn't hate them because they were mean to him. They were always nice to him. They gave him things. Nice things. No, he hated them out of fear. The fear he would lose his parents love. He gave her a comforting smile.
"That's impossible," he told her, "your mother could never love anything more then you. Especially me."
He saw her smile just a little bit more. Was that it? Did he past the test?
"Would you watch My Little Pony with me?"
"When?
"Right now."
He sighed. He needed to figure this out. That was not something wanted to get roped into doing. Melinda had been gone for ten minutes. He needed to kill another twenty. This couldn't be too hard, could it? He was smart. He could think of something.
"How about I cook your Mac n' Cheese first?" He offered. She didn't need to think about it, as she nodded.
"We have the episodes recorded. I'll get them up while you cook."
It wouldn't matter. He estimated it would take ten minutes for the water to boil, ten minutes for the macaroni to cook, and give to mix in the cheese. Melinda would come home to dinner. He wouldn't watch My Little Pony.
His plan didn't work out.
Melinda instead came home to find Hannah and Fin halfway through their third episode of the kid's show. Both people were smiling.
"What's going on here?" she asked, amusement in her voice.
"Rainbow Dash and Applejack are seeing who is the better athlete!" Hannah explained to her mother.
She smiled at the two, her two loves. There was relief. Hannah hadn't liked her other boyfriends.
Of course, none of her other boyfriends would be willing to watch My Little Pony with her, either. They had all been too macho.
She knew she dated Fin for a reason.
I love Felinda. It just makes sense. This was just a fluffy thing I thought of. Hopefully, you all got some enjoyment out of it. Thank you for reading.