Pretty Things
Brady couldn't really remember a time when his family had been well off. They got by, of course, but they'd never really had money. He did remember Seth and Collin getting bikes for Christmas, when they were six. He remembered that he had gotten a frisbee and a yo-yo, and a mother who cried in shame when he asked why he didn't get a bike.
Brady learned quickly that to have nice things, one had to have money. He never asked about gifts again, unwilling to upset his mother. He loved her, and if being her son meant he didn't have the nicest things, and he had to wear hand-me-down clothes, then so be it. She was worth it.
Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit upset around the holiday seasons. Easter wasn't a huge holiday, but it was one where a lot of people had big dinners, exchanged chocolate. Instead of a turkey, they had a chicken. Instead of ham, they had bacon for breakfast. Instead of bags of chocolate, Brady got a small package of dollar store eggs.
He thanked his mother and kissed her on the cheek, sloppy and chocolatey and full of love. It wasn't a lot of chocolate, especially for a wolf, but it was his chocolate, and it was delicious even if it was cheap. He gave a few pieces to his mom and one to his dad, but he ate the rest himself.
This year was going to be different though. It wasn't mothers day, it wasn't Christmas, but it was the first time Brady had money. Between patrols he had picked up a part time job - he was so thankful to have summer vacation, he had just barely passed last year - and he had money. Not a lot of money, but enough.
Enough to buy his mom the chocolate she always sighed over at the sweets store, the small cake she had always wanted to try. Enough to buy her a carving he had found in one of those touristy stores, a wolf that matched him almost perfectly. He gave it to her, grinning as she put it on the window sill in her bedroom.
Brady would always be watching, always be keeping her safe...
And okay, so maybe he bought himself some of the good chocolates, delicious, rich, milky chocolates that he'd never tasted before. The kind everyone else got during the holidays. To his credit, he shared it with Leah and Seth, revelling in the flavors with them.
It was something they had been used to, but their father was gone and Sue didn't have much. Brady knew what it was like to not have much, and so he shared.
It was the first time his family had spoken to the Clearwaters, but Sue had two turkeys, too much for just her family, she told Brady's mom. So Brady's family went to the Clearwater's for dinner, and as the adults talked, Brady ate turkey and not chicken, and he shared his chocolates with Leah and Seth.
He didn't need all the pretty things, so long as he had his family.