Raising Children
Outside, the wind blustered, dragging snow up and spinning it around like a favored dance partner. Frost rimed the windows, and curls of steam escaped open doors to be swallowed up by the cold.
Inside The Blind Tiger, everything was warm, and whiskey flowed as quick as ice formed outside. Smoke wreathed the ceiling instead of whirling snow, and laughter chased away the cold at the door.
Riza Hawkeye accepted a cup of coffee from the bar's patron. "Thank you, Chris."
"You're welcome, dear." The bulky woman sat across from her, adjusting her jacket and slipping an ashtray from the next table over. "I'm just curious, are you worried about Maizy, being passed around like that?"
"She's had all her shots," Riza said, deadpan, "so if she bites, no one should get rabies."
Chris snorted, tapping ash off the end of her cigarette. "That's not the answer I'd expect, but I suppose since you raised your dog like a kid, maybe I should've."
Riza smiled in response, taking a sip of the coffee. "Black Hayate taught her to crawl. And to eat things she found on the floor. And he keeps her from falling down the stairs. He's good at blocking her way so she can't reach them."
"Better than a brother. Roy-boy once pushed a visiting toddler down."
"Not a staircase?" Maternal instincts kicked in at the thought of a child tumbling down a flight of stairs, and Riza sought out her husband to give him a glare. He didn't even notice, sharing a drink with Havoc. Maizy plucked Fuery's glasses off his face, and he carefully retrieved them. Ross beckoned that she wanted to hold Maizy next, while beside her, Brosch nursed a drink of his own. Armstrong almost glittered, where he sat next to Roy, watching Maizy with more care than her own father. And Breda wielded a camera, taking shots Riza had the feeling might wind up being used as blackmail at some point or another.
"No, no, just a stoop. Didn't hurt the tike at all, aside from feelings." Chris laughed with her raspy smoker's chuckle. "Roy-boy didn't like other kids stealing his attention, and the girls were cooing over the new kid."
"Hm, some things haven't changed much, have they?" Riza asked, shaking her head.
"Not really. He's just a little better at not acting on his jealousy now." Chris raised her voice. "Roy-boy! Send that baby over here. I wanna love on that child."
"Yes, Madam," he called back, and pointed at Fuery, still holding Maizy. Ross pouted, but perked up when Brosch handed her a beer.
Riza hid a smile. Just like kids. Sometimes, all it took was a little distraction, and everything worked out all right.