A Sam and Jory Easter Ficlet.
Ears, Eggs, and Bunnies #6.5
Re-Read Review 2021:
I'm not going to say too much because as a short story and the middle of a series that follows an established couple, I don't want to give anything away. I will say that as much as I love Jory and Sam in the beginning of their journey when they become a family they reach a whole new level of awesomeness and this Easter short is a perfect example of what makes their family awesome. Jory is his usual trouble-magnet-self, Sam is all kinds of OMG-Alpha-ness that makes him so loveable and why they make the perfect pair. As for little Hannah and Kola? Well they are their own souls but in Ears, Eggs, and Bunnies we see the great blending of their individual spirits and their fathers' children. If I went beyond the phrase "the bunny's crying" you probably wouldn't believe it but trust me, this is just the best short story I think I've ever read and knowing it's Jory and Sam well that's just icing on the cake, or the chocolate bunny in the Easter basket😉.
Again there's really nothing new I can add that would express how much I love Jory and Sam. Not everyone likes the kind of alpha male that Sam Kage is and I too don't always appreciate that element but when the dynamic between the two men is so powerful as Sam and Jory then I completely fall in love. Just because Sam is so alpha don't think Jory is a pushover, oh no he definitely has no problem voicing his opinion either and I think that is what makes them work for me because its an even balance of push and pull from both.
Now as for the audios, there are four different narrators, three for Jory/Sam and one for Duncan/Aaron in Parting Shot. Some might find that off-putting but I actually found it fitting. Just why there is different narrators I don't know but as a listener, I found each one did a brilliant job and yes they are noticeably different but they bring the perfect nuances for where the characters are in their journey, we all change as life goes and Paul Morey, Jeff Gelder, and Finn Sterling showcase that wonderfully. Tristan James brings Duncan and Aaron's story to life that is a perfect fit for the Matter of Time series.
RATING:
Technically it was my daughter’s fault and not mine, but I seriously doubted that the love of my life, US Supervisory Marshal Sam Kage, would see it that way. But really, it was. Hannah Banana––B for short––had wanted bunny ears for Easter. I looked everywhere without success because by the time she decided she wanted them, and the kind she wanted, everywhere close to us was sold out. So, because I’m a sucker for my sweet kid, I took the afternoon off to call around and find ears.
Since it was Good Friday and the kids were already with me at the office, once I found a place that said, “Sure, we have some,” I put both my daughter and son in the minivan, and we drove out to Northbrook. It wasn’t far, at one in the afternoon only 45 minutes, and we easily found the place that sold costumes and a ton of other stuff, as it turned out to be this enormous warehouse called Masquerade Emporium. It was huge, the kind of superstore that probably did a bustling business at Halloween but otherwise, people just trickled into.
They had more costumes than I’d seen in years, and so I assumed that there had to be bunny ears in the place somewhere. It wasn’t the cleanest establishment I’d ever been in, and smelled a bit like mothballs. Kola, who had just learned about germs in fifth grade science, wanted a hazmat suit and a ventilator.
“Pa, it’s not clean in here,” he informed me, clearly revolted.
“Oooh, do you think they have a sonic screwdriver?” Hannah happily asked. She was the only one in her class that had a Doctor Who lunchbox and thermos. She wasn’t watching the kind of TV the other second graders did. She could not converse about Hello Kitty or My Little Pony, but ask her to draw you the Tardis, and she was right on top of that.
“I don’t think so, B,” I yawned, walking down the aisle that the texting clerk had directed me to.
“Pa, we’re going to go down the aisle with the werewolf masks,” Kola said as he followed his little sister, informing me of their destination. It was funny how much like Sam he was, cautious and deliberate. Hannah was more like me, all about leaping and then looking to see if there was a net there.
“Wait.”
Both of my children stopped to look at me.
“We should all go together.”
Kola sighed heavily, as though I were simply too tedious for words. “I’m nine now, and Hannah’s seven,” he explained gravely, as though I were not aware of these facts. “We’re not going to run away or be stupid enough to go off with a stranger.”
“Yeah, but––”
“And we’re together, Pa. You don’t have to be right next to us anymore, as long as we’re in the same general vicinity.”
Vicinity. Who taught him these words? “I just worry.”
Hannah gave me her most patronizing smile.
“We know,” he said, nodding sagely. “But Dad said that we need to start being more independent. It’s why he’s teaching us how to survive in the wild.”
Which had nothing to do with anything but Sam wanting to take his kids––and me––camping. Fishing, making a fire, those things were fun for the marshal. I had drawn the line at hunting, and with Hannah becoming a vegetarian, Sam wasn’t going to convince her to shoot Bambi either. Kola wanted to learn to shoot, but not at animals. He wanted to go target shooting because when the zombie apocalypse hit, he wanted to be ready.
“Pa?”
They were waiting on me as my mind drifted. “Fine, but not too far.”
Kola rolled his eyes.
Mary Calmes lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband and two children and loves all the seasons except summer. She graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with a bachelor's degree in English literature. Due to the fact that it is English lit and not English grammar, do not ask her to point out a clause for you, as it will so not happen. She loves writing, becoming immersed in the process, and falling into the work. She can even tell you what her characters smell like. She loves buying books and going to conventions to meet her fans.
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Ears, Eggs, and Bunnies #6.5
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