A Tail of Two Pa'anis

Last night at bedtime, Hubby feeling like he was death warmed over and run aground by a truck, I took the Fries up to tuck them in.

I got the twins all snuggled in bed, their blankets on them in the right order, and kicked all the monsters out.  I was finishing up hugs and smooches when Medium Fry spoke.

"My Pa'ani is scawred."  She held up her stuffed kitten.  "He needs you."

I gently took her little kitty and cradled him on my right hand and arm.  I scratched his little head and told him there was nothing to be afraid of.

"But dewre's monstewrs.  He's afwaid of monstewrs."

"Oh, but there are no monsters.  I kicked them out, remember?  And even the friendly ones are gone--they're at Gramma and Boppa's."

"Dewre's somesing outside dat scawred him."

"It's outside."  I looked at the kitty and stroked his little fuzzy head reassuringly.  "If it's outside, it can't get in.  You're safe."

Pa'ani Squared

I started to hand her little Pa'ani back to her--so named because he looks an awful lot like our white/ginger tabby of the same name--but Medium stopped me.

"He wants to stay wif you fowr awhile.  He wants you to pwotect him."

"Are you sure?"  Sometimes she does change her mind about these things.

"Yes.  He wants you."

"Okay."  I prepared to head out once again, this time with a little Pa'ani cuddled against my neck.

Medium spoke my name again.  "My wittle tigewr is scawred too."

Her little TY beanie tiger with the ridiculously huge green eyes looked up at me from her outstretched hand.  "You're scared too?"

We almost went through the same litany, but then I realized her tiger had a little hole in the seam of his chest.  In the end, both the tiger and the "baby Pa'ani" went back downstairs with me (along with a host of other animal friends who needed similar "surgery.")

I told you that story to tell you this one.

When I went to bed last night, I brought up all the successfully sewn-up stuffed friends, plus Medium's "little Pa'ani," and returned them to their rightful owners in the twin Fries' room.  Medium stirred a little as I dropped the book I'd been carrying too, and I tucked Carla, her Build-a-Bear dog, next to her.  She threw her arm over Carla and went right back to sleep.  I also tucked in her little tiger and her little Pa'ani.

And I went to bed myself without further thought.

Somewhere in the murky light of almost-dawn, in the haze of 5-ish a.m. and bleary, sleepy eyes, I was startled awake.  Not Koa, who has a history of yowling with a toy mouse clenched in her jaws, wanting to play at the most inopportune times (like when I want to sleep).  No, it was Medium.

"Whattsamatter, honey?" I said.  (I think.  Or some variation thereof.)

She shoved her kitty into my face.  "Pa'ani wants you."

And then she turned around, without another word, and went back to bed herself, making my, "Can you go back to bed now?" a bit redundant.

She was apparently even less awake than I was, because I needed to go down the hall to her room and put her blankets on her, because she couldn't quite figure out how to do it herself.