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Tyler was absolutely wide-eyed. His head was tilted up, stuffed rabbit dangling from his hand and practically dragging on the ground as he looked up at the shelves of stuffed animals.
“Okay, Ty,” Jenna smiled at him, gesturing forward. “You want to choose a new friend, or you want mommy to choose for you?”
Tyler linked his fingers together, squirming into her.
“Donno,” he whined. “Hm. Cn you… tell me which ones you like?”
Jenna chuckled softly, ruffling his hair.
“Sure sweetie. Let’s see.”
Tyler planted himself on the ground while Jenna sorted through the stuffies, narrowing her choices down to a cat, a fox, an elephant, a frog, a moose, a puppy, a deer, and a bear.”
“Okay, honey bunch,” Jenna said, pulling him up by the elbows. “Here are your potential new friends. Any of them look cuddly enough?”
Tyler’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the choices. He turned, tugging on Jenna’s sleeve.
“I dunno how to pick, mama,” he whispered, lips turning down into a pout. “Maybe mama should pick.”
Jenna sighed, rubbing his back.
“Okay, sweet boy. Let’s think about it this way. Are there any colors you don’t like?”
Tyler furrowed his brow, thinking hard, and pointed to the frog, which was a rather unnatural shade of green.
“How about textures?” Jenna asked. “Sizes?”
Working like this, they managed to narrow it down to three: the cat, the fox, and the bear.
“I like the foxie,” Tyler murmured, making grabby hands at the shelf as if it were out of his reach. Jenna huffed in exasperated laughter, reaching up to pluck it off the rack.
“Good, baby. I’m glad you found a friend. Do you want -”
“But I don’t KNOOOOW,” Tyler interrupted her, whining loudly. “What if one of the others is better? What if I make the wrong choice? What if -”
His eyes welled up, and he seemed genuinely concerned, looking up at her and holding his stuffed rabbit close to his chest.
“What if the other stuffies don’t like the one I pick?”
It occurred to Jenna briefly that foxes famously ate rabbits - but she decided not to bring that up.
“I know!” Tyler chirped, suddenly excited. “Can we ask Joshie? Can we call him on video? Joshie will know!”
Jenna checked the time, and figured that it was late enough in LA for Josh to reasonably awake.
She sighed endearingly.
“Yeah, okay baby. But after that we really gotta pick your new friend and go, if you want to have lunch any time soon!”
“Mhm, promise!” Tyler exclaimed, holding onto her arm and trying to reach for her phone. “Joshie will know what to do.”
It only took a few rings for Josh to pick up, his sleep-disheveled face filling the phone screen.
“Josh!” Tyler screamed, and Josh smiled widely.
“Tyler!”
Jenna hoped beyond hope that no errant teenage Target shoppers would come running into the toy aisle looking for the members of twenty one pilots.
“What’s up, buttercup?” Josh asked. “You with Jen?”
“Mhm, mhm!” Tyler exclaimed, handing the phone to Jenna, who smiled.
“We…” she said slowly, catering to Tyler’s regression, “are at Target. And we’re looking for a new stuffie friend for Tyler, but he needs your expert opinion -”
“Mhm, lookit the fox!” Tyler cut in, and Jenna turned the phone to him. “Do you like it?”
“I think it looks like a very good friend,” Josh said seriously. “Is it nice and fuzzy?”
“It is!! It’s real fuzzy!!” Tyler reassured him, grabbing at the fox and shoving it close to the phone, rubbing it up against the screen as if Josh would somehow to be able to feel how fuzzy it was.
“I believe you, little guy!” Josh laughed. “I think it’s super cute. But do you want to know the most important question of all?”
He blinked at the screen, nodding.
“The most important question,” continued Josh, feigning seriousness, “is whether it gives good hugs.”
Tyler’s eyes widened, and he held the stuffie out, considering it for a moment.
“Go ahead, baby,” Jenna laughed, rubbing his back. “Give it a try - see if it gives good hugs!!”
Slowly, as if he was conducting a scientific experiment, Tyler raised the fox to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around it and burying his face in its soft fur. He let out a long sigh, and Jenna saw Josh’s smile grow wider out of the corner of her eye.
“Well?” came his voice through the phone. “What’s the verdict, Ty? Good hugs?”
Tyler nodded, still fully wrapped around the stuffie.
“Mhm,” he affirmed, swiveling back and forth on the spot as he hugged it. “Super good.”
He blinked up at Jenna.
“Mama? Can I have him?”
“Yes, sweet boy,” she replied.
Jenna mouthed a thank you at the phone screen, and Josh winked back at her.
“Okay, love,” she went on, coaxing Tyler’s face away from the toy. “Time to say bye-bye to Joshie.”
He made grabby hands at the phone, and Jenna let him take it, pressing the phone so close to his face that his nose almost touched it.
“Byeeeeeee, Joshie,” Tyler hummed. “I love you lots and lots.”
“Awhh,” Josh chuckled, eyes twinkling. “I love you lots and lots and lots, Ty.”
Tyler beamed, and Jenna took back the phone, murmuring another quick thanks before ending the call.
“I love him, mama,” Tyler murmured, his face pressed into the stuffie.
“I’m glad,” Jenna said earnestly, kissing what was visible of his forehead, and leading him toward the register to pay, and then to the car.
Jenna hoped that naming the stuffie would be a slightly simpler process. But knowing Tyler, he’d definitely need to consult her again - and possibly Josh, and his rabbit, and the rest of his stuffies.
But as she peered towards the passenger seat, watching the way that Tyler’s lips parted and eyelids fluttered as he cuddled his new friend - she couldn’t say she minded.