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Christen closed the bedroom door gently, not wanting to wake the person inside. She walked quietly into the living room, feeling helpless in the situation. As she entered the room, she watched Morena, her dog, through the living room window. The dog was waiting patiently for her owner to come and get her. Christen walked over to the living room table and grabbed the scraps of fabric and stuffing that were sitting there. She stuffed it all into a bag and opened the bay window. When the dog was by her side, she put the leash on her and after putting on her sneakers and grabbing her purse, the duo left the house.
It was a short drive to the Press’s residence and 20 minutes later, Christen parked in front of her parent's house. She got out and Morena followed her, trotting behind her as she recognized her house.
"Mom? Dad?" shouted Christen as she walked through the door. Morena took off running toward the door that led directly to the garden, from which voices could be heard.
Christen followed the same path, recognizing the voices she heard. When she reached the terrace overlooking the garden, her parents, Tyler, Channing & Mikel and GranFran were sitting down to dinner. Her mother had obviously made homemade fajitas.
"Christen, honey! I didn't know you were stopping by!" exclaimed Stacy as she stood up and hugged her daughter. "Would you like to have dinner with us? Where's Tobin?" inquired the matriarch of the Press family.
Christen said nothing and dropped heavily into one of the chairs around the table. Her reaction surprised everyone.
"What's going on? Did you guys have a fight?" asked Channing when she saw Christen's crestfallen face.
"No...not at all...I'm bringing Mo' back...I think it's best for her not to be around us too much right now"
"What do you mean?" asked Cody with a frown.
"Morena did the worst thing that could happen in the house" replied Christen.
"Uh-oh," Tyler winced.
"Oh my god...she ate Tobin's Jordans?" shouted Mikel with a horrified voice
"Worse!" replied Christen, shaking her head.
"What could be worse than eating Tobin's sneakers?" inquired a surprised GranFran. Everyone knew that Tobin's Jordans were sacred. The young woman had an almost obsessive passion for sneakers and had an amazing collection.
Christen was about to respond when she paused for a moment. She saw the curious faces of her loved ones. She knew she needed their help to fix Mo's mess, but she didn't want anyone to make fun of Tobin.
"Okay...I'll tell you this but if any of you, and I'm talking specifically to you dad and Tyler, if any of you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, or make fun of Tobin, I swear the consequences will be terrible!" threw Christen in a threatening voice.
"Hey!" replied Cody and Tyler in a heartbeat.
"Sweetheart, you know you can trust us.We won't repeat anything and of course we won't make fun of Tobin." reassured Stacy even more intrigued by the whole thing.
Christen huffed and grabbed the totebag in which she had stuffed the poor object martyred by Morena.
She placed torn pieces of white/gray cloth and white stuffing on the table. Some of the pieces were still attached to each other, and you could make out ears hanging down, hooked to a few threads that were holding on as best they could.
"What's all this junk?" inquired a surprised Tyler.
"That's Bun-Bun..." replied Christen with a sigh.
"Bun-Bun?" asked GranFran.
"Bun-Bun is Tobin's cuddly toy" replied Christen with a strained voice ready to defend her girlfriend at the first laugh.
But nothing came. The Press' gaze was fixed on what was left of the stuffed rabbit.
Stacy cleared her throat and grabbed the stuffed animal gently.
"How did this happen?"
Tobin and Christen were lying on the couch, watching a movie curled up together. Earlier in the morning, they had gone to the gym next door, and then had lunch at their favorite bistro before going home to rest. Morena was lying at the foot of the sofa, dozing next to her owner. When the movie was over, Christen got up to prepare a snack to eat in the kitchen. When she stood up, she inadvertently knocked Bun-Bun over.
"Hey! Be careful with Bun-Bun!" shouted Tobin as she grabbed the stuffed toy before it landed on the floor. She put the soft toy back on the couch not without stroking his ears first. Christen smiled fondly before placing a kiss on Tobin's forehead apologetically.
Bun-Bun was the stuffed rabbit that Tobin had received for her 3rd birthday. She loved that bunny. As soon as she opened her birthday present, he never left her side. She carried it with her everywhere. It had followed her for years, sleeping warmly in her bed. Whenever she was upset, her parents knew that Bun-Bun was the only thing that could soothe her.
When Tobin went to her first soccer camp, she packed Bun-Bun in her suitcase under her socks so no one would make fun of her. Bun-Bun didn't sleep with her during the camp and the little girl slept very badly.
As she grew up, Tobin kept the habit of taking Bun-Bun with her wherever she went. She had become an expert at hiding the little rabbit. The bunny was a little piece of home that she could take with her. Growing up, Tobin was always surrounded by teammates, but that didn't mean she was never lonely or homesick. Bun-Bun represented home, and comforted her even as an adult. Over time, Bun-Bun would only make an appearance when she was really upset.
Tobin had had a particularly difficult season with an ankle injury that kept her from playing for several months. She had been back to practice and then back to games, several weeks before, but now it was the end of the season and while she was frustrated that she hadn't been able to play as long as she would have liked this season, she was quite happy to be able to rest with Christen. Christen had grabbed Bun-Bun, which was sitting in the bedroom closet in its usual place when she had joined Tobin on the couch to watch the movie. She knew that Tobin's ankle was a little sore and that her partner was exhausted from trying to make up for her absence from the field in the last few games. She had held Bun-Bun without saying anything, snuggling up to Tobin and the latter placed a light kiss on her forehead grateful for the gesture.
“Baby? Do you want peanut butter in your smoothie?" said Christen.
"Yes, but wait, I'll put it in myself because you never put enough in!" replied Tobin as she got up from the couch and joined her girlfriend in the kitchen. She left Bun-Bun on the couch, Morena still lying in front of the TV.
When it was done, Tobin returned to the living room to clear the coffee table so that Christen could put the smoothies on it.
A frightened scream startled Christen, who ran into the living room. From where she stood, she could only see the back of the couch. Tobin was frozen in front of the sofa, staring at something on the floor. Christen moved quickly and realized the gravity of the situation. Morena had managed to grab Bun-Bun lying on the couch and had shredded the poor stuffed animal.
"Morena! Bad dog!" growled Christen's voice. She walked past a still frozen Tobin and grabbed the remaining Bun-Bun from the dog's mouth. She opened the bay window and put the dog outside. When she turned around, her hands full of Bun-Bun's remains, her heart broke at the look on Tobin's face. The young woman tried to hold back her tears as best she could. When she met Christen's gaze, Tobin quickly wiped away her tears and turned on her heels, walking quickly to their room.
Christen felt tears welling up in her eyes. She knew how much that little stuffed animal meant to her partner. She placed the remaining pieces of Bun-Bun on the living room table, high above Morena's teeth. She went into the bedroom to comfort Tobin. The door to the room was unlocked and she could hear Tobin crying from the hallway. Tobin was lying on the bed with her head buried in a pillow trying to muffle her cries. Christen lay down beside her without saying anything and drew the young woman against her. She felt her tense up a bit, but she didn't care, and wrapped herself around her. Tobin stopped fighting her emotions and turned, burying her head in Christen's neck, letting herself be comforted by her girlfriend.
Christen stroked her back, trying to calm the crying and the tears. She didn't know how long she had been cuddling Tobin, but after a while she realized that Tobin had fallen asleep. She got up quietly so as not to wake her up and began to think about the best way to fix her dog's mistake.
When Christen finished telling her story, everyone felt a little sad for Tobin. They loved the young woman and knew how sensitive she was. They also knew that being on the road all the time could be difficult and that certain things could be helpful when you were away from your loved ones. For Christen, it was a copy of the French book "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint Exupéry that Stacy used to read to her daughters when they were children.
"GranFran? Do you think you can fix it?" asked Christen's hopeful voice.
GranFran stood up to come and examine the stuffed animal more closely. The poor thing had been badly damaged not only by teeth but also by time. This stuffed animal was 25 years old.
"I'll try, but I can't promise you anything, it's really damaged. It looks like it's even missing fabric in some places," Christen's grandmother replied.
It had been a couple of weeks since Bun-Bun had been subjected to Morena's sharp teeth. When Christen had come home from her parents' house, Tobin was lying on the couch watching a rerun of FRIENDS. She hadn't asked where the dog was, but she had ended up asking where Bun-Bun's remains were. Not wanting to get her hopes up, Christen told her that she had thrown them away. Her answer sparked an argument within the couple, as Tobin had envisioned trying to repair the animal even though she knew nothing about sewing. Upset by the loss of Bun-Bun, Tobin had slept on the couch that night, a first for the couple.
Tobin was preparing dinner when Christen walked through the front door. Her mother had called her an hour earlier, asking her to stop by and pick up something. Christen had left so quickly that she had forgotten her cell phone and had not kissed Tobin before leaving, which was extremely rare.
Christen walked into the kitchen smiling. She seemed to vibrate with excitement as she approached Tobin.
"Hey babe!" chuckled Tobin, going back to preparing the meal. Christen said nothing and hugged Tobin around the waist, resting her head on her shoulder. She slipped her hand in and turned off the gas that was burning under the pan.
"Hey!" huffed Tobin as she rolled over in Christen's arms.
"Shh...come with me! I have a surprise!" announced Christen, smiling again. Tobin followed without saying anything, slipping her hand into Christen's wondering if she had forgotten an important date.
They arrived in the living room and Christen settled Tobin on the couch before sitting down opposite her. Christen grabbed a small blue bag that was sitting on the coffee table that Tobin hadn't seen before, too focused on her girlfriend's demeanor.
"Here...this is for you...I hope you like it," Christen declared with a shy smile. The euphoria of the moment had passed and she hoped her surprise would please Tobin.
"Isn't it my birthday? Oh my God! Did I miss a birthday? It's not our first date...not our first kiss either...it doesn't seem to me that it's the anniversary of the first time we made love..." muttered Tobin with a frown.
Christen laughed at Tobin's response.
"You haven't forgotten anything my love...this is just a little something for you...because I love you..."
Tobin smiled stupidly at this declaration of love and opened the bag. She slipped her hand inside and pulled out a small white stuffed rabbit. But it wasn't just any white rabbit. She recognized Bun-Bun right away. It had been sewn up and in some places the original fabric had been replaced by pieces of light blue fabric, the thread used was a dark blue which created a sort of patchwork on the rabbit. Bun-Bun was also wearing the smallest UNC sweatshirt Tobin had ever seen. The hood had a hole in it so that the bunny's ears would fit through and the hood could be put on.
Tears streamed down Tobin's cheeks, and she couldn't stop them.
"You didn't throw him away..." mumbled Tobin with a sobbing voice
"No..I didn't throw him away, I brought it to GranFran to see if she could fix it...but I didn't want to give you too much hope, by the looks of Bun-Bun after he went through Morena's teeth..." She didn't have time to finish her sentence as Tobin threw herself into her arms.
"Thank you," she whispered through her tears. Christen stroked her back, and placed a kiss on Tobin's head. "I love you so much," Tobin declared with a smile. "I can't believe you did this...he's even cooler than before!" gushed Tobin delightedly. "Where did you get that sweater?"
"You have a lot of people who love you, Tobin Heath...I called HAO so she could help me with this...ah yes I'll let you tell her I'm not pregnant!" replied Christen laughing.
Tobin burst out laughing too and snuggled back into Christen's arms, hugging Bun-Bun. She was so lucky to have Christen in her life. She thanked God for putting Christen in her life and closed her eyes, the tiredness of the last few days taking its toll on her.