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Jessie had lost count of the number of hours Bonnie and Blaze had spent laughing and playing together. Not only did they host a super elaborate and chaotic wedding for her and Buzz, but they also expanded upon the dramatic plotline of the mysterious poisoning of Forky and Karen Beverly’s maid of honour. The staggering amount of plot twists the girls kept interweaving within the story was enough to make Jessie’s head spin. It got to a point where even the girls themselves had trouble agreeing on who the murderer truly was. Instead of arguing, the girls simply laughed the absurdity off and continued playing as if nothing happened.
Once the girls eventually got tired with the progression of the story and had finished their ten minute snack break in the kitchen with Bonnie’s mom, Bonnie and Blaze decided to spend the last half an hour of their very first playdate making each-other friendship bracelets. They knelt side-by-side upon Bonnie’s bed tying together pieces of colourful string while chatting away about various different kid-related things.
From where she lay beside the foot of Bonnie’s bed, Jessie gazed up at the two girls adoringly.
She had never felt prouder to be a toy. Helping Bonnie connect with Blaze was one of the best things she's ever done for her kid. Bonnie seemed to smile that little bit brighter and laugh that little bit harder while playing with Blaze. It felt rewarding beyond what words could possibly describe. Bonnie deserved to have a true friend just like every other kid in the neighbourhood. Someone who loved her for who she really was.
All she needed was a little extra prompting, and away she and Blaze flew like birds in the spring. Sure, it didn’t come without its risks, but Jessie knew deep down within the pit of her stuffing that some risks were worth taking in the hope that it would bring her kid infinite happiness (even if that also meant reconciling with techno devices).
It’s not about getting played with. It’s about being there for Bonnie.
Woody once said the exact same thing about Andy many years ago, and Jessie found that those very same words still carried significant weight all those years later. Such a precept rang particularly true the moment she discovered that she meant more to Emily than she ever thought possible.
It turned out that Emily named Jessie after her very own daughter and had carved a permanent mark upon the little oak tree at Tire Swing Hill claiming that Jessie had once been there with her all those years ago. Emily still held Jessie close to her heart, even long after moving on from her cowgirl phase and into the sobering reality of adulthood. It overwhelmed Jessie to think that Emily allowed her spirit to manifest itself within her own human daughter. Admittedly, it was still an enormous pill for the cowgirl to swallow after countless years believing that Emily had truly forgotten about her. In spite of this, Jessie could no longer deny the tremendous impact she’d made in her owner's life while she was still her toy.
All that matters is that we were there to help her along.
The reassurance washed over Jessie like a comforting balm. Sure, being a toy was never an easy gig. It involved sacrifice, pain and coping with the uncertainty.
But the sheer joy and comfort a toy’s presence could bring to a single child’s life, much like how she did to Emily’s, made all the extra trials and tribulations worth bearing.
A humongous fit of giggles suddenly erupted from the bed above, snapping Jessie out of her thoughts. She glanced up to find that Bonnie had descended into an enormous burst of laughter as Blaze told her a silly story of something embarrassing that had happened to her when she was a little younger.
Jessie’s smile broadened at the sight of the two beaming girls above her.
“Oh Blaze,” Bonnie squealed, clutching her stomach as though it hurt to laugh. “You really are so so funny!”
Blaze blew a good-humoured raspberry. “Not as funny as you are, Bon! Only you could come up with something as hilarious as a T-Rex on roller-skates!”
Bonnie blushed. “You… really mean that?”
Blaze nodded eagerly. “To the moon and back! You’re one of the most imaginative and funniest girls I’ve ever met! Creating these awesome little friendship bracelets and devising that crazy murder mystery with your toys is irrefutable proof of it!” As if on cue, Blaze tightened the very last piece of string upon her friendship bracelet before slipping it upon her wrist. “Aren’t these great?”
Bonnie chuckled shyly, slipping on her own matching bracelet. “Yeah, we did a good job at making these!”
Blaze’s grin widened. “Totally!”
She traced her fingers lovingly along the tiny words etched upon the central bead, which read ‘BFFS’.
Then, with a playful twinkle in her eyes, she went to gently take hold of Bonnie’s wrist.
“Miss. Bonnie Anderson,” Blaze addressed Bonnie with exaggerated formality. “Do you pinky-promise for us to be best friends forever, no matter where life takes us?”
Bonnie chuckled, intertwining her pinkie finger with Blaze’s. “I do! And do you, Miss. Blaze Manoukian, also pinky-promise for us to have lots and lots of sleepovers and playdates together?”
Blaze squeezed her pinky finger around Bonnie’s. “I pinky-promise and…”
Without any warning, Blaze lifted her hand out of Bonnie’s grip and began to mime out a silly little rhyme.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”
Bonnie stared at Blaze for a few beats, utterly mystified.
And then, just as she’d done numerous times that afternoon, Bonnie erupted into yet another fit of giggles,
The more Jessie watched the two girls, the stronger the warmth inside her chest grew.
Just when they were about to engage in a surprise tickle attack, Bonnie’s mom suddenly popped her head through the door.
“Blaze, your mom’s just arrived!"
Both girls let out a simultaneous ‘aww’ at her announcement.
“Oh, come on, mom,” Bonnie whined. “Could you ask her if we could keep playing for just a teeny bit longer?"
Mrs. Anderson shook her head. “I’m sorry, honey, but Blaze has got some of her relatives coming round for dinner tonight and her mom doesn’t want her to miss out on spending time with them.”
Bonnie let out a disappointed sigh. “Ooookaaaay…”
“But on the bright side, Blaze’s mom and I have arranged for you two to have a sleepover at the ranch next Saturday!”
At the mention of the word ‘sleepover’, Bonnie let out a huge cheer of “YESSSS!” while Blaze’s eyes widened excitedly beside her.
“Sweet! That means I can finally introduce you to Jimmy Dean and Daffodil at the ranch. You’ll love them!”
Mrs. Anderson threw them both a knowing little wink. “I’ll let you two say your goodbyes!”
As soon as Bonnie’s mom closed the door behind her, Blaze gave Bonnie a big hug.
“It’s been fantastic getting to know you, Bon! Next time we see each-other we should totally try and finally solve the case of the maid of honour’s poisoning!”
“And give Buzz and Jessie a romantic honeymoon down by the ranch!”
“It’s a deal!”
Giggling, Blaze threw Bonnie a celebratory high-five.
Bonnie glanced down sheepishly for a few moments.
“Thank you…” she whispered.
Blaze tilted her head curiously at Bonnie “For what?”
“For… wanting to be my friend even if I still like playing with toys!”
Blaze gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. “Bonnie, there’s nothing wrong with playing with toys. I’ve still got a lot of my toy horses from when I was little up on my bedroom shelves ready for me to play with whenever I feel like it! Some of the best moments I have by myself are with my old toys. Besides, who says we can’t keep having fun just because we’re getting older?”
“Well, a lot of girls my age seem to only want to play on a Lilypad...”
Blaze blew another raspberry. “Well then stuff those other girls! They’re missing out on all the fun they could be having when putting their imagination into some good use rather than spending all their free time glued to a screen like a mindless zombie!”
Blaze pulled a face, pretending to be said mindless zombie, sending Bonnie into another fit of laughter.
The two girls shared one last hug before a voice called from the hallway.
“Time to go, Blaze!”
“Coming!”
Reluctantly, the girls pulled apart.
“Well,” said Blaze, hopping off the bed beside Bonnie. “see you next Saturday?”
Bonnie nodded. “And this time, we’re definitely solving the murder.”
“And visiting the ranch.”
“And giving Buzz and Jessie the best honeymoon ever!”
Jessie chuckled to herself at this.
Blaze was indeed the perfect friend!