at the VA. I don't mind being asked. Just don't make a big deal about it."
"Yeah, don't make a big deal about it, Dad," Sandy called from the entryway, where he was putting his coat on.
"Well, that's me told then," Derek said. He was down on one knee, getting Mina into her cute little pink coat. "Do you want to take the baby? You don't have to. I can keep her here with me; just one kid isn't going to be that much of an issue for getting work done."
From what Dan knew about babies, that probably wasn't true. "Nah, I can take her, if it's okay to take her out in the cold. I don't know how cold-proof babies that little are."
"She's fine. You can switch the car seat to carry her around and put a blanket over her, or use the front carrier." Derek looked up. "Uh, you haven't ever put a baby in a car seat, have you?"
"I have a big girl seat," Mina declared. Her fist was firmly clenched on her Sparkle Pony again, making it difficult to get through the sleeve of her coat. "Lu has a baby seat."
"Yeah, I'm gonna need a crash course in this," Dan admitted.
So Derek walked him through Car Seats 101, and they packed up a bag of things for Lulu and got her into a warmer onesie too. By the time they were done with all of this, Dan was starting to feel like he was getting outfitted for a mission to the North Pole rather than taking three kids shopping for the afternoon.
"Yeah," Derek said at the look on Dan's face, buckling Lulu into her car seat through the SUV's open back door. The air was sharp and cold, probably right around freezing; the sun was warm on their shoulders, but there was a slight breeze with a bite to it. "Welcome to my world. You don't have to jump in on the deep end here, you know. You can just hang out around the house today and go into town later."
"I want to go to town," Sandy declared.
"Pal, until you have a driver's license, that's not your call."
"Nah, I'm up for it," Dan said. "It'll be good to get out a little and see where things are."
"It's easy to get to, anyway." Derek straightened up and pointed. "You probably know this since you came out here yesterday, but just turn right on the road and it takes you straight into downtown. Parking's free, so you can just find a space and then walk around. The supermarket is on the edge of town by the highway. Sound good?"
"I've got this," Dan said, as much to himself as Derek.
For all his reassurances to Derek, he actually hadn't driven much since losing his arm, let alone in the winter. But the pavement was clear and dry, and he parked in one of the mostly empty parking slots downtown, outside a sign that said DeWitt's Diner with a pair of crossed utensils. His bear took notice of that too.
You're always hungry, aren't you? Dan thought at it.
But it had been a while since breakfast.
"Can we get cheeseburgers?" Sandy asked.
"Sure," Dan said, struggling with the buckles on Mina's car seat. "If you give me a hand unstrapping your sister here."
Soon he had Mina out of her seat, and the handles of Lulu's car seat looped over his prosthesis. The day was continuing to warm up, and some of the snow was melting along the sidewalk. He was glad now that he hadn't let himself stay inside all day. It was a gorgeous day for being outside and looking around the pretty little downtown. The sky was vividly blue overhead. During the entire time he had been getting the kids out of the car, only one other vehicle had passed.
"Cheeseburgers, cheeseburgers," Sandy chanted. He raced ahead to hold the door of the diner for Dan, who had both hands full with the little girls.
A bell on the door tinkled when they walked in. There were bright-colored plastic tables and chairs, and an old-fashioned counter with stools and a board behind it where the day's specials were written, next to a wide-open window showing a glimpse of gleaming silver appliances in the kitchen.
"Be right with you!" a woman's voice called from somewhere in the back, and deep inside Dan, his bear stood up and paid attention.
Sandy had plunked himself down at a booth by the window. Dan found plastic menus in a rack by