Incorrect Bob's Burgers Quotes 2

More Zekina Headcanons (Mostly Romantic, Some Are Just Headcanons for Them as Characters)

1. Zeke eats a lot of food with garlic in it to prepare himself for a vampire strike. (side note, the fact that vampires are one of the things Zeke dreads at night ((revealed in "Y Tu Ga-Ga Tambien")) is interesting when you think about "Vampire Disco Death Dance". That boy dreads vampires, but he's still the first to finally get himself and the others to finally watch the movie with Tina. That's just really sweet to do despite his fear. Though I suppose he would probably still watch vampire movies because of the thrill of being scared, he just doesn't want them to be real.)

2. Tina loves vampires but mourns that she probably could never have a vampire boyfriend if they were actually real because she doesn't want to give up garlic bread. So she'll just stick to zombies and other monster boyfriend options.

3. Zeke calls Tina, Sweet T every now and then along with his usual TBird and Tina Girl when they start dating.

4. Tina is not really good at pet names. The last time she did one she was teased for not knowing what a thunderbird was ( My first Zekina headcanon posts for context). So she usually leaves the pet names to Zeke. Though she can take pleasure in knowing she's one of the few people that Zeke is okay with saying his full first name, Ezekiel. Though, every now and then she will call me Kiel when she's feeling spicy (look up the definition of "keel" and you'll know why it's spicy especially if you know my headcanon of Zeke getting a captain's license XD)

5. Zeke reads poetry and classic literature every now and then when he's lonely at home. Tina is impressed by his interest in poetry and classic literature because it contrasts so much with his personality. His interest in poetry helped build his creativity so he later could write songs with Jimmy Jr or Gene.

6. Zeke graduates from air guitar to actual, acoustic guitar because I say so. LOL

7. Before dating (but after she's officially over Jimmy Junior), sometimes Zeke would purposefully try to start competitions with Tina because he loves butting heads with her when she gets very competitive and trash-talky in a game setting.

If he's not ready to get serious with Tina then he might as well have some fun and goad her into a competition of who can create the best puns, that being one example at least.

Tina doesn't realize this is another one of Zeke's ways of flirting with her until much, much later. She just assumes he's being an annoying butthead that wants to get a rise out of her. (I just want more of their competitiveness from "Friends with Burger-Fits", it's so cute and funny!)

8. It takes a while for Tina and Zeke to go anywhere with their relationship because both are so comfortable being friends. Zeke isn't subtle about wanting to date her but never seems like he takes it seriously as a defense mechanism, so Tina always assumes he's joking. Tina takes a while to be ready to admit to herself she's attracted to Zeke because he looks nothing like what she usually goes for in a guy aside from growing taller in his later years and his accent.

9. Tina is the first to confess she like likes Zeke but Zeke is the one who asks her out. (Technically Zeke was the first one to confess he like liked Tina, but he never really made a serious move so Tina is the true confession that helped Zeke get serious and make his move seriously)

10.  Zeke gave Tina wildflowers (a step up from just weeds XD) on their first date to make up for the fact he couldn't afford a store-bought bouquet on top of all the other stuff he planned to do with her. He continues to give her wildflowers every now and then until their first-year anniversary. For their anniversary he surprises her with a bouquet of white gardenias, red roses, and lavenders. (Gardenia because it's Tina's favorite flower, lavender because it's the smell of the candle Zeke was holding in "Tina and the Real Ghost", and the red rose because that's what Tina received from Jimmy Jr. in "The Gene & Courtney Show". Just Zeke casually making up for never giving Tina a carnation in that episode XD)

11. Once Zeke made a love song for Tina about bumper cars just so he could say the phrase "bumper to bumper" after finding out Tina liked it when the traffic updates said it. Tina was really into the song. He couldn't do a song specifically about the traffic updates because it was too boring for him. lol

12. Tina tries to be as supportive of Zeke as he is of her and become his hype woman. She's not great at it, but she's trying her best and Zeke will always appreciate her for that.

13. Tina often fears she isn't giving enough in the relationship because Zeke gives so much by comparison. Part of it is to make up for the years of never giving him a chance as well as being hostile to him at the beginning. Zeke tells her she doesn't need to run herself ragged to prove to herself the relationship is equal. She's already enough on her own for him. He doesn't hold it against her for how she acted when she was 13 and neither should she for herself. Heck, they probably wouldn't even have a relationship if she still held onto all the gross or naughty stuff he did at 13. She'll never understand how he can be so darn understanding.

14. When they watch scary movies, Zeke holds onto Tina acting like he's comforting her when in reality he's just hiding he's the one that needs to be held and just holds onto Tina to remedy it. Tina is very much aware of this and simply lets Zeke be the tough guy protecting his girl for his sake. It's not like Tina is completely unaffected by scary films anyway, so she does appreciate the embrace. She tries to remember to return the favor and embrace him back when he embraces her. However. sometimes she enjoys the embrace and immerses in the moment too much that she forgets accidentally.

15. Zeke is the first to say I love you to Tina. (I have no idea how it's going to happen. It's either going to be super casual by accident or the most obnoxious thing in the world on purpose. I will settle for no inbetweens! XD)

16. Zeke proposes to Tina on Halloween with his late grandma's wedding ring. He originally wanted to reenact what Tina did in "Tina and the Real Ghost" (because that was the day he realized he had a crush on her in my headcanon) and surprise her. Things get out of hand when Louise decides Zeke needs help to make the proposal more memorable and add some more zombie spice. Louise gets Calvin and his carnies involved to make it seem like Mr. Fishoeder started a zombie apocalypse for free labor and now is going to pull a Frankenstein on Tina and Zeke by killing them and using both their parts for a new body. That way his brain can live on in a new, immortal, stitched-up body that could always be in control of his zombie carnies.

Zeke was able to catch on none of it was real once Mr. Fishoeder said the words that copied what Zeke wrote in ketchup in the mausoleum,

Tonight you will depart from this mortal state.

To be reborn as one, this is your fate.

Tina was a mix of trying to rationalize everything because she knew zombies weren't real and also thinking this was something she wouldn't put past Mr. Fishoeder doing. While Zeke was going to have a few words with Louise later, he just went along with it and kept his fingers crossed that Tina would be into it. He intended to shock her a bit before proposing to her, not full-out scare her into thinking a real zombie apocalypse was happening.

When he finally asked her to marry him, the zombie carnies stopped moving toward them, music started playing (you pick what song it is. I assume it's from Gene because I think the Belcher family is hiding in the background of the cemetery somewhere lol), and the zombie carnies dance. They also moan to the instrumental of the song as if they were trying to sing it.

Tina says yes but also has so many questions about all that just happened. Zeke credits everything aside from the ketchup writing in the mausoleum to Louise. He told her not to do it because he didn't want Tina mad at him for making her think her life was in danger just for a proposal. Zeke assumes that Louise took it as a "wink-wink-nudge-nudge" no and did it anyway, thinking he meant he just didn't want to be blamed for it.

Calvin also confirms that even if he wanted to go to Frankenstein on someone he would of went after way sexier people for his new body and the couple was so not on his sexy list. Calvin and the carnies, now acting normal leave the pair alone in the cemetery so they can go home.

Zeke tries to apologize to Tina for the chaos but is cut off by the intense passion of her lips.  After the deep kiss, Tina tells him it was the best Halloween, zombie-themed proposal ever and she couldn't imagine a better way to be proposed to. Zeke got over his anger with Louise pretty quickly after that.

The Belcher family hops from their hiding spots and runs to go hug and congratulate the couple on their engagement.

(On that Halloween, Zeke went as Frankenstein's Mobster and Tina went as Frankenstein's Mobster's Lich or Frankenstein's Lich for shortening's sake. Just don't make an acronym of the longer version XD. The idea is that Frankenstein's monster found a lich, got together, and they formed a zombie mafia where they're both the bosses)

Anyway, that's it for my Zekina headcanons for now. I have no doubt I will probably make more in the future. Especially if I get some good character interaction between Tina and Zeke in "So You Stink You Can Dance" on the 23rd. I really hope they work together to support Jimmy Jr. in that episode!

Request 6-25-19 by kelseyleah (aka SplungeCoyote)

RedBubble  Ko-Fi 40+ minute quick color study of Hey Arnold OC Debora Winifred Shirley + park bench! Requested by @qilin-crusader I hope it brings you joy! Requests are closed! They’ll reopen with a new theme on July 1, 2019.

Guide to Courting your crush (as instructed via a @saisai-chan request) Step 1: Buy flowers Step 2: 

D̴ ̧E̷̶͞͞͠ ҉̷̡̀͜S͏҉̷ ͞͡T҉̕͡ ̴̛R̨̛̕͝ ̵̡̨O̴̧̨͢͜ ̸̛̀Ỳ̡̨̨͘ ͢͜͏

Time for a new Commission chart! I had to add a couple dollars to accommodate for the paypal fee. OTL

I’ve had some great customers, but I’m in a semi-tight situation, so if you are interested or want to help send me a PM here or on DeviantArt! For those who want to help, but can’t commission me you can still send any donations to my Ko-Fi or simple REBLOG! 8D

Ko-fi: Patsuko on Ko-Fi DeviantArt: Patsuko

Merry Christmas everybody! I hope everybody had a good one. Anyway, awhile ago a few friends on another site suggested that I do Edmund and Debora in a dancing pose, so I did it for the sake of cuteness. I don't really have a story behind this image atm, this is just sugary fun. Edmund belongs to Craig Bartlett and Debora belongs to me.

doodle and doodle and doodle animation “Dancing Peridot”

@tacosandtouchtanks Okay, I just wanted to update you that I made a decision a day or two ago but haven't said anything till now. Here's the thing, I decided for my touch tank idea I would do the creatures that could actually appear in a touch tank. This is the best option so Tina can project onto the touch tank creatures in her moment of crisis. So sadly, shrimp is not an option anymore for the touch tank idea. In better news, I now have my cast. Zeke: Sea cucumber (obviously that's not going to change) Tina: Sea urchin (kina specifically) Jimmy Jr.: Starfish (Not required to read this part, I'm just explaining the reasons for my choice through the power of synopsis XD)

While perhaps when Tina was 13 she probably dreamt of herself as a starfish. As she gets older though her anxiety gets to her and now through her narrow perspective, she sees herself as a sea urchin. So say after her break up with Jimmy Jr. She leaves her childhood home to find herself. Along the way, she has given up on finding her soulmate and only goes on casual dates. There's still that idealism inside her but she keeps it hidden through her spines of denial and suppression of her feelings. So while she's not expecting to find her soul mate on the first date, she would still hope to at least find a guy that's worth more than 1 date. She goes to the touch tank to try to relax and reflect on all that led up to now. She starts to hate her own reflection because she hates how she fears intimacy now when that's all she ever wanted. She believes that all her attempts at relationships just ended up hurting someone one way or another. She believes all she ever does is make things worse and that even though she wants intimacy, she'll never be able to truly be accepted by someone. Even now, as she's back in her childhood home, Zeke has been determined to try to start a relationship with her. While she feels an emotional connection with him after years of friendship, even then she keeps him at a distance because she's comfortable with the relationship they have already. Deep down, she also doesn't want to admit the superficial reason why she hasn't given Zeke a chance. She simply wasn't attracted to him physically. She doesn't want what happened with Henry Haber and her to happen to him, Zeke doesn't deserve that. She's scared that emotional connection won't be strong enough to overcome her stupid type preference. After all, her own mother left her fiance for her dad simply because he had a sexy mustache. Who's to say that she wouldn't do the same to Zeke? Just the thought of that kills her. So to her, it's better for her to keep it as just friendship with Zeke even if maybe she might even want to give him a chance. She's just too superficial and it's better if he just realizes she's not worth it and moves to someone who deserves him more than she ever did. She drifts off into an aquatic-themed daydream as she immerses her hands in the water again. As a sea urchin, she tried so many ways to find love in the beautiful starfishes of the world. Unfortunately, even though both creatures have regeneration abilities, none of the starfishes wanted anything to do with her because of how unapproachable she looked and how awkward she acted. In turn, Sea Urchina (I'm just going to use this for sea urchin Tina and do puns for the rest) tries her hardest by consuming as many algae as she can to clean the ocean. Sadly, she would overdo it in the end and the algae she consumed killed a kelp forest. This made her relations with the entire ocean worse when all she wanted to do was help and show she was more than her appearance. So she closes herself off from others, thinking no one would miss her anyway. No one was willing to get close to her because of the spines and how the spines would affect them. She tried so hard to make it work with Starry Jr, but even she eventually grew tired of the two constantly regenerating from each other's attempts at a relationship. She had her sea urchin family to turn to at least. She had adjusted to their spines so she could handle their jabs because she knew it all came from love. Even so, she still longed to be accepted as she was from at least one outside her family. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life thinking all she did was make everything worse for the other fish.

Then along came Zeke U. Cumber. Despite her insecurities telling her, she's better off keeping her distance from other fish so no one gets hurt. Zeke U. Cumber reminds Sea Urchina that while she did destroy the kelp forest, things weren't as bad as they seemed. The aftermath of the kelp forest made it a great space for urchins, sea cucumbers, and even starfish, though none of the starfish will admit it. So even if didn't work out the way Sea Urchina planned, the ocean will still be a better place because she's in it. Sea Urchina will never be able to tell how Zeke U. Cumber is able to make the best out of the worst of situations. He was always making the world a better place, he even let shrimp ride him as well as crabs,  polychaete worms, and pearlfish live in his anus just so they can be safe. Zeke U. Cumber had nothing to gain from being so helpful but he did it anyway, he even helped her see that she's not the bane of the ocean's existence. Originally, she dreamed of being seen as someone as wonderful as a starfish despite being a sea urchin. She thought she could never bring anything other than pain to those she wanted to be close to, so she stopped trying. Then along came an optimistic sea cucumber to show her that she's already wonderful on her own and even if the whole ocean doesn't see it that way, she still did her part in helping and making a difference. Tina comes back from her daydream and realizes how much of a fool she's been. For years Zeke has been supporting all his friends, including her for years with nothing in return. He was always there to support his friends but who was there to support him? Even in her own daydream, she used Zeke as a way to pick herself up but never did it for him. She thinks of Zeke's warm smile, how he always makes the best of a situation even if it's crappy. She thinks of how Zeke at times has the energy of a hyper bulldog and how adorable it can be at times. She always had a thing for accents, it wasn't a foreign one but it was still an accent. She has her suspicions that Zeke has been working on his glutes, so maybe... Wait, holy crap! Was she actually attracted to Zeke? Maybe this could actually work and she was overthinking it? She's not 13 anymore so perhaps she can overcome her type preference and find the unique ways that make Zeke attractive after all. I mean she had an emotional connection with Zeke, something that she didn't have with Henry Haber. So maybe it was because of her emotional attraction to Zeke she was able to overcome what she usually liked in a guy. It was more than that though, she was done being selfish. Zeke has never given up on her even when she gave him every reason to do so. She wants to be the one to give back to him. She wants to support him after years of him supporting everyone. She wants to be there to comfort him when the mask came off and he's vulnerable. Even if the thought of messing things up and hurting him scares her. She believes without a doubt that they can overcome it because Zeke is stubborn as a mule and she's never getting rid of him. She runs back to the restaurant to find Zeke and starts giving back. It wasn't going to be easy for her to overcome her lingering anxiety. She knows in the end it will be worth it once she finally lets go and let Zeke into her inner world. It was time for this sea urchin to stop being spineless.

Zekina Touch Tank Idea I Could Use Help On:

Okay, it's so super clear to me that the sea cucumber is the perfect sea creature to represent Zeke. There's just so much about the sea cucumber that relates to Zeke in hilarious ways. The most important one is that the sea cucumber is that it's a creature that is always helping others but rarely gets anything back. The majority of their relationships are more commensal than symbiotic, they aren't being harmed but they aren't gaining anything either. You can also do the pun Zeke u cumber. It's not the best pun but it's something. XD

My problem is that I don't know which sea creature could represent Tina. I have some candidates but I would really like some input as well because I'm not sure which is the best to choose? Here's the list I have so far. 1. Tuna (for the pun for Tina and an opportunity for Zeke to say "you tuna me on". A redemption for his canned Tina joke and general attitude in "Presto Tina-O" lol) 2. Kina (a New Zealand sea urchin and another Tina pun opportunity and an "I'm kina you" joke ((like I'm keen on you if that wasn't obvious already)), Sea urchins do eat sea cucumbers, but they also are part of the same family as sea cucumbers and starfish so make of that what you will) 3. Hermit Crab (least favorite option. While Saucy the hermit carb is important to Zekina lore, hermit crabs eat sea cucumbers so not a good choice) 4. Shrimp (Nothing pun-worthy, but shrimp does technically have the most symbiotic relationship to sea cucumbers, the shrimp still benefits more though. There's also something poetic you can do with shrimp seeing more colors than other creatures) 5. Sea Cucumber (I mean, I guess Tina probably could see herself as a sea cucumber as well, but this is my second least favorite option because it's boring) So I would appreciate any feedback on which one you like best for Tina. I really want a sea creature that fits Tina for her and Zeke's dynamic. My favorite is between the shrimp and the kina. Let the aquatic themes prevail for these two! XD

My Belcher Siblings Fankid Headcanons

In light of the latest episode of Bob's Burgers. I decided to share my headcanons for my fan children of the Belcher siblings. It's a work in progress, so keep that in mind.

Louise:

I personally don't see her having children of her own. Especially since the only time she said she would have children was to feed them to an albino polar bear. However, I do see as she grows, matures, and takes over her dad's restaurant, I see her becoming a foster parent. She will be inspired by the fact that Bob lost his mother 11 to 13 (his mom passed away 33 years ago and Bob is 44 to 46) and she wants to help troubled kids have a stable home life like she had as long as she's able to. I, unfortunately, don't have any foster children ocs in mind yet. Hopefully, I'll figure it out eventually. I do see Rudy being a foster parent with Louise though whether as platonic friend and roommate or officially married. Gene:

I also don't see them ever having kids either. They rather be the fun aunty uncle (this is the best I got for a gender-neutral term for aunt/uncle, feel free to make suggestions for something better. At the very least Gene might like it because it's funny) or a kid game show host than ever be responsible for their own children. (Also I'm going with the common headcanon that Gene is genderfluid. I don't see them being strict with pronouns but I'm still going by they/them just in case)

Tina:

She would be the only one of the siblings to have biological children. She would be married to Zeke and both would be for having children. Zeke would be all for having a big family, his only caveat would be to not wait too long for siblings because he wouldn't want his kids to go through the same lonely sibling age gap problem he went through (him having a half brother that's 31 years older than him and a stepbrother that 13 years younger than him. The only relative he has that's close to his age would be his cousin Leslie and even then he's at the lowest, 3 years older than him). Tina, however, would originally not want to go too fast in adding siblings because she knows how much of a handful it is from seeing her parents having a child every 2 years 3 times, counting herself.

Life had different plans though and she wouldn't change a thing about it.

Daniel “Dani” Bob Belcher:

He’s this little guy

First born son of Zeke and Tina. He has his dad’s extroversion and optimistic attitude. Meanwhile, He inherited his mom’s creativity and bad vision. As a teenager, he is cursed with being nuts for butts and a goob for boob. Though he’s demiromantic, so while he definitely finds many people attractive, he doesn’t pursue any of them romantically until he realizes he has formed a deep connection of friendship with them. He is extra with his love confessions though and has no shame which can lead to the downfall of many potential romantic relationships because he loves giving his all too fast and too hard. Sometimes his confessions could end friendships he thought he had a deep connection with too because they simply didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. Daniel doesn’t fret about it because he follows the “if you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve at my best” motto. He will always have his family and his true friends will always stick by him and that’s good enough for him.

He’s terrible at wrestling but that doesn’t stop him from trying to surprise pounce on his dad. He’s better at writing songs and coming up with crazy, fun ideas to try. He doesn’t intentionally try to do stuff that will get him in trouble, but his creativity just makes him a trouble magnet. He’s not the brightest but his heart is always in the right place.

His main colors are yellow and green.

( His personality type for reference - ENFP 7w6)

Jeffrey “Jeff” Griffin Belcher (Is he named after Tina’s ex-ghost box boyfriend or her body pillow? I’ll never tell! XD)

Second born son by around a 1 year and a half (though it’s rounded out to 2 anyway since he wasn’t born in the same year as his older brother). He has his mother’s monotone introversion as well as creativity and his dad’s love of chaos. He’s not the most sociable and much rather spend his time alone playing video games, making blueprints, and testing out his blueprints. He loves his family though and is a momma’s boy even if he would rather die than admit it. When he’s not doing his own thing, he’s helping his brother behind the scenes with any crazy idea Daniel comes up with. He doesn’t care if it’s a good idea or a bad idea, he’s just along for the ride and eager to see how it ends. He’s completely ace and aro, so he’s not interested in dating like Daniel when he is a teenager, period.

While he has plenty of ideas to cause chaos at the school, he’s also very lazy so he mostly goes along with Daniel and is never the leader of any scheme by choice.

He’s not a super genius but he is the brightest of his siblings, he just lacks motivation. When he’s old enough, he wears contacts because he hates how he looks in his glasses. He doesn’t like the idea of completely fitting into the stereotypical nerd mold especially since his personality already fits the mold.

His main colors are grayish-blue and brown.

( His personality type for reference - INTP 5w4)

Lily Cherylinda Belcher (Yes Tina and Zeke pulled a Renesmee for Lily’s middle name. Just be glad it’s just the middle name XD)

Last born child, firstborn daughter of Tina and Zeke. She’s 4 years younger than Jeff and 6 years younger than Daniel (Tina and Zeke were originally going to stop at 2 but life happened and they decided to see what fate had in store). She has the protective nature of both her parents, Tina’s goody-two-shoes nature, and Zeke’s knack for cooking (not his perfect palette though, that belongs to Jeff much to her disbelief since she knows what he wastes his tastebuds on)  Despite being the youngest, she is the most responsible out of her siblings and most of the time tags along simply to protect her brothers and try to stop things from getting too terrible.

She also tries to use her cuteness to try to help them get a lighter sentence after the metaphorical (sometimes literal) smoke clears. She loves reading about/watching romance but seldom partakes in it herself when she’s of age. She’s too timid and uses schoolwork and helping out her family as an excuse for why she’s too busy for crushes.

She’s unapologetically a daddy’s girl and is eager to help in the kitchen when she can. Since she doesn’t have a perfect palette, she treats recipes like religious texts and doesn’t dare try to add anything outside the recipe. Aside from cooking, she loves gardening as well, especially planting pretty flowers.

Out of all the siblings, she is the best candidate to take over Bob’s Burgers after Louise. However, if Lily decides to take over in the future is still up in the air.

Her main colors are pink and purple. She wears an adorable panda hat that her grandma Linda made for her, similar to Louise’s bunny ears. (Something like this https://akiseohats.com/products/spring-panda-bear-fleece-hat (( the pink and white one, though I might do light pink on darker pink instead)))

( Her personality type for reference - ISFJ 9w8)

Anyway, that’s all that I have so far. I definitely left some questions unanswered though. For example, I never said who loved horses and zombies among the siblings. XD

Maybe I’ll elaborate when I actually design them, for now, though this is all I got.

14. Going on a sleigh ride + Zekina please!

zekina + going on a sleigh ride!

“Oh. Lily, maybe we could…not take our mittens off?”

Tina looks to Zeke for help, and he quickly scoops their baby into his arms.

“Hey, now. You gotta listen to your mama, little lady! The mittens stay on.”

Tina doesn’t usually have a problem getting her daughter to behave, but overstimulation is making it difficult to persist with her fair, patient parenting style. The cold weather grips her even through several layers of clothing, and Lily seems intent on doing everything in her power to frazzle her mom.

“Thank you.” Tina sighs. “This is fun. This’ll be fun, right?”

Zeke nods.

“Course it will be. Wasn’t this whole thing your idea, baby?”

That was true, but Tina had pictured the whole thing going a lot more smoothly. Family sleigh rides at the park! Why would that be stressful? As she’s quickly finding out, though, babies often make things more stressful than they need to be. Zeke likes to say that their daughter takes after him, but Tina just hopes Lily doesn’t grow up getting as many detentions as her dad did.

“Right. My idea.” Tina says warily. “Do you think she’ll have fun?”

As a mom, it’s hard not to worry about how well you’re doing. If your kids aren’t happy, intellectually stimulated, and well behaved at all times, you start to feel like a total failure. Miraculously, Lily chooses that moment to grin.

“Well, that answers that!” Zeke says. “See, T? She’s having a blast. So am I!”

Tina’s stress is no match for his upbeat attitude. When leans in to kiss her cheek, she starts to feel better.

“Are you really?” She asks. “Even though our sleigh ride was supposed to start at 4, and the first group isn’t back yet?”

Zeke nods.

“Are you kiddin’ me? It’s a day with my girls! Nothin’ makes me happier than that.”

Before Tina can answer, Zeke smiles at something behind her. He raises a pointer finger in that direction.

“Oh, boy. Look who’s here, T.”

Turning around, Tina gasps softly. The first group of sleigh riders has returned, and their massive sleigh is being led by three large, majestic horses.

“Ah!” Lily giggles.

“The horses!” Tina says, full of childlike wonder.

She’s only seen horses up close a handful of times, but this is a whole new kind of delight. For the first time, she’s seeing her favorite animal through the eyes of her daughter. Sure enough, Lily’s eyes are huge with elation. Zeke chuckles, squeezing his wife’s hand.

“Horses.” He agrees. “Wow. I can’t tell which one of you is more excited! You think you can handle this, Tina girl?”

As she tugs her family in the direction of the sleigh, Tina doesn’t answer. Reinvigorated, she marches through the snow, ready to give her daughter a Christmas memory she won’t forget.