As the day continued to pass, wonderfully free of any further explosions in his store, Kiko began to relax a little. There was a good chance that whoever was responsible for the earlier bombs had lost their nerve now that someone had been injured. And Kiko was looking forward to a day full of no drama worse than a few children’s tantrums.
He took over a few of the Mother Goose story readings so that Katie could rest her voice and have the green tea she always brought to work. When he was finished, he brought Mother out of his display and held him so that the children could touch the goose. Hesitant hands brushed the feathers and one child made a grab for Mother’s tail feathers; Kiko pulled the goose away.
“Hey now, let’s not hurt Mother,” he said, gently, aware some parents took issue wi
