It was the spring of 2068, the year Maria was six and Lou was nine, the year they both decided they would drag their over-sized stuffie everywhere. Even, to their parents dismay, all the way to North Carolina on the family’s spring break trip to the Smokey Mountains.
Neither of them knew a lot about love that year, but they knew they loved Pixel. Lou hugged it enthusiastically, then kissed its furry head.
Maria was confused. “Did you just kiss a bear? Are you gonna marry him?”
“Pixel is a girl, and she’s not a bear,” Lou said.
“What is she then?”
“I don’t know, maybe a goat. Or a monster. She has a tree growing out of her head.”
Maria pursed her lips. “I don’t think you can marry a monster.”
“Duh, you can’t marry a goat, either!” Lou shrugged. “Then maybe I won’t marry anybody.”
