Nash’s P.O.V.

I stare at the woman who is watching me as I take a picture with her daughter, and I can’t look away. She is so beautiful. I may be dressed like a big Easter Bunny, but I’m a man underneath the costume. The little girl looks at me and smiles.

“I’m Phoenix. Can I tell you a secret?” she asks. Is she going to tell me that her mom likes me? Oh, wait, we’re not in high school. I’m an adult despite the fact that I feel like a teenage boy right now.

“Sure,” I tell her.

“I don’t want an Easter basket for Easter this year. I just want my mommy to be happy.” I look from her to her mom again.

“Why isn’t your mommy happy?” I ask her. I wonder if she’s married or has a boyfriend who is making her unhappy.

“I don’t know, but sometimes I hear her crying at night when she’s dreaming. I don’t want her to be sad anymore. Can you help my mommy? You are the Easter Bunny.” What do I say? Before I can stop myself, I say the first thing that comes to mind.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I tell her while looking at her mom.

“What’s your mom’s name?” Why am I asking? What do I really think I’m going to do to make her happy?

“Braelyn, I won’t tell her what I told you because I want it to be a surprise. Bye, Easter Bunny.” Phoenix jumps off the bench and gets her picture from Lynn, the photographer, but I can’t take my eyes off of her mom. I want to make the little girl’s Easter wish come true, but how?

An hour later, I’m done playing the Easter Bunny for the day, so I go into the back of the shopping mall to change. I run my fingers through my sandy brown hair and head back out into the main part of the mall. As I’m heading for the exit, I can’t believe my eyes. Phoenix and Braelyn are only a few yards ahead of me. This is my chance, but what am I going to do or say that will make Braelyn give me the time of day? I start walking faster to catch up to them.

“Mommy, when is Easter?” I hear Phoenix ask.

“In sixteen days. Are you excited for Easter this year?” Braelyn asks as they go outside.

“Yes, because I asked the Easter Bunny for something special.” I’m so distracted listening to their conversation that I forget that I’m trying to find a reason to talk to them until Braelyn turns to look at me, and I almost run into them.

“Can I help you?” she asks, moving Phoenix away from me. Oh great. She thinks I’m a kidnapper.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” I reply. She nods and continues walking without saying anything else. Well, that didn’t go very well. How can I rectify this?

“I heard your little girl talking about Easter. I’m not sure if you know this, but there’s an Easter egg hunt at Regional Park tomorrow. It starts at 10 in the morning, and there are tons of eggs.” Braelyn looks at me with her eyes narrowed.

“Do you have kids?” she asks.

“No,” I reply.

“Then why are you hanging out at places with lots of children?” Well damn, I walked into that one.

“I volunteer at the Easter Egg hunt every year because I live in the area. My mom used to take me there when I was a kid, and it was a lot of fun.” Her face softens, and she smiles slightly.

“How much does it cost?” she asks.

“It’s free. They have areas separated for age groups, so the older kids don’t run over the little ones. Some of the eggs have numbers in them, and after the hunt, you take the ones with numbers to the prize tent and pick out a prize.” Phoenix starts clapping her hands excitedly.

“Mommy, can we go?” she asks. Braelyn smiles and nods.

“Yes, we can go. Thank you for telling us about it.” They begin to walk away, and I try to think of a reason to continue talking, but I can’t come up with anything. Well, at least I’ll get a second chance to see them tomorrow.

I head to my car and drive home. I would like to say I work hard for a living, but I don’t. I’m twenty-seven and a millionaire, but all of my money came from making good investments. I went to college and got a degree in business. My plan was to open my own company, but I had no idea what kind of company I wanted. Two weeks after I graduated, my mom died from a brain tumor. She had suffered from migraines and tension headaches her whole life, so she ignored the pain, thinking it was just one of her headaches. A week before she died, she saw her neurologist, who had her do some imaging, and they found the tumor. She was scheduled for surgery for them to attempt to remove it, but she died two days before her surgery was scheduled. My dad had died when I was a baby, so she was all I had. I was devastated when I lost her.

She left me a little money from a life insurance policy I didn’t even know she had. I thought about saving it, but I decided to take a chance and invest it instead. I invested in the right thing and ended up tripling the money. I just kept buying and selling stocks until eventually I was up to well over fifty million. I’ve never had a regular job because I haven’t needed one. However, I volunteer a lot. My mom was really into volunteering, and I would go with her. I felt like I owed it to her to continue even after she was gone. So I volunteer at soup kitchens, shelters, and the local children’s hospital. I dress up as the Easter Bunny and Santa every year, and I donate the checks they give me to charity. I also volunteer at the Easter egg hunt, and at Christmas, I do horse-and-carriage rides. It doesn’t snow in this part of California, but people like riding in the carriage, looking at the decorated houses, and drinking hot cocoa.

I sit down at my computer and type “Braelyn in California” into the search bar to see if I can find out anything about her. There are more Braelyns than I expected. I scroll through the images and find one that looks like Phoenix’s mom, but it’s from several years ago. It’s a news article about a man trying to kill his mistress and unborn child. I read what this Cole person did, and my body fills with anger. If he weren’t already locked up in prison, I would kill him myself. From the looks of the car, she and Phoenix are lucky to be alive.

After I’m done reading, I sit back in my chair and think as I look out my office window. I have a nice house, but it’s not overly big. I’m not one for wasting money on unnecessary things. I think back to my brief encounter with Braelyn. She asked how much the easter egg hunt costs. She is probably like most people, living paycheck to paycheck. I wonder if I can convince her to let me take her and Phoenix out to lunch tomorrow after the Easter egg hunt.

I’ve gone out with women, but after the first or second date, they all seem to be only interested in how much money they can get from me. I don’t flaunt my wealth, but I wear nice clothes and drive a nice car. Those seem to be a beacon for the vultures. I want to find a woman who wants me for who I am. Is that so much to ask? I can’t explain it, but I have a feeling that Braelyn is exactly the woman I have been looking for. Now I just have to convince her that I’m the man of her dreams.