“I thought Zach wrote code for them to avoid it.” He actually said picking up poop was below a robot’s paygrade.
“Stop!!” Beck bellows. “How do you stop that fucking thing?!”
“Sounds like Edward decided it was time for—”
“—shit to hit the fan,” Willow continues.
“Sounds like it.” With a deep sigh, I pull Willow closer to me, laughing softly at what my brother is dealing with in the kitchen. For a while we hear angry voices, doors being slammed, rummaging in the kitchen that I hope is the sound of Beck cleaning up.
I fall asleep holding my wife close to me, not worried about what tomorrow will bring.
The next morning, Willow and I get up early. We find Griff sitting on the floor of a clean kitchen, cuddling a puppy. “I let them out,” he says. “They’re pretty well trained. Did their business and came right back in, but they’re whiny."
“They’re just hungry,” Willow says as she pulls out their bowls and I get their kibble.
While we take care of feeding the dogs, Griff makes coffee. “What’s this one’s name?” he asks.
“That’s Maple,” Willow answers. “He’s our little troublemaker. I’m surprised he let you hold him.”
“So, are you keeping them?” Griff asks.
“No! No-no-no.”
“But aren’t they getting a bit… big?”
“They’re still young,” Willow declares. “We’re not sure about Muffin and Maple yet. There’s no rush.”
Griff raises his eyebrows and glances at me. I shrug back. If Willow wants to keep the dogs, we’ll keep the dogs.
“Myrtle over there will move to Chris’s at some point. Skye pretty much claimed her right away,” Willow adds.
“Skye… that’s Chris’s daughter, right?” Griff says.
“That’s right. His fiancée, Alex, adopted her, and they had a baby last spring. Ivy.”
Griff has missed so much since he moved away. I’m a little sad for him about it, but if that’s what he wants for his life, who am I to judge? I used to resent him, be angry even. I’m past that. It’s time I rebuild our connection. Time I stop acting like the older sibling slash substitute parent. We’re all too old for this shit. I’ve kept it going for too long, and all it’s done was create a wedge between us.
The front door slams shut, the whole mansion shaking. “I’m gonna take a wild guess that your lovely stepmother chose to have breakfast elsewhere,” Willow says.
Good riddance. My stomach suddenly growls, and I realize I barely ate last night. I open the fridge. “Who wants scrambled eggs?”
Just then, the kitchen door opens and Lane pads in. “I’ll have some, thank you. Hey, I just saw Gail from my bedroom window, hauling her suitcase to her car. Mission accomplished?” She crouches and pets Myrtle. “Come here, you. I bet she scared you last night. Awwww.” With a sigh, she adds, “They grew too fast. I can hardly carry them now.” Myrtle plops on her back with a goofy grin, and Lane gives her a belly rub.
With a grunt, Calla stands up and goes to sit on Willow’s feet.
“We should repurpose the puppy carriage for Calla to pull the babies around town,” Willow says.
“What babies?” Griff asks.
“Alex’s,” I say quickly.
“And mine,” Lane says.
Griff frowns. “You… you’reexpecting?”
Right then, Beck barges into the kitchen, hair a mess, shirt open on his bare chest.
Lane turns her attention back on Myrtle. “I was waiting for the right time to tell you.”
