Still carrying her, I say. “Come on. I want to show you something else.”
“Puppies now?” she says excitedly. Her expression is so delighted that I know damn good and well that I’m gonna let her take one home with her today. I know I told my ma no and I’m gonna have to live with her making comments about it.
I carry her around the garage to the small shed tucked behind it. Husk is in charge of the kennels. He raises huskies, but he rescued a pregnant Labrador bitch a couple of months back. We can hear the puppies yipping and playing before we even open the door. When I open it, all five of them come racing towards us.
Katie laughs when they start tripping over each other to get to us first. “One of my club brothers rescued their mommy,” I tell her. “He brought the puppies here today because they’re ready for new homes.”
“Get birthday cake so I can have one now,” she says with a giggle.
That’s the longest sentence I’ve ever heard her say. Then again, she’s only three. I sigh, shrugging. “Just go ahead and pick one now,” I tell her. “You don’t have to wait for your birthday.”
She stares at me like I just told her the sky fell into her lap. “A puppy for me?”
“Yeah, you get first pick out of the litter. You’ve had a rough time. You deserve something good. Plus, she’ll grow up to be a guard dog.”
I’m not sure what Christina’s gonna think about that. But having a dog around would be a good extra level of security.
She kneels, touches each one in turn, while they clamor for her attention. She hesitates, as if she can’t decide which one to pick. Then one of the pups with big brown eyes and jet black fur takes off running and jumps right into her lap. Katie laughs with so much joy that it convinces me that I’ve made the right choice in letting her pick a puppy. That’s when I discover that part of being a dad is that your child’s joy becomes your joy because you just want to see them happy.
“She loves me,” Katie whispers, cuddling the puppy to her chest.
“She does,” I agree gamely. “If you want her, she’s yours.”
Katie just smiles, not taking her eyes off the dog. “She’s all mine.”
I’m not sure it’s a she, but I ride right past that small hiccup. “You made a good choice,” I tell her. “Let’s bring her upstairs and show your mama.”
Katie carries the happy pup carefully using both arms wrapped around its small body. I hover behind her in case she accidentally drops it, but she walks like she’s holding a rare and precious unicorn rather than a wiggling mutt destined to piss on all my rugs. When we get back to the suite, she takes the puppy straight to the rug in the living area and sits down cross-legged. The dog climbs into her lap like that’s the only place in the whole world it wants to be.
Christina comes out of the bedroom when she hears us. Katie beams at her. Christina smiles back, but her eyes flick to me like she’s trying to gauge my mood. I keep my face neutral, ‘cause I’m not about to spoil this moment for our daughter.
Christina kneels down beside her and I wait for her to ask me why I gave Katie a freaking puppy without discussing it first.
But she doesn’t talk about the puppy. She just gives it a scratch behind the ear. “Katie,” she says gently, “we need to talk to you for a minute.”
Katie looks up. The puppy curls into her legs.
“I keep the puppy,” Katie states sternly. In that moment, I see a little of Queenie’s attitude pop out. She’s more like my ma than I like to admit.
Katie moves closer to me and rests her hand on my arm without thinking about it. I don’t pull away because I know she’s just happy with me for gifting her with the much-coveted puppy she’s been dreaming about.
“She fell in love with one of the puppies and I just let her have it,” I explain. “You don’t have to help her take care of it. I’ll do all the dirty work.”
Christina’s expression turns into one of bewilderment. “Getting a puppy is exciting, but we have more important news to deliver. Try to stay focused.”
I don’t know why, but I’m shocked at her gentle rebuke. I’m not about to work out what she’s talking about until she starts talking about dads to Katie.
“You know how you didn’t have a dad around before,” Christina says.
Katie nods. “Just girl power,” she says, sounding glum.
“Yeah, I told you that so you would know girls can be strong and resourceful.”
Katie’s eyes have already glazed over. Her attention drifted back to her puppy pretty fast.
Christina looks uncomfortable and then starts again. “Well, it’s not just us anymore.”
When Christina begins to tear up, I take over. “Katie, what your mom is trying to say is I’m your dad.”
