Sam jumped up near their feet, sniffed their socks, and then, with all the drama of the breed, nudged their legs apart with his snout and then whined when they didn’t move fast enough for his liking.
“That’s dog-speak for ‘May I please lay down with you?’” I told them.
“My God. You two are so spoiled,” Megan said. But she quickly wiggled over, and when Sam flopped down in the space she cleared, she immediately started to pet him, just behind his ears, exactly where he liked it best.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Right. So, you didn’t do the thing you did last year when you got them both more presents than anyone else in the family?”
I was met with silence. Stacey – from what I could see of her profile – stared at the TV in wide-eyed innocence that I didn’t believe for a second. I couldn’t even see Megan’s face. She’d conveniently turned to lean her head on her wife’s shoulder again. Like she was hiding.
I put my hands on my hips. “And you definitely didn’t let them unwrap one of those presents early. Like when I was on the phone a minute ago?”
Right on cue, Fred padded around the couch with a brand-new toy in his mouth. He stopped in front of me and started chewing on it. It squeaked with every bite, each sound an exclamation point pronouncing the obvious.
“We can’t have dogs in our apartment,” Megan said, snuggling closer to Stacey.
“And so you spoil mine. I get it. But how about from now on you don’t complain about something you’re actively contributing to, grouchy pants.”
Her response was muffled and filled with attitude. “I’m not the grouchy pants. You’re the grouchy pants.”
Stacey met my eyes over her head. “She’sreallytired.”
***
“Do you mind watching the dogs while I’m out?” I asked Megan the next morning. We were all a little sleepy after an epic night of wine, card games, and catching up.
“Yes, I mind,” Megan answered.
“Wait, what? Seriously?”
I looked at Stacey across the kitchen. She shrugged and went back to sipping her second cup of coffee, opting, like always, to stay out of our sisterly drama. Wise woman.
“Yes, seriously,” Megan said. “I love them, but they’re a pain in the ass when you’re gone. Every time they hear a noise outside, they freak out, thinking it’s you, race to the nearest window, and then if it’s not actually you, they whine like someone threw all of their toys away and then mope around the house until the next noise comes along. It’s depressing as hell.”
Fred must have heard the word “toy”, because he pranced into the kitchen with his new squeaky, munching on it and looking up at me like it was playtime. Sam joined him, yip-growling around their tug-of-war rope.
Megan pressed her fingers to her temples like a headache threatened. “Also, I just need like five fucking seconds of quiet.”
I reached down and gently pulled the squeaking ball out of Fred’s mouth. That settled that. Megan was a creature of habit, and was used to the peace and solitude of her and Stacey’s dog-free apartment. She got testy when her routine was upended, and after the stress of traffic yesterday, the excitement last night, less than six hours of sleep, andbarking dogs first thing in the morning, I could understand why she was already dropping f-bombs. I needed to hightail it out of there with the boys, especially since we’d all be together romping through the woods later. The last thing I wanted was for her to be overwhelmed on her first day here. It might ruin the rest of their trip. Once Megan got into serious anti-social mode, it was hard to snap her out of it.
“Okay. I’ll take them with me,” I told her.
She exhaled heavily. “Thanks.”
Yes, thanks,Stacey mouthed from behind my sister.
I nodded at her.
“We’ll be back in a few hours then,” I said, and headed toward the front door.
I didn’t expect it to take nearly that long at Ben’s, but I could head to Jack’s afterward to give Megan more time if need be.
I bundled up against the cold – it was only 10 degrees outside, puke – and then opened the door and let the dogs out ahead of me. It took a while for the truck engine to heat up in weather like this, and after I buckled the dogs in, I decided to text Ben.
Hey, it’s Ella. I have the dogs with me. I can drop them at Jack’s before I head over if you like.
A few minutes passed before he responded.No, that’s fine. I figured you’d bring them. I’ve already dog-proofed the house.
LOL, that’s adorable. They’ll find something to get into no matter what you do. Sorry in advance.
