“Can we get a dog?” Micah asks, interrupting our peaceful moment.
“Dog! I want a dog!” Levi adds.
Everyone turns and looks at me as if I’m the ultimate canine decider. I stare back at them unsure what to say. My Bissell finally got a break; I really don’t want to sully our relationship with dog shit.
As if he can sense the impending no, Mike leans into me. “Every lad needs a dog.” He turns back to the boys. “I used tohave a dog when I was your age. It was a corgi named Benedick Longbottom the third. But I called him Benny for short.”
Oh shit.
I scrub a hand down my face, covering my mouth with my hand as I try to keep the boys from hearing me. “Shhh, don’t say that word. I’ll never get him to stop repeating it.”
“What word? Bottom?”
“DICK!” Levi shouts as Micah covers his mouth with his hand, looking horrified.
I drop my head, shaking it in defeat.
“Ohh, that one. Sorry.”
“He’s definitely getting kicked out of preschool for that one.”
“I guess we need to get them a dog.” He winks at me.
I poke a finger in his chest. “You’re cleaning up the poops.” I turn to the boys. “And you’re going to have to help walk it and feed it. And you’ll have to pick up your toys every night, so the dog doesn’t eat them.”
Micah looks horrified at the thought. “Is it going to make messes like Levi?”
“I don’t make messes. You make messes.”
“Do not.”
“Do too!”
“Lads, settle down. We’ll just get a dog that doesn’t make messes.”
I burst into laughter. I love this man, but he has no clue the chaos he’s unleashing with this plan. “This is going to be fun.”
“So, we’re getting a dog?” Micah asks, voice full of hope, green eyes round and pleading.
“I guess we’re getting a dog.”
Cheers erupt from all three of them, and I laugh at the thought of a dog running around every morning, eating floor eggs and scraps of bacon the boys sneak it under the table. I sigh. There’s no way I’m saying no to this.
I look at the clock on the microwave. “Bella’s going to be here any minute. Go brush your teeth and then get your shoes on, boys.”
There’s a knock on the door and Levi darts over to it, pulling it open before we can stop him.
“Hey, stinker!” Bella calls out as she walks in. Hardy started dropping her off on the way to work so we can carpool and then the guys ride in together.
Mike kisses my forehead on the way out the door. “See you tonight, Lucky.”
I’m totally aware of the lovesick look on my face as I linger in the doorway watching them pull out of the driveway, when Bella’s words slap me back into reality.
“Uhh, Lucy, we’ve got a situation in here. Code brown.”
Cocking my head at her, I walk over to the bathroom and immediately see what she’s referring to.
“Who pooped in here?” I shout into the void as the boys conveniently scatter, both shouting about brushing their teeth. Bella and I look at each other. “Sure, this is the one time they actually take dental hygiene seriously.”
