Page 20 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

I let her skip school on Friday.

While all of the moms were coming in, I didn’t force her to have to sit there and see it. Instead, we went and bought a puppy.

I’m a sucker, I know it, but I have the means to do what it takes to make her happy, and that’s my single goal in life when it comes to her—happiness and to feel love.

“Why not?” I shrug. “Her ankle is healed, so Vivi can walk her, and since school is about to end for the year, they’ll have all summer together.”

Vivi’s therapist told me that getting a dog would be great for her emotional growth. Oftentimes, with childhood grief, children can lock up their emotions and become withdrawn. Not that there’s a wrong way to grieve because there isn’t, but research shows that loving an animal allows them to emotionally be themselves without relying on another person. Of course, I immediately felt guilty for not giving her this sooner, but at the same time, I’m not sure either of us were ready. We both struggled through the change and only recently have seemed to settle.

“Seems like it might be working,” Tyler says as we glance under the table where Vivi tucks the sleepy puppy up against her chest with a fabric sling. Camille taught her this. There’s no way I could have.

“We bought this one from the same breeder as Reid, so send good vibes our way.”

At this, Vivi pops up from under the table and takes her seat.

She finally looks at Tyler and decides to acknowledge him. “Hi, Uncle Tyler.”

“What’s up, squirt? I see you have a new friend there.” He reaches over and gently pets the top of the puppy’s head with his fingers.

“Yes. Her name is Molly.” She looks down at the puppy with her eyes full of adoration.

“Ah, Molly is a good name. I once knew a girl named Molly. She had the best—owww! What was that for?” he growls as I’ve kicked him under the table.

“Neither of us wants to hear about any girls you used to know.” I give him a flat look.

Vivi giggles, and my heart squeezes. I don’t think I will ever get tired of that.

“Are you laughing because he kicked me?” he asks her like he’s put out.

“Yes,” she says, her grin growing larger.

“Happy to know that you find him inflicting pain on me is funny.” He scowls.

She picks up her Sprite, takes a sip through a straw, and sets the glass back down. “Did Uncle Jonah tell you what I made for him this week?” she asks, almost shyly.

“Noooo,” he draws out dramatically, giving me a fake exasperated glare.

“Pot holders. My teacher gave each of us a small loom, and we weaved them in class.”

His eyes get large like this is the best gift idea he’s ever heard of. “That’s awesome! You know I love it when your uncle cooks. Your house is my favorite place to have dinner.” He smirks at me.

She grins. “Can you guess what color they are?” she asks, running her hand over her forehead to push back some of her fine blond hair that has fallen in her face. Her face looks so much like John's, but Ashley's too.

“Black like his soul?” he teases.

“Bro, seriously? I don’t have a black soul. Tell him, Wildflower.”

She giggles again, and a breeze drifts over us, pushing that hair back into her face. She swipes it again, and this time, when she smiles, it’s large and happy and shows her teeth. Well, almost all of her teeth. Earlier in the week, she lost an incisor on the top, and now she has a cute gap.

“No! I made them teal and white.”

Tyler leans back in his chair and nods like he’s so proud of her choice. “Ah, to match our team colors. Smart girl you are. Jonah, I think we have a fan for life.”

I smile at Vivi, and she smiles back.

Tyler is so good for her. In every sense of the expression, he is the fun uncle. I’d like to think that I was at some point, bringing her presents and making her laugh, but now it’s just different.

I wasn’t surprised by the potholders. She always brings home art and homemade things from school for me, and I always go out of my way to make her feel like these things are special to me. Instead of shoving them into a drawer, we found a place for them on the counter next to the stove.