“How’s it going?”
“Oh, fine,” Sasha said, sighing a little. “I swear she said doggy earlier today, so I’m trying to get her to do it again, but she’s stubborn. Maybe we need to walk next door and pet the neighbor’s dog again, so she has a visual.”
“Not a bad idea. Or we could just adopt a dog ourselves.”
“What?”
“It’s just an idea,” Callie went on. “When we were at the park earlier, she seemed to get really excited every time someone walked a dog past us, and if she likes the neighbor’s dog too, maybe that’s a sign we should get one. Could be fun, don’t you think?”
Sasha’s face lit up. “Wait—are you serious?”
Callie shrugged. She hadn’t realized this comment would warrant such a reaction. “Sure, if you like dogs.”
“I love dogs!”
“Okay, then why not? I love them too and Joshua finally seems ready to have another pet after having to put down his farm dog last year.”
Sasha grinned and scooped her baby girl up into her arms. “You hear that, Dot? We’re gonna get you a puppy! Isn’t that so exciting?”
Dot beamed, but most likely because her mom was smiling and not because she understood.
“I’m glad you like the idea.”
“I love it.” She looked at Callie. “We were never able to have a dog growing up since we moved so much. But I think it would be good for Dot, and it’ll give me an excuse to keep up with my daily walks even as it gets colder.”
“Great. Then we can go to the shelter whenever you want.”
Sasha grinned. “Wow. That was so… easy. I would’ve thought this was the kind of thing we’d have to talk about for a while, or plan for.”
“I don’t need to think about it all that much. I’m all about just doing what makes you happy these days,” Callie said. “After everything that happened last year, I think we all deserve to focus on that for a while. And it’s not like I haven’t been thinking about it. I know getting a dog is a big decision, but it’d be nice to have a little creature to take care of when you and Joshua are working and Dot’s sleeping the day away.”
“Count me in!” Sasha said excitedly. “But anyway, are we leaving for the BBQ soon?”
“Yeah, I just need to go change and Joshua is finishing up with the food.”
“I’ll go help him.” Sasha paused on her way out the door, looking at Callie’s wrapped finger. “You okay?”
“Oh, yeah, just a little cut. I’ve got band-aids upstairs, although even if I put a dozen of them on, it won’t be enough to calm Joshua’s nerves.”
“I believe that. When Dot had a cough last week, he kept insisting that we take her to the doctor.” She laughed. “It was sweet, but who knew he was such a worrier?”
“He just cares a lot.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” She smiled up at Callie. “Just like you.”
Over the past year, Callie and Sasha had grown close. She may not have beenherbiological daughter but they truly had a special bond. Plus, she was thrilled with her role as Dot’s caregiver. Sasha still worked at the bookstore, but now she was also enrolled in classes at the community college, which kept her quite busy. Callie taught one class a semester, which was plenty these days. She thought about retiring every now and then, but for the time being, she enjoyed going to campus once or twice a week and having an excuse to pick up some of her favorite classic books.
Callie told Sasha that she’d be ready in five minutes and then hurried upstairs. Shortly after, just as she was finishing loading up the car, she got a text from her daughter.
Mallory:Are you on your way?
Callie:We were just about to leave.
Mallory:Can you pick up a bag of ice on your way? I totally forgot. James and I have been cleaning and getting the house ready all day today and, of course, it slipped my mind to run to the gas station.
Callie:No problem. We’ll grab some.
Mallory sent back a thumbs up and Joshua turned the key in the ignition. “Everyone buckled up?” he asked, looking over his shoulder to confirm that Sasha nodded. “Alright, then let’s hit it.” He pulled out of the driveway and took a right, heading towards town.
