“Little sister?” she balks.
“Arko is six,” he says. “That makes him the big brother, if you think about it.”
Caleb gives us a printout of all his German commands. Luckily, there’s also a phonetic pronunciation guide next to each one. We all take turns learning the words for sit, stay, lay down, stand, and—Harper’s favorite—shake. Arko is a very well behaved dog, even though it’s obvious that he’d rather be playing ball right now. He keeps glancing at it on the ground, like he’s hoping one of us will throw it again.
After loading up the truck with his supplies, including a new travel crate, it’s time to sign some adoption papers and say goodbye.
“Just call me if you need anything,” Caleb says. “I have a feeling Arko will be very loved and happy at his new home.”
My chest aches. He doesn’t exactly have a new home…He’s going to be taking refuge at my in-laws just like we are. I don’t tell Caleb this, and neither does Jett. It feels wrong, like we’re lying to him. But I think we both feel the same way…he might not let us have the dog if we aren’t giving him an actual home right now.
But it’s okay, we’ll get him a home. Eventually.
At Jace and Bayleigh’s house, everyone is totally in love with our new dog. Jace’s little sister Brooke might be a little too excited about Arko. She can’t keep her hands off him, constantly wanting to play, pet, and hog all the attention away from Harper, who is not handling her jealousy well. It’s a good thing that Arko is getting lots of exercise tonight, but it’s never okay if my kid is unhappy.
After dinner, she comes to me with tears in her eyes. Crawling into my lap, she says, “I don’t like Brooke.”
“Oh honey, why is that?”
She pouts her bottom lip out and crosses her arms over her chest. “She’s playing with Arko too much. Arko is my dog!”
I wrap my arms around my little girl, constantly surprised and how much she’s grown in such a short time. “Sometimes we need to share, especially with family. Arko is new here and he’s just getting to know everyone and making friends.”
“He’s sub-bosed to be my best friend!” she says, making her pouty frown even pouty-ier and frown-ier.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
I’m also a little annoyed at how much Brooke is playing with Arko. We are in Brooke’s house after all, and it wouldn’t be right of me to tell her to leave our dog alone. But I don’t want Harper upset, either. This is the kind of mom stuff that always makes me feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. I didn’t have a mom to help me through rough times when I was her age. I draw in a deep breath and give her a soft smile. “I know it’s hard to see another kid playing with Arko, but guess what?”
“What?”
“When it’s time to go to bed tonight, guess where we put his dog bed?”
“Where?” she says, eyes getting wide with curiosity.
“Right next to your bed!”
She bursts into a smile, then looks confused a second later. “Wait, where is my bed?”
I’m not certain that she fully understands we’re going to be living here now until our house is rebuilt. I take her hand and put on a big smile so she doesn’t realize how much this situation sucks. “Let’s go see.”
Jett’s old bedroom is largely the same as the day he left it. Same bed, same TV, same dresser, but all the clothes are gone and the closet is empty. We bought our own new furniture when we got our own house, so there’s still a bed in here for us to sleep on. Across the room is a brand new toddler bed. It’s a simple pink frame, and the only thing they had at the first store we had time to go to before getting Arko. The sheets are also brand new, with dinosaur print, which is Harper’s favorite animal right now. Jett’s parents set it up for us while we were out picking up Arko today.
“Cool bed!” she says, jumping on the small mattress and pointing to all the different dinosaurs on the bed.
“And look what’s right next to it,” I say, pointing to the dog bed.
“Arko’s bed!”
“Yep!”
She looks around the room, taking it all in. She comes to her grandparents’ house all the time, but I don’t think they ever spend much time upstairs. “I want that bed!” she says, pointing to Jett’s old bed.
“That’s Mommy and Daddy’s bed,” I tell her.
Her frown comes back. “This is my new room.”
“Well, it’s our room, too. All three of us are staying in this room.”
