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Before either one of them could say anything else, Cameron turned to them, his brown eyes shiny with excitement. “I like this one.” He pointed to a dog (at least Mimi thought it was a dog). It was medium sized and gray and sort of…ugly. She hated thinking that, but it was true. It wasn’t even cute ugly. Nor was it cuddly or small. His tongue hung out between his mouth and he was panting heavily.
“Why is he breathing like that?” Mimi asked. “Is he sick?”
“He looks lik
e a bulldog mix,” Zeke said. “Or a pug, maybe?”
“That’s Toby,” Lanie said. “He’s kind of a sad case. His former owner took a job as a merchant marine and had to leave him behind. He’s three and very sweet. And no, he’s not sick. That just the way he breathes. He’s neutered and up to date on his shots, too.”
“Does he shed?” Mimi asked. “Because he looks like he’s the kind of dog that sheds.”
“Well…”
“How’s his bark?” Zeke asked.
“I have no idea,” Lanie said. “He’s been here a couple of weeks now but I don’t think I’ve heard him bark. He’s a little depressed, I think. Not unusual considering he’s probably missing his owner.” She opened up the crate and put her hand on the dog’s head. He seemed to enjoy being petted (at least Mimi thought he did), but he didn’t wag his tail so it was hard to tell. “I’ll be honest, you’re the first people who’ve shown any interest in him.”
Oh, Lord. Talk about a guilt trip.
“He seems tame enough,” Mimi said. “But he’s a lot bigger than what I wanted. Maybe, we could come back next week? Will you have more dogs then?”
“But he’s the one I want,” Cameron said. “Please. I promise, I’ll do everything and I’ll even vacuum the house if he leaves his dog hair everywhere.”
Mimi looked to Zeke for guidance, but he just shrugged as if to say this was her decision.
“Please, Mom,” Cameron asked again.
“Okay, sure. Why not?” she heard herself say.
“If Cameron can have Cujo then can I have this little cat?” Mimi turned around to find Claire holding a kitten in her arms. “She’s so sweet!”
Mimi had to admit, it was adorable. Tiny and furry and looking at her with the sweetest little olive colored eyes.
“You’re leaving to go to school in seven months, remember?”
“Seven months is a long way away. And you said yourself cats were way easier than dogs. They practically take care of themselves!”
“I don’t know, Claire.”
It was so impractical! Getting a dog and a cat at the same time. She knew how this would end. In about a week, Claire would tire of the kitten, and yes, even though cats weren’t a lot of work, Mimi would still be stuck taking care of it and emptying out the litter box.
Mimi waited for Claire to come up another argument or plead with her the way Cameron had, but instead Claire’s face took on a resigned look. Like she knew Mimi would say no anyway. And that tactic worked better than any pleading or arguing could have.
“Oh, all right,” Mimi said. “I guess one little kitten isn’t going to hurt anything.”
“Really?” Claire’s voice hitched with excitement. “I going to name her Buttercup, from The Princess Bride.”
“And I don’t want to confuse him, so I’ll just keep his name Toby,” Cameron added, scratching the dog behind his ears. Toby drooled in response.
“Great!” Lanie said. “Normally, there’s a twenty-four hour waiting period to check out your paperwork, but hey, if we can’t trust the mayor and the chief of police, who can we trust? I’ll be right back.” She scurried off to her office, leaving the four of them, or rather, the six of them alone.
Mimi glanced over to catch Zeke staring at her. “What?”
“You’re just a big old softie, aren’t you?” he said.
She looked down at their two children, both of whom were now on the ground playing with their respective new pets. They both seemed so happy. Which of course, made her happy. She could almost pretend everything was back to the way it used to be. When they were all happy.
A part of her wished she could go back to being the kind of wife who could compartmentalize her life and put everything in its own neat little square. Then she could take each square out whenever she needed it. But that didn’t work anymore.
