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“Oh God, I hope they didn’t hear all of that,” I said. “I would be mortified.”
Mia laughed. “I don’t know. Would you be more mortified than you were when your face was all over the cover of those crappy tabloids last weekend?”
Before I could respond, Parker, Sophie, and Trey stepped out onto the balcony.
“I forgot how nice the view is from this room,” Trey said. “You guys ready to go pick out a puppy?”
“A puppy? I want a puppy!” Sophie climbed onto the chaise on top of me. “Mummy, I can’t see your face with those sunglasses on.”
“Sophie, baby, we’re not getting a puppy. Remember, we’re going to go get Grandma a puppy as a surprise,” I reminder her. “You gotta keep the secret, though, okay? When we go to the puppy place, you can’t tell Grandma it’s for her. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Mummy, but can I play with the puppy when we bring it back to Grandma’s house?” Sophie asked, climbing down off me. “Come on, Mummy. Let’s go.”
Trey scooped Sophie up onto his shoulders. “Let’s go find Grandma and tell her we’re going for a ride to show you the puppies. Parker, are you bringing Amoeba?”
“Of course, Amoeba is coming with us. She wants to go visit her mom and cousins,” Parker said.
“Cousins? What’s that?” Sophie asked Trey as they filed into the hallway to head down the stairs. Do I have one?”
From behind Trey, I explained that a cousin was when your aunt and uncle had a baby.
Sophie didn’t ask any more questions until we got in the car. I whispered to Mia “Wait for it,” and we laughed.
“Want to let us in on the joke?” Parker asked.
Mia leaned over to Parker. “Chloe said Sophie has been too quiet about a cousin, so Chloe said, ‘wait for it’,” Mia answered. “See, look at Sophie’s scrunched-up face over there. She’s thinking really hard about it.”
Almost as if on cue, Sophie spoke. “Aunt Mia, can I have a cousin? I need a cousin to play with, and Mummy said my aunt has to have a baby, and you’re my aunt. Wait. Mummy, do I have another aunt?”
It was clear to everyone in the car that Sophie had thought this through. Now she wanted an answer. Everyone turned to Mia.
“Maybe someday, Sophie,” was all Mia said, and it seemed to satisfy Sophie.
Chapter 73
Trey
“Grandma. Do you want to come play with puppies with me?” Sophie asked Mom. “Uncle Parker said Amoeba has to go see her mom and cousins, so I can go with him and play with the new puppies.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun. Are we going right now?” Mom asked, looking at her watch.
“Yes, we have to go right now before the puppies take a nap,” Sophie said, all smiles.
“Alright then, let me change my clothes so I can sit on the floor with you and the puppies,” Mom said, and left the room.
“Sophie, you did an excellent job helping us surprise Grandma,” I said. “Now remember to keep the secret even after we get there.”
“I will Dr. Trey. I like to surprise people,” Sophie said. “Can I bring Benjamin?”
“Yes, baby, Benjamin can come with us, but he should stay in the car so the puppies don’t get him,” Chloe said.
Mom had bought the notion that we were taking Amoeba for a visit and letting Sophie play with the new litter of puppies. The puppy breeder was so excited to see Amoeba. Parker introduced the family and explained how much everyone loved Amoeba, so much so that they wanted to come with us today to see all the puppies. Parker had called ahead to let her know they were coming to find a puppy for his mother, but it was to be a surprise.
“Do you mind if we go over to the maternity ward to see the puppies?” Mia asked with a wink at the breeder. She took Sophie by the hand, and they ran off down the sidewalk toward the puppies.
“There are so many puppies.” Sophie tugged on Mia’s shirt to bend down so she could whisper. “Which one is for Grandma?”
“Shh, remember it’s a secret,” Mia said. “We get to play with all these puppies until we find the perfect one for Grandma, so where should we start?”
