I just picked Lexi up from school. A lot of things had happened since Lexi met my family. A month later, we got a cat. Lexi and I insisted on the name, Jackie. A couple months after that, Lexi started kindergarten. Of course, Tommy's in her class, so she can still torture him every day. And now she has 2 new friends. There's Olivia and Penny. So here you are right now, 2 weeks before Lexi turns 6. "Okay, Lexi. We're going to the pet clinic to pick up Jackie," I tell her.
While I'm driving, I noticed in the mirror that Lexi looked worried. I ask, "Is everything okay?"
"Is Jackie okay?" Lexi asks, worriedly.
"She's fine. She just needed an appointment," I tell Lexi.
We arrive at the pet clinic. Once we come in, the owner of the place had a disgusted look on her face. "What?" I ask her annoyedly.
"You can't come in here unless you have a pet," the veterinarian tells me.
"We do have a pet. We came here to pick up Jackie the cat," I tell the veterinarian.
"Oh! You're too late, because we killed him," says the veterinarian.
"What does that mean?" Lexi asks, tearing up.
"Not now, Lexi," I tell her. I look at the veterinarian. "You what?!" I ask in disbelief.
"Did I stutter? I said 'I killed him'!" the veterinarian yells.
Lexi starts crying because of all the yelling. And then I start crying because of my cat's death. "Can we not do this in front of my daughter? She doesn't know what this stuff means," I tell the veterinarian.
"Then get her out of here!" the veterinarian shouted at me.
"Get in the car, Lexi! Just get in the car," I command to Lexi.
Lexi runs off, sobbing. Then, after a couple seconds of fighting, Quinn and Jamie walk in. "What's going on? Why is Lexi crying?" Quinn asks.
"She killed our cat!" I shout, pointing at the veterinarian. "And Lexi's crying because this liar is yelling in front of her!" I shout.
And then Jamie and Quinn joined the fight. After 2 minutes, I stomp out to the car. "I'm not ready to tell you what this stuff means yet, Lexi. Let's go to Tommy's and I'll tell you later," I tell Lexi.
While I was driving, Jamie and Quinn pull up. "Where do you think you're going?" Jamie asks me.
"We're going to Tommy's," I tell them.
"You are not going to Tommy's, you are going to our house right now!" yelled Jamie.
So then I follow Jamie and Quinn, and here we are. "Quinn, I want you to tell Lexi what all this stuff means," I tell Quinn.
Quinn sits next to Lexi, and I stand where I am right now, wondering what's going to happen. "Am I going to see Jackie again, Quill?" Lexi asks Quinn.
"No you're not, Lexi. The pet clinic killed Jackie. That means he got a cause of death," Quinn tells Lexi.
"What's death?" Lexi asks Quinn.
"Death means the state of being dead," Quinn tells Lexi.
"And... what does dead mean?" Lexi asks, tearing up.
I jump into this part. "Sweetie, dead means Jackie is no longer alive," I tell Lexi.
"Alive means live right?" asked Lexi.
I sigh. "Yes, sweetie, it does. But now Jackie is in heaven. That's out of Earth. It's where everyone goes after they die," I tell Lexi.
Lexi starts crying again. "I'm going to miss Jackie," she says.
"I know you will, Lexi. I know you will," I tell Lexi.
"Can we get another cat?" Lexi asks, feeling better.
"Yes we can. We'll get a new cat on Saturday," I tell Lexi.
