It started two days later at dinner. One of Julie's chores was to set the table, and that night, Eric and Tami both found a piece of paper on top of their placemat. The heading at the top said:

Julie Taylor's Christmas AND Birthday Wish List

Soft coated wheaten terrier puppy.

Below that was a list of breeders some in Texas, some as far away as Canada, along with prices per puppy. At the bottom was a list of reasons for getting a puppy. Eric snorted as he read through them, then fixed Julie with his 'Coach's Eye.' "C'mon now, your birthday's six months away and then it's nearly two more until Christmas."

"I want a soft coated wheaten terrier puppy. That's it. That's the only thing I want."

"Really? Tim McGraw's gonna be having a concert in Austin the last week in September. That could be an early present for you."

"Ewww. I don't like him. He's a drunk and he's been cheating on Faith."

Tami's eyes widened. "What? Where did you hear such a thing? They've been married forever."

"That doesn't mean that he's been faithful to her the whole time or even at all."

"Well, where did you hear about him being a drunk or drinking?"

"It was on one of the message boards about him a couple of months ago. And I don't want to go see Tim McGraw or anyone else in concert. I want a soft coated wheaten terrier puppy."

"So since you want it, you're gonna take care of it. That means you're gonna pay for its food and toys and all the vet bills and leashes and such, right? That's has to be a few thousand dollars a year, where are you going to get that money? You're too young to get a real job, and there's no way your allowance is gonna come anywhere close to covering the costs and no, you're not getting an increase in that."

Julie's eyes fluttered and a tear oozed out the corner of her left eye and crawled down her cheek. "Fine." She pushed back from the table, took her plate and glass to the kitchen, washed them off, then went to her room and closed the door.

Eric looked at Tami. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You forget sometimes that she's your daughter and not one of your players," Tami said as she got up and went and knocked on Julie's door, then opened it and went in.

Later that night, Eric knocked on Julie's door, and opened it after Julie said, "Come in." Eric sat on the edge of her bed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did at dinner. I guess I was still in coach mode." Julie didn't say anything, so Eric reached over and took the book out of her hands. Everything You Need to Know about Wheaten Terriers was the title. "You get this out of the library?"

"No, I bought it, actually I had to special order it, and it came in to Barnes and Noble last week."

"Why do you want a dog, Jules? Do you really know how much responsibility goes with having a dog? It's like having a baby to take care of."

"We've never had any pets, dad. You and mom said I couldn't get a rabbit, and then there was the rat that I wanted."

"You wanted a rat for a pet?"

"My fourth grade class had one and it was so sweet and smart. They had to put a lock on its cage because it kept getting out. And it's like all my friends had pets, a dog or dogs, cats, birds, Lisa Kimble even had a snake, but we've never had anything."

"Well, it's…it's a couple of things. Dogs, any pet is a big responsibility, like I said. I'm not saying you're not a responsible person, but this is a big step. And there's also the money issue. Because pets aren't cheap. Even a goldfish, a fish tank costs a few hundred dollars. I looked over your wish list again and the lowest price for a wheaten puppy is $990, and that's before we get into food and toys and licenses and vet trips and building a fence and all that. We'd be looking at a couple thousand dollar investment, and there's the other thing of not knowing if we're gonna be staying in Dillon."

Julie frowned. "Are you getting fired or did you find another job on the other side of the state?"

"No, it's just…the life of a football coach, any coach is pretty transient and unstable, you can get fired even if you do win a lot of games. But I haven't heard anything about my being fired and neither has your mom and while I always have an ear to the ground in terms of coaching jobs being available, I haven't heard anything. And I like it here in Dillon, and the people here."

"Even Buddy Garrity?"

Eric started to shake his head. "Buddy…well, a little Buddy goes a long, long way. A very little. But he's a'ight. Look, it's okay for you to be upset about this, but for right now, for the foreseeable future, if you ask about getting a dog or a pet, the answer is no. Do you understand my reasons for saying no?"

"Yes. Dad does that mean I have to stop asking you and mom for a wheaten puppy?"

"Like your mom or I could stop you? You got her and my stubbornness. I just wouldn't start doing it tomorrow." Eric leaned over and kissed Julie's forehead. "I love you. To the moon and the stars."

"I love you too, dad."