Lucky Dog
"Good morning sweetheart" Melinda says as she gives Olivia a kiss on her cheek.
"Good morning" a sleep Olivia says. "What time is it?"
"It's 5:30am"
"What're you doing up so early?" Olivia asked.
"I'm sorry, I know I promised we'll spend some family time together this weekend but, I really need to go in for a few hours to catch up on some paperwork".
"Babe, what time will you be home?" Olivia asked.
"No later than 1pm" Melinda said, before giving Olivia a kiss goodbye. "Tell the girls, I will make it up to them, we will go to McDonald's for breakfast tomorrow". Melinda leaned in for another kiss, this time Olivia deepens the kiss.
Melinda pulls back from the kiss "Honey, if you continue to kiss me like this I'm not ever going to leave".
"That's the idea" a smiling Olivia tells her.
"See ya soon, love you" Melinda says, as she walks out the master bedroom.
Olivia falls back on the pillow and fast to sleep. Olivia is awakened by the voices of her eight year old daughters, but doesn't open her eyes.
"Mommy…Mommy" Taylor said.
"See, I told you she was still asleep" Mackenzie said to her sister.
"Mommy" Taylor said again as she tapped her mother on the shoulder.
"Yes" Olivia said with one eye open.
"Can you fix us some breakfast?" Taylor asked.
"Okay, what's it going to be Fruit Loops or Captain Crunch?" Olivia asked as she got out of bed.
"Grits, eggs and bacon" Mackenzie said.
"Okay…grits, eggs and bacon it is" Olivia said as she kissed each of her daughters on the forehead.
"Where's mommy Mel?" Taylor asked Olivia.
"Melinda had to go into work this morning but she'll be home for lunch okay"
"Okay" Taylor said.
While Olivia cooked the girls' breakfast, they watched cartoons in the living room.
"Time to eat" Olivia yelled from the kitchen.
"Good, I'm starving" Mackenzie said, as she and Taylor ran into the kitchen.
After breakfast, Olivia cleaned the kitchen. The girls were upstairs taking baths because Olivia had promised she'd take them to the park. Everyone got dressed and off to the park. The girls really enjoyed themselves and Olivia got a chance to take pictures of them playing and having fun. On their way home, Olivia stopped by Gabbie's house. The girls wanted to see their 12 week old cousin.
"Aunt Gabbie" the girls said as they ran up to her.
"How're you guys doing?" Gabbie asked. "Nice to see you Olivia, where's my big sister?"
"She's working, she'll be home in an hour. Sorry, for dropping in like this but the girls wanted to see Brianna".
"No problem. Brianna and Kevin are in the living room" Gabbie says. "Tommie is on the back with Rocky and Lucky"
"Who's Rocky and Lucky?" Olivia asked.
"A friend of ours gave Tommie two Yorkies. I told him, we can only keep one and he needs to find a home for the other" Gabbie says.
The girls play with their cousins for a while and goes on the back to see Uncle Tommie.
"Uncle Tommie, I like your puppies" Mackenzie says.
"Thanks Kenzie, you want to pet one of them?" Tommie asked her.
"Yeah" a wide-eyed Mackenzie says. Mackenzie bends down on her knees and starts petting one of the puppies. "Uncle Tommie what's her name?"
"Kenzie, It's a him not her. His name is Lucky" Tommie tells her.
"Lucky" Mackenzie says softly. "I like that name, he's so cute, isn't he Taylor?"
"Yeah, he is cute" Taylor says as she begins to pet Lucky.
"Hey babe" Tommie says to Gabbie. "Looks like we found a home for Lucky"
"Oh no" Olivia says. "Melinda doesn't like dogs and besides they're a big responsibility"
"Please mommy…please…can we keep him" Mackenzie says to her mother.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, we can't keep him. "I'm sure Uncle Tommie will find a good home for Lucky"
Mackenzie eyes fills up with tears, which is something Olivia hates to see.
"Please mommy…I promise I will take care of him" a sobbing Mackenzie says to her mother.
Olivia bends down and lifts Mackenzie chin. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry but we just can't keep him" Olivia says.
Those words coming from her mother's mouth broke her heart. Mackenzie begin to cry even more as tears fell down her face.
"Tommie, see what you did" Gabbie said to her husband with the evil eye.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean too. I just figured Taylor and Kenzie would like a dog for a pet. I should have just kept my mouth closed" Tommie says to his wife.
"Don't worry, she'll get over it" Olivia tells her brother-in-law. "we gotta be going, Mel will be home shortly. Girls say goodbye to Uncle Tommie and Aunt Gabbie".
Olivia and the girls walk to the car. Mackenzie is still crying as they get in the car.
"Buckle up girls".
"Mommy" Mackenzie says.
"Yes, sweetie"
"You're not being fair".
Looking through the rearview mirror Olivia explains, "Mackenzie, a dog is a very big and I mean very big responsibility. I'm at work all day, Melinda works all the time and you girls have to be at school during the day. Lucky isn't house broken yet, who's going to do that?"
"We will mommy, I promise, we will. Won't we Taylor" Mackenzie says.
"Yeah" Taylor replies.
"The main reason we can't have a dog is because Melinda doesn't like dogs" Olivia tells her daughters.
"She doesn't like the neighbors down the street but she still speaks to them" Taylor says.
"Ok, that's it. No dog." Olivia says, as she puts the car in reverse and backs out the driveway.
The drive on the way home was very quiet. Taylor had dosed off to sleep but Olivia could still hear the sniffing coming from Mackenzie. Olivia was heart-broken when she saw her daughter through the rearview mirror. Mackenzie eyes were red and had swelled from the crying. Olivia could see the dried up tear stains on her daughters face. They were one block away from home when Olivia turned the car around.
"Mommy, where are we going now?" Mackenzie asked.
"We're going back to aunt Gabbie's to get Lucky" Olivia said.
Mackenzie eyes opened wide. "Really, really mommy, we're going back to Aunt Gabbie to get Lucky?" Mackenzie said, leaning forward.
"Yes, we're going to get Lucky and bring him home with us"
Mackenzie screamed so loud it scared Olivia and woke up Taylor.
"Taylor, we're going back to aunt Gabbie's to get Lucky" Mackenzie said to her sister.
"Yeeeeeessssss" Taylor said.
Olivia and the girls went back to Gabbie's house and retrieved Lucky. On the ride back home, the girls were playing with Lucky. Olivia could see how happy her daughters were, especially Mackenzie. Olivia knew, she'd have some explaining to do as soon as Melinda sees Lucky. Olivia pulled into the driveway and they all exited the vehicle, including Lucky.
"C'mon Lucky" Mackenzie said. "C'mon boy"
After jumping out the car, Lucky begins to vomit.
"Mommy look, he's throwing up" Taylor says. "What's wrong with him?"
"He got car sick. It's okay, he's only 10 weeks old and it's probably his first time in a car. Don't worry, he's going to be okay". Olivia told her daughter. "Now, lets go in the house".
They all went in the house and Olivia told the girls to keep Lucky upstairs. She told the girls, she wanted to tell Melinda about the dog before she sees him. Olivia went down stairs to fix lunch and ten minutes later Melinda walks in the house.
"Hi honey" Olivia says.
"Hey babe" Melinda says as she walks over to Olivia and kisses her. "What's for lunch?"
"Chicken Enchiladas"
"Mmm…sure smells good" Melinda says as she pulls Olivia in close to her. "Hey, I was thinking... we haven't been to the movies in a while and you said you wanted to go see that one movie, so how about it?
"What about the kids? They're too young for that kind of movie"
"Don't worry, Ursula said she'll watch them for us" Melinda said.
"Well…"
"Well, what? You don't want to go?"
"Mel, it's just….."
"Mommy, you're home" said Taylor.
"Hi honey, where's Kenzie?"
"She's upstairs with…"
"Which you should be" Olivia cuts Taylor off before she says anything else.
Taylor walks over to Olivia. "Mommy, I need to tell you something"
"What is it?" Olivia says.
"It's a secret, can I tell you in your ear"
Melinda looks on as Taylor whispers something in Olivia's ear. Melinda becomes suspicious because she knows Olivia doesn't like the girls whispering and now, Taylor is whispering in her ear.
"Mommy, we can't find Lucky" Taylor whispers. "I think he's in your room"
Olivia asks Melinda to watch the food while she takes care of something upstairs. Olivia and Taylor heads upstairs to help look for Lucky.
Meanwhile in the kitchen...Melinda opens the refrigerator to get a bottle of water. When she closes the refrigerator door she sees her shoe in the middle of the kitchen floor and walks over to it.
"How did this get here and what happened to my shoe" she thought to herself.
She calls out for her wife, "Olivia…Olivia"
Olivia comes down stairs, "What is it Mel?"
Melinda holds her shoe out, "What happened to my shoe and how did it get down stairs?"
"Ahh…"
Before Olivia could say anything, Melinda cuts her off…. "It looks like a dog has been chewing on it".
"Ahh…Ahh.."
Before Olivia could say anything again, Melinda feels something licking her leg. She looks down to see Lucky licking her. Melinda screams and jumps behind Olivia, holding on to her tightly.
"What is that dog doing here?" Melinda asks Olivia.
"Mel, please let my neck go. I can't breathe" Olivia says.
"Sorry…but why is that dog in our home?" Melinda says. "Olivia, don't tell me you…"
"Mel, I had no choice" Olivia says with a sad look on her face. "I took the girls to Gabbie's to see Brianna and Tommie had these two puppies there and the girls fell in love with him. So, I bought him home with us"
"Liv, you know I do not like dogs"
"I know, I know. But, if you could have seen the look on Mackenzie's face. It was hurting me to see her so sad. So, I decided to turn around and go get him" Olivia says.
While Olivia and Melinda talk, the girls listens in from the living room.
"Mel, look at him. He's so cute and friendly"
"Liv"
"Mel, did you know I've wanted a dog for three years now? The only reason I haven't gotten one is because I know you don't like them. You never told me why you don't like dogs" Olivia says.
"I don't like dogs because they bite and they bark too much" Melinda says.
"What if we train him not to bite and we take him to obedient school? He's young and it's the perfect time to train him." Olivia says to Melinda.
"Ok, who's going to house break him?" Melinda asks Olivia.
"We are" Olivia says as she gives Melinda a kiss and attempts to walk away.
"Liv…come back here"
Olivia picks up Lucky before walking back to Melinda. "Look at him Mel, look at those puppy eyes of his. He's so sweet, he wouldn't hurt a fly" Olivia tells Melinda.
Melinda couldn't help but fall for Lucky's big brown puppy eyes. She sees Mackenzie and taylor standing in the living room.
"Come here you two" Melinda says to the girls.
Mackenzie and Taylor walk into the kitchen and sits at the table and Melinda sits down next to them.
"Do you know a dog is a big responsibility?"
"Yes ma'am" the girls both say.
"Do you want to keep Lucky?"
"Yes ma'am" they say again.
"Ok, you have to promise you will help me and mommy walk the dog, feed the dog and help keep him groomed. If you can promise to do those three things, you can keep him" Melinda says.
"Yes, we promise mommy. We will do it" Mackenzie says.
"Ok, it's a deal. You can keep Lucky"
Taylor and Mackenzie jump out of their seats and give Melinda a hug and a kiss.
"Thanks mommy, you're the best" Mackenzie says to Melinda. She then turns and look at Olivia, "Oh and you're the best too mommy".
"Okay girls, take Lucky out back and let him run around in the back yard to burn off some of that energy of his" Olivia tells her daughters.
"C'mon Lucky, lets go boy" Taylor says.
Olivia walks over and sits on Melinda's lap. "I'm proud of you" she says to Melinda.
"Why, I didn't do anything"
Olivia cups Melinda's face and looks deep into her eye, "You did more than you think" Olivia said before kissing her wife. Melinda deepens the kiss as Olivia turns and straddles her. They sat there kissing each other for about five minutes before Olivia broke the kiss.
"We have to go to the store" Olivia says.
"Why?"
"We don't have anything here for Lucky. He needs food, toys, clothes, and we have to get him one of those body holster" Olivia tells Melinda.
"And don't forget about the pads to house train him" Melinda tells her.
"We can all go after lunch" Melinda says.
"No…we can't" Olivia tells her. "Lucky got car sick earlier, so I'll go and you can stay here with him and the girls".
"Liv"
"Oh c'mon Mel"
"Okay, since you insist" Melinda says smiling at Olivia.
After lunch, Olivia headed out the house straight to Pet Smart. The girls were playing with Lucky in the house and Melinda was on the couch in the living room on her laptop. She became drowsy and quickly fell off to sleep. Melinda felt something wet brush against her face. She opened her eyes to find Lucky licking her face.
"Get down, get off me" Melinda said.
Lucky jumped on the floor and laid there looking at Melinda with those big brown puppy eyes. He began to cry.
"Ok, Ok. C'mon, you can get back up here" Melinda says.
Lucky jumped back on Melinda and started licking her face again. "Don't think I'm going to fall for that sad puppy face again" she tells Lucky.
Olivia returns from Pet smart to find Melinda playing with Lucky. "See, I knew you'd like him" Olivia says. "He's a good dog".
"He's one Lucky Dog" Melinda says as she continues playing with Lucky.