August 12, 2017, 3:42 PM

"That's not a real word," Beth complained, looking down at the Scrabble board with a frown.

"Of course it is," Will replied matter-of-factly. "A kaon is-"

"Don't explain it," Beth interrupted with a sigh and a wave of her hand. "I won't understand anyway."

Beth looked down at the scorecard. Of course Will had dropped the K on a triple letter score, but even so Beth was still winning, barely. She crossed her arms and stared at her tiles. She glanced up briefly as she heard the doorknob turn.

"About time Jack came home," Will mentioned, pointing to the board. "Your turn."

"I'm thinking," Beth barked defensively, looking back down at her tiles. Her concentration was broken as she heard a loud crash, which she assumed was Jack, and a very familiar sound that was definitely not Jack. Beth looked up just in time to see a white blur racing toward her, and she barely had time to jump out of her chair before it tackled her, sending her crashing to the floor.

"JACK JOYCE."

Jack's raucous laughter echoed from the end of the hallway, where he was still sprawled out on the floor. With some quick help from Will, Beth was able to free herself from her attacker, though much to her distress she discovered that the struggle had jostled the table enough to have knocked all the Scrabble tiles off of the board.

"Jack, I was finally winning!" Beth complained, quickly taking a moment to get her bearings. Will was holding what appeared to be a very large, very wiggly puppy. An abandoned leash dangled from the collar around its neck. Beth scowled, then stalked toward Jack, staring at him a moment as he continued to laugh. "Are you drunk?"

"You should see your face," he told her between laughs, pointing up, then bursting back into laughter.

"Jack Joyce, did you drunk-adopt a dog?" she asked in exasperation. Beth turned back to Will for support, but he just shrugged.

With a roll of her eyes, Beth reached down to grab Jack's shirt and hauled him to his feet. She regretted the decision as he almost immediately fell forward into her, nearly knocking them both over. She groaned with exertion as she helped steady him.

"He's cute," Jack told her, a giddy lopsided grin spreading across his face.

"Jack, it's not even four o'clock and you are falling down drunk, and... and..." Beth gestured dramatically at Will and the puppy, "you brought home a dog."

"His name is Gerald," Jack explained.

Beth looked at the dog, then back at Jack. "Oh no, that dog's name is not Gerald." Beth turned and looked pleadingly at Will. "Say something."

"It's a good dog," Will replied, shrugging lightly as the puppy tried to lick his face. Beth growled in annoyance.

"Come on," Beth ordered with a grumpy sigh, half-dragging Jack into the living room and finally managing to deposit him on the couch. He continued to chuckle as he sank into the cushions.

"What are we going to do with this dog?" Will asked as Beth stalked away from the couch, phone in hand.

"I don't know," she replied, "but I am going to fucking kill Paul Serene."

August 12, 2017, 7:52 PM

Jack groaned as his eyes fluttered open. "What year is it...?"

"That's a loaded question," Beth replied from the dining room. She got up from the table and headed toward the kitchen.

"I'm gonna kill Paul," Jack mumbled, putting his arm over his face.

"Get in line." Beth returned from the kitchen with a glass of water, setting it down on the coffee table before moving to the end of the couch. "Move your legs."

Jack carefully pushed himself into a sitting position, careful not to move too quickly. He couldn't remember how much he'd had to drank, but his stomach was telling him not to test it. "How'd I get home?" he asked after a moment.

Beth laughed loudly, much to his surprise. "Tell me you don't remember anything."

Uh oh. "I remember Paul losing really badly at mini-golf, and then he dragged me to a bar, and..." Jack paused. "Oh. Oh no."

"Oh no is right," Beth repeated, crossing her arms and giving him 'the look'.

Jack popped his head above the couch and quickly scanned the room. "Where is it? Did you...?"

"Will is taking Toto for a walk."

"Wait," Jack began, squinting his eyes to drown out the light. "Did... did you name the dog after yourself?"

"Well we definitely weren't keeping the name Gerald," she explained matter-of-factly.

Jack stared at her for a moment. "So... we're keeping him...?"

"You wanted a dog, apparently," she responded with a shrug and a subtle roll of her eyes.

"I would hug you," Jack told her with a childish smile, "but I'm afraid if I move too quickly, I'll throw up on you instead."

Beth shook her head with a laugh. "You know, I'm extremely impressed that you drunk-bought a dog and dog food," she told him with a smirk. "You are a very responsible drunk."

Jack chuckled to himself after a moment. "I just remembered how he literally knocked you over when I got home."

"Of course you had to remember that," Beth sighed. "How old is that dog, anyway?"

"I think they said six months."

"How big are pit bulls supposed to be at six months?" Beth asked incredulously. "That thing is like a bulldozer."

"I picked him because he reminded me of you," Jack explained with a grin.

Beth rolled her eyes again. "Drink your water, Joyce."

Jack repositioned himself and laid back down with his head in Beth's lap, with only a weak objection.

"If you think being cute is going to get you off the hook-"

"You think I'm cute?" Jack interrupted.

"Not the point."

"You think I'm cute," Jack repeated with a grin.

Beth sighed loudly, running her fingers gently through his hair. "You are lucky that I do."

"Yeah, I am lucky to have you."

"That's not what I meant," Beth replied, trying to hold back a smile.

"So, you named the dog Toto..."

"My dog, my name," Beth told him with a smirk.

Jack chuckled. "I'll deal with it."