July 4th 2021

Chapter 185
Our Space For Home

Cara arrived shortly after the little dispersed group was brought back together and joined by the last two of their canine passengers. The pair of Irish setters were two-year-old siblings, a male and female named Darby and Ginger.

While Tanya and Mateo went away to get them, Maya and Lucas were left to take in the outcome of their visit. Lucas saw Artie come along and immediately understood how he'd become part of the family. As for Squeak, well… Marianne had come along carrying her as she walked down the hall, stealing looks to her mother and to the three-legged dog, and she'd looked so happy that it would have been impossible to tell her no… if that had ever been his intention. Later, they would reason that when they had adopted Trix and Lou it had come down to 'we both picked one,' and here today they'd done the same, so naturally she'd gotten to pick hers, too.

The three dogs were strangers to one another except for having stayed in various points of the shelter for however long they'd all been here, and they all had their own temperaments. But they were brought together and even if they still had to get to know one another they did look as though they would gel very well. Artie had been keeping an eye on the small girl carrying the smaller dog as she walked at his side, as though he wanted to make sure he wouldn't knock them down as he went. At the same time, Marianne would look over whenever she saw him looking and she would treat him to a smile. Meanwhile, when Jax saw the rest of them coming along, saw the other dogs, he trotted off to meet them. He took one look at Artie and maybe guessed at his hesitation. He turned to Marianne and leaned in to get a look at Squeak. She barked, and Jax responded in a tone they took as an eager hello, like energy recognizing energy. Give them the space and they'd just run and run, zipping every which way.

"Here we are," Tanya arrived, leading the two setters along. If the scene hadn't been chaotic enough as it was, with three dogs and one tiny dog-loving toddler, adding two more dogs was like throwing caution to the wind. Marianne looked like she didn't know which way to turn and stop anymore, and neither did the dogs, and it was both crazy adorable and way too funny to watch. "This here is Darby," Tanya told them all even as she directed the introduction to Marianne. "He loves his walks, always ready to go. He's… a funny guy, let's call it that. Gets spooked easy, confused, too, but you know what, so do I," Tanya whispered. "And this here is Ginger. She's a bit of an explorer and everyone jokes that she might be part bloodhound. She will find anything."

Marianne stepped up to the brother and sister and put Squeak down in front of them before crouching to pat her head. Darby responded by lying low, until he was at the small dog's eye level, and crawling the few steps to get closer. Ginger turned a look to Squeak, then to Marianne. She came and sniffed at the girl, gave her a greeting kiss that made her laugh.

"So far, so good, huh?" Maya whispered.

"Right up until those two have to leave," Lucas whispered back. Maya couldn't deny that, but then they could deal with it, couldn't they? Those dogs deserved to be in their home if they could be and that was just how it was.

Cara was a bit startled by the sight of the five dogs, but at the same time she didn't look all that surprised. Maya reminded her that two of them were fosters, for as much of an argument as that made. Anyway, the number only mattered for the length of time it took Cara to tease her sister and her brother-in-law. After that, she was so eager to meet each dog, so happy to know they'd be coming to their house, that 'the more, the merrier' was never so true as it was here.

Mateo would accompany Cara to bring the two setters in Lucas' car, while Maya, Lucas, and Marianne would bring the trio in the minivan. Marianne wanted to keep hold of Squeak as she was put in her seat, but her parents didn't think it a good idea, in case she let her go and the small dog went flying. The compromise was established with Maya sitting in the back next to Marianne, holding Squeak in her lap where she could be seen. The most they had to deal with in disruption was Jax, who clearly loved car rides, but even then, it was nothing they hadn't seen. All in all, the spirit in the minivan was a collective sense of joy. They were going home. They had a home, and a family.

They had to make one stop before they got to the house, no way around it. They were going to need supplies. And food… a lot of food. Lucas and Mateo teamed up for this, figuring they could make this go faster as far as knowing what would be best for all these dogs they now had to tend to. They returned after ten minutes, and then it was on to the Friar house.

They couldn't say for sure who they were most curious to see meet the new dogs, Crowley or Granny Lizzie. Both cases would have their brand of amusement, wouldn't they? Crowley had never met a dog he didn't like right away but going from a one-dog household in recent months up to six dogs all at once… that'd be a big change, for all of them. And then Elizabeth, oh… There was a reason why doing this in the summer had been ideal. Maya would be home more, and she could assist in helping the new dogs adjust to their home without just dumping the task into her grandmother's hands. She wouldn't have minded, no, she loved dogs and had been looking forward to this day as much as the rest of them, but it would have felt like a lot to put on her if the rest of them were gone from morning to night over these next few days and weeks.

Cara and Mateo had a mostly relaxed drive up to the house, as they would tell them after they arrived. As for the Friars in the minivan, with the trio… The distance from the shelter to the pet store had been just short enough for the issue not to present itself, but in the trek from the store back to the house on the lane, it was soon discovered that Artie did not enjoy car rides. He grew agitated, which started Squeak barking on and on, and then that got Jax to act up, too, when he'd been enjoying the breeze of the open window just before. With all three dogs being this way, it was no wonder that Marianne started to cry, and after that… well, there was not much to be done except for Lucas and especially Maya to do what they could to calm everyone down by the time they reached home.

"Okay, okay, stop right here," Maya called as they turned and reached the fences outside Sanderson Farm. "I say one of us walks them the rest of the way and the other takes Marianne and drives."

"Want me to take them?" Lucas agreed. Maya looked to Marianne, who'd stopped crying by now but looked ready to start again at any second.

"Yeah, okay," she breathed.

Getting the leashes on them turned out to be a lot easier than he expected it would be, but then maybe they were all as eager to get out of the minivan as the next one. Lucas got them ready to go and then they were off, walking on home, while Marianne was pulled from her seat for a minute or two, the better for Maya to get her good and calm again.

"That was so much noise, wasn't it?" she asked in a hush. "Oh, but they're alright, okay? Or they will be. This was just… well, it was a big moment for all of them. You're so good with all of them though, and I think you're going to be perfect to help us help them. After a while… hopefully… everything will be so good," she promised, keeping that calm tone as she held the girl in her arms. Marianne held on, too, held like she'd really just needed this so much. Maya kissed the top of her head, rubbed her back… She'd be alright. By the time they got home, she'd see the dogs again and the giddiness would return.

Lucas would look back over his shoulder a few times as he made his way up the road, checking to see whether Maya was coming up with the minivan, but she was still parked out there, and he could see her standing outside with Marianne. If it went on much longer, he might go back and get the minivan after the dogs were handled up at the house, either driving the two of them back with him or letting Maya walk home with their daughter if that was the way to go. As far as the dogs though…

They definitely perked up for this bit of walking. Lucas had always believed that this was simply a really good road for dogs to walk on, certainly had been for Crowley… Trix and Lou, too… He looked forward to these more 'crowded' walks already. It might have to become a two-person task while they had Ginger and Darby with them.

They had already arrived, and as he came walking along the road, Lucas could see his sister-in-law and her boyfriend standing just by the mailbox, looking out to him and probably the minivan in the distance, too, wondering what was going on. Mateo came jogging over to meet him before long.

"Who was it that had…" he started to ask, but then his eyes zeroed in on Artie. "I should have known," he shook his head, crouching in front of the dog and running his hand along his back. The dog knew him from the shelter, of course, and he welcomed the touch.

"It's alright, don't worry about it," Lucas insisted. "It was just more than any of them expected. Anyway, this is good here, isn't it?" he asked the trio, so much calmer now, energized. Squeak gave her little bark, Jax' tail was wagging like he was directing an ode to spring. "How's it going out there?" Lucas nodded to the house. "Crowley meet your two?"

"He did. You'd think he'd never met another dog and he was really excited that he did now," Mateo reported, which made Lucas laugh. "Cara's got her phone, she recorded the whole thing."

"Great, actually, can you get these guys up there? I'm just going to…" Lucas pointed out the minivan.

"Yeah, no problem," Mateo took the leashes as they were handed to him. Lucas took off to rejoin Maya. As curious as he was for this meeting, this arrival, he didn't see himself blamed for wanting to check on his wife and daughter even more.

Maya was in lullaby mode as he approached. He could hear her singing lightly, and when she signed with one hand to explain that Marianne had been nearly asleep and she'd decided to get her the rest of the way, Lucas nodded and pointed to the minivan. They climbed in, and driving very slowly they continued on toward home, the better to get their new family members settled in, grand tour and all.

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners