It was a perfect summer day with a clear sky and warm weather under the sun. Jack and Erica had ridden their bikes down to the nearby forest. Jack parked his bike next to a tree and put the kickstand down so it wouldn't fall over while Erica was right behind him, dropping her bike on the ground. They both ran through the trees, the leaves crunching under their feet as they ran down the hill. It was one of their favorite places to play because there were always interesting things to find.
Erica went down to the creek and grabbed a large stick as she knelt by the water, watching it flow over the rocks. A frog jumped in her line of sight and she quickly reached out, catching it in her hand. "Jack, look!"
The boy ran over to his sister and sat down to get a better look at the amphibian. "Woah. That's so cool. We should bring it home, it could be like our pet and we can take care of it."
"Remember last time we brought home an animal and Mom got mad?" Erica pointed out. She tightened her grip slightly when the frog started to struggle. It felt slimy in between her fingers, and the frog's large eyes stared straight ahead as it contemplated an escape plan. They've caught a lot of animals here or in their backyard and usually let them go except once.
Jack giggled at the memory as he shook his head. "She's just scared of snakes."
There was rustle between the trees in front of them making them both freeze. "What was that?" Erica whispered.
"I think it was a deer…" Jack mumbled.
She let go of the frog, letting it jump back into the water. Erica quickly got up and then leaped over the creek with her brother following her. They both ran towards the noise, hoping to find the animal that caused it. Erica stopped, looking between the trees when she heard another noise, but there was nothing there. She sighed, hitting the ground with her stick in disappointment. "Maybe we should just go back."
Just as they turned to return to the creek, Jack was suddenly knocked to the ground. He broke the fall with his hands, scraping his knee in the process. He turned to see what had knocked him over and he felt his face being licked.
"Puppy!" Erica smiled, kneeling to pet the dog that was on top of him. The golden retriever faced her to lick her face as its tail wagging in excitement. "We should bring the dog home!"
"Yeah! Mom can't say no to a dog," he got up and scratched behind the dog's ear. Jack noticed the green collar around the animal's neck and then read the tag. "Look, they already come with a collar and everything. It looks like her name is Daisy."
"Daisy? I like that name." The dog panted, staying close to the kids as she looked around and Erica hummed. "We should go home and get water."
Jack nodded in agreement as he got up from his spot on the ground. He wiped the excess dirt off of his shorts and then followed his sister. They walked back to their bikes with the dog at their side. On the way home, Jack kept his pace slow next to Erica as she walked with her bike and the dog.
They were never allowed to have pets. Their parents believed ten years old was too young for a big responsibility, but this dog found them. It was fate and they couldn't say no to fate. Their dad was understanding so he wouldn't be mad. Their mom on the other hand might need convincing. Jack was already planning to use his begging face because she could never say no to him when he used it.
–
The twins took their bikes up the driveway and put them in the garage. Erica watched the dog sniff its new surroundings, finding interest in the tubes of tennis balls Chandler kept. "Maybe we should keep her in my room till we know what to say. I don't want to give Mom a heart attack."
"Good idea, I'll go in first and distract her. Then you can bring her upstairs and I can bring water. Maybe a snack." They agreed on the plan and Jack went in the back door, taking his shoes off before going to the kitchen. "Hi, Mom."
Monica looked up from her magazine and smiled, "Hey Jackie. You're back so soon? Where's your sister?"
"Uhh, she's in the garage. Putting her bike up." Jack opened the fridge to look for something they could give to Daisy. He didn't know a lot about dogs, all he could go off of was what he's seen his friends give to their dogs.
Monica was about to go back to reading when she noticed his shorts. She walked around the island and knelt in front of him, examining his dirt-covered shorts. His knee was scraped and starting to bleed. Cuts and scrapes were inevitable with kids who played outside as often as they did, but it didn't make it easier to see her kids hurt. "Honey, what happened? You're covered in dirt, are you okay?"
"Yeah, we were by the creek and I-I tripped over a tree root." Jack looked over his Mothers shoulder and saw Erica coming in the back door with Daisy by her side. He continued to ramble to keep his mothers attention on him as Erica went towards the living room. "That's why we came home so I could get a band-aid. I don't want to get it infected, can you help me?"
"Of course, let's get you cleaned up Sweetie." Right as Erica started her way up the stairs, Monica directed Jack towards the bathroom downstairs.
He sat on the counter, watching his mom look through the first aid kit. It seemed like a good time to introduce the subject of a pet while she was in a kinder mood. "Do you think, maybe, one day we could get a pet? Like a family pet."
Monica sighed, gently cleaning his knee. "If you could get a pet, what kind would you want to have?"
"A dog. They're friendly and cute. My friend Jonathan has one and I play with it when I go over to his house." Jack flinched slightly when she put antibiotics on his open wound.
She chuckled slightly, unable to argue with his logic. "I have to talk to your dad about that one. However, if we end up getting a pet, it won't be for another few years. Having a dog is a lot of responsibility. You have to feed it, groom it and they have to get the right amount of exercise. We would all have to work together to take care of it. Plus, most dogs shed and I haven't thought of a good way to keep our house clean with all that hair."
"But I know we can do it. Erica and I are good at sharing chores and we can take the dog out to the creek for walks. I promise we're super duper responsible!"
"Let me talk to your dad first, it's a big decision. Okay?" Monica kissed the band-aid she had placed over his scrape. She cleaned up the bathroom counter and then ruffled his hair as they walked out. "Go change your clothes and put your shorts in the laundry room so I can get out those dirt stains."
"Okay," he muttered. Jack went to the kitchen first, getting a cup of water and slices of cheddar cheese then ran upstairs. Instead of changing clothes, he went straight to Erica's room. Daisy was laying on her back, panting happily as Erica rubbed her belly.
"You took forever," Erica crossed her arms.
"Mom was getting me a band-aid. Plus, I got food and water." Jack sat next to Daisy and gave her the water first.
She rolled her eyes and watched the dog splash water on her floor as she drank from the cup. Then she noticed the cheese in his hand and her eyebrows furrowed. "Cheese?"
"Yeah. I saw Jonathan give his dog cheese once so they like it." Jack let Daisy sniff the slice of cheddar before she practically scarfed it down. He giggled at the feeling of the wet tongue on his hand. "See?"
"What are we going to tell Mom? I was thinking we could come up with a feeding schedule to show that we're really serious. Then when Dad gets home from shopping, we can beg him until he caves, which shouldn't take very long."
"I talked to her a little. She said that she would talk to Dad about getting a dog, so maybe she's already open to it. I bet if we told her, she'd be excited." He kept his eyes on Daisy as she walked around Erica's room, sniffing everything.
They heard the back door close and their parents talking downstairs and they knew their father had just gotten home. At first, they froze, unsure if it was a good idea to go down to greet him like they normally do, when they heard him coming upstairs they began to panic. "He can't see her yet, what do we do?"
Jack quickly looked around the room and grabbed Daisy's collar to walk her into Erica's closet. He quickly shut the door the second Chandler knocked on her door before coming in. "Hello children."
"Hi Daddy," Erica smiled as she quickly hugged him.
Chandler wrapped his arm around her, looking at Jack by the closet. "Mom told me about how you tripped, is your knee okay?"
"Uh-huh," Jack nodded. "Much better."
"That's good. She's still looking for your shorts Bud, why don't you go change?" He asked. Chandler kissed the top of their heads before going back downstairs to help unload groceries.
Erica sighed then grabbed her purple notebook, with a lantern from the movie Tangled on the cover, and a pencil. "You go give Mom your shorts so she can clean them, I'm going to make our schedule."
He nodded and then let Daisy out of the closet. The golden retriever ran around the room, excited to be let out. She quickly walked around the room, sniffing everything before stopping in front of Erica laying on the floor. When Jack opened the door to leave, Daisy's ears perked up, and saw the open door. She practically bolted out of the room, out to explore more of her new surroundings.
"No!" Erica shouted. "Jack, why did you do that!?"
"I'm sorry!' He followed his sister, chasing the dog down the stairs. Jack stopped halfway down when he heard his father scream from the kitchen. "That doesn't sound good…"
Erica looked at her brother, now scared of what was going to greet them downstairs.
–
"Mon, why is there a dog in the house?" Chandler asked, standing on one of the dining room chairs.
"I'm not sure. She's adorable though, don't you think?" Monica smiled teasingly. She was kneeling next to the dog, scratching behind her ears. "You don't have to be so dramatic, she seems like a sweetheart."
"You know I don't like dogs…" Chandler muttered, unable to look away from the animal licking Monica's face. "That's so gross."
She rolled her eyes, ignoring her husband as she read the tag on the collar. "I bet the twins know something about this. Jack was asking me about getting a dog earlier today."
Daisy walked around the kitchen, smelling anything in her path until she got to the dining room table. She looked up at Chandler, wagging her tail as she sniffed his jeans. He quickly stepped down on the other side and quickly went to the corner of the room.
"The answer is no," he said firmly.
"Jack! Erica!" Monica yelled out. She gently took Daisy's collar and guided her away from the table for Chandler's sake. "You need to relax. She's not going to hurt you."
"You don't know that," he said with a slight quiver in his voice.
The twins walked into the kitchen, their hands behind their backs. They tried to look as innocent as possible, hoping they wouldn't get in trouble. Jack looked between his mother and Daisy then smiled, "Did you get us a dog?"
"That's funny, I was going to ask you two the same thing," Monica said, sitting next to Daisy again. She held her away from Chandler as she continued to scratch behind her ears. "Did you guys bring this dog home?"
Jack and Erica glanced at each other, each wondering who would speak first. Jack looked at his mother's questioning face and broke, "We found her."
"In the woods," Erica explained.
"Yeah. And she was hungry."
"Jack gave her cheese."
"But you said you would talk to Dad about it."
"Did you?"
Monica looked between them, slightly amazed at how in sync they were. The hope in their eyes made it harder to tell them the truth, but it didn't seem like Chandler would be convinced anytime soon. "I haven't had the chance. But-"
"Please Daddy!" Erica turned to Chandler, moving next to his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "We'll take real good care of her I promise."
Chandler has always been terrible at saying no to the twins, but this wasn't negotiable. Dogs have always been one of his biggest fears ever since he was a kid. He was about to refuse, but the desperation in his daughter's face tugged at his heartstrings. "Monica…"
She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling. He didn't need to say anything for her to understand his dilemma. Now he was asking for her to tell the twins they couldn't keep the dog so he wouldn't have to. "Oh, no. I think you should tell them. It's a good teaching moment for you."
He sighed as he accepted his fate of being the bad guy in the situation. "Unfortunately, we can't keep the dog."
"No!" The twins whined.
"This isn't fair! We're responsible. We always do all our chores and we do our homework and get good grades." Erica crossed her arms, tears filling her eyes. "Are we bad kids?"
"No, no, no. It's not you sweetheart." Chandler quickly knelt in front of her, gently brushing her hair from her face as she started to cry. "I can get you a different pet, anything you want, just not a dog."
"Why not? We want a dog!" Jack hugged the oblivious dog, burying his face in her fur.
"Because…" It seemed ridiculous, but he didn't want them to know his fears. Erica seemed to look up to him as if he was someone unstoppable. Chandler thought about the drawings she used to make of him flying over the trees like a superhero. Now that image was about to come crashing down because he was scared. But he needed them to feel safe with him, that they could tell him anything, even their fears. It wasn't fair for him to hide his own. He took a deep breath, worried about how they would react. "Because I'm scared of dogs."
Erica sniffed and looked up at him, confused. "Are they dangerous?" She mumbled softly.
"They can be. I don't know what they're thinking, it's hard to tell what they'll do next-"
"Chandler," Monica warned.
He huffed slightly, glancing over at the golden retriever lying down between his son and wife. "In general, dogs are safe. They love kids, don't they? This dog was nice to you, right?"
"Yeah. She's the best dog ever," Erica smiled, but it faded quickly. She leaned against his chest and fiddled with a button on his opened button-up. "But, I don't want you to be scared. Maybe we could get a small pet, like a bird."
"A bird?" He chuckled, putting his arm around her waist. "We can look into getting a bird."
Monica smiled softly, proud that Chandler was able to handle this so well. She gently rubbed Jack's back, knowing he was upset. "This dog also already has a home. So we should bring her back because I bet her family misses her."
"How do you know?" Jack mumbled.
"Her home is on the back of her nametag," she said as she flipped the bone on Daisy's collar over to show the address carved into the metal. "It's going to be okay, honey."
"I don't want to give her back, we've bonded." he huffed.
Erica furrowed her eyebrows, marching over to her brother. "We can't be dog stealers, we'll go to jail."
"Maybe I wanna go to jail!" Jack protested dramatically, laying on Daisy's back.
"Don't be dumb!" Erica sat next to him. "We can get birds at the store and we don't have to go to jail at all. Or we can get hamsters!" She smiled, excited by her new idea.
He looked up at his sister, thinking about her offer. They both ignored their mother's panicked reaction at the idea of having small rodents in the house. Jack finally nodded, "Okay. I'll get a hamster for my room and you can get one for your room."
"I like that idea," Erica agreed. She got up off the floor, going back to Chandler in the corner. "Daddy, we're getting hamsters instead."
Chandler glanced over at Monica, unsure if she would be okay with that. It seemed like a better option than a dog and with the right amount of research, he believed they could be good pet owners. "Let's take the dog back home first."
–
Chandler opted to stay home while they took the dog back so he didn't have to be near the animal. Daisy walked between Jack and Erica, panting as she followed them. Monica held Jack's hand, walking down the sidewalk with them since it was only a few blocks away.
There were things she's grown to love since leaving the city and walking the neighborhood was one of them. Before walking the block was cramped, and loud and the sidewalk was disgusting. Now, it was peaceful and calm. The sound of birds and kids playing instead of honking horns and angry New Yorkers. Sometimes she would take walks with Chandler as the twins rode their bikes ahead of them and she knew they made the right decision. Even with the stray dog with them, she was enjoying walking with her kids on such a nice day.
"Mom, are we going to be in trouble?" Jack asked out of the blue.
She looked down at the boy next to her, "What would you be in trouble for?"
"We stole someone's pet dog. I feel bad. What if they get mad at us?"
"You didn't steal her. I think she accidentally got out of their backyard and got lost in the woods. Since you found her, they'll probably be grateful," Monica reassured.
They approached a two-story traditional-style home and Daisy seemed to recognize it. She ran up the steps to the red front door and sat in front of it, waiting for the door to open. Monica and the kids followed her and then rang the doorbell.
There was the sound of kids shouting on the other side of the door before a woman opened it and immediately saw her dog. She let out a sigh of relief, kneeling to greet the excited dog, "Daisy! We were so worried."
"We found her in the woods," Erica said softly. She looked up, past the woman at the two girls their age watching from the hallway. "We took good care of her, I promise."
"Yeah, we gave her water and cheese," Jack explained.
The woman chuckled, petting the dog in her arms. "Oh, she loves cheese. Thank you for bringing her home."
Monica realized she'd seen the woman at the kids' school from PTA meetings and when picking them up. "It's not a problem at all. Will we see you at the bake sale next weekend? I heard your cookies are amazing."
She looked up at Monica for the first time and smiled when she recognized her. "Yes, the girls are excited to help me out. I can't make that many cookies by myself,"
"My Mom is the best cook in the world," Jack crossed his arms. "She even wrote a whole book about it."
Monica chuckled, embarrassed by his compliment because, yes, she had written a cookbook. Having two kids while working the intense restaurant hours hadn't worked very well for them. When the kids were almost two, she left the restaurant and then wrote her recipes down in a book that was published two years later. She wasn't Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray, but the book still sold well. Her publisher even recommended writing a second book, so that's what she was currently working on. "Well, I'm sure she's a great chef too, Jack."
"I'll have to grab a copy the next time I'm at the bookstore. I've heard great things. Thank you again, for bringing Daisy back," she said sincerely.
"Not a problem at all," Monica smiled.
They said their goodbyes and started to walk back home with Erica chatting about how excited she was about their pet hamsters. Monica wasn't thrilled about the idea, but she didn't know how far this would go. Sometimes they were excited about something one day and completely forgot about it the next.
–
It seemed like the twins weren't going to let this one go however because the next morning they were up, sitting at Chandler's computer. Jack and Erica were sitting in his desk chair as he leaned over them, watching the screen. "What's going on in here?"
Chandler looked up and smiled at the sight of her. "We're doing some research for their pets. I thought they needed to learn how to take care of their animals."
She hummed, walking over to him. "Are we still getting hamsters?"
"Yeah!" Jack smiled. "They live for up to three whole years, sometimes longer if they're taken care of."
"They like to eat fruits and vegetables and some nuts. And you have to clean the cage once a week to avoid it smelling," Erica pointed out. She held up a piece of paper with a chart drawn on it, "We already made a cleaning schedule to add to our chores."
"They're not very social so we're keeping them in our rooms so they're separated. And we found a real big cage to give them a lot of space." Jack continued to share everything they learned about keeping hamsters in a good home. The proper bedding, toys, nesting areas, a large wheel for exercise, and hiding places.
Monica leaned on Chandler with a tired sigh, "As long as you keep them out of the kitchen and promise to clean their cage."
"Mom. It's on the chore chart," Jack said earnestly, referring to the chore chart like it was the law. "There's no point in having a chart if we don't follow it," he muttered.
Erica shook her head in disbelief that her mother would suggest they would break the rules of the chart. "Plus, we can't have them out of their cage for that long, they won't go in the kitchen."
"If they forget, we can just remind them," Chandler shrugged.
Both of them were pretty good at doing what they needed to do. Jack helped Monica with dinner, Erica helped Chandler with the dishes and both of them helped with folding their laundry. It was one of the ways Monica was able to keep her house up to her standards since having the twins. The chart was created by Chandler, to let them know what chores they had and to keep track of what's been done without it being overwhelming. It helped that Jack was turning out to be like Monica. He loved things clean almost as much as she did. So, she trusted them to be able to take care of their pet.
"Okay, after we eat, we can go to the pet store." Monica kissed Chandler's cheek before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast.
–
Chandler printed out a complete list of what they would need at the store, but Jack wanted to be in charge of holding it. He took his job very seriously as they walked around, filling the shopping cart that Monica had with different items. Chandler pushed another shopping cart for all of Erica's things like the large glass cage with a mesh top held together with wood. It barely fit in the cart so everything else was put inside the cage. Bags of bedding, food bowl, sandbox, wooden toys. Both of them seemed to be following what they had read online to the letter.
When they got to the cages they saw all of the different hamsters moving around or sleeping in separate cages behind glass. When one hamster with orange and white fur came up to the glass, Erica stood on her toes to watch it and her eyes widened. "I need this one!"
"That one?" Chandler watched the animal chew on a piece of carrot. "What are you going to name it?"
"Charlie. I like that name, don't you?"
"It's definitely interesting for a hamster," he commented.
One of the workers came over, asking if they needed any help. Monica watched as 'Charlie' sniffed Erica's finger she was offering. "We are here to get two of the…hamsters."
"Great, do you know which ones you're thinking of getting?" The young man asked.
"I'm getting this one," Erica smiled at the orange and white hamster.
He smiled at her, grabbing a temporary travel cage off of the nearest shelf. "Oh, she's my favorite. She always greets me in the mornings."
Erica watched him as he took off the blue plastic lid and then opened the cage. He gently picked up the hamster and put her inside the temporary cage. Her tiny claws scratched against the bottom of the small plastic cage as she moved around her new environment. The man handed the cage to Erica and she held it with caution, scared of hurting the animal somehow.
"Which one do you want, Jack?" Monica asked softly.
He sighed, trying to decide between all of the hamsters available. His eyes landed on a gray one climbing up a ramp, "Is that one a girl too?"
"Yup, they're all female. Is that one you want?" The worker asked.
He nodded, grabbing Monica's hand. Jack watched him put the hamster in a separate small cage and he gently took it from him. "Can I name her Sidney?"
"Sure baby, you can name her anything you want," Monica gently smoothed the back of his hair down.
"She looks like a Sidney," he said, looking into the animal's black eyes.
–
When they got home, Chandler helped Erica set up her cage in her room while Monica was helping Jack. They both filled the cage with enough bedding for the hamster to dig. Everything they had gotten at the store was placed in a designated spot before the hamster was free to roam its new home. And even though it wasn't a dog, they were both excited about their new pets.