A relaxing afternoon.

I turn right to the main street. Bryan starts to laugh when we enter town. I look at him with a smile. "That was so good, dad." I chuckle about his amusement. "She totally fell for it until we got there." "It needed to be done." "I'm really glad you dumped her. It was about time." "I know you've been warning me so many times." Bryan inhales deeply and looks outside. "I never understood what you saw in her." I sigh as I turn the wheel and drive onto the parking in the town's center. "I don't either, son." I see a spot and park the car. "Did you really knew about her debts?" I look at my son as I turn the engine off. "Yes, about two months ago I found the bills. It's all medical bills, when she told us she had breast cancer, it explained the bills." Bryan looks outside. "I realized yesterday that she wanted to pay them off behind my back with my money."

"She never loved you, dad." "I've came to realize that on the morning I had that bad trip." Bryan snorts and unbuckles the seatbelt. "Son?" He looks at me again. "Let's not talk about her ever again, okay? Let's move forward, we are where we want to be now, let's enjoy that." I look at his face and see him starting to smile. "Okay, dad." We step out. I close the door and open the back door. "Come, missy, you're going to have a nice afternoon with us." I watch Bella jumping out and close the door. I lock the car and walk around my son. He grabs me in a tight hug. "I'm so happy, dad." "Me too, son, me too." I let him go and he smiles as he looks at me.

"I'm happy you're with Baby now." I smile as I lay my arm around his neck. I turn and cross the parking. He struggles to get loose and I chuckle a little. "Dad!" "You're getting stronger, son." I let him go and he rubs his neck a little. "Where are we going?" As we stop at the traffic lights. I look where Bella is. I see her panting as she tries to keep up. "Come on, Bella." Bryan looks at her. We watch her laying down. "Something is wrong with her, dad." I went to her and lift her up. "I think Baby might be right." "About her being pregnant?" I only nod and look at the traffic. We cross the street. At first, I planned to go left, but now we go right instead. "Where are we going to?" "We're going to the vet."

Bryan looks at Bella and strokes her little head. I turn left into the street and look around with a smile. "Here it is." I look at the building, so does Bryan. "It's not big." I look at my son with a chuckle. "It's not a big town." I open the door and step inside. Bryan follows me as the bell jingles. Bryan looks up and I see the assistant coming to the reception desk. She looks at me and makes big eyes. "Johnny!" I chuckle as she moves around the desk, so she could hug me tightly. "Hey, Marge, how are you?" Marge smiles at me and looks at my face. "Baby was right, you need to shave." I chuckle about it. I remember that Marge started to volunteer here when Ben was still the vet in town. "I'm great, I'm so happy to see my youngest being truly happy again." "I see you're still volunteering." "Yes, I still love to do it very much."

She looks at Bella and smiles. "Who's this little one?" I look at Bella. "This is Bella, she was my ex's dog, but she choose my side." Marge looks up at my face again. "Your ex-fiancée?" I only nod. Marge looks at Bryan now. "Son…" Bryan came closer and looks curiously at Marge. She starts to smile at him. "He's just like you." "Marge is Baby's mother, so one day she might become your grandmother." Marge looks back at me with a frown. "It's nice to meet you." She looks at Bryan again and starts to smile. She grabs his face. "Baby has talked a lot about you two yesterday." I chuckle and Bella cries a little. We look at her.

"What's going on?" "Baby thinks she's pregnant." I walk to the reception desk and put her down. "Wait here." I nod. Marge walks to the back. Bryan came closer and looks at Bella. "Will she be alright?" "I hope so." I caress Bella's little a head and she closes her eyes. Bryan caress her as well. "Do you want to marry Baby one day?" I look at my son and smile. "I do, but it's still a bit early for that. Would you want me to propose to her?" Bryans smiles. "You don't need my permission, dad." "I do want your opinion, son." "It would be great."

Marge came back and looks at us. "Come, Martin has a little opening in his agenda, so he can check on her." I look at her and nod. "Come, missy." I carefully lift her up and follow Marge to the consultation room. "Here she is, Martin." Marge says. He turns around and puts his glasses a little down as he looks at us. "Marge told me that you think she's pregnant?" I carefully put Bella down on the table. Martin came closer and extends his hand. "I'm Martin Walsh, I haven't seen you here before." I shake his hand. "That's because I'm back after many years of being away. I'm Johnny Castle." Martin's eyebrows go up. He's a bald middle-aged man with glasses and protruding ears. "You're John's son?" "The youngest, yes." Martin looks at Bryan and they shake hands. "I'm Bryan Castle." Martin smiles.

He looks at Bella, she cries a little again. "Let me have a look, little girl." Marge assists him. We watch them in patience. I inhale deeply. He's talking to Marge and nods a few times. He looks at me with a smile. "She's pregnant indeed, but I need to do an echo so I can see more. You've got a good eye for it." "Baby discovered it." Martin looks at Marge who smiles. "Your daughter?" "Yeah, that's what Johnny told me." I watch him preparing the echo machine. "We need to get her to lay down." Bryan came closer and Bella waggles her tail. "Come, Bella, lay down and everything will be alright." He whispers. Bella lays down. I smile as I watch my son. He seems to have bonded with her over the last couple of days. "You got the feeling for this, boy."

Bryan looks at Martin with interest. "I want to be a vet." Martin smiles. "Then you should follow your dream." Martin winks. "Is it possible if I come sometimes to have a look?" Marge smiles as she looks at me. I feel really proud of my son. "Of course, you can come a few days each week if you like." "Cool." I chuckle. I know he told me he was interested in becoming a vet, but now I can see he really wants this. I also can see how Pampa is bringing his inner self out. I want the best for him. "Sean wanted to be a vet too." Marge says as she looks at Bryan. "He told me, but he's not sure now anymore." "Yeah, a shame, it's his father's fault. I've never understood why my daughter married him in first place." She looks at me again. I see her smile and give her a nod.

"Shall we do this?" Martin asks, we look at him. "Can you hold her there and there, Bryan?" Martin points and Bryan did. "Good, try to keep her like this. Most animals don't like this." He explains. Bryan only nods and he looks at Bella. Marge came closer to me. I look at her and she takes my hand. I give her a little smile. "There." Martin points at the monitor. "You see this?" He asks and looks at Bryan for a second. Bryan looks at the monitor and nods. "Is that the puppy?" "Yes, she's having three pups as far as I can see." Bryan looks at me and I smile. "This is amazing, dad." I look at the monitor with a smile. "It really is." "She's not that far yet, a few days it seems. Who's the father?"

I think about Rosco and start to laugh about my own thought. They all look at me. "You want to guess?" Marge's eyebrows go up. "Don't tell me it's from Rosco?" I look at her and nod. "Oh, dear lord." She starts to laugh, holding her hands over her mouth. Martin chuckles. "That dog is a true miracle, I'm telling you." He looks at Bella as he cleans her belly. She waggles her tail and pants. "Baby told mom that she needs to consider getting Rosco castrated." Marge laughs again. "He's too old for that, but I can sterilize her after she got the pups." I look at Bella. "That is if it all goes well." "What do you mean?" Bryan asks. "Bella is a Chihuahua. They have on their own a lot of difficulties with pregnancies. And she's pregnant from a Sint-Bernard. You see what I'm trying to say?" Bryan looks at Bella and nods.

"The chances are that she'll be needing a premature c-section, but let's see how it goes. Can you bring her in two weeks again? For a check-up." Martin looks at me. I nod. "I will for sure, or my son will take her here." Bryan smiles and hugs me shortly. He went to Bella again. "She needs to rest." Martin says. "Okay, can I leave her here for a few hours? I wanted to take my son for lunch, and I need to do a few things before the anniversary party. I'll pick her up before I go back to the ranch." Marge smiles and picks her up. "She can stay with me." She says. "Thanks, Marge." I give her a kiss on her cheek. I caress Bella's head a little. Bryan gives her a little kiss. "See ya later." He says. "Write down what I owe you, I'll pay when I pick her up." Martin nods. "Have a good afternoon." "Thanks."

Bryan and I walk outside, and I walk towards the diner I first wanted to go to. Bryan looks at me. "That was amazing, dad." I look at him with a smile. "I can see your interest." He smiles. "I really do, making animals feel better feels good." I lay my arm around his shoulders as we turn around the corner. "Then I support you if you want to do this." "Thanks, dad." "But you're still getting dance lessons." Bryan chuckles and rolls his eyes. We enter the diner and sit down. "Where's the dance school at?" I look at him with a smile. "I'll show you after lunch, I want to see how the building looks like now." He nods as the waitress came to us. "Hey, Johnny, Bryan, you want lunch?" I look at Roberta and smile. "I thought you would be working in the bar." She smiles.

"I help Hank a few evenings a week and work here in weekends for the extra money." "Can I have a chocolate and banana milkshake?" She looks at Bryan. "Sure, with whipped cream on top?" "Yes, please." "I just want a beer… and two daily lunch specials." Roberta writes it down. "You're looking forward to the party?" She asks. "Yeah, now without the trouble of a fiancée who makes drama." She looks at me. "I heard stories about what happened at the race." "Don't ask me please." "We didn't even knew you were engaged, until yesterday that is." Bryan looks at the menu. "Well, I proposed to her a week ago or something and I ended it about an hour ago at the airport." "You and Baby make a cute couple. Your order will arrive in a bit." She walks away.

"You're the talk of the town, dad." I look at him and smile. "Yeah, wouldn't be the first time." Bryan rolls his eyes. I chuckle about his reaction. "Only this time it seems to be more good talks than bad ones." "That's good, what else do you have in mind to do today?" "Well, after lunch, I'm going to show you where the dance school is." Bryan nods. "If you want, I can show you where the school is." "Not yet, let me enjoy the summer first." I chuckle about it. "I haven't showed you much of the town yet." "We've got plenty of time for that." "That's true." Roberta came with the drinks. I watch my son drinking his milkshake. "I'm really glad to see you being so happy now, son." He looks at me and smiles. "I can say the same to you."

"After we've looked at the dance school, I'm going to the barber shop. You could use a trim too." Bryan chuckles. "You're finally getting shaved?" I smile. "Yeah, and I decided to let it be done at the barber shop for once. I wanna look fresh for the party." "More for Baby, right?" I grin at him and he smiles. "After that I'm gonna look for a suit for the party, and you're getting one too." "Why a suit? I thought you didn't like suits." "You'll see." I wink as the food came. We start eating and we talk a little more about the future.

An hour later, we're walking to the other side of the parking. I see the building and smile. Bryan is looking around. A lot of people are walking around. Some of them waved at us. "Look, son, this is it." As I point. Bryan looks at the building. "It looks like it will fall apart any moment." I see how the sign is hanging down half broken. I see that the windows are secured with wooden planks. I walk to a window and try to look inside. "It does indeed, but from what I know, this place is empty for years now." Bryan looks inside. "You really want this, dad?" I look at him for a moment and back inside. "Yes, very much so, I think I can make something of this. The location is perfect." I turn and Bryan looks around. "You see the bar there?" I point at the bar on the corner.

"Yeah." "That's Hank's. There's one more bar, but that one is just outside of town. Hank is very popular." Bryan starts to smile, and I see his face. "You like Lucy, don't you?" I see a flush appearing on his cheeks. "Go for it, son, just don't do anything stupid like I did, okay?" "I won't." I grab him and walk to the barber shop. Bryan looks at the barber when we enter the barber shop. He looks up and so did the client he's working on. "Good afternoon." I say and sit down on a chair. Bryan sits next to me. He watches the barber work as I take a magazine and see an article. "Well, this is old news now." Bryan looks at me. "What, dad?"

I show him the article. "Yeah, old news indeed." "You're reading the article about yourself?" I look up at barber. "Yeah, but it's old news." "What do you mean? You came here with her, didn't you?" "I did, but Bryan and I dropped her off at the airport earlier today and I ended the relationship." "I heard people talking about how she flirted with all the men." He says. "Yeah, and she did more than that according to Jack and Baby." I look at the article again. "You're together with Baby now? I hear people talking a lot about that as well, most seem to be really happy about it." I chuckle a little. "We're the talk of the town again, I hear." He chuckles. "But it's true, yeah, we're together now." I watch how the other client pays and walks outside. "Who's next?"

I look at my son. "You want first, son?" "No, you go first." I smile and stand up. I sit down in the chair. "What will it be?" "Shave everything off, and could you cut my hair at the sides a little shorter?" "Of course, you're gonna look all fresh." I smile as he starts washing my hair while a hot towel lays on my beard. Bryan turns a little and looks outside while I'm talking to the barber. He watches the people walking by. Then he sees a few girls at a bench across the street. He watches them and starts to smile when he sees Lucy turning around. One of them points at the barber shop. He sees them looking, Lucy smiles and waves a little. He waves back and turns back as he inhales deeply.

After half an hour, I look in the mirror with a smile. "Whatcha think?" I let my fingers run over my chin. "It's looking great, thanks." "You're welcome, I believe it's your son's turn?" I look at my son. Bryan turns and looks at me. "Wow, dad!" He came to me. "You're looking really good." "Thanks, son." I stand up and hug him. "It's your turn to look good as well." Bryan sits down and I went to the chairs. I look outside and see the girls. I've seen him looking so much outside. I start to smile as I turn and sit down. "Any wishes?" Bryan looks at me and thinks. "Can you try to make it like dad has? I know I have curls." The barber smiles. "I'll see what I can do." I watch my son as he sits perfectly still. I hope that I can give Frances a baby one day as well. A baby girl. I start to dream about it, and before I knew it, Bryan stands up and came to me.

"Dad, look." I snap out of my dream and look at his hair. I stand up and smile. "It's looks really good, son." He grins. I chuckle about his face and went to pay the barber. "Thanks, I'll see you this evening." He says. "See ya later." We walk outside and Bryan looks at Lucy. I look at the girls as I hear them giggle. "Hey, Bryan!" Lucy says and waves. He waves shyly back at her. "Hey, Lucy." "I like your hair." She says. "Thanks." My son looks at me and I smile. "Are you at the party this evening?" He asks as he looks back at her. She giggles. "Yeah, I'll be there." "Okay, then I'll see you there." She smiles as we walk on. I look at him and I can hear them giggling again. "You're the popular boy of the town." He rolls his eyes and I chuckle.

I enter the tailor and boots' shop and see old Maverick talking to a younger man. They look up and I watch how Maverick's face splits in two. "Well, well, well, look who we've got back in town." I chuckle as I give him a short hug. "I heard there was trouble at the race, my first thought was, Dancer is back, and trouble is starting again with the women." I laugh about it. "Somehow, girls always made drama when it came to you, except for Baby." He winks. I pat his shoulder a few times. "That was a long time ago, Mav." "I heard you're finally with her." "That's true, I could've guessed that this wouldn't stay a secret for long." Maverick chuckles and looks at Bryan. "This is your son I presume?" I nod. "This is my son, Bryan." Maverick extends his hand and Bryan shakes it. "Boy, you got the eyes from the Castle's, you're gonna let girls make drama over you one day." I chuckle about it. "It's already happening." He starts to laugh about it.

"So, for what do I have the honor of your visit?" Maverick asks. "I need a suit for the anniversary, and my son too. Something more cowboy style. If you get what I mean?" I see him thinking. "I sure have something. Both the same style?" "Yes, we want to look good for mom and dad." He smiles. "I'll help you, Dancer." I nod. "This is my apprentice, Ronnie." I look at Ronnie and extend my hand, he shakes it and Bryan did the same. "Ronnie, will you take care of the boy?" "I will, come with me." Bryan follows Ronnie to the back. "Here, look, I got them yesterday." He shows me the bolo ties. I smile as I take one with a horse. "These are really beautiful." "They're the best quality there is." "I'll take two, with the horses." Maverick lays them aside. "Say, you're still having boots here?"

"Of course, I'm teaching Ronnie how to make them as well." He turns and slowly walks to another room. I follow him and I smile. "I want to buy a pair for my son." He nods as I look at a few pairs. Maverick looks at my boots. "You still have them?" I look down and smile. "Yeah, I'll never throw them away." He smiles. "They look really worn out. You want me to repair them?" "Will it take a long time?" "Let me look." I take one off and give it to him. He looks at it. "This is done in about an hour." "If you want to." "I got nothing else to do now. Give me the other one too, I'll start immediately." I take the other one off as well. "I'll get Ronnie for ya." He walks away. I look at the boots and take a brown leather pair. I look at the size, I think these will fit on Bryan.

After a few minutes, Ronnie came to me with my son. "Mav told me to help you as well." I look up and smile. "Yeah, he's repairing my boots." Bryan looks at the pair I'm holding. "They look really cool, dad." I smile as I reach them out to him. "Try them on." He sits down and takes his sneakers off. He puts them on and stands up. "This is weird." "You'll get used to it, that is if you want them." He walks a little back and forth in the room and looks in the mirror. "I really like them a lot." "Then you can have them." He smiles and came for a hug. "I've got jeans for you and your son. He told me that he didn't want you to put a suit on." "Can I see them?" Ronnie walks away.

"You want a vest too? Or only a shirt with the bolo tie?" Bryan looks at me. "Bolo tie?" "Yeah, you'll see." "Let's try with vest and without vest." I nod. Ronnie came with the jeans and I look at them. "These are from an amazing quality." I feel the fabric. "They're the best there is." I look at Ronnie. "All right, we'll take them. You got white shirts? And two brown leather vests?" "I'm gonna have a look." He walks away and I turn. I watch my son making a dance step. I chuckle and he looks up with a grin. "I get why dancing is so much fun." "I'm happy to hear that." "But I still want to be a vet." I chuckle. When Ronnie came with the shirts and the vests. Bryan and I try them on. Just waiting for my boots and then we're done with everything I wanted to do today.

When Maverick is done with my boots, he came back, and I look at my boots. "Wow, they look great, Mav." He smiles as I put them on. "They look as new." "You can walk around in them for several years again." "Thank you so much." "Did you found what you wanted?" He asks as he looks from me to Bryan. "Yeah, my son has chosen our outfits. You're going to the party?" "Of course, I can't let my old friend down, can I?" I smile as I take my wallet. "You'll get the repair for free. I still owe your father some things." I chuckle. "You don't have to do that." "I want to, and I insist." "Okay." I pay the clothes as Ronnie has put everything in a bag. "Let's go, son, we need to pick up Bella and prepare for the party." Bryan nods and smiles. We waves, and so did Maverick.

We walk to the vet and went inside. Marge looks up and smiles. "There you are." We smile as we walk to the reception desk. "Is Bella okay?" Bryan asks. Marge looks at him. "Yes, she's been very sweet and she's very well-behaved. Did you train her?" I look at my son and we start to chuckle about it. "I don't think she had any training at all." "Really?" "She was my ex's dog, but Bella didn't want to leave us." Marge smiles, she bends through her knees and lifts a box up. Bella is laying in it. "She really needs a lot of rest." "I'll watch her." Bryan says. "Don't let Rosco push her all over the place, okay?" I start to laugh about it. "I don't know what he's getting to eat, two months ago he became a father from a nest from a Labrador. Six months before that he was chasing a poodle, luckily it was bad luck for him since she was sterilized already."

"What can I say?" I ask with a grin. She rolls her eyes. "I think Rosco is pretty serious about Bella, he keeps watching her and protecting her." Bryan says, Marge looks at him with a smile. "Well, that's some news." I take my wallet and pay the bill. "I'll see you both at the party." I give her a nod. "And you're looking good, Baby will be really pleased when she sees you like this." I chuckle. "Don't tell her anything, okay? I want to surprise her." I wink, she smiles and gives me a nod. We went back to the ranch to prepare.