The Cassidy Chronicles
Four - Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie
Hands down, the best part of Chris Jericho's day was nap time. For sixty uninterrupted minutes, he was capable of getting things done. Laundry. Running errands. Making sure the house was not drowned in tidal waves of ponies, cuddly puppies, and bears that never stopped caring.
A miracle had occurred. For reasons Chris would not question, Mark volunteered to spend some quality time with Cassie. Leaving the girl's parents free to do… whatever they liked.
"What should we do first?" Chris closed and locked the front door. "The carpet in the living room could do with a visit with the vacuum. Or we could finally put the garage in order. If I bang my knee on Cassie's bike one more time…"
Kane steered his husband towards the stairs. "Shower," he ordered. It was not a polite suggestion.
"No." Chris shook his head. "We tackled of the bathroom two days ago. I distinctly remember damn near doing the splits in the tub and having to yell for help."
At the top of the stairs, Kane grasped him firmly by the shoulders. In plain speech, he said, "I want you… In the shower… Now."
Chris blinked, blushed, gulped, and disrobed in under ten seconds.
Meanwhile, back at Mark's house…
"Hunter…"
"She's in the next room."
"Hunter…"
"She could hear us through the wall!"
"Hunter, the girl is asleep. Now come here so I can…"
The remainder of his sentence was swallowed by the squeak of bedsprings.
Contrary to what Mark believed, Cassie was not asleep. Despite the day's activities, she was not the least bit tired. The picnic itself, with sandwiches and juice and snacks. Then she had chased the puppy all over the park. And then the puppy started chasing her.
Today had been a full and eventful day.
Uncle had declared Nap Time. Cassie did her best to comply. She'd closed her eyes. She'd rolled onto her tummy, which usually induced unconsciousness in less than five minutes. Nothing worked. She stayed wide away in the spare bedroom. Waiting for the noises of the house to settle down.
Sufficiently sure that no grown up was about, Cassie crept out of the room. Her sock-covered feet made no sound as she traversed the upper level of the house. When absolute stealth was required, Cassie could almost float about the floor.
The first door she came across led to the bathroom. Nothing of interest in there. The next door revealed a linen closet. Towels were folded on the shelf not too far out of her reach. After selecting a dark blue towel, she tied the ends around her neck.
Now, she was Super Cassie. So much better than ordinary, everyday Cassie. Super Cassie did not need to take a nap.
Cape flapping in her wake, Super Cassie scampered silently past Mark's bedroom. Down the stairs she scuttled. Her own personal theme music humming through her brain.
She discovered two things nestled beside the couch. Her purple pony backpack and a snoozing puppy. Cassie unzipped the bag. She rifled through the content, finally coming across the perfect item.
Grinning, Cassie glanced down at Lucifer. "Good puppy…"
Mark had Hunter down to his boxers when Lucifer came rushing into the bedroom. The dog launched itself onto the bed, landing beside its Master.
"What the hell?" both Mark and Hunter shouted in unison.
It took a few moments for the men to calm the animal down. Ultimately, they discovered the source of its distress. From snout to tail, Lucifer was covered in stickers. Pink. Purple. Blue. Fairies. Ponies. Hearts and moons and stars. Lots and lots of sparkle.
Mark repeated, "What the hell?"
A blonde head poked inside the doorway. A smile decorated her innocent, cherub-like face. As plain and to the point as only a child could be, Cassie proudly declared, "I made puppy pretty!"