Reference to Chapter 5, when Binkie wins the monthly BUM award.
Even the Pup is an Unmentionable by Debra8652
Chapter 18
Remy's POV
This is another compromise between Mom and Mom's Man bc Mom works too many hours - it gets Mom out of the office while still doing Rangeman stuff. We are off to the children's ward at St. Francis Hospital with a kids' wagonload of books that are paid for with Rangeman funds as part of their Community Outreach program. Guess who wears a harness and gets to pull the wagon? Got it in one. We also need a MM to help with the weight of the books. MM du jour is Woody.
We get to use a parking spot for volunteers. Woody parked the SUV and loaded up the wagon with kids' books. My harness can wait until we get closer - not all of the elevators are deep enough to hold me and the wagon and I have trouble backing up.
Hey, here comes my buddy, Buster. He's a Labrador Retriever and is a therapy dog here and at a couple of nursing homes. I'm really thinking I could do that. Mom read my thoughts and told me that a lot of the nursing home residents used walkers or wheelchairs, that I wasn't allowed to herd them, and that I should stick to my hospital rounds. Drat. Must stand down.
Woody is pulling the wagon and Mom has me on a leash. We are passing by the hospital gift shop when Mom grabs Woody's elbow and steers him into an area of the lobby that has huge plants - palm trees and other things whose binomial nomenclature I do not know at this time.
To the best of my ability, this is my recounting of their conversation. I thought we'd never get out of the giant plant forest!
Woody: What's wrong, Steph?
Mom: Did you see the woman wearing an employee smock in the gift shop?
Woody: Yeah, what about her?
Mom: That's Flora, the sales associate from Victoria's Secret. Do you remember when Binkie won the BUM award bc Flora thought he and I were a couple?
Woody: Yeah, glad it didn't happen to me. What's the problem?
Mom: She thought Binkie and I were an adorable couple and we didn't correct her. If she sees me with you, she'll think Binkie and I broke up - she'll be devastated.
Woody: If she recognizes you, tell her that Binkie got deployed.
Mom: Binkie got deployed and I took up with another man? Are you crazy? I wouldn't do that to my boyfriend!
Woody: Binkie's not your boyfriend.
Mom: Flora doesn't know that!
Criminy - maybe I can get my leg high enough to pee on one of these trees and we'll be asked to leave the plant forest. Oh, never mind. Flora is busy with a customer so we can sneak over to the elevators. Whew.
Woody attaches my harness and we start toward the children's rooms. They like picking out books and they love me! Mom says the kids share books with other kids on the ward and they get to keep the book they picked out when they go home. It's helping Mom, too. She doesn't like when she has to go to the hospital for herself, but this makes better memories for her. And she also comes to the hospital if any of my guys get hurt. If they get admitted, Hector has all her search programs loaded on her laptop and she can work from the hospital. It's a great plan. Now if we can just get out of here without breaking Flora's heart.