Chapter 11: All We Have Is Now
It's early noon. Bandit and Chilli are watching a movie in the living room while the kids play in the playroom. After the movie, the Heelers stood up from the couch. "Man, that was a great movie. All though I was a little bit lost on the part about multiverses." Bandit said stretching.
"Yeah, me too, but that ending was so beautiful I started to cry. I'm glad Evelyn and Joy got their happy ending." Chilli replied, wiping her eyes with a tissue.
"Eh, I wasn't sad." Bandit lied.
"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, you big blue baby." Chilli told him with a smirk.
"It is what I say… Chilli dog." Bandit smirked back.
"Hey! Only Dad can call me that!" She yelled, gently smacking his arm.
Bandit looked to his left and saw Bluey and Bingo standing by Chilli, looking at them with confused faces.
"Mama, why were you hitting dad?" Bingo asked tilting her head.
"Oh we were just playing sweetheart, did you need something?" She replied to her younger daughter.
Bluey then spoke. "Can Mackenzie come over?" She asked, slightly nervous.
"Sure! I'll call his mum. Maybe I can see if Lila can come over as well for you Bingo." Chili said with a smile to her kids.
"For real life?" Bluey and Bingo said at the same time. Chilli and Bandit chuckled. "Yes mates, for real life." Bandit told them. "Hooray!" The kids shouted as they hugged their parents. "By the way, Where's Shaun?" Bandit said noticing the Husky was not with them.
"Oh we got done playing so he went into his room to draw!" Bingo explained.
"I see, I'm gonna see if he wants to hang out with me since you kids will be busy with your friends. We'll have some father/son bonding time." Bandit said as he walked upstairs to talk to Shaun. He got up to the door to open it, but stopped when he heard Shaun singing.
Inside the room, Shaun was sketching his character from a video game. It was a man with a hood and a slightly ripped cape that had a wolf on it and with fur around the neck, the chest armor also had a wolf on it and three knives on the right hip. On the left hip, his character has a bow quiver with some arrows. While drawing he was singing a song he heard his mother play all the time.
" I wanna level with you. You never make it easy. You know it's hard for me to hide… "
Bandit stood there for a bit listening to him sing before he knocked on the door.
"Oh um. Come in!" Shaun said to who was at the door.
"Hey mate, what are you up to?" Bandit asked his son.
"I'm just drawing, would you like to see? Also… How long were you standing by the door?" Shaun said, wondering if he had heard him singing.
"Not for long, but I did hear you sing. You have an amazing voice and sure! I'd like to see!" Bandit said with a smile.
"T-Thanks Dad." He said embarrassed and handed him his sketchbook.
"Wow mate, this looks really cool. Who is it supposed to be?" Bandit asked, amazed by his art skills.
"It's a video game character, but it's not finished yet, this is just a sketch. I'll be doing the line art and colors later." Shaun said as Bandit handed him the sketchbook back. "Did you need something? Since you are in my room?"
"Yeah, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to spend some time together since Mackenzie is coming over to hang with Bluey and maybe Lila to hang with Bingo." Bandit explained.
"Sure, Dad!" Shaun said as he wagged his tail and stood up and grabbed his sketchbook.
The father and Son duo headed downstairs and said goodbye to everyone as they walked out the door and they got into the family car.
"So Dad, where are we going?" Shaun asked from the backseat. "The creek!" Bandit replied looking at him from the review mirror.
"The creek?" Shaun replied confused.
"Yeah mate, I think you'll love it. My dad took me there when I was younger, and I also took Bluey, Bingo, and Mackenzie there once." Bandit told his son.
"Oh okay, I can't wait!" Shaun said, excited and wagging his tail.
After a short drive to the park, Bandit and Shaun got out of the car and walked through the park and towards the trees. Shaun followed behind and looked all around, taking in the beauty of the forest. Distracted, Shaun almost walked into a spider web, but he stopped in time and ducked underneath it while saying sorry to the spider on it. They made it to a small river and Bandit and Shaun hopped around on some rocks. He was being careful not to slip and get his sketchbook wet. Before they made it to where Bandit was taking them. They had to jump over a short waterfall. Bandit hopped over and then it was Shaun's turn. He took a step back and jumped and almost fell over into the water, but Bandit caught him in time. Shaun thanked him for saving him and they continued onward until Bandit announced they made it.
"Okay mate here we are!" He announced.
"Wow…" Shaun said in awe and amazement of his surroundings. He then felt something at his feet and he looked down to see a bunch of tadpoles nibbling at his toes. "Haha, they are tickling my feet!"
"So, what do we do now that we are here?" He asked his dad.
"We do whatever we want." Bandit replied, as he laid on his back in the water.
Shaun thought about it for a second, he looked around and at his dad then had an idea. He sat down and put his feet in the water before taking out his sketchbook and starting to draw.
(Back at the house)
Mackenzie and his mom, Loren, were the first to arrive. Mackenzie walked up to the front door and his mom watched him from the car. He knocked and Bluey answered.
"Hi, Mackenzie!" She said hugging her best friend. "Hi, Bluey." Mackenzie replied embracing the hug.
"Have fun Kenzie! I'll be back later to pick you up!" Loren yelled out as she waved to her son and drove away.
Mackenzie covered his face in embarrassment. "That's a cute nickname." Bluey thought to herself until she realized what she said in her head and quickly shook that sentence from her mind as she and the Border-Collie walked inside the house.
"So what do you want to do?" Bluey asked Mackenzie, still thinking about the nickname his mother called him.
"Um, do you want to play tag in the backyard or something?" He replied, his mind thinking about something else.
Bluey noticed his behavior but decided not to bother him and led him into the backyard.
A few minutes later Lila and her mom, Shelia, showed up and she walked her daughter to the front door. This time Chilli answered.
"Hi there Shelia, how have you been?" Chilli asked her friend.
"Oh, I've been good. Lila has been really excited to come over. She likes hanging out with Bingo. Sheila replied.
"I bet, let me call Bingo. She's in the back playing with Bluey and her friend Mackenzie." Chili said as she called out to Bingo that Lila was here. Bingo quickly ran inside and came up to Lila and hugged her, then they both pretended to be wind-up toys and make "doot-doot" noises. Chilli and Lila chuckled a bit at their kids being silly.
"Do you want to come in Sheila?" Chilli said, inviting her in.
"Sure! I can stay until it's time to leave." She replied as she walked inside and the two kids went back outside to play.
(A few hours later, at the creek with Bandit and Shaun)
It was starting to get closer to dinner time and Bandit decided it was time to head back home. Shaun had finished drawing a couple of things in his sketchbook and he felt it was also time to head out.
"Okay kiddo, are you ready to head back?" Bandit asked the Husky.
"Yeah Dad, I'm starting to get a bit hungry, and I miss my mom and sisters." Shaun replied, standing up and stretching.
The two followed the path they took when they arrived and made it back to the car.
"Hey, Dad?" Shaun asked as he got into the car and buckled himself in.
"Yesssss?" Bandit replied in a silly voice as he too buckled himself in.
"Thank you for taking me to the creek. I had a lot of fun." Shaun said, smiling at his dad.
"You're welcome, mate. I'm glad you had fun, next time we should bring Bluey and Bingo. Also, we have to check you for ticks when we get home." He said, starting his car and driving away from the park.
"What?!" Shaun shouted looking at his dad.
Bandit looked back and laughed, and Shaun just rolled his eyes. After a short drive, they made it back home, with Loren just getting there to pick up her son. Mackenzie walked outside and said a quick hi and goodbye to Bandit and Shaun as he got into her car. Loren waved at them before setting off back to her and her son's house. The father and son got out of the car and walked up to the front door and wiped their feet before entering.
"Hey everyone, we're home!" Bandit yelled out to his family.
Bluey and Bingo quickly ran up and hugged their dad and Shaun as well.
"Oh hello, Bandit." Shelia said walking up to him with her daughter next to her.
"Hi there Shelia, How have you been?" Bandit replied.
"I've been fine," She told him. She then noticed Shaun. "And who's this little dog?"
"My name's Shaun, Ms. Shelia." He replied and extended his hand.
She took his hand and shook it. "Aw, such a polite and handsome man." She said and smiled.
"T-Thanks" Shaun replied, his face turning slightly red.
"Me and Lila were just about to leave, it was nice meeting you Shaun." She told him, as she and her daughter headed out the door.
"Bye!" Bandit and Shaun said before the door closed.
Chilli walked into the living room to greet them and kiss her husband, but saw how dirty Bandit and Shaun were.
"You two are filthy! Go upstairs and take a bath while I get dinner started!" She directed them, pointing to the stairs.
Shaun ran up ahead to get a bath first and Bandit followed behind him, stopping to hug Chilli and give her a give her a bunch of kisses.
"Bandit Heeler! Stop! You are getting me all dirty!" She yelled while laughing and trying to push her husband off of her.
Bingo and Bluey laughed while Chilli kept trying to get Bandit off of her. Shaun came back down from hearing the noises saw what was happening and started to laugh too. Eventually, he let her go and Chilli smacked his arm. Bandit finally went upstairs to wait for Shaun to take a bath as Chilli went to the kitchen to cook and Bluey and Bingo followed her to help. After their baths, Bandit and Shaun went into the kitchen where Chilli and the sisters finished making dinner and they all sat down to eat while they talked about the fun they had today.
