A Chain of Daisies

Puppy

"Daddy!" Lily ran down the entryway and flung herself into her father's waiting arms. He picked her up and spun her around, all while showering her with kisses.

"I missed you so much, Lils!" Seymour set her down but still kept his arms wrapped around her.

"You were only gone for a little bit at work, silly," Lily said, "Plus, I was at school,"

"I still miss you!" Seymour exclaimed. Audrey appeared around the corner of the hallway, three-year-old Nate on her hip. He greeted her with a just-long-enough kiss and ruffled Nate's hair. By that time, Lily had raced out of the hallway and out of sight.

"Lily says she and Nate have somethin' to tell us ova' dinna'," Audrey said, setting Nate down as he began to fuss, wanting to follow his sister.

"And what might that be?" Seymour asked, hanging up his coat.

"I don't know," Audrey said, shrugging her shoulders, "She said it was a surprise,"

Seymour looked at Audrey knowingly and she nodded. They went into the kitchen; Seymour grabbed a stack of plates off the counter and Audrey went to take the food out of the oven.

As she did so, she called out, "Lily! Can you please wash up and then come help Dad set the table?"

Lily soon came tumbling down the stairs, Nate following after her. He took the stairs slowly, however, clinging to the railing like a lifeline. Seymour looked up from what he was doing to make sure he didn't fall. Meanwhile, Lily zipped around the table, laying out forks and plates at a somewhat alarming speed.

"Lily, you need to slow down. Before you break somethin','' Audrey reprimanded.

"But I'm excited!" Lily bounced up and down, "Nate and I got somethin' to tell you!"

"Then you need to control that excitement," Audrey said, "Why don't ya' go sit down now,"

Lily nodded and skipped over to her seat. Seymour lifted Nate into his highchair and Audrey brought the food to the table. As the family got settled, Lily continued to bounce excitedly in her chair.

"All right Miss Lily," Seymour said, "What is it that's so exciting?"

"Nate and I want a puppy!" Lily exclaimed. Audrey looked up from her plate, a girlish grin spread across her face.

She had always wanted a dog. Ever since she was little, she would beg her mother to take her to the pet store uptown on her occasional day off from work. She would stare longingly at the little animals, her little hand resting on the glass. She would sit there for hours, her mom eventually giving in and kneeling next to her to tease the little dogs. Having a dog had always been a part of her little fantasies. She would dream of sitting next to a warm fire, curled up next to Seymour with a little puppy in her lap.

Only, when Seymour and Audrey had gotten married, they had to get the new shop up and running. And when Audrey got pregnant with Lily, their focus was turned to welcoming their first baby into the house. And then when Nate came along, it was off to the races again with raising two small children and running the shop. Getting a dog hadn't been their top priority . . . But things had settled down a little now.

Audrey looked at Seymour. He was smiling softly, but he had a more pensive look on his face. He'd never really thought about pets before, even as a kid. Honestly, he had never been around a house pet. Only chance encounters with strays on the street (which hardly ended well for him). He knew Audrey really wanted one, both from knowing her and from the expression on her face.

"I don't know . . ." Seymour mused, "Dogs are a lot of work, and neither your mom nor I have ever had a pet before . . ."

"Well, then it can be all of our first times!" Lily exclaimed.