daycare // hemmings

eight- jamie's strays

Tobie hung out with the boys a lot once Tracy left. Her apartment was empty most of the time, since she was always with Luke at his place. Some days he even drove her to work and they hung out for an hour before the other kids got there. Jamie said she liked those mornings because Tobie needed a hot chocolate and Luke needed coffee, which meant they went to Dunkin Donuts and Jamie got sugared up.

On a Saturday in June, Luke and Tobie were out to the park with Jamie, taking a walk through the trails. Luke had smoothly slipped his hand into Tobie's and they swung them between them, skipping and laughing while Jamie was pointing out the birds and drawing in the dirt. She was the one who found the stream.

It was beautiful. The creek was crystal clear, fish jumping up and out of the water only to go back in. Tobie grabbed Luke's flannel from around his waist and laid it out like a blanket and sat down, putting their backpacks full of food on it, too. Luke and Jamie found rocks and tried skipping them, and Tobie set out lunch, watching them.

Luke would be a great dad, she thought. He was helping Jamie skip the rocks, standing behind her with his hand on hers, flicking her wrist to get the rock across. When Jamie managed it on her own, he scooped her up and threw her in the air, catching her and bringing her to the ground. Luke caught Tobie's eye and smiled, and she smiled back.

"Tobie, is lunch ready?" Jamie asked, dragging Luke over.

"I guess..." Tobie joked, handing Jamie the sandwich. Luke sat down next to her and grabbed a can of Pringles, and Tobie grabbed the container of watermelon she packed.

Once they finished they got up and walked again, Luke's flannel around Jamie and trailing on the ground by her feet. Tobie's arm bumped Luke's and she grabbed his hand, twisting their arms so it was a loop and her hand was by him, his hand by her. She looked up and him and smiled and he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

She blushed down to the core and looked at him with a minimal shock. He smirked and walked ahead.

That was the second kiss in two months.

;

It was around noon when Jamie screamed.

"Stop the car! Stop the car!" She yelled, and Luke jerked the wheel to the side of the road.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" He asked, turning in his seat.

"There's something out there!" She said, slamming down on the seat belt pop up button. Tobie grabbed her wrist before she could jump out.

"Wait a second, Jamie, let me check it out first." She said, locking eyes with Luke. He nodded and grabbed Jamie's wrist gently, but tightly enough to keep her in the car.

Tobie hopped out and looked for what Jamie meant, but it wasn't hard to find.

In a box on the ground a couple feet away, there were two puppies, one black with white spots, and one white with black spots. They looked to be only a few weeks old, and there was a sign on the box that said, "in need of home", but that was it.

Tobie sighed. She couldn't say no. The problem was with Luke.

"Lucas! Get out here." She called.

He walked over shortly after, Jamie in the truck. "Oh shit."

He knelt down in front of the dogs, letting them sniff his hand. "Seriously?"