Mrs. Independent

Chapter Twelve: Late Night Call

Chapter Twelve: Late Night Call

The front door slamming pulls me out of sleep.
I blink a few times, looking around in confusion.
The light streaming through the windows is weird. It's very sunny.
Emma wakes up around seven every day.
In confusion, I see my phone and laptop are on the nightstand.
I rub my forehead.
I have been leaving them Josh's side of the bed lately, so why are they on the nightstand?
I vaguely remember somebody entering the house last night, but I'm certain that was a dream.
I hit the home button on my phone.
11:17AM
What?
I shove the covers off of me and get up, remembering the front door closing.
Did one of the kids walk out? Emma always comes in to wake me up, so why didn't she?
She has her toddler bed. She knows how to get out of it. I don't shut the door.
Maybe I shut it after I got water?
But even then, if she can't get me she might wake up one of the boys, and all three of them can open doors.
Worried, I pull open the bedroom door, seeing it's shut completely, and rush downstairs.
I smell grilled cheese.
Confused, I walk into the kitchen.
The four kids are at the table with grilled cheese, all four of them are dressed and Emma even has hair bows in her hair.
And then I realize that the intruder in the house last night wasn't an intruder at all.
It was Josh.
"Mama!" Emma claps her hands excitedly.
"Did you know Daddy's home Mama?" Matthew asks.
"I did know." I walk over to them and kiss each of their foreheads. "Where is Daddy?"
"He's in the bathroom." Bryson beams at me.
I notice Emma is naked except for her diaper and I frown.
Why isn't she wearing any clothing?
I hear footsteps behind me and turn around.
"Good morning, or almost afternoon." He kisses my cheek.
"Good morning, where's Emma's clothes at?"
"Oh, I took them off."
"Why?" I frown.
"Because I couldn't find any bibs."
"Can we get a puppy?" Caiden asks.
Josh and I drop our conversation and turn to Caiden.
"What?" I ask.
"We want a puppy." Bryson says.
"Yeah." Emma giggles and shoves a small piece of grilled cheese in her mouth.
Josh has been begging me for a puppy for years but I keep saying no.
You hear so many stories about dogs biting children, and it's not that I think dogs are vicious, I love animals, I'm just concerned because I don't want to accidentally get a reman dog and have it bite one of kids.
"No, absolutely not."
"I have made of list of why we should get a dog." Caiden says.
He pulls it from the pocket of his shorts and holds it out to me.
I take it, unfolding the paper. Josh starts to read it over my shoulder.
Bcause I want to
Bcause they r cute
Bcause u luv us and want us 2 be happy
Bcause I tink we shuld
"We are not getting a dog." I say.
"Can we just go look at dogs?" Matthew asks.
"No."
"Because why?" Caiden asks
"Because I said, and I get to say no if I want to."
"Daddy?"
I turn to Josh and raise my eyebrows.
He puffs his cheeks and then blows out the air.
"You heard Mama." Josh says.
"But all my friends at school have dogs!" Caiden says.
"Well that's cool." I say. "But the answer is no. We are not getting a dog."
The four of them start pouting, and I can tell from the look on Josh's face that this isn't over.
"Mommy,will you please think about it?" Caiden presses.
I run my hands over my face.
"Fine. I'll think about it. I don't want you guys pestering me though. Do not ask me again."
"Yes ma'am."

______

After lunch Josh went outside with the boys and they ran around the yard playing tag. Emma took her nap, and after she got up, they started begging Josh to go into the pool with them, and it was no surprise when he agreed.
Not the four kids and my husband are in the pool. Emma is in her life jacket floating around with a pink boat, and the boys are swimming around and getting out to jump back in.
I put on my bathing suit and now I'm sitting on a pool chair it's my feet on the patio table in my bikini.
My dream as a kid was a big house and a husband and kids.
I have all of that, but a dog was always included in the dream.
I love animals, so why would I deny my kids that right?
I have never owned a dog. I never grew up with one.
My friend in Long Island before I moved to Utah had one, and I liked to play with it.
We have a large enough yard for a dog.
What if the dog tries to harm my children?
Sighing, I open google and start researching, comparing the known safest dog breeds, being a golden retriever and a beagle.
Both breeds are good with other dogs and with children. A golden retriever is bigger but a beagle lives longer. A beagle is calmer whereas a golden retriever has a lot of energy.
As much energy as my sons?
I laugh quietly to myself as I remember taking them to the park and they ran around nonstop the entire time.
Josh has wanted a dog. The boys want a dog. Emma gets excited when she sees dogs.
And I have always wanted a dog.
I guess a golden retriever would be a good idea.
And if we get it when it's still a baby, we can raise it to be a good dog.
I love the thought of rescuing, and I definitely would, but raising a baby is better.
They could have babies at the pound though.
I start going through the Humane Society and the Animal Control website, but none of them are the breed I'm looking for.
Sighing, I go on craigslist.
There are none for sale.
I check letgo and there's none, so I decide to just google some.
A place pops up called Crane Hollow Goldens in Bethlehem, which is about an hour north from our house.
It's around three.
All of them are spayed and neutered and up to date on their shots.
I can't even imagine how happy they're going to be with a dog.
I just want my family to be happy.
I stand up, shutting the lid to my laptop.
"I'm going to the store." I lie.
"Okay, we'll be here." Josh says.
I go in the house and change clothes, well aware that I might regret this decision.