Prompt: Can you do a prompt where Silas, Garrett, and Carter get a dog?
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Carter bounced up and down as he stared out of the window eagerly. I went over, putting my hands on his shoulders to hold my son down.
"Easy," I said, laughing a little.
"When is grandpa coming?" Carter said, peeling his eyes away from the window to look at me.
"He'll be here soon," I said, ruffling Carter's hair.
"But I wanna know what the surprise is now," Carter said. "Please, dad!"
"Nope. You just have to wait until grandpa gets here," I said.
"C'mon Carter, come sit with me," Silas said from the couch. "Ray'll be here soon with the surprise. Staring at the window ain't gonna make him get here quicker."
I let Carter away from the window and over to the couch. We both sat down with Silas, who was trying to hide his own excitement.
My phone buzzed and I checked it, glancing at Silas and smiling. He couldn't hide his own smile, nodding at me to get the front door as he showed Carter something in the book he was reading.
I went downstairs and opened the door to reveal Ray. He held a small cage in his hand, the walls solid so I couldn't see inside of it. But it bounced a little in his hands as he stepped inside.
"Carter and Silas upstairs?" he asked.
"Carter is about to jump out of his skin with how excited he is," I said, leading Ray upstairs.
"Grandpa!" Carter said when we entered the room. He sprang off the couch and ran forward, eyes locking on the cage. "What's that? Is that the surprise?"
"What, this? This is what I'm going to lock you in every time you beat me in cards," Ray said.
"Nu-uh, it's the surprise, isn't it?" Carter was bouncing again, trying to peek inside. "What is it?"
Ray carefully set it on the ground as I pulled a gate across the stairs. Silas got up and came over, pulling Carter down so that they were both kneeling in front of the cards. Ray smiled and opened the cage.
A puppy came darting out, sniffing the ground and yipping happily. Carter's eyes widened, his mouth dropping open. He turned and threw his arms around Silas with so much force that the two nearly toppled to the ground.
"A dog!" Carter said, tears in his eyes. "We got a puppy!"
Silas hugged him back, laughing. "Yea, we got a dog. Dad and I picked him out."
"I have a good friend who breeds them. I called your dads when he said some puppies were for sale," Ray said, scooping the dog into his arms.
"Here, Carter," I said, sitting next to him and instructing him to sit cross-legged. Carter did so and Ray helped him hold the squirming dog in his arms. The puppy sniffed Carter, licking his arms and pawing at him.
Carter looked amazed. "I love him! What's his name?"
"Whatever you want it to be," Silas said, reaching out to pet the dog. He looked overjoyed as the dog nipped as his fingers playfully. "He's a tiny one. He'll grow up with you, Carter."
"You can pick any name you want," I said, putting an arm around Carter's shoulders. He'd been asking for a dog for so long. Silas had always wanted a dog, so we'd finally agreed to get one.
Carter looked at the puppy, focused as he thought of a name. The dog was wagging his tail as he went back to licking Carter's arms.
His face lit up. "Dipper! We can call him Little Dipper now, and Big Dipper when he grows up!"
I laughed and kissed Carter's head. "Dipper it is. Does that mean we have to call you Little Carter until you grow up?"
"I'm bigger than him. I can keep him safe until he's big too!" Carter said, hugging the dog to himself and giggling when it licked his chin.
"He's gonna have to join our family walks," Silas said. "Think you can hold his leash?"
Carter nodded. "Yea!"
"Glad you like him," Ray said, and I noticed he had his phone out, recording Carter and Dipper. He smiled, looking over at Silas. "Sorry we never had a dog, kid."
"It was worth the wait," Silas said, watching our son pet our new dog. Our little family was growing, and my heart couldn't be any happier.
"Thank you, Ray," I said. He'd helped us a lot in getting ready for the dog without alerting Carter to his surprise.
"You don't need to thank me," Ray said. "Carter, I'm sure Dipper is going to need to get used to the house. He'll probably have accidents because he's so little, he doesn't know any better. He might even chew on your toys. You have to promise to stay patient with him, okay?"
"I promise, grandpa," Carter said, holding out his pinky. Ray wrapped his pinky around Carter's.
"You'll be great with him," I said, meaning it. Carter was so gentle. He'd bond easily with the puppy.
"We'll help, of course," Silas said. He scooted closer to Carter so he could pet the dog again. "He's soft, ain't he?"
"Thank you," Carter said, looking around at all of us. He hugged Dipper close. "Thank you so much."
I hugged him to myself, Silas putting an arm around both of us. Ray smiled as he watched. God, I loved this little family of ours so much. I couldn't wait to watch Carter grow up with his dog. He and Silas deserved to have a dog to bond with, and I was excited to have a dog in my life again. Seeing Carter's honest little smile lit up my joy in a way I couldn't even believe. This was happiness.
