***All persons depicted in sexual situations are over 18 years of age***
Early April
Year 3 of Us
Tuesday
I heard giggles coming down the hall, and when I turned onto my back, I could tell that Lacey was carrying Sam and Cathy was carrying Duncan, and when they got into our room, the twins broke into laughter as they set the twins onto the bed.
"Da-da! Da-da!" I couldn't tell who was loudest because I pulled the blankets over my head, pretending to hide. I grabbed the one on my right through the blankets and roared. Sam squealed as I tickled her, and then Duncan dived headfirst onto my chest while trying to tickle me through the cloth. I heard Lacey and Cathy laughing as I lifted the twins up and wrapped my arms around them.
Either Lacey or Cathy flipped the blankets off my head, and I roared again, making both dogs bark. When I looked past the twins, I saw Sherlock on the bench at the foot, his head up and his tail wagging fast. I heard LB boof at me, so I turned to look at her. Her lower jaw was on the bed, and her ears were perked up. "Hey, puppy girl!" I let go of the twins and reached a hand over to scratch her ears. Her tail started to wag, and Lacey knelt down beside her, rubbing her head and ears.
She bumped Lacey's shoulder with her nose, and Lacey laughed. "Okay, let's get some breakfast before Miriam and Roni get here." The twins were rolling around on the bed, playing with Cathy.
"They're on the way?" I asked.
Lacey nodded. "They're going to join us for our workout this morning, and then you and Cathy can head to her place."
"Okay, team. Let's go get breakfast," Cathy said before taking Duncan into her arms. "Are you hungry, little boyfriend?" He nodded his head as Lacey picked up Sam, who was pointing to the door.
As they walked away from the bed, I got up and followed. Sam smiled at me past Lacey's shoulder, then stuck her arms out to me. Lacey stopped and turned, letting Sam lean towards me. I took her from Lacey and then we went down to breakfast.
As I was putting the breakfast things away, Sherlock ran towards the front door, barking. LB followed at a more leisurely pace, but she did bark, just to add to the excitement. Lacey and Cathy made it to the door just as the doorbell rang, setting both of the dogs off even more.
"Enough! Sit!" Lacey's voice was stern, but I could tell that she was in what I called "dog mom" mode. "Good puppies! Thank you, LB! Thank you, Sherlock!" The dogs got quiet, and I heard Lacey unlock the door before I walked into the living room.
Once they were inside, Miriam dropped to her knees in front of the dogs.
"Go ahead, guys! Say hello to our company!" I called and the dogs both moved up to her, bodies and tails wagging like crazy. Miriam laughed and gave both of them lots of rubs and pets.
Roni stepped in, gave Lacey a hug, and walked around her, watching the dogs carefully to make sure nobody got tangled up or tripped over. When I walked up to her, my arms were out, and she let me wrap them around her. "Still worried about that tripping incident?"
She nodded her head and turned her face up to mine. I looked over at Lacey, who gave me a small nod. I gently kissed her and when I broke the kiss, I said, "Nobody really got hurt that night, you know."
"I know, but I've been hearing Sherlock yelp in my nightmares some nights."
"It's been a long time..."
"Yes," her voice was low. "He seems fine." She laughed weakly.
"He is fine." I smiled as I took her by the hand and led her to the couch. When we sat, I looked over to where the rest of them were gathered, passing the twins around. They were smiling at all three of the adults, and the dogs were simply sitting there, looking up at Lacey.
I made a low whistle, getting Sherlock and LB's attention, and they both came trotting over to us. I looked up and saw that Lacey was watching us, and I realized that whatever conversation that may been happening has stopped. Lacey started to take a step towards us, but when I gave her a slight shake of my head, she stopped, so Cathy and Miriam stopped, too.
"We're going to pretend that you've never met these two before, okay?" Roni nodded, a slight look of confusion on her face. When the dogs reached us, I gave the hand signals for them to stop, then sit. When they did, I said, "Good girl, LB! Good boy, Sherlock!" Both tails were wagging, and I pointed this out to Roni. "They're happy and curious, especially Sherlock."
She looked at me. "Trust me, Roni." Another nod. "I want you to hold your right hand out, palm up." She did this, so I said, "Now lower it until it's about the middle of your shin, then hold it out to LB." She did this, too. "Say 'shake' to her, using her name."
Roni said "Shake, LB." LB tilted her head and put her paw in Roni's palm, then Roni turned to me with a smile on her face.
"Now, use your left hand to touch the side of her face." Roni did this. "Now, gently stroke her snout or pat it." This was done, and I said, "Pull your hand away and say, 'thank you' to her."
"Thank you, LB!" LB wagged her tail and looked at me.
"Okay, LB." As LB sat down, I pointed at Sherlock and then at Roni. "Do the same thing with Sherlock."
Roni repeated the paw shake, then turned to me with a huge grin on her face.
"They're awesome! He doesn't even know that I hurt him that night! You're a great dog trainer, Wyatt!"
"Oh, don't congratulate me, Roni. All the things they know how to do are courtesy of Lacey. I just wanted you to realize that Sherlock is fine, and he probably doesn't even remember that you tripped over him. He was far more scared than anything else." I noticed that both dogs were staring at me. "Okay, you two! Go get Mommy!" I swung my hand towards Lacey, and they both got up to go see what the rest of them were doing. I took Roni's hand in mine and smiled at her. "You were terrified when you tripped over him, and it was understandable. He doesn't hold a grudge, and you need to get rid of that guilt. Okay?"
Roni gave me a tentative nod.
"Am I going to have to spank you, Roni?"
She flashed me a smile, and then laughed. "Maybe not now. Maybe later, though..."
"I think we need to get ready for our hike this morning," Lacey said as she led Cathy and Miriam to the stairs. I helped Roni to her feet as Sherlock stopped and looked up at her.
"I think he likes you, Roni. Say something to him."
She cleared her throat. "Are you going on a hike with us, Sherlock?" His tail started to wag, and his ears perked up.
I laughed. "I think he's ready!" I looked at her. "You want to stay down here, or go on up?"
"Hey!" Cathy called from upstairs. "Are you going out like that?"
I pointed at myself. "Who, me?"
"Who else, cowboy? Roni's already dressed for the hike."
Roni giggled and started for the stairs. I looked up at Cathy and gave her a smile as I followed Roni up. We got ready and headed out.
On the porch, I looked at her. "Which way, Lacey?"
"Let's hit the park." Both dogs barked in agreement, leading to a more vigorous than normal walk. We let the twins play on some of the equipment and the dogs enjoyed running around. Roni threw a ball that only Sherlock seemed interested in chasing, and she called over to me. "Wyatt, why doesn't LB chase that ball like Sherlock?"
"She's never been that fond of that. Lacey?"
"Yes, love?"
"LB and chasing a ball?"
"Oh, she's never cared for that. She loved running with Ollie, though, and she loves running with Sherlock, too."
"Ollie? Who's Ollie?" Roni walked over to where we were letting the twins play on the slide.
I smiled, and Lacey patted my arm. "Want me to tell her?"
"No, I've got it. I've still got lots of pictures of that goober on my phone." Roni and I stood near the slide, while Lacey and Miriam helped the twins up the slide. Sherlock had dropped to the ground beside Lacey, and LB was standing at the foot where Cathy was waiting.
I showed her the pictures of Oliver, and she was taken by him. "Lacey fell in love with Ollie just by the pictures I shared with her. Once she met him, he was a big fan of hers."
"What happened to him?"
"He was fifteen when Gwen passed away. He lasted for over a year, finally crossing that bridge two months after we moved into the house." My voice got a little choked, and Lacey left Miriam with Cathy and the twins. I looked off to the hills, just holding my phone.
"Honey, are you okay?" Lacey asked, her voice soft.
"Yeah." I wiped the tears from my eyes. "Just talking about Ollie." Lacey grabbed me in a fierce hug, and I wrapped my arms around her, my cheek on the top of her head.
