Chapter Fifty
A wise man had once told JC that when you reach a certain point in your life, time flies and before you know it, you’re old, grey, and the kids are moving out! Now, considering that these “words of wisdom” had come from JC’s father, he’d not put too much trust in them. After all, it’s an unwritten rule that your parents have no clue what they’re talking about until you’re all grown up, right? Well, that’s what JC thought. Until the day his oldest daughter came home with some paper work for her senior portraits.
Where had the time gone? It seemed like just yesterday, baby Jack had joined the Chasez clan, and now, the little boy was walking and talking up a storm! In fact, he was so chatty, that on the days that JC was away from the house, when he returned, the boy could be found at the front window, waving and banging to get his father’s attention, his little mouth moving 100 miles per hour!
And then there was Abbi! As predicted, she’d not take after her mother when it came to height! She was almost as tall as Jen was currently, and the child was just going into the seventh grade! Although she still looked up to her sister, as she always had, she was quickly becoming her own person, developing her own interests and dislikes. It was so… well, for lack of a better word, weird!
And finally, there was Julie. No longer was she the shy, broken girl she’d been just two years ago. No, she was growing into a stunning young woman, an overall beautiful person inside and out. He just couldn’t believe that his babies were all growing up. Since when did he give them permission anyway?
He was left alone with his thoughts for the present time. Both Julie and Abbi were at school, while Jen was out doing the weekly grocery shopping with Jack. He shook his head when he thought about the times to come. In just 9 short months, Julie would be graduating high school and possibly leaving him forever. They were currently discussing her options for college, and he thought he was more nervous than she was!
~*~
Julie was walking out to her car, her book bag slung over one shoulder as she chatted with one of her friends. She opened the door and tossed her book bag into the back seat, saying goodbye. Just as she was about to slide into car, she heard a pitiful yap. Looking down, she spotted a little ball of black and brown fluff and her heart immediately broke for the pitiful little creature.
Lowering herself to her hands and knees so that she could get a better look, she saw that its little eyes were nearly crusted shut, with debris caught in the fur surrounding them. “Ooh oooh!” she cooed, lifting the little baby up. The small dog yelped pitifully once more, his little body shaking as she cradled him to her chest. She had no idea where he’d come from, but she certainly wasn’t going to leave him there! It was a busy parking lot and the poor little baby looked as if he couldn’t see! Nope, he was definitely coming with her.
~*~
It had taken nearly 20 minutes to clean the little dog’s eyes, with the help of her science teacher, Mr. Renkwitz. The older man had used a q-tip and water to clean the crust and debris from around his eyes, but made it clear that she should get the little fella in to a vet as soon as possible. After she’d gotten his help, she carried the puppy out to the car and then headed out to pick up Abbi. She was running late, and just hoped that the girl would understand!
All it took was one look at the puppy before all was forgotten! Abbi squealed and begged Julie to let her hold the dog on the way home.
“You have to SWEAR not to mention it to dad!” Julie warned. “There’s no way he’ll let us keep him unless we get Jen on our side,” she said, a plan already formulating in her brain on how they could plot against their father. “In fact… if you can, just reach into my purse and grab my phone. I’ll give Jenny a call right now!”
~*~
“Okay,” Jen hissed, looking over her shoulder to make sure that her husband was not upstairs in the hallway. “Go ahead and put him in the bathroom until after dinner,” she said. “I’m sure that he’ll be alright there for now. Hurry up and then come downstairs.”
Pushing herself to her feet, Jen went into the nursery where she’d laid Jack to talk to the girls about the puppy. When they’d called her earlier, she almost flipped her lid. Especially when they made it very clear that they were bringing it home. However, after hearing the pitiful yapping in the background, she didn’t have the heart to say no!
She’d made sure to slip into the house ahead of the girls and had requested JC’s help in the kitchen to get dinner going so that the girls could easily sneak past him, the puppy in Julie’s arms. However, when the first opportunity came, she ran up the stairs to see the soon to be addition (or so she hoped) to the family.
~*~
Now, sometimes, JC wasn’t the most attentive person when he was having dinner with his family. He was too engulfed in the stories his children told about their day, but tonight, no one was talking. The three girls in his life were too busy shoveling their food as if there was no tomorrow.
“Did you guys all have a dream that you were starving?” He asked with a laugh, shaking his head. He didn’t miss the look that the three of them shared before they slowed down. He whistled and pushed his chair back. “Alright. I’ll be right back,” he said, getting up.
As soon as he exited the room, the whispering began.
“Are you sure he’ll let us keep him?” Julie asked, keeping her voice down in case JC was nearby.
Jen shook her head. “I can’t promise it,” she said honestly. “But I’ll do my best to talk him into it, okay?” The conversation ceased immediately at the sound of JC’s footsteps outside of the door.
“What have we here?” All three girls turned to JC, and all three wore identical looks of horror as they noticed the wiggling ball of brown and black fur. They tried to judge his feelings on the puppy, but his face was blank.
“Honey… I can explain…”
“There’s no need to explain. He’ll not be staying,” JC announced, tucking the little furball safely under one arm as he walked over to the phone. In an instant, both Julie and Abbi flew out of their seats and had attached themselves to him as they attempted to sway him.
“Daddy PLEASE! We can get rid of him!” Julie pleaded, tears in her eyes.
“Just watch me,” he said, forcing himself not to look in her eyes. He was sure if he saw her tears, he would cave. “Do you have any idea what kind of dog this is?” He asked.
She shook her head innocently. “I couldn’t leave him there daddy! I found him in the parking lot at school and his little eyes were so crusted over. He’s just a baby!” She wailed. “I couldn’t leave him there!”
“I understand and appreciate that Julie, but this dog is a rottweiler. Do you understand the damage these breeds can cause? We have a baby in the house!”
“You’re just being… prejudice!” she argued. “If it was a stupid, yappy little dog you wouldn’t make me get rid of it!” She sobbed.
“Yes I would! We don’t need any animals! I’m going to call Chris and see if he’d be interested. Last I heard, he was in the market for a puppy.”
“I don’t WANT to give him to Chris!” She wailed. “I never see Chris!”
“That has nothing to do with it.”
“YES IT DOES!” She bellowed. “If I can’t see Chris, I can’t see the puppy!”
“You’re skating on thin ice, lady,” he told her. “You’d better stop your whining right now. It’s not going to change my mind!”
“Josh, I think you’re being a little harsh,” Jen piped up. He turned to face her, cocking an eyebrow.
“And YOU… we need to have a little discussion about you hiding things from me,” he told her. Her jaw dropped.
“What makes you think I had anything to do with this?”
“I’m not stupid, Jen. They couldn’t have snuck the little booger in here without your help.”
“Do you really have to ge-“
“Yes I do, and I would appreciate your support on this.”
“Well, I think you’re being pig headed and stupid, so you’ll NOT be getting my support!” She fired back. She turned to her daughters and then lifted Jack up, carrying him upstairs.
“Momma, we geta keep da puppy?” He asked excitedly.
Though JC didn’t hear the answer, he groaned loudly. He looked down at the puppy in his arms, squirming and whining. “Oh shut up,” he said. He turned the dog in his arms, holding him up. “The first time you bite someone, you’re out of here. Got it?” He asked, giving the dog a serious look. “I mean it,” he said, unable to contain the smile as the puppy licked his face.
Number of reviews: 76
Print:
Chapter or Story