Chapter Fifty One
Due to the fact that JC was a little more than annoyed by Jen and the girls attempting to keep this puppy thing a secret from him, he’d not exactly caved and told the girls that he’d decided to keep the dog. Instead, he’d shut the dog up in the downstairs bathroom with plenty of food and water, and even an old tennis ball to hopefully keep it occupied while he let them sweat it out a little longer.
However, when he heard the sound of his daughter’s sniffles from the stair way, he was beginning to rethink his decision to keep them in the dark. He turned to look at her, offering her a sad smile.
“What’s the matter babe?”
“Y-you wouldn’t care anyway,” Abbi whimpered, swiping at her tears angrily.
“Now that’s no way to act. Come here honey,” he said, patting the couch beside him. Abbi was quiet as she made her way down the rest of the stairs and then walked over to his side, dropping to the seat next to him. “Now why are you crying?”
“Daddy… I am depressed and P-I-S-T,” she told him, her voice getting just a bit softer as she spelled out a word that she wasn’t supposed to use.
JC’s eyes widened and as hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep himself from laughing, which only proved to upset her further.
“Daddy! This is not funny!” She cried, the tears spilling down her cheeks once more.
“Oh Abbi,” he laughed. “I’m sorry baby… I’m not trying to laugh at you… but that’s not…” he paused to laugh some more. “that’s not how it’s spelled.”
Her cheeks turned red as she reached up to wipe her tears away. “Well… that’s how it sounds,” she sobbed.
He pulled her close to his side, and leaned down to touch his lips to her head gently. “Don’t cry baby,” he told her.
“I c-can’t help it! I loved him daddy! I even named him an’ everything and you didn’t even let me say g-g-goodbye!” She wailed, burying her face against his side. JC let out a beaten sigh as he pulled away.
“Go into the bathroom and wash your face off,” he told her.
“I don’t w-want to.”
“You don’t have a choice. Now go,” he said, watching as she got up. He silently counted down from 5 in his head, and had just gotten to ‘1’ when he heard an excited shriek come from the bathroom.
“Roger!” Abbi squealed, lifting the puppy into her arms. JC was unable to contain his smile, and actually laughed when he heard a voice from the stairs.
“We’re NOT naming it Roger!”
~*~
Over the next few days, they were quickly becoming accustomed to the new addition to the family. JC had anticipated some problems for the pup, whom had been officially christened ‘Jax,’ after the little boy had cried when they refused to name him “Jack”, after himself.
JC slipped into the house, having gone out for the afternoon to spend some time with his friends who he rarely saw anymore. They’d grown apart since they all had their own families now, but the guys had made it a priority to see one another at LEAST once a month to catch up.
As he pushed the door open, he heard the sound of the vacuum cleaner running in the living room. A smile formed on his lips as he headed in that direction, however the smile disappeared upon seeing her shoulders shake, the sound of her sobs drowned out by the noise. He slipped up behind her slowly and wrapped his arms around her middle, trying not to laugh when she jumped.
“You scared me,” she accused after she cut the machine off. She reached up to swipe at the remaining tears, though she didn’t turn to look at him.
“What’s the matter?” He asked her softly, dropping a kiss to her shoulder gently. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m not,” she denied, though even as she did, she sniffled pitifully.
“And I’m not stupid, so start talking.”
“Could have fooled me,” she retorted curtly, sniffling once more. A playful growl escaped his lips as he turned her to face him. He looked down at her red and swollen eyes, her runny nose, her tear stained cheeks and he felt his heart break. He hated when she was so down.
“What’s the matter?” He asked, all traces of his playfulness gone.
She bit her lip, but once glance up into his eyes sent her into tears again. “I’m g-getting ooooold!” She wailed, dropping her head to his chest as she cried.
JC literally had to bite down on his lip to keep himself from laughing at her. “Aww baby, you’re not getting old,” he told her, kissing the top of her head gently.
“Y-yes I am!” she sobbed.
“Why would you say that?”
“J-Jack went in the potty today,” she sobbed.
JC could hardly contain his laugh. Did she understand how ridiculous she sounded? She was depressed because their son used the toilet instead of his diaper. “Wait a minute… you’re crying… because Jack is using the potty now?”
Jen pulled away and slapped his chest. “Josh!” she cried. “I’m b-being serious! H-he’s getting so b-big,” she cried. “He’s growing up on me,” she sniffled. JC offered her a small smile before he pulled her back to him.
“They’re all growing up, baby,” he cooed softly. “You remember when Julie first came to live with us? God, it’s been 14 years already,” he told her, offering her a smile. “They’re all getting older baby. It’s just a part of life.”
“Yeah,” she sniffled. “Well, it sucks.”
“I can’t disagree with you there,” he said softly, closing his eyes as he let out a soft sigh.
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