I can look into. Getting a puppy is a lot of work, and with Daddy’s work schedule, it might not be easy to do. I’d have to see if Nona and Papa would be willing to help with it when I’m at work.”
“Nona would help,” Paisley insists.
I chuckle at her persistence and faith that my mom will help me out so that she can have a puppy. “Don’t go volunteering her for something now. I’d have to talk to her first and make sure that she’d be on board with helping.”
“Can I help pick the puppy out?” Paisley asks as if this is a done deal.
“Slow down, P. I didn’t say that we were getting a puppy. I just said that it might be an option.” I flick my eyes up to the mirror in time to see her little hopes flee her body as the bottom lip comes back out in a pout. “Hey, now, no need to pout. I said we’d talk about it, and I’d look into it. Okay?”
“Okay, Daddy,” she agrees with me.
I pull into my driveway and into the garage. Once parked, I help her out of her seat and grab both her bag and my own. “How about a bath or shower, and then we cuddle on the couch for an episode on Disney Junior before bed?”
“Yes! Can I have bubbles?” she asks, skipping into the house.
“Sure.” I chuckle at her back as I follow her into the house. I drop our bags off in our respective rooms before heading to the bathroom next to her room. She’s already dumping the bucket of toys into the tub before I can even get the water turned on. I get it all set up for her, bubbles included. While she plays in the water, I set out her vitamins and get her toothbrush ready for after she’s in PJs.
“I loves you, Daddy,” Paisley tells me once we’re cuddled up together on the couch about a half-hour later.
“I love you, too.” I kiss the top of her head as we watch some princess show she wanted to watch. I feel myself nodding off by the time the episode ends. “Ready for bed?” I ask, picking her sleepy body up from the couch.
“Yes,” she says, yawning into my neck. I carry her to her bed, tucking her in for the night. I kiss her forehead before turning on the small night light on the nightstand.
“Sleep tight,” I tell her in a whisper before I leave the room, shutting the door behind me. I check the doors to make sure everything is locked up tight and then head for my shower and then into bed.
2
Lindsay
“Are you ready yet?” my best friend, Allison, asks as I finish applying my mascara. We’ve been friends since forever, basically since we were in diapers. Our moms have always been BFF’s, so it was inevitable that we’d be the same way with all the time we were together; it also helps that we’re only a few weeks apart in age.
“Yep,” I call out as I clean up my mess in the bathroom.
“It’s just Joe’s; you don’t have to look perfect,” she replies, referring to the local bar we’re headed out to tonight. We’re meeting a few other friends there for a drink or two. It’s ladies' night, and it has been one hell of a week at work. I’ve been a nurse in the ER going on six years now. I was hired almost immediately upon returning home from college and haven’t looked back since. I love it in the ER. There is never a dull day. We’ve always got patients to keep us busy; you never know what may come through the door. From patients with the stomach flu or a broken bone to major accident victims, we don’t see much downtime.
“All right, let's go,” I say, grabbing my debit card and driver's license from my big wallet and sliding them into a small little wristlet, along with some cash and my Chapstick.
“I can’t wait to get out on the dance floor and shake our asses off tonight,” Allison says on the way to the bar. It’s not far from my little two-bedroom house.
“I know. I need to release some steam, and a drink or two and some time on the dance floor sounds like the perfect way to unwind,” I agree with her.
“And not having to work tomorrow is the perfect excuse to let loose tonight,” she adds as I pull into