Chapter 10: A Dog's Life
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The entire family was up especially early that morning, with a very unhappy dog waking them up. Brianne decided just this once it would be all right if everyone had leftover cake for breakfast. Someone had forgotten to put it away after Viviana's birthday, and she dind't want it to go bad.
Brianne chatted with Taro while she ate, thinking this was too early to be up even for her. She would try to get some extra sleep rather than risk falling asleep at work just as soon as she satisfied her hunger pangs.
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With Selma so sick she had turned blue, Harry got her to the vet's as soon as he could, glad they were open so early. He barely took the time to eat and use the bathroom first, almost forgetting to get dressed. Once he signed in, he settled in to wait, taking a look around the newly renovated and enlarged space. He saw a sign advertising the new surgery unit, and thought it might be a good idea to get Selma spayed while he was there.
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It wasn't long before they were called back into an exam room. Harry stayed out of the way, watching as Navya Chandran performed an examination. He chose the more expensive treatment, glad he and Brianne could affored the expense.
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Afterward, Harry praised Selma. "Good girl. And you're getting a bath just as soon as we get home," he told her, catching a whiff of her smell.
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Harry signed back in to have Selma spayed. The wait was longer this time, so he passed the time chatting iwth other pet owners, including Bianca Yomin, who was there with her dog, Akhenaten. The wait drew out so long that Harry just cancelled the appointment, needing to get ready for work though he was now dead tired. He rushed home to change and drop Selma off, regretting he didn't have time to bathe her. "Sorry, girl. You'll have to wait til either Viviana or Brianne get home," he told her.
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Later that afternoon, Viviana and Taro returned from school hungry and tired. They made sandwiches for themselves, ham and cheese for Viviana, peanut butter and jelly for Taro. Armed with food, they sat in front of the TV to eat, chatting about their school projects. Viviana eventually grew bored with the TV show and turned on the stereo to listen to music.
"Mrs. T said she remembered you from when you were in her class," Taro said, naming thier music teacher.
"Oh, she's still teaching? What did she say about me?" Viviana asked, curious.
Taro shrugged. "Just that you were a good student -but only when you liked the music being played."
"Ugh, I hoped she'd forgret about that," VIviana winced.
Taro laughed at her, knowing he now had somehting new to tease her about.
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Mai had napped at daycare and was well rested as well as fed. She sat on the floor near her siblings and played Draw With Llama on her tablet. She didn't seem to notice the large, smelly dog sleeping behind her.
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As if she had some sort of sixth sense, Selma woke and dashed out the door to greet Brianne the instant she came home.
"Hi, girl. At least you look normal again, just dirty and smelly!" Brianne exclaimed, kneeling to pet the dog anyway. "Come on, let's get you in the bath."
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On the way across the living room to the stairs, Brianne greeted hee children.
"Hi, Mom. We're going to bed. We'll do our homework later," Viviana answered while Taro just yawned.
"All right. Goodnight."
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Bath time over, Brianne went back downstairs to spend some time with Mai. She smiled at the toddler's happy babble while considering what to make for that night's dinner.
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Feeling rested, Viviana came out of her room to read for a while before dinner, still in no mood to tackle her homework.
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Brianne decided to try out a new recipe for garlic noodles a friend at the hospital had given her. She hoped they came out just right.
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Selma heard Harry come home and raced out to greet him, barking. She had clearly forgiven him for makng her go to the vet's. Despite the fact that he was so tired he was about to drop, Harry lavished her with a attention, spending a few minutes playing with the big dog before he went up to bed. He didn't even play a little music first the way he usually did.
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With two members of the family in bed, only three gathered around the dining room table for dinner, talking about thier day and trading jokes.
Once they'd finsihed eating, Viviana and Taro went back to bed.
Brianne didn't fell tired yet despite the late hour and there was no need for her to hurry to bed since she was off the next day. Thus she was awake and ready when Mai woke crying from a nightmare.
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Brianne met Mai in the living room, kneeling to hug her close. "Shhh, you're all right, I'm here now. Nothing's going to hurt you," she soothed.
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Once Mai had calmed down, Brianne put her in her high chair and fed her a sandwich.
Mai babbled nonsense, the only real word Brianne could pick out being "Mama."
