They were in their room changing out of regular clothes into pajamas.
“The Jensens asked us to watch their dog,” said Lauren, stepping into the closet.
“Obviously, you said no,” the man said.
“Actually, I didn’t.”
“Come on. Seriously?”
“She’s hypoallergenic. Maltipoo or something.”
“Great, but it’s not like you like dogs.”
“I know. But we had Deedee here for a while.”
“For, like, two days. How long would this be?”
Lauren emerged from the closet with a pair of fleece pants and a long-sleeve shirt. “Two weeks.”
The man whistled. “I mean, there have to be five families in the Church better suited than we are.”
“Two weeks is a long time. Maybe all the rest of them couldn’t do it that long.”
The man pulled off his own pair of jeans, then folded them and grabbed his pajama shorts. “No one has anything to do right now except sit around and watch dogs.”
“Well, it will give the kids something to do.”
“I hope you don’t wind up hating it.”
“As long as you and the kids do everything, I’ll be fine. Just don’t try to convince me to get one.”
“You won’t get it from me,” said the man. He slipped a T-shirt over his head. “But you know that the kids are going to come after you.”
“Just back me up on this.”
“You always said it was you or a dog, and I’ve always picked you.”
Lauren stepped to the door and opened it. “It’s true. So far, anyway.”
***
Ten days into her time at their house, Macee was curled up next to Lauren on the chaise lounge. Lauren held a book with one hand and petted Macee’s white fur with the other.
“She’s not the only dog in the world like that, Mom,” said Lindsay.
Lauren glanced up at her and sighed. “Fine. Whatever. You can look around at breeders. I just don’t want to do anything with potty training or feeding it or whatever.”
“Did you hear that, Lucia?” Lindsay said.
“Ahhhhh!” said Lucia. “Quick! Get your laptop!”
The Living and the Dead, by Gordon Laws 