Page 88 of Captivating Anika

Before I have a chance to confirm, she’s out of the car, running for the door.

I hope she doesn’t give Hog a heart attack.

Hog

“Where are my grandpuppies?”

I turn around to see Nira coming out of the house and onto the deck. Zeke and Ryder, excited by the prospect of meeting someone new, immediately beeline it for the stairs, stumbling over each other in their efforts to get to her first. Much like her daughter, Nira gets down to their level, sinking down on the top step. She’s overrun instantly, but doesn’t seem at all fazed by the dogs’ rambunctious enthusiasm.

The boys have done well so far, at least for the most part. It looks like someone at least put some effort into house-training them. Ryder had a little mishap this morning when I didn’t run for the back door the moment I got downstairs. He peed on the kitchen floor, and while I was getting some paper towel, Zeke decided to pee on top. I guess that’s the risk when you get two boys, if one marks, it’ll encourage the other to do the same.

On the plus side though, they have a built-in playmate. These guys have been running around the yard since I came out here to plant those seeds I never got around to.

“Aren’t you just the cutest…”

Nira is cooing at the pups, totally ignoring both me and Anika, who is standing right behind her.

As I make my way up the stairs, I scrutinize Anika’s face for any signs of distress after her visit to the nursing home, but she appears okay, shaking her head at the dogs’ antics.

“Hi,” she greets me, as I climb over the pups and their newest fan.

“Hey.”

I cradle her face in my hand and notice her eyes are a little puffy. Not quite so okay, but her smile seems genuine when I bend down to kiss her hello.

“How did it go?”

“It was a bit more difficult than I expected,” she admits. “Mainly because of how sad it was to know she now has no one. One minute she knew Kim was gone and the next she kind of disappeared in plain sight. Just seemed to go somewhere else in her mind. I guess somewhere the painful reality can’t reach her.”

“So you’re still no wiser as to what arrangements to make for Kim?”

“No, but…” Nira starts as she gets to her feet and brushes the dog hair off her pants. “Anika was smart and contacted Lindsey’s mom, Mel. She’s going to help figure out where to go from here.”

“She’s looking into what it would take for me to take responsibility for Kim,” Anika ads. “But that means there’s nothing I can do right now.”

“Not exactly,” I volunteer. “There’s nothing holding you back from putting a plan on paper. Get your thoughts going about what you think she might want. I bet if you call a funeral home and talk to one of the directors, they’d be able to help you in terms of options, costs, all that kind of stuff.”

“And I’m happy to help you with that,” Nira adds. “But I have to get going and feed your father.”

“I appreciate you coming, Mom.”

Nira smiles at her daughter.

“Of course, my precious girl.”

Something must’ve happened with these two, because there is none of the tension that always seems to simmer between them. No sarcasm, no admonishments, no eye-rolling. It’s like some silent paradigm shift has taken place.

I follow the two to the front door where Anika hugs her mom and I kiss her cheek.

“If you ever need dog-sitting, I expect to be first in line,” Nira calls over her shoulder as she makes her way to her car.

We head back in when she drives off, only to find Zeke has discovered the laundry hamper. He’s currently chewing on one of Anika’s bras.

“Great taste, pooch, but not a chew toy,” I correct, reaching for him.

That leads to a lengthy chase around the house, Ryder running alongside like it’s all one big game, and Zeke ducking and diving between the furniture. Anika’s already given up, and has thrown herself on the couch, holding her stomach from laughing so hard.

When I finally corner Zeke in the downstairs bathroom, where he’s wedged himself behind the toilet bowl, I carefully remove the pink lace contraption from between his sharp teeth before setting him free. Sadly, I think the bra is toast, one strap is only partially attached, and both cups suffered tears that would defeat the purpose of wearing one in the first place.

---