Page 59 of Promised Summer
I nodded and left. It wasn’t very professional of me to leave the site in the middle of a workday, but I trusted my team to keep everything going like a well-oiled machine. And with Ryker there, I knew they’d solve any issues that might pop up, or they’d call me.
The drive home was mostly a blur, but I kept both hands on the wheel and paid extra attention to the road. When I first adopted Lily, I was not expecting to become a grandpa, but here we were.
What if something went wrong during labor? My research told me it was relatively safe, and Lily’s body knew exactly what to do, but I still couldn’t help worrying. She was my little fur baby.
If I were this worried about a puppy birth, how the hell did parents and grandparents handle the births of human babies?
As soon as I’d safely parked my truck, I was sprinting inside.
“How is she?” I asked as I barged through the door. I immediately beelined toward Lily’s nest. Ryan and Karla were already by her side, and they turned my way as I approached.
Lily lifted her head for a brief second, too, but quickly plopped it back down when she saw it was me.
“Look, her baby is here!” Karla happily squealed. She clutched Puppy, her yellow stuffed animal that looked a whole lot like Lily.
Ryan quickly asked Karla to lower her voice, so we didn’t disturb the mama, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
I slipped into the spot beside them and peeked into her nest to see a tiny black butt poking out from Lily’s belly. The pup’s eyes weren’t open yet, but he already knew how to nurse.
“He’s so tiny!” Karla said in a hushed tone, but she couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Yeah, he is, baby,” I said and pulled Karla onto my lap. “He’s adorable, just like you.” I kissed her cheek and rubbed my beard over her face, which made her giggle.
Ryan smiled and said, “She started having contractions again a few minutes ago. I think the second pup’s on their way.”
“Our mama is doing so well,” I commented and pulled Ryan close to tuck him into my side.
I’d read that it was best to leave the mother alone while she was in labor, so the three of us sat there quietly and watched over her.
Soon after, Lily whimpered. The urge to comfort her was strong, but I knew it was best to leave her alone for the most part, unless she was seeking us out first. So, to keep myself from reaching out to her, I held Ryan and Karla close, while my eyes were peeled on Lily.
Her belly contracted again, more whimpering ensued, and then another black pup slipped out from her. Lily, being the good mama she was, quickly licked her second baby clean.
Everything happened before I could even process it. I watched as the two black pups wiggled to each other, then returned to nursing.
Karla had fallen asleep in my arms at some point, probably tired from waiting. Ryan was sitting at the kitchen bar with his laptop in front of him and finishing some last bits of work for the day.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t do anything but keep watching. I was still lost in the magic of it all, still amazed at the beautiful pups my strong fur baby had given birth to.
I wasn’t aware of how much time had passed and continued to give Lily silent support. The vet had said she most likely had three pups inside of her, so I was just waiting for the last one to come out. But the baby of the litter seemed determined to keep us waiting.
It wasn’t until my legs started going numb that there was finally some movement from inside her belly.
“It’s happening!” I called Ryan over. Karla shifted in my arms and woke up from her nap. She rubbed her hand over her eyes, and the sleepiness was instantly gone from them when she saw the last pup.
The fur baby we were waiting for was obviously the runt of the litter and was a lot smaller than his siblings—and yes, he wasdefinitelya boy. He was also a replica of Lily.
“Puppy!” Karla shouted again and lifted her stuffed doggy into the air. She sounded just as excited as when she’d met Lily for the first time.
“Papa, Daddy, it’s Puppy!” Karla repeated herself as she climbed to her feet to get a closer look.
“Baby, let’s not disturb them yet,” Ryan said and grabbed hold of her before she could try to grab the newborn pup.
I was still focused on our mama. It wasn’t until the last placenta released, and all three pups were cleaned and nursing, that I finally let go of the last of my tension.
“You did it, Lily! You did such a good job, Mama!” I cooed to her and slowly reached out to pet her head. Lily lolled her tongue, her tail wagging, though not as energetically as it usually did. It was understandable, as my poor baby had to push three pups out of her.
“Let me get her something to eat,” I told them and stood to fix a bowl of the special puppy food she’d switched to these past couple of weeks. I placed the bowl by Lily’s head, and she took no time gobbling it down.
