Page 36 of Keyoni & Sage
“Thanks.”
When she was out of earshot, I asked Jami if she called Sage over. It wasn’t an issue, I just didn’t know they were cool like that, or at least getting there. Jami told me Sage had been stopping by every day on her own, checking on Big Girl and her three remaining pups.
“She even brought me some milk yesterday,” Jami revealed.
“That was nice.”
“I know, right? She’s sweet.” I glanced down the hallway where Sage disappeared as Jami continued. “I like her.”
“Me too,” slipped out.
“I know,” Jami said. “Anybody with eyes can see that.”
“I thought you were watching TV.”
“And now you’re trying to deflect.” Jami laughed as I started for the back room. “You mustreallylike her…”
Her laugh grew louder the further I walked, fizzling out when I reached the back room. The door was open and I saw Sage sitting next to Big Girl’s pool, talking too lowly to hear. I walked in, catching her attention with my footsteps. She lookedover briefly, gave a half-smile, then returned her attention to the nursing puppies.
“She doesn’t want to feed them,” she said as I walked up. “That’s not a good sign.”
Sage had Big Girl on her side, caressing her short coat while her puppies pulled and sucked forcibly at her nipples.
“What do you suggest?”
She sighed as I stood over her and nodded toward her hand. “This. She’s on a schedule. Every two to three hours, Jami comes in here and does the same thing I’m doing now, basically making her nurse.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Jami said she can only get her to lay down for a few minutes, then she’s back up, refusing to acknowledge the puppies. Worst case scenario, we’ll have to move to bottle-feeding.”
Knowing the way Jami’s patience was set up, it was a long road for everybody if it came to that. But that was her issue. Big Girl was her dog.
Keturah popped into the room. “Hey, Dad.” She migrated past me to the puppies she claimed as her own. “Hey, Ms. Sage.”
Sage looked up and smiled. “Hey, Keturah.”
“Are they doing okay?” she questioned, kneeling next to Sage. “I was feeding that one the bottle before I went to school.” She pointed to the runt of the litter. “She’s my favorite.”
They started a conversation that had me on the outs. I glanced out of the door, looking for Keturah’s friend.
“Where’s Erin?”
“Oh, she couldn’t come down.” The runt released Big Girl’s nipple, falling into a relaxing milk coma. Keturah picked her up. “Her mom’s not home. She can’t leave the apartment.”
I nodded, watching my daughter desert our conversation for a baby talk session with the puppy. I stopped it as soon as it started.
“Don’t get comfortable.” Keturah looked up. “We’re about to go.”
“Can we stay a little bit longer?” Keturah whined.
“No.” I was ready to go home.
“But…” She thought about it before asking, “Can I stay then?”
“Discuss it with Jami.”
We tried not to deviate too much from our parenting schedule.
