Robin
Denny finally comes home as I'm making hot chocolate. "Smells good, babe!" he calls from the hallway. He joins me in the kitchen as I pour two mugs, hooking a mini candy cane over the lip of each cup to flavor the cocoa as they melt.
As I turn, I realize that Denny is holding a big bag of presents wrapped in shiny paper with candy cane stripes. "More gifts?" I wonder. Denny had gone so overboard on Christmas that we've probably already populated an entire landfill with the leftover paper.
"They were having a sale at the pet store," Denny explains. "Cooper enjoyed unwrapping his presents so much that I got him more."
I laugh. I'd actually been a little shocked when Cooper had unwrapped his presents excitedly on Christmas. At first, I thought he might only play with the paper, but once he realized he had new toys, he forgot all about it.
"Come on. Let's go let him rip into them, then." Denny wraps his arm around me and we head to the couch. Cooper barks happily at Denny, curiously sticking his nose into the bag as Denny sets it down.
"These are for you, buddy," Denny tells him, starting to pull the presents out of the bag and setting them on the floor. Cooper huffs and stares at Denny. I giggle as his butt starts wiggling when he realizes what Denny means.
Denny sets the bag aside. "Go on, Cooper. Open your presents."
Cooper barks and starts to tear at the paper with his mouth and feet. The presents are wrapped loosely enough that he can get them apart, and I see that Denny has already removed any packaging that might get in the way from the gifts.
We sit and drink our hot chocolate, laughing as Cooper has a great time dismantling his presents. Soon, he's rolling around in a pile of toys and paper, barking happily, his butt still wiggling.
"I love this candy cane hot chocolate," Denny admits. "Can we only have it at Christmas?"
I smile and lean my head against his shoulder. "We can have it whenever you want, Denny," I tell him. I give him a tight hug. "Thank you for taking care of us."
"Always, sweetheart," he murmurs, kissing the top of my head.
Cooper joins us on the couch with three new toys in his mouth. He drops them into Denny's lap and barks, nuzzling me as he waits to be played with.
Denny chuckles. "All right, buddy. Let's test all these out, okay?"
Cooper barks in agreement. Denny moves and they start to play.
I watch them fondly. I can already imagine them like this with the addition of a toddler in Denny's arms, laughing excitedly at Cooper, while I sit with a baby in my lap.
For now, I go to join them, rubbing Cooper's ears and selecting another toy to play with.
I'm sure my vision will be real eventually.
