You Stayed With Us

Lisa vs. Cooper

Lisa's POV

It's been a few weeks since we turned our office into a pastel pink wonderland of diapers, glitter, and emotional chaos. The nursery is perfect now—thanks to Jennie's stubborn insistence on aesthetics, Jisoo's chaotic assembling methods, Rosé's sparkly ribbon addiction, and my tragic back pain from trying to build a crib with two toddlers using the screws as pretend microphones.

But tonight? Tonight was supposed to be my night. No paint, no glitter, no IKEA nightmares. Just me, my wife, our sleeping children, and hopefully—hopefully—some peace and cuddles.

Except... we forgot to factor in one small, golden, furry detail.

Cooper.

Now don't get me wrong—I love our Golden Retriever with all my heart. He's been with us for years, and I swear he knows every secret this family has. But ever since Jennie entered her third trimester, Cooper's been acting like he's carrying the baby.

And tonight?

He was on a whole new level of clingy.

I was halfway onto the couch beside Jennie, just about to wrap my arm around her when WHAM—a furry body shoved in between us like I was intruding on some sacred moment.

"Coop," I groaned, trying to nudge him aside with my knee. "I just want to cuddle Mommy, okay?"

He looked at me.

Dead in the eye.

Then leaned harder into Jennie's side with a dramatic doggie huff and dropped his head on her stomach like he was her personal pregnancy pillow.

Jennie giggled and scratched behind his ears. "He's been like this all day. Followed me to the bathroom three times."

I blinked. "Even you don't follow me to the bathroom three times."

"That's because you bring your phone and take 30 minutes to answer one email."

"Okay, fair," I muttered.

Cooper, still glued to Jennie, glared at me from the corner of his eye.

I tried again. "Coop, come here. Come to Dada. I got a treat."

I held up one of those peanut butter biscuits he usually lives for.

Nothing.

No response.

He just burrowed further into the blanket, sighing dramatically like I'd just offered him broccoli.

"Wow," I mumbled. "Betrayal from woman's best friend. Or woman's best womb warmer."

Jennie snorted. "Maybe he's jealous of the baby."

"No, no, I'm the one getting replaced here. First it was Ella. Then Noah and Nathan. Now this little jellybean. And now even the dog chose sides."

I stood up dramatically, stomping to the kitchen like a heartbroken sitcom person.

"Where are you going?" Jennie called out.

"To cry into a bag of marshmallows."

By the time I returned with said marshmallows, Cooper had taken my spot on the couch. Fully. Like, head-on-pillow, paws tucked in, pretending to be Jennie's golden husband.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Jennie didn't even try to hide her laugh. "Babe, just let him be. He's being sweet."

"I can be sweet," I argued, pointing to my face. "This face? Certified cuddle monster."

"You pouted for thirty minutes last week because I didn't want pancakes at 11PM."