Haven Harbor • a.i. •

Chapter 32

When we got back I had Ender get two bowls from the cupboard for us to use as food and water bowls and filled them up, placing them along the wall in the kitchen where I wouldn't trip over them.

Next we put his collar on and hung the leash on the coat hook by the door.

"Bear." Ender said suddenly.

"What?" I quirked.

"I wanna name him Bear, he looks like a Bear." Ender nodded definitively.

"Okay then," I grinned, "Welcome to the family, Bear."

We decided to give Bear a bath and then play before dinner. Ender and Bear were rolling around on the living room floor while I cooked spaghetti for us to eat.

Bear laid under Ender's feet as we ate at the bar and I smiled, knowing I had made the right choice.

I was washing the dishes when my phone rang from the counter.

"It's Ashton!" Ender yelled and answered the FaceTime for me since my hands were covered in bubbles.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" I heard Ashton yell through the phone.

"Thanks!" Ender called back. "I got a dog for my birthday! A real dog!"

I laughed when he said "a real dog".

"Let me see!" Ashton said enthusiastically.

"He's so cute!" Ashton said moments later. "What's his name?"

"Bear!" Ender beamed proudly.

"I can't wait to come meet him."

"How long till you come back?" Ender asked.

"Two weeks, bud."Ashton said and I dried off my hands to go over to the phone.

Two weeks. The first two had gone by fairly quickly, but with each passing day my entire being just ached for Ash to come back, and I was counting down the days until he got here.

"Okay, well Bear and I are ready to play with you. Maybe we can take him to the park?" Ender said chattily.

"Sounds like a plan!" Ashton replied. "That was pretty nice of your sister, huh?" I heard Ashton say, talking about getting Bear and I stopped, waiting to see what Ender said.

"Yeah, she's pretty great." Ender smiled and my heart filled with happiness.

"I am pretty great, aren't I?" I smirked, walking over and placing my hands on Ender's shoulders and placing a kiss on his cheek.

"Oh my god." He rolled his eyes and handed me over the phone, running off to get one of Bear's toys.

"Hey." I laughed and looked so see his bright face on the screen. Ashton was wearing a plain black tee shirt and his eyes were as shining as ever.

"Hey," He smiled, "So I'm guessing today went well." He chuckled at the end.

"It went great. I'll send you the video I took, his expression was priceless."

"I can't wait to watch." He grinned.

"I can't wait for you to come back." I mused.