NEON

67. Spot and Chalk

Kaplan.

"God damn, no wonder you don't sleep." My dad comes downstairs. I laugh and he cracks his back. "Maybe I won't go to the office today and instead we can go to Mattress Kingdom and look for something there." He poured himself a cup of coffee.

I shrugged and sipped a cup I poured myself earlier when I woke up. He turned around and glanced at me. He turned back around and poured in creamer and sugar. He stirred and turned back around.

"You're wearing your hair down." He finally noticed. I nodded and didn't feel at all uncomfortable with it. He sat down next to me and pulled the end with his finger and it stretched all the way towards him. "Time to get a trim?"

Usually my aunt gives me a cut but I think the stitches have healed enough for a salon to cut it?

"Yeah maybe." I sipped my coffee again and we sat in silence for a short moment.

"You know who called me today," he said. I looked up at him. "Uncle Chris," I chuckle and my dad sips his coffee. "He said he was sorry about missing the dinner and that his flight got cancelled but he said that Alaska weather got to Layla and she is sick."

"Oh." That kind of sucks. I wonder if he knows about Cyrus. "But good news that he is coming up with Avery and Jason." My dad said sarcastically.

"No." I put my mug down. "They aren't staying here are they." I rephrased that.

"No. They aren't even coming. I told them that, along with Cyrus, there was too much going on. We couldn't deal with a bunch of nine year olds." I thanked my dad for telling my uncle some bs story.

I love all of my family but my cousins are too energetic and last time they were here they broke the only valuable thing my sister had of my mom.

"Well it's about ten and the mattress store usually is packed around twelve. Wanna get going? We can get some breakfast while we are out too cause I'm starving." I chuckled and nodded my head.

We got up and I took our cups to the sink. I dumped the coffee and walked out to the garage.

_____

"It's comfy but a little weird like all I see are people having sex on it." I face palmed and got off the bed.

"Dad." I groaned and the manager guy just chuckled uncomfortably.

"We also have a winter collection." Where are we? Macy's clothing department? He guided us away from the sex bed and to a whole different section of the store. I guess my dad would call it a sex-shun.

He has been making jokes the entire time.

My dad put his arm around me and ignored the guy talking. "I was thinking, what if we got a dog?" I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?" I asked very, very serious.

"Yeah. Why not?"

"Dad!" I squeaked and tugged on his sweater vest. He chuckled and grabbed my hand.

"We are gonna think about some stuff." He told the guy, interrupting him when he was talking about the mattress we stopped to look at and test.

The guy walked away and I laid down on the mattress. I was always afraid that my dad would get sick of my crap and leave but today, at this moment in time, nothing can make him leave me.

I love my dad and I'm not afraid to let him know that. I know he loves me because what he does for me is beyond the moon.

"I love you dad." I say out loud. He has no problem responding. After that, I have a spaz moment and hear him chuckle.

"Oh and I like my bed. Like a lot." I tell him. "I find it to be really, really comfortable." I giggle and sit up.

"It's just me?" He asks.

"Yeah. In fact, your bed is really bad." I stand up and grab his hand, guiding him out of the store.

"So where to now Kibbles?" His arm goes around my shoulders. I elbow him and he laughs. "Okay. Jeez." He laughs and we get in the car.

_____

"Can we get two?" I ask looking at a black one and a white one directly across from each other. One of them is called Chalk and the other is called Spot.

The white one is called Spot which is pretty ironic because it's white . . .

The black one is called Chalk and I think they are brother and sister. They are both puppies and the most adorable things in the world.

"Why?" He asks pulling out his wallet. I bend down on my knees and the white one walks slowly towards me.

"Because they have been abandoned dad. Why let them be alone? It's just cruel." He sighs and pays the woman at the front. Spot lets me pet her. She sniffs my hand and rubs her nose against my finger.

I back away and the gate opens. The guy hands me a leash and my dad grabs the other which holds Chalk.

Chalk sniffs my dads feet and I bend down to pick up Spot.