I yawned as I woke up, turning to face Ron. I quickly noticed his absence and rolled the other way to get out of bed. It's been about 6 weeks since the family reunion and my ankle is finally feeling much better. I glanced at the boot and smiled. Today, I can finally walk without the boot. The second my feet touched the ground, I smiled. No pain and it's such a relief to be able to walk without my foot feeling cramped and sweaty.
I slipped on a pair of blue skinny jeans and a gray t-shirt before heading downstairs. I immediately noticed my dad sitting at the table. I walked over to the fridge and opened it.
"Morning, Lori.", he mumbled, staring at his phone screen, "Hey, would you mind running to the store for me? I need a few things, but I have to head over to the base." He looked up from his phone as I nodded, grabbing a container of strawberries, yogurt, and the granola from the cabinets.
I cut up some of the strawberries and tossed them in a bowl along with a scoop of the vanilla yogurt and some of the granola. I quickly scooped out some of the mixture, letting out a quick breath of air. Parfaits had become my go-to breakfast over the years. I walked over to the table and sat down as Ron walked in. Dad slid over a list of groceries, and I heard my phone vibrate. I picked it up and noticed I'd received a text.
'Hey, Lori. Have you seen Ron and your dad yet today?' - Unknown
'Who is this and how do you know me?' - Lori
'Oh, sorry! I'm Miles. I work with your dad and Ron. I've been tryin' to contact them all morning.' - Unknown
'Yeah, they're here. I'll let them know you tried calling.' - Lori
I took my empty bowl over to the sink where Ron was standing.
"Hey, someone named Miles has been trying to get ahold of the two of you. Somehow, he got my number and texted me. Says he works with you two.", I whisper quietly.
Ron nodded, "Yeah, he does. He and his twin are annoying and constantly fighting one another. I'll give them a call later."
"You mind if I take the truck to get some groceries for my dad?", I ask.
"How about we take a drive together. There's some place I want to go anyway.", Ron slipped on his shoes and jacket as I quickly rinsed out the bowl and put my shoes on.
I followed him out to the truck and got in the passenger seat. We drove over to the grocery store first and I got what dad requested and what I needed. After paying, we loaded up the truck and Ron drove us over to the local animal shelter. I looked over at him, confused.
"What are we doing here?", I asked.
"We're here because I think you need a companion. Dogs are man's best friend, no? Come on.", He got out and I followed.
We walked into the shelter, and we were guided to the back where a bunch of dogs were lined up in kennels. I paused at each one and pet the dogs I could. We eventually came across a kennel with two puppies, about 4 months old.
"These two are inseparable. We think they're litter mates. Normally, we don't adopt litter mates out together, but we had to make an exception for these two. When we've tried adopting one out, they freak out. The black one has been brought back at least twice because he quit eating and just wouldn't do anything while they were separated. They were found on the side of the highway just out of town. They don't really let anyone near them, either.", the woman explained.
I knelt down and stuck my fingers through the holes in the plastic door. Probably not the best idea but it was my only option since she wouldn't open the door. The first to walk over and sniff my finger was the black one. He started licking me and trying to get me to pet him. When the other one came, he pushed the black one out of the way and did the same thing. The woman seemed more willing to open the door after this and the three of us walked into the large kennel. Ron and I sat down on the floor and the two puppies ran over. They climbed into our laps and, for the most part, were pretty calm.
"Do you like them?", Ron asked, and I nodded happily, "We'll take both."
Ron paid for the puppies and the necessities like leashes, toys, food, etc. I carried both puppies out after they continuously pulled on the leashes. For the ride home, they sat in the back seat. I could tell Ron was anxious with them back there alone as he kept looking in the rearview every time they moved.
"Do you want me to sit in the back with them?", I jabbed my thumb towards the backseat.
"No, it's fine.", he looked in the rearview mirror for the umpteenth time.
I sighed and leaned down to grab the plastic bag by my feet. I dug through it for a few seconds before pulling out two identical plastic bones and tossing them in the backseat. The puppies each grabbed one immediately and laid down as they began gnawing on them. Ron seemed to relax afterwards. I let out a giggle.
"What?", Ron glanced briefly at me before returning his eyes to the road.
"You were pretty tense up until they laid down. Did you have a dog pee in here or something?", I turned to him with a smile.
"I had a dog pee on me, yes.", he glared in front of him, "But, I had never met one before that."
"First, I find out you've never been to a carnival and now you're telling me you never knew dogs existed until one peed on you?", I gaped.
"I tried to kill it but the owner wouldn't let me.", he admitted, and I widened my eyes at him, "It was a little rat, too."
"You tried to kill a dog for peeing on you?", I question, "How big was he?"
He was silent for a minute, "It looked exactly like the brown one we saw at the animal shelter."
I scoffed, "You tried to kill a chihuahua? One of the world's smallest dog breeds?"
He only shrugged and I shook my head, "What are you going to name them?"
I looked back at the dogs with a smile, "The black one is Killer and the brown one is Bullet." Now, it was Ron's turn to shake his head.
We pulled into the driveway shortly after and I grabbed the bag before getting out of the truck. Ron and I both went into the backseat and grabbed a dog and the bone they'd been chewing on. I had Killer while Ron had Bullet. We walked inside and I set Killer down. He ran over to Ron and jumped onto his leg while wagging his tail excitedly. Once Bullet was put down, the two of them began playing.
Ron went back out to get the groceries while I got the pups settled in. Once everything was on the table, dad came downstairs wearing his uniform. I waved to the two of them and they left. I put the groceries away and returned to the living room where Killer was chewing on the TV remote and changing the channels while Bullet chewed on one of my shoes. I immediately took both items away and inspected them before returning them to their spots.
"You two need some serious training.", I grabbed one of dad's old whistles, the prong collars, and their leashes.
I put the collars on both pups, ensuring that they fit snuggly and wouldn't break off before attaching the leash. I pulled out my phone and searched several basic commands I could teach them. I turned the news down just enough to still hear what was being said. I then tied the leashes to the legs on the couch so I could focus on one dog at a time.
"Okay, first command is sit. Let's see if you know it first.", I untied Bullet first and picked him up before setting him down in the middle of the living room, "Okay, Bullet, sit." I waited for a second for him to do something but was only met with him looking down at the carpet with his ears facing forward. I gently poked his side, regaining his attention. "Bullet, sit.", I commanded and this time, slowly guided him into the position using the leash. When he finally sat down, I smiled, "Yay! Good job, Bullet!" I did it a few more times with him to make sure he understood the command. Once I was satisfied, I did the same thing for Killer. His response time was slow, but I didn't have to correct him like I did with Bullet. After a few minutes, both puppies were sitting on command.
I went to move on to another command when the news caught my eye. They were showing a picture of my dad's base in ruins. I quickly grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
"-was devastating. The base, located on the outskirts of Hannon Hill, Washington DC, is completely destroyed. Only a small handful of people were inside including Chief Master Sargent Epps, a doctor, and a weapons specialist. Hazel is at the scene. Hazel?", the report began.
"Thank you, Greg. As you can see behind me, the attack that happened only an hour ago left a massive amount of destruction and rubble. I was told a few minutes ago that the doctor was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries while demanding for a woman by the name of Lori Lennox. Police say that once they complete their search here, they will begin to look for the woman-" I shut off the TV and picked up my phone, immediately calling the police department in that area.
"Hannon Hill Police Department.", the male voice echoed in my head. I was silent for a minute, "Hello?" I mentally groan. Fuck it.
"Sorry about that. Hi, I was just watching the news and saw the report about that base that was attacked. The reporter said that the doctor was asking for me?", I paced back and forth in front of the couch.
"You're Lori Lennox?", I heard a pen click in the background.
"Yes, I am.", I confirm.
"Sir, I've got Miss Lennox on the phone.", The man's voice grew quiet and another one could be heard in the background, "Alright, Miss Lennox, what's your address? I'm going to send a county Deputy to pick you up and take you to the hospital where they've taken all three men. Are you related to all of them?"
I mentally groan again as I gave them the address, "And yes, I am related to two of them. The doctor is my father, Robert Epps is a second cousin of mine, and Ron Hide is my-" I sigh, "My fiancè."
"Alright, Miss Lennox, our deputy just left and should reach you in about half an hour. Bye.", He hung up before I could say anything else.