Page 83 of Dibs
We’d never had a pet before and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because they were a lot of responsibility, and I used to be on the road often. Since I was no longer traveling, perhaps a pet was in our future.
“Let me talk to Gage. Maybe we can get something when we move into our new home,” I suggested.
Gage and I hadn’t found the perfect house to build a life together in. We had been looking, and his house was still on the market. We were waiting to put mine up once we found a place, so we didn’t have to worry about being homeless. I had four bedrooms and could fit everyone, including a dog or cat, or rabbit.
“Okay.” My daughter glowed “I bet Gage will say yes.”
I chuckled, not sure if he would or not. Gage had a soft spot for Cammie, always down to watch cartoon movies about fairies and princesses with her. “We’ll see. How about we grab ice cream before we head to Mom’s?”
* * *
There was no moretalk about pets as we ate our ice cream and then drove to Jamie’s. Maybe Cammie could talk my ex-wife into getting a dog. That would probably be better, given I was working nights and weekends a few weeks out of the month.
I loved my job as a guest analyst. During the first couple of shows, it was tricky to get a feel of the cameras, but since it had been a few months, I was getting the hang of everything. I got to dive into former teammates’ and other ball players’ stats and pick them apart, evaluating how the Padres could beat them. It sucked to root for San Diego, but since moving to Southern California again, I realized my heart had always been in So Cal. Even in college, a part of my heart lived there since Gage moved back when he left school.
“All right, baby girl.” I pulled up in front of Jamie’s house. “Don’t tell your mother you had ice cream before dinner.”
“I won’t.” She grinned.
We got out of the car and I walked her to the door, wanting to thank my ex for letting me have an extra day with my daughter. Before we got there, the door opened.
“How was it?” Jamie asked.
“So cool,” Cammie said excitedly. “We took a bus around the entire zoo and then we got on a tram thing in the air and went from one end of the zoo to the other, and then we saw polar bears, and it was so amazing!”
“So, you had a good time, then?” Jamie smiled at our daughter, who didn’t take a breath during her entire rehash of the day.
“It was really fun,” I replied.
“Well, go get cleaned up for dinner. It will be ready soon.” Jamie motioned for Cammie to go inside.
“Okay.” My daughter turned and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’ll see you on Friday.”
“Can’t wait, baby girl. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
She lowered her voice and whispered as she looked up at me, “But don’t forget to ask Gage if we can get a dog or a cat.”
I grunted a small laugh and replied in a low voice, “Maybe you should ask your mom just in case he says no.”
“What was that?” Jamie questioned.
Cammie and I grinned at her and both of us sang, “Nothing.”
Knowing my daughter, none of us stood a chance at denying her request, and she was going to have a pet within the week. She was just playing coy with her mother until the time was right when she could use her softening eyes to plead for a pet.
Cammie ran past her mom and I turned to leave.
“Have a minute?” Jamie asked.
I spun back around. “Sure, what’s up?”
“Tomorrow night, the kids are going to meet Tony.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “Okay.”
“I just wanted to give you a heads up.”
