Page 35 of Must Love Flowers
“Snicklefritz.”
Joan hid a smile.
“What kind of name is that?” Shaking his head in disbelief, Todd looked to Joan for support. “I bet she just made that up.”
“It’s a good name,” Ellie insisted.
“While it’s clever, it’s a bit of a mouthful.” Joan credited Ellie for her imagination.
No Name noticed the two children and scurried toward them, seeing them as his next adventure.
“He’s so cute,” Ellie said, kneeling down on the grass. “Can I hold him?” She looked up to Joan for permission.
“Of course. Just be careful, he’s still a baby.”
“Can I hold him, too?” Todd asked.
“Sure. As soon as Ellie is finished.”
Both children sat in the grass, sharing the puppy. No Name cherished the attention and repeatedly licked their hands.
“I wanted a dog and Dad said I could have one, but we have to get the backyard fenced first.”
“You can come visit No Name anytime you want,” Joan offered.
“Can we really?” Todd’s eyes lit up like twin flares.
Ellie glared at her little brother. “She said we could, dummy.”
“I’m not the dummy. You’re the dummy.”
Their bickering reminded Joan of when her own boys were children. They constantly harped on each other, too. She didn’t remember this much sibling rivalry between her and Emmie, but then Emmie was several years older and had always looked after Joan. Come to think of it, she still did.
“Do you live here?” Todd questioned. “Because my mom said she thought the house was empty.”
“I’ve lived here a long time,” Joan explained. The neighborhood had been populated with young families when Jared and Joan first moved into the house. Several families had since sold and moved away. These days, her neighbors were strangers.
“We moved here last summer,” Ellie said. “Dad said he thought your house might be for sale.”
“I didn’t get outside much,” Joan admitted. Like hardly ever. No reason to venture out, certainly not during the pandemic. All that had changed since her birthday, and she was glad of it.
“What about naming him Oliver?” Todd said.
Joan considered his suggestion and then shook her head. “He doesn’t look like an Oliver to me. I’ll come up with a name soon.” She’d need to; otherwise, the poor puppy would suffer an identity crisis.
“He’s rowdy. You could name him that.”
“Rowdy?” Joan mulled it over in her mind. That might work.
“That’s what Mom calls me,” Todd informed her.
“Well, you are,” his sister concurred.
A harried-looking woman came down the sidewalk as if on a search. The baby on her hip gripped hold of the neckline of her blouse as if she needed to anchor herself. The woman paused when she saw Ellie and Todd sitting on the grass with Joan standing nearby.
“What are you doing here?” she asked her children, clearly frustrated. “You know you’re supposed to come directly home from the bus stop.”
“Mom, look. She has a puppy.” Todd leaped to his feet and Ellie followed. No Name stretched his tiny body up against Todd’s leg as if he wanted the boy to pick him up for more cuddling time.
