My morning wake-up consists of getting jumped on and being given sloppy, wet kisses.
âMorning, Angel.â I laugh. âYouâre not supposed to be on the bed. Get down.â
âI told her to go find Mommy, and she took off.â Phillip chuckles, following her into the room. He snaps his fingers. âAngel, down.â
The dog obediently jumps off the bed.
âHowâd you do that?â I ask.
âDo what?â
âMake her get off the bed.â
âI just told her to get down.â
âYeah, but you snapped and then told her.â
âOh, I donât know,â he says. âI was just getting her attention.â
âHmm. She never listens to me.â
âThatâs because your voice is high, and she thinks youâre playing.â
âSo, if I lower my voice, you think sheâll mind me?â
âYeah, maybe,â Phillip says.
Angel runs out of the closet with a pair of my underwear in her mouth. Sheâs always stealing dirty clothes out of the hamper.
âAngel, no! Give,â I say in the deepest version of my voice.
The dog grins at me, pink lace hanging out of her mouth, and runs around the room, throwing my underwear up in celebration.
âAngel, no. Give,â Phillip says.
The dog stops, sits on her butt, and drops the underwear.
âI hate you,â I say to Phillip as he picks up my underwear and hands Angel a chew toy in return. âHow was your run?â
âIt was good,â he says, walking into the bathroom and stripping off his sweaty clothes. âDanny joined me.â
âYou got on his ass last night.â
âHe deserved it. Not to compare Lori to a dog, but if he doesnât let her know whoâs boss, sheâs gonna keep acting like that.â
âWe offended her, Phillip.â
âNo, we didnât. We took care of her child as a favor and did a very good job of it. She should have thanked us. And, if she didnât want us to give her baby formula, she should have given us enough breast milk to last. The reason Danny went running with me is because he wanted to know everything we did last night. Apparently, Lori nursed Devaney when they got home, and Devaney was crying again.â
âInteresting,â I say, getting out of bed to brush my teeth.
âWhat are you wearing?â he asks.
I look down at the blue skull cotton boy-short undies of Phillipâs that I have on. They are all I have on. âI stole your underwear. Theyâre comfortable because the waist is big, and they fit low on my hips, just under my bump. You got them in the white elephant Christmas gift exchange. I didnât think youâd mind.â
Phillip leans his sweaty body into mine. âOh, I donât mind at all. In fact, I think theyâre pretty sexy.â