Opening the door to their apartment was quite the ordeal as Stella and Roxy noticed the missing member of their family back, his familiar scent filling the room. They perked their heads up quickly, tongues lolled to the side as they gave a few excited barks, rushing over to greet ‘daddy’.
Giggling and helping him with his suitcase, Katelynn looked over her shoulder at him with such tenderness swimming in her brown orbs. “Look who else missed you..” she whispered, watching the two dogs jump up and down against his legs.
Their home finally felt complete once again at his return and she couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh of happiness as she set his luggage in their bedroom. Deciding to worry about that later, Katelynn peeked her head out the door to watch him for a moment and just enjoy the fact that he was back.
As she’d said, he was tired, but not too tired to give some love to his second- and third- favorite girls. “H-hey there, sweetie,” he cooed as he scooped the wriggling Roxy up like a baby. “I missed you too. And you, Stella.” He took a seat on the couch, so that both the pug and the bulldog could find a place on his skinny lap.
After a few moments of being pinned down and kissed half to death by the dogs, Jack spotted Katelynn watching him from the doorway. “There’s room for you too,” he joked softly.
Holding onto the door frame for a moment and resting against it, she studied him carefully like an appraiser would a work of art, noting the subtle changes both in appearance and personality. Being in New York had given him a few new layers she hadn’t noticed before and was appreciating. His stutter seemed to be improving, not that she found anything wrong with it before.
Accepting his invitation as she made her way over to him she was careful not to sit on either of their dogs as she plopped herself down next to him, cuddling into his side and tucking her legs underneath her.
“I w-was getting dinner r-ready for you too..” she admitted softly, the food still cooking in the oven – a delicious meal of lasagna. She had found the recipe online and wanted to see if she could make it. “Unless you want to nap.” Looking up from her spot snuggled on his chest, she cocked her head to the side.
That was another thing Jack had missed: meals together. His manager in New York had insisted on dragging him to various high-end restaurants, and parties at the gallery had usually involved drinks and nibbling various things on toothpicks. But he hadn’t really known any of the people there, and the atmosphere had somehow left him feeling both like he didn’t belong and like he was the focus of everyone’s attention.
“I’m not th-that tired,” he said, shifting on the couch so they could lie down together. “I’ve missed having dinner with you. And I didn’t t-trust the food on the plane,” he added, with a small chuckle. “I’ll rest later.”
Jack Maple 