There was the sound of something clattering over in the kitchen, and excited yapping. “H-hold on!” Jack called. “I just need to let the puppy out … !”
A few minutes later, a somewhat flustered-looking Jack Maple came into the living room to join his wife. With the special wheeled tray he’d set up, months ago, the two of them could sit on the couch together as they looked at the computer screen. The blue man smoothed his graying mustache and goatee, and scooted into view on the vidcam with a warm smile. “Hello, Ulric. And Miss Mira! It’s nice to see you back to normal,” he chuckled. “And hi there, you two,” he said in a softer voice, waving to Joey and Minion.
He’d had to try and keep himself from laughing when Ulric realized what they were looking at. “She’s either in her place or at work.” He waves a little, grinning and leaning in closer to Mira.
“Hi dad. Mom.” Now that’s a smile he recognized, grin relaxing into a matching smile of his own as Joey waves back at the screen.
Mira’s heart spiked at Katelynn appearing on screen. But once she started talking, Mira finally started to calm down somewhat. Her future mother-in-law seemed so…happy and bubbly, full of life as opposed to the Kateylnn she’d met months ago… Mira waved at Ulric’s mother and smiled warmly. She’d never talked to the future Katelynn before. Just…so different from her own mother. Polar opposite.
“H-Hi there.” Mira kept smiling, lowering her hand down to pat Joey’s head. Her eyes wandered around the screen when she heard some noise coming from the background, sitting up a little straighter but blushing once Jack made his way on screen, joining Katelynn. That’s right, she’d been turned into a baby last time she’d spoken with him. “Uh, yeah, little less embarrassing, right?” she rubbed at the back of her neck and chuckled.
Mira snuggled next to her fiancé and made herself comfortable trying not to let the reason why they’d called Jack and Katelynn worry her too much. “Good to talk to you without being hit with magic for once. How are you guys?” she asked.
“Missing our babies,” Katelynn answered, a sad little smile directed at Ulric. “I hope you and your sister are taking proper care of each other back in the past. And eating right. I give permission for Mira to tug your ear if you’re not.”
She winked at Mira before settling back down.
“Heh, very much so,” Jack gave Mira a friendly, slightly teasing smile.
“And seconding what your mother said, Ulric.” He straightened up a little. “I can’t tell you how proud I am, of both of you. When you wanted to go back to the past, on your own, I’ll be honest – I thought you were crazy. But you’ve handled yourselves like real adults. When you come back,” he went on, still smiling, “I know you’ll be ready for anything."
"As for the two of us,” he relaxed again, “nothing terribly exciting’s happened. But, Katelynn’s right, we have been missing our kids. So …” He grinned. “We adopted another dog.”
The Maples’ last two dogs, Roxy and Stella, had lived long, happy lives, much loved by their family. But they had both died before Ulric reached his teens, and in the years since then, the family had been too busy (and missed them too much) to think of getting any more dogs. Until now, that is.
Jack Maple 