“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.
Giving Mira a light squeeze, Ulric hums happily; having her this close by was helping. ” ‘Course we are.”
Which of them was going to break this news, he didn’t know. Right now though they’d at least be able to catch up, right? His smile widens, hearing that, that both of them were proud of him and Gail. “Hope so, Dad.” Ulric sits up a little bit more.
“You did? What kind?” After Roxy and Stella had died, it hadn’t looked like they’d be getting another dog, but it had been years since then… and almost a year since they’d left.
Laughing a little at Katelynn, Mira looked up at Ulric with a grin. “Hear that, Sensitive Ears?”
That little squeeze helped her. Mira gave Ulric a little comforting squeeze in return. Oh how were they going to break it to his parents that she was pregnant? Mira knew that was the last thing they’d probably expect to hear, and the one thing they probably didn’t want to hear. That their son and his fiancé are having a baby in the past.
And they were so happy. Mira smiled at Ulric’s parents from across the screen. So proud of their kids. Mira just…didn’t know how to tell it to them. Talking and catching up a bit longer seemed like a good idea to Mira, though.
She smiled when she heard they’d adopted a new dog. “Yeah, what kind?”
“Doberman and he’s the cutest little thing,” she gushed, hands folded neatly in front of her as she leaned forward to grin at them. Granted this meant her face took up most of the screen – she had become a bit more accustomed to communicating with the watches.
“I think Joey is going to really enjoy playing with him when you guys come visit or return home. You know, I don’t mind babysitting him when you two want time to yourselves. It’ll be nice to have a little one in the house again. I’m really proud of you for having taken him in, honey,”
Leaning back a bit, it was hard to get rid of the smile on her face, now more so because she was talking to her son.
“We got him from the same shelter we got Roxy and Stella from,” Jack added. “He’s only a few months old now, so it’s perfect. When you come back, he and Joey can grow up together.” He smiled at the thought.
“And I’m proud of you too, Ulric. You’re probably the best person who could have found him.” His smile faded a little, and he looked faintly wistful, remembering how things had gone for him when he landed on Earth. He would have given anything to be found by another blue person, who would understand his needs. “From what I’ve seen, you’re doing wonderfully with him so far. But I am looking forward to all of you finally coming home."
Jack Maple 