Page 29 of Letters to the Lost

“You can go if you want to.”

“I can’t,” he sighs, flopping back into the shitty plastic seat.

“Why not? I’m perfectly capable of waiting for my dog on my own.”

“Not just your dog,” he grumbles “Ours.”

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Our dog, you idiot. We’ll all be living together, before you know it, so that absolutely mental dog that you’ve just adopted will belong to all of us.”

“Well, let’s hope Nanook likes him. As well as our girl.”

“I’m sure it will be fine man, look it seems that things are going to be a bit longer so I’m going to go do something really quick and I’ll meet you at the car.”

“Yeah man, no problem.”

An hour later I’m walking out of the vet's office, a happy Parzival trotting along beside me. Apparently, some food and a bit of attention turn him into a massive teddy bear, his body pressing against my side as we walk to the car that’s parked down the street.

A ruffled-looking Atlas appears from a store by the car, his arms heaped with bags and a large dog bed.

“What on earth have you done?” I laugh at him taking some bags from his arms to help him.

“I spoiled the new family member obviously.”

“Our kids are going to be spoiled rotten,” I groan.Any child we have, if we have any, will want for nothing, but some of us,*cough*Dominic and Zander*cough*,have no control.

Atlas lets out a low groan in his throat, slightly adjusting himself after dumping everything he bought in the trunk.

“Don’t man. The idea of Autumn knocked up…” he groans again causing me to laugh.

“Same,” I clap him on the shoulder then coax Parzival into the backseat, him eyeing everything warily.

Chapter 13

Atlas

“No! Absolutely not,” Kelvin refuses, as he eyes the new family member who is currently sniffing at Nanook.

“He was abandoned, Kelvin, in that horrible basement. I wasn’t leaving him,” Sebastian defends a tick in his jaw, the only giveaway that he’s mad.

“I didn’t say to leave him there. I just mean no more dogs, I literally just told Autumn no.”

“Think of it this way, Parz here can keep Nanook occupied while she’s gone, and then Autumn can come home to him. She’ll have something else to help her, I don’t think Nanook is much of a guard dog anyway,” I joke, hoping to get this over with.

“Fine! Fine, but I am not picking up more dog shit."

“Not like you do anyway.”

“I’m going to ignore that. Anything on Tom?” Kelvin asks.

“Nothing, his house was trashed and there were no signs of anyone at the property or the garage,”

Sebastian relays.

“Was the garage emptied too?”

“All cars and parts were gone from what I could see. Do you think he sold it all before he did a runner?” I ask.

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