I've dreamed of the perfect marriage ever since I was a little girl: a marriage complete with a hardworking husband while I tended to the home and our children, preferably four little rugrats to call my own. I dreamed of a life filled with laughter...
Balancing a tray filled with cups of hot cocoa and a plate filled with fresh peanut butter cookies, I push through the screen door of our home with my hip. A resounding screech pierces my ears, reminding me that I need to put some WD-40 on that in the morning. With a giggle, I shake my head and smile. There's always something needing to be done around here: a fence needing to be fixed; an animal getting loose; a rogue child climbing, and getting stuck, in a tree.
"Did ya know Jonah was trapped in the fish's belly for three whole days?" Huck asks.
"Ew!" two of my children, Hudson and Emma, squeal together in utter disgust. They're sitting on the porch with their heads tilted up, listening to Huck read to them like he does every night.
"Do you fink it was stinky inside?" Emma asks.
"Yeah! I bet it smelled bad enough to gag a maggot. Isn't that right, Papa Huck?" Hudson adds, bringing a smile to my face. My son has taken quite a fancy to Huck's southern way of speaking.
"Oh, I bet ya'd be right about that. I know I wouldn't want to find myself in a fish's belly," Huck says.
"Do you think Pigsley would let me see the bottom of his belly?" Hudson asks as I place a cup of hot cocoa next to Huck.
"Thank ya, darlin'," Huck says to me. "Now, I know Pigsley would like nothin' more than to gobble ya up, but ya best leave him be, ya hear? He's old and ornery."
I give the kids their hot cocoa and cookies.
"Thanks, Momma," they say together.
"You're welcome, babies." I kneel in front of my son, placing the tray of goodies beside me. "Hudson, you better listen to Papa Huck. Unlike Jonah, Pigsley won't be letting you out of his belly." I reach over and start tickling my son, who turned eight years old a few weeks ago. My heart melts when I hear his giggles.
"Okay, I-I...w-will...l-leave Pigsley alone!"
I chuckle as I stand, picking up my tray. "Good."
Walking toward my rocking chair, I'm met with a nasty, spiteful glare from an orange tabby cat with a missing eye. He's one of the newest, and meanest, members of the Hope Ranch clan. He's been here for about a year, and he isn't showing any signs of warming up to me yet. I take a deep breath, preparing for our nightly stand-off. He knows he's sitting in my spot, but it doesn't stop him from sitting there and giving me the cat equivalent of a stink eye every single time.
"Shoo," I say.
Hiss.
I roll my eyes and cock an eyebrow at him, asserting dominance and letting him know I'm getting my seat back. He hisses one last time before standing and hopping off my chair. He brushes his head against Hudson's and Emma's legs before hopping up onto Huck's lap where he immediately begins to purr, tauntingly keeping his one eye on me.
