“Nothing smells worse than rotting flesh, so I agree; I think we'll be okay as far as smells go. But it'd still be fun to tease her about stuff like that being punishment for being your little sister.” Or maybe not. It was hard to tell with George. For all Leah knew, George would take the 'punishment' as something offensive when it really wasn't.
Leah gave an affirmative nod. “We do. And we will. We've always been a great team, and Mari's the greatest little five-year-old helper there ever was, so we'll find a way to make it work.” There was no other choice but to make it work, after all.
“I don't doubt that. I like dogs; I just never considered wanting one of my own. Cinnamon's attention was enough for me. And Telemachus, whenever George brings her around. And Ledger's little doggie.” Everyone had a dog, so Leah saw no need to have her own, but she was willing to let her daughter have one so that the girl didn't feel lonely or left out.
Evan explained why he hadn't gotten a dog before now and Leah nodded her understanding. “I guess that makes sense. If it had been a full-grown dog like the one my brother has, it's possible you could've taken it with you, but these were puppies, so I can definitely see not wanting to leave it alone.” Especially at Castle Clinton, where she still had the suspicion that they bred those dogs for food rather than companionship.
“Something that can withstand the sometimes rough affections of a five-year-old.” Leah grinned. “Last time we were at the clinic, I showed her the little Yorkie someone rescued. It was a little bit of a nipper but I think Mari liked it. If it's still there when we take her to choose her dog, maybe she'll get that one. A chore wheel would be useful for something like that. And she'd probably pay more attention to that than she does sometimes when we tell her to do something.”
Leah nodded her agreement. They'd had this discussion before, but last time Evan hadn't seemed too optimistic about his brother and sister agreeing to participate. Now his opinion was more positive, and it made her want to try a little harder to get both families involved in things. “We can start with small things, maybe. Like having lunch together on the roof or something. Picnics that don't really have a set time on how long someone has to be there. They show up, eat, and can either stick around or leave.” It was a start, at least.
She leaned over to kiss his cheek when he let the subject drop. “I do say so. It's nothing to worry about.” Happier things deserved her focus now. “And by 'it's got character' you mean 'wow, cher, that doll is hideous and should be burned.'” Laughing at her own mockery, she leaned over to prop the little doll up next to the pillow in the crib. “Thankfully, Ana won't be able to do much complaining if she does hate the doll, so that works in my favor, too.”
“So generous of you,” Leah said as she took up a pencil and selected a space on the wall to begin tracing. “What a saint, giving me more things to do so that I can feel useful in here.” She managed to keep a straight face, watching him out of the corner of her eye to see what his reaction to her teasing might be.