So I went to my bed and put on my pajamas without anyone telling me to and put the
night-light on and turned the light off and crawled into the little mountain of stuffed
animals I had left on my bed earlier. It felt like that all had happened a million years
ago. I took my hearing aids off and put them on the night table and pulled the covers up
to my ears and imagined Daisy snuggling with me, her big wet tongue licking my face
all over like it was her favorite face in the world. And that's how I fell asleep.
Heaven
I woke up later on and it was still dark. I got out of bed and walked into Mom and Dad's
bedroom.
"Mommy?" I whispered. It was completely dark, so I couldn't see her open her eyes.
"Mommy?"
"You okay, honey?" she said groggily.
"Can I sleep with you?"
Mom scooted over toward Daddy's side of the bed, and I snuggled up next to her. She
kissed my hair.
"Is your hand okay?" I said. "Via told me Daisy bit you."
"It was only a nip," she whispered in my ear.
"Mommy.. ." I started crying. "I'm sorry about what I said."
"Shhh... There's nothing to be sorry about," she said, so quietly I could barely hear
her. She was rubbing the side of her face against my face. "
Is Via ashamed of me?" I said.
"No, honey, no. You know she's not. She's just adjusting to a new school. It's not easy."
"I know."
"I know you know."
"I'm sorry I called you a liar."
"Go to sleep, sweet boy.... I love you so much."