Ding! The coffee maker went off as Ashton gave us all our hot chocolates like we were on the polar express.
It got quiet until Cooper blurted out, "So, how's life, everyone?"
Ashton responded with a shake of his hand and an obvious "eh."
"Ooh!" Kylie pointed out the window. "A puppy!"
"Aw nah." Cooper yelled.
Joji stepped out into the cold wind of the outside world and tiptoed through the sidewalk as he was rubbing his hands together and trying to get the puppy to come to him. It took him a while, and a whole lot of somewhat easy work, but it's safe to say we got a doggo in our bus now. And it's all because of that blockhead George Kusonoki Miller.
"It's little Ford F150 Slooka Sauce Junior!" Cooper blurted out.
Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.
Probably because she is.
"Give it an actual name." Ash had that look on his face like he was done with all this crap.
"We'll shorten it to Junior." Joji rubbed the dog's head as he smiled at everyone.
"Well," Kylie said. "You were the one who got us into this whole mess in the first place, so go ahead."
"We'll raise this thing as our own." Joji stared into my eyes as he said it; a week in and we've already got a kid. Jesus Murphy.
I just realized this man really loves to rush things. Like how he said we weren't married yet. Emphasis on the yet. But I can't say much; me and my cousins had a fake wedding for us a year ago before we even knew each other. Only when I'd loved him for only a week. Now me and him have been actually dating for a week, and there won't be a wedding anytime soon.
"Y'all already got a kid?" Cooper asked. Exactly what I was thinking. Mr. Rushing-Things-Real-Quick over here is probably panicking too much about life and his future with me. Nobody's ever done that with me before, and I honestly feel great about it.
I always knew Joji would be my only hope. But I always thought I was crazy. The only time I was ever wrong. I'm always right. Maybe. Hopefully.
We came back to the bus from trying to find some things for Junior and I got a text from my weird Aunt Candice -- who still treats me like a little kid; despite the fact I'm 30 years old -- who asked me to watch my little 5-year-old cousin, Sadie, tomorrow when she's going trick-or-treating.
"Shit!" I yelped. "Tomorrow's Halloween! How could I forget?"
"Does everybody have any costumes to wear or any decorations to put on and in the bus?" Kylie asked. I suddenly got everyone panicking over this.
"Whatever, I'll just go as my old career." Joji whipped out his old Pink Guy costume from his Filthy Frank days out of his bag and I didn't even know he even still had that damn thing.
"I wonder if they'll know it's the real you." I looked up at Jo. "How do you even still have that after 5 years sober?"
"In case I needed it." George said. "And even though the channel put a lot of stress on me, I still wanted to keep some souvenirs."
"The real question is: how the hell can you still fit into that thing?" Cooper asked.
"Some things I just never grow out of." Joji remarked.
"Unlike that Filthy Frank channel you used to have." Cooper came back.
"Cooper!" I elbowed her in the arm.
