The Sister Between Them

Chapter 6

The park was close to the house, so they walked even though an extra car was in the driveway. Dani wasn't sure if it was supposed to be for her or not or where the keys would be. Alyssa wasn't very prepared to leave for an extended period. The former Nanny must have just known how to handle all that. It seemed very strange to her, though.

Gavin raced over to the swings, and she joined him. He squealed, laughed, and begged her to go faster as she pushed him. His laughter was so contagious she felt so much lighter and younger herself. 

"Look, Gavi, a dog." Dani pointed to an older couple that was walking through the park.

"He's cool," Gavin whispered.

"I bet they'd let us pet him." Dani nudged him.

He just stared at it, his eyes wide. She picked him up off the swing and took his hand once she steadied him on the ground.

"Excuse me?" She walked over with Gavin in tow. "My nephew here loves animals; could he pet your dog?"

"Of course. She's a golden lab; her name's Shelby," the woman said.

She was a friendly-looking older woman with her gray hair cut short and dressed stylishly in a long sundress that flowed. Her husband was also older with gray hair but also very fit and dressed stylishly in brown shorts and a polo shirt. Dani once again felt self-conscious in the jeans and simple tee shirt she had chosen.

The couple smiled politely, enjoying watching Gavin stare carefully at the dog.

"Hi, Shelby." Dani knelt and pet her as her tail started wagging.

Gavin giggled. "She liked that."

"Go ahead, honey. She won't bite you or anything." The woman encouraged him.

"It's okay." Dani nodded to him.

"Okay." He began to pet her gingerly, and her tail wagged faster.

"She likes you Gavi!" Dani exclaimed.

He smiled wide again and nodded, petting her with more confidence. Shelby reached around to lick his arm; he squealed but didn't shy away.

"She was just giving you kisses," the man said. "She likes you, buddy."

"Hi, Shelby." Gavin leaned down and hugged her.

Dani couldn't resist pulling out her phone to take some photos. The older couple were incredibly gracious and let them hang out with them and their dog all afternoon. Gavin had a blast playing catch with her.

They were both pretty wiped out when they got back. She settled him on the couch and found an animal show on animal planet kids for him. She headed to the kitchen and rummaged through the freezer, looking for something to make for dinner. She could hear him making animal noises in the other room and laughing.

She poked her head in and looked around.

"I thought I heard a lion in here?"

"No, just me, Auntie Dani." Gavin said gleefully.

"You sure?" Was there a tiger?"

"No, just a Gavi."

"I thought for sure I heard a tiger!"

"It was me making manimal noises," Gavin admitted as he burst into giggles.

"Well, you sure are good. I thought it was real manimals." She winked at him and headed back to the kitchen.

She grimaced at all the boxed vegetarian meals in the freezer; yuck. Even as broke as she was, she could never bring herself to eat out of a box. Hopefully, Gavin could eat meat. Alyssa didn't say he couldn't, and she found some hamburgers and chicken underneath all the other stuff and decided to take it as a sign. She took out the hamburger and made up a hot dish for him. It was tomato sauce, hamburger, noodles, and some corn. It was one of her favorites as a kid, so she hoped he would like it.