All I Need Book 2

At the End of the Day

Asuna's P.O.V.

I opened the door to let Mungo in from the back yard. He'd been out there all day and the black, shaggy dog was in desperate need of some air conditioning and a bath. Kazuto and the kids were at the grocery store and I was just finishing up some chores around the house. The kids were almost two years old now. Finley had learned how to talk in almost complete sentences, though we still had trouble with Miles. He wasn't disabled, he just didn't like to talk as much.

Mungo trotted into the house with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. I smiled because he went straight to the bathroom and hopped into the tub of cool water. He could always smell the flea shampoo every other Wednesday. I followed him into the bathroom and immediately grabbed the shower nozzle to start hosing him down.

As I massaged the water into his dusty black fur, I thought of how he was such a good dog. When we first found him, I wasn't sure about him, but now, he was like part of the family. He had helped both of the kids learn how to walk and was a great protector for both of the kids. He insisted on sleeping right outside their door, which had to be open at all times.

Mungo began drinking the water out of the bottom of the tub. It was clean water, so there wasn't any soap in it yet. I waited for him to finish before slathering him in suds. He panted happily as I washed him off. He always enjoyed baths.

When I finished with the flea shampoo, I rinsed him off and used some good smelling shampoo on him to make him smell like oranges. When I was done, I hosed him down one more time and made sure to get all of the soap out of his long, shaggy fur.

"Are you a good boy, Mungo? Huh? Who's a good boy?", I asked happily as I scratched behind his ears.

Mungo barked and licked my face. I laughed and turned my cheek to him. The cheek was ok, but never the mouth, nose, or eyes.

I drained the water, having to remove hair from the drain filter a few times, then grabbed a black towel to dry him off. I set the bath mat aside and motioned for him to get out of the tub. He hopped right out and almost began to shake when I threw the towel on him. He knew better than that.

I dried him off, then led him back outside so he could dry off some more. He sat down on the patio like a good boy and stayed. He had been trained to sit there and dry off after a bath rather than go roll around in the dirt. I gave him a bone to chew on while he was drying. Before we go to bed, I always brush his teeth. I treat him like a kid, really. Just with much less frequent baths.

I went back to the bathroom to mop up the water and put the bath mat back. When I walked in, I used the same towel I had used on Mungo to mop up what little water there was on the floor, then put the bath mat back in its place. While I was there, I threw away the empty shampoo bottle and replaced them.

Finally, I threw the towel into the laundry basket and turned off the light. Just as I walked out of the bathroom, I heard the front door open. I poked my head around the corner to see my wonderful husband and my precious babies walk in. Kazuto had five or six bags in hand and each of the twins were carrying something small. They looked delighted to be helping their daddy.

"Mommy, we got ice cream!!", Finley said excitedly.

"You did?! What kind?", I asked with the same enthusiasm.

"Chocolate!", Miles said.

I smiled and threw my arms open, kneeling down to their level.

"Well come and give me a hug! I missed you!", I said.

They each dropped their groceries and ran into my arms. I smiled and wrapped them up in a big hug. I felt Miles kiss my cheek. It wasn't long before Kazuto came back into the hall after putting his bags down and joined the hug.