A/N: This week’s goals: After stopping in the pet store to kill some time you end up walking out with your new pet gerbil! (Or hamster etc.) Collect 5 different metals. Ongoing: All heirs must have the well-mannered and responsible traits.
When Brokk came downstairs for breafkast, he found Bernie waiting and stopped to pet the elderly dog. “Good morning, Bernie. Did you sleep well? Have you been down here all night guarding the house?”
Bernie wriggled all over in happiness and barked as if to say yes, he had.
“Good boy.” With a final pat, Brokk stood.
Mariam opted for leftover berry waffles for breakfast, discovering they were still just a sgood as when they were fresh. So sweet and filling: possibly her favorite food ever!
“Good mornign, Mariam. What are your plans for the day?”
“I’m going to go swimming, then I might go to the pet store,” Mariam replied.
“I guess you don’t want to go to the laundromat with me to wash our duvets then,” Brokk said.
“Nope, that’s boring,” Mariam declared.
“Well you’re going to have to do it yourself someday,” Brokk pointed out.
“Yeah, when I’m older. Dad? How come we don’t have a pool?”
“There wasn’t a good spot to put when that fit with the design of the house, not unless we wanted to lose a good part of the backyard,” Brokk replied. “Why?”
“I just thought it’d be easier to practice at home, that’s all.”
“It would be far enough from the back door that you’d get a chill rushing back and forth, even with a heated pool,” Brokk pointed out. “I think you’ll be more comfortable at Bath De Rill.”
Mariam hadn’t thought of that. “I guess…” she trailed off, lost in her own thoughts as an idea occurred to her.
Before leaving for the pool, Mariam wrote down her idea in her journal. A house with a covered pool. Or maybe an indoor pool, though that sounded fancy. She wans’t sure yet if she wanted to stay in Windenburg or move back to Grindleton Bay like she dreamed of when she was little. But she definitely wasn’t going to let Javon talk her into moving to Oasis Springs where his family lived, which was too hot.
At the pool, Mariam changed into her swimsuit and jumped into the wter, swimming around energetically. Between the heated water and her own activity, she barely felt the cold. No polar bear plunge here!
Despite the cold, Mariam couldn’t resist ending her swim with a swan dive. this was so much fun.
Brrr! Okay, it was officially too cold to swim even with the heaters under the water.
Dried off and dressed agian, Mariam decided to use the trip to the pet store as an excuse to get in a little more practice using her broom. It was the fastest way of getting around after all.
“So you know how I said I was going to to the pet store?” Mariam asked, catching up with her dad at the bottom of the driveway.
“Yes Did you go?”
“I did. And um, I bought something. I didn’t mean to, but he was just so cute, and I couldn’t resist,” Mariam replied.
“Mariam. Spit it out, what did you get? A kitten? Another dog?”
“Noo… a hedgehog. I got everything the guy at the store said I needed, and I even have a book on rodent care.”
“A hedgehog?” Brokk repeated, surprised. “And where are you planning to put the terrarium?”
“In the living room. I think it’ll just fit.”
“Well, just remember, it’s your responsibility. I don’t want to find your hedgehog running around the house unsupervised.”
“I’ll be careful, I promise.”
“Good.”
“Hi, Cactus, this is your new home. Much nicer than that store where you had to share space with all the other hedgehogs, right? Don’t be scared of Bernie, he won’t hurt you. I’ll take good care of you. I’ll check on you before and after school. We can’t play now; I need to go ea because I’m starving! But I’ll give you a treat before I go.”
After dinner, Mariam went downstairs to play her favorite game, Party Frenzy, before bed. She couldn’t wait to go to school tomorrow and tell Javon all about her new little friend. Little kids weren’t the only ones who could enjoy having a tiny rodent for a pet. Sure, she loved Bernie, but the dog belonged to all of them. Cactus was Mariam’s alone, which made him extra special.
Returning from an evening at the circus with Eitri, Brokk sat in the chair beside the terrarium so he could enjoy the warmth of the fire while he hosted a phone conference. It was almost too late, but he was able to catch everyone.
Before going up to bed, Brokk stopped to study Mariam’s new pet. Okay, he was oddly cute with those little button eyes and tiny hands. Maybe it would be entertaining to have a hedgehog around after all. He was pretty sure Kim wouldn’t have liked the idea of a rodent as a pet, but she would have done her best to tolerate it for Mariam.
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