“They’re simple, we all have to be very quiet, not make any noise, and the person who is quiet the longest, wins.”

Amelia tilts her head to the side, staring at Jess. “What do I win?”

I glance at her through the rearview mirror. “What do you want? I’ll pay anything.”

I realize immediately that this was a bad strategy, but I’m desperate for even five seconds of peace. “I want a monkey.”

“Not a chance.”

“You said anything,” Amelia counters.

“Yes, anything but that.”

“Okay, then I want a baby elephant.”

Jessica giggles. “Where would you put it?”

“The living room,” Amelia answers as though it’s perfectly reasonable.

“But what about when it grows?” Jess continues this line of conversation.

“Then it can go in Daddy’s room, it’s big.”

Here I thought I might get a few minutes of quiet, not a debate over livestock and exotic animals.

“I think the elephant might be happier in the wild, don’t you?” Jessica reasons with her.

“Fine. Okay, then I want a puppy. We can have a puppy because they’re small and they’re cute and Bryson Hewitt has one and he named it Dog.”

“He named the dog, Dog?” I ask.

“He’s not very smart, Daddy.”

Jessica laughs and covers it with a cough. “Dog is a good name.”

“Dog is a stupid name!” I protest. “It’s a dog, you don’t name it Dog.”

She shrugs and then looks out the window, her shoulders bouncing.

Amelia raises her hand as though we’re in class.

“Yes?”

“I know what we should name our puppy.”

“We’re not getting a puppy,” I say sternly because we’ve rehashed this particular conversation at least once a month. Between my job and the fire department, getting a dog would be impossible. We’re hardly ever home, and I can barely take care of Amelia and myself, let alone an animal.

“If we did,” Amelia cuts in, “I would call him Bryson.”

“What?”

“If he can name the dog, Dog, then I will name my dog Bryson. That way the dog doesn’t feel sad.”

Jessica and I both burst out laughing. Amelia preens in her seat, seemingly happy with her logic.

“You better get her a dog now,” Jess says between her fits of giggling.

I shake my head and smile. “You can have anything that isn’t an animal.”

Amelia groans, her head falling to the side dramatically. Not that it matters anyway since I’m pulling in the driveway.

“Fine, then I want a new mommy.”

And with that, the laughter fades, and the car falls silent.

Chapter 25

Jessica

Grayson and I look at each other, the awkwardness growing with each second.