‘At least let us open one,’ Frankie whinged.

Hearing her husband’s tyres scrunch against the gravel outside, Jessica was relieved. The twins hadn’t stopped moaning since the moment they had opened their eyes. ‘He’s here now. Go out and see what he’s got for you,’ she told them.

Jessica wiped the kitchen top down and, hearing whoops of delight, went outside to see what all the fuss was about. ‘What the hell?’ she said, as she spotted their presents bounding towards her.

Eddie smiled at her. He hadn’t asked Jessica’s permission, as he knew she would say no. ‘The kids have always wanted a dog. Ain’t they gorgeous?’he said anxiously.

Jessica glared at her husband and her brother. She kept her house spotless and didn’t want it any other way.

‘Nothing to do with me,’ Raymond declared.

She walked towards Eddie. ‘You should have asked me first. What breed are they? They won’t get big, will they?’

Eddie slung his arm around Jessica’s shoulder. ‘Ahh, look. The kids love ’em. It is their sixteenth, ain’t it? They’ll look after ’em, walk ’em and that.’

Jessica repeated her previous question. ‘They’re Rottweiler puppies. They don’t grow that big,’ Eddie lied.

Desperate to get the smell of the dog’s piss off his new trousers, Raymond went into the house to clean himself up. Eddie could be an impulsive bastard at times and he could tell his sister wasn’t amused.

‘Look, Mum, isn’t he cute?’ Frankie said, lifting one of the dogs up.

‘Can I have this one, Frankie? That one’s mental like you, this one’s the quiet one, like me,’ Joey asked, his eyes shining. When he was little, he’d hated dogs, been petrified of them. These were adorable, though.

Jessica clocked the twins’ elation. How could she say no? She could hardly tell them they couldn’t keep the pups now that they’d seen them. Frankie and Joey would be heartbroken and she would feel like the Wicked Witch of the West.

Aware that Jessica was mellowing, Eddie told the kids to let their mother hold the puppies.

‘Aren’t they meant to be dangerous, Rottweilers? I mean, say I get pregnant. We can’t have them around a newborn,’ Jessica whispered to Eddie.

‘They’ll be fine. I’ll train ’em up as guard dogs. Since me dad died, I worry about you and the kids being alone in the house. They’ll be protection for you when I’m at work,’ Eddie assured her.

‘Yeah, but what about the baby?’ Jessica whispered again.

‘We’ll worry about that when the time comes. I can build a kennel outside,’ Eddie replied.

‘Do you wanna hold them, Mum?’ Joey asked.