Pawsitively Improvised

Chaos in Numbers

Chapter 14

Crystal opened the door with the fakest smile plastered on her face. She greeted their grandfather first before turning widened panic filled eyes to Kira. Neither had apparently come up with a way to get him to delete the dating app. It was going to be a long day.

It didn’t take long for Crystal’s home to turn into a mad house. Gizmo was chasing B.B., Renaldo was chasing Gizmo, and Crystal’s four-year-old son Evan was trying to herd the lot of them. Her six-month-old daughter Olivia was crawling behind him. She wasn’t as quick as the rest of them and had almost been run over twice now. The little girl thought it a game as she squealed and laughed every time. Crystal was playing referee while Kira was trying to avoid becoming B.B.’s protector. She really didn’t want claw marks all over her if B.B. tried climbing her at full speed for safety. It would help if grandpa had tried jumping into the fray. Instead, he was up against a far wall filming the whole thing with his phone. Occasionally he would yell out instructions and encouragement.

By the third time Olivia got too close, Kira bent over to scoop her up. Unfortunately, it put the two of them in the center of the game, leaving no escape route available. The little girl cheered at the mayhem they were surrounded by. Crystal finally had enough and raised her voice with command that had all the culprits freezing. It also scared Olivia and brought tears to the little girl’s eyes.

“Did mommy scare you, sweetheart? I’m so sorry.” She cooed while taking her daughter from Kira to comfort her.

“You scared us too, mom.” Evan was oh so helpful in pointing out. If he thought Crystal was going to coddle him, he would be wrong.

“If you hadn’t started a game of tag in the house, I wouldn’t have yelled. You know better than that.”

“I didn’t start it, Gizmo did.”

“I don’t care who started it. I’m ending it! Your sister almost got hurt, young man.” He looked only slightly contrite as he mumbled an apology. Evan left the room right after with Gizmo on his heels. The shutting of a door had Kira wondering if he had shut himself up in his bedroom. Crystal rolled her eyes in annoyance. Clearly, this wasn’t the first sulk he’d ever had.

“Don’t ever let your biological clock tell you anything. You need kids, it said. You’ll love being a mom, it said.” Kira couldn’t help laughing at her cousin’s diatribe.

“You love it, and you know it.” She pointed out, causing a smile to lighten Crystal’s face as she kissed Olivia’s chubby cheek.

“I do. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t heed my advice.”

“No worries there. Besides, I’m not even seeing anyone.”

“Who are you dating?” Leave it to their grandfather’s selective hearing to work now.

“No one grandpa.” Her phone chose that moment to signal a new message.

“Who’s that? Your boyfriend you’re not dating?”

“I really don’t have a boyfriend, grandpa.” She answered halfheartedly while opening the message.

‘Holy crap Kira. You got me in trouble.’

She couldn’t help the curiosity he spiked. It might have been rude for her to be on the phone, but she couldn’t help it.

‘What did I do? I haven’t been anywhere around you today.’

‘My sister opened my phone, and the messages were still up. Now she thinks I’m gay and into elderly porn.’

Laughter burst out upon reading his frantic text. She couldn’t help herself. Why hadn’t he deleted their conversation?

‘Sounds like a personal problem to me.’

‘We’ll see about that.’

She had no time to respond, however. B.B. had been slinking closer to Renaldo while doing some kind of bouncing dance. She had no idea what he was up to until he mounted her dog’s head and started going to town. Before she could make a move, Renaldo turned the tables and was trying to return the favor to the cat. A sound of distress escaped her mouth at the same time as Crystal yelled expletives. Both lunged at the animals at the same time, working to get them away from each other.

About that time, Casey came home freezing in place at what he saw. Crystal had B.B. in some kind of wrestling hold while the cat howled and swatted at the dog. Likewise, Kira had a bear hug around Renaldo’s chest, holding him up so that his hind legs barely touched the floor. He was sporting a red rocket and squirming to be free, hoping to get back to B.B. Grandpa, for all the help he was, was currently rolling around laughing on the sofa.

“Do I want to know?” Casey broached with caution, causing the women to look at each other. Crystal heaved a sigh before turning back to her husband.

“I can’t explain and, unfortunately, it's exactly what it looks like.” Her response set grandpa off on yet another round of hysterics. Tears were falling from his eyes at that point. Casey’s lips twitched as he held himself still. Clearly, he was fighting to not follow the old man’s example. Crystal narrowed her eyes at him, more than a little unhappy with the current events.

“Don’t you dare laugh or you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it dear.” His voice was strained, and he ended up clearing his throat to regain composure. Kira’s attention shifted as her phone chimed in her hand. Cautiously adjusting her grip so Renaldo didn’t get away, she opened the message.

‘Just so you know. I told my family I was straight and if they didn’t believe it, then I would introduce them to my girlfriend. They want to meet you.’