“Ready?” Vera asked Fletcher outside their front door. “Take a deep breath.”
Fletcher inhaled sharply, then released it for as long as he could and nodded. “Yep.”
She turned the handle and pushed open the door to reveal their sitting room and an unwatched television playing Casablanca. Vera, Fletcher, and Julia entered the foyer, and Fletcher scanned the area for his father, the familiar scent of his childhood hitting his nose.
Casablanca“We’re home,” Vera called out from behind Fletcher, startling him.
Seamus flopped over from laying on his back, all four legs pointing skyward, and charged at Fletcher.
“Hey, boy,” Fletcher went to a knee to rub behind the brown cocker spaniel’s ear. “I missed you too.”
Seamus covered Fletcher’s cheeks and forehead with slobbery kisses.
“In here,” A
