Only One Forever (Only One 8)

I grab my purse and walk out of my office. “I’ll be out for lunch,” I announce to Veronica sitting down at the desk. “I have to go get Mac, and then I’m joining Dylan at the park. I’ll have my phone if you need anything.”

“We’ll be fine.” She smiles at me as I turn and walk upstairs. Grabbing two bags, I fill them with food and snacks, along with water and Gatorade. The heat hits me as soon as I walk out of the arena and get into the car.

Mac is so excited when she sees me walking in. She has a pink bandana wrapped around her neck, and when I squat down in front of her, she licks my face. “Come on. I’m going to take you to meet a friend,” I tell her while I put her in the back seat of the car and make sure I tie her in.

When I pull up to the park, I can see Dylan and Maddox off to the side doing lunges side by side. Dylan’s telling him a story. “Now you be a good girl,” I tell her when I look in the back at her. She finds Dylan right away and starts to bark and cry in excitement. I open the door for the back seat, grabbing her leash, and then go to the trunk to get the lunch I picked up.

There are other kids in the park since it’s summer vacation. A group of teenagers are on the soccer field playing. Another group of kids are chasing around a kite as it flies in the air. There are five or six moms sitting in a circle as they watch their kids in the distance playing with each other. The playground structure to the side is full of kids. I make my way over to them. “Hey,” I say when I get close enough, and Dylan smiles. “I brought food.” I hold up the bags and then look over at Maddox, who doesn’t move toward me until Dylan does. “And I brought Mac,” I say, letting go of the leash because I know she is going straight to Dylan.

“Hey there, princess,” Dylan says softly and then looks over at Maddox. “This is our dog,” he tells him, and Maddox just looks over at him. Mac makes her way over to Maddox and starts to sniff him. “Do you like dogs?” Dylan asks Maddox, who just shrugs. “She’s gentle.” Dylan rubs Mac’s head. “But don’t let her fool you. She will eat your toast if you go to the bathroom and leave it on the counter.”

“Does she get in trouble?” Maddox asks Dylan, who just shakes his head.

“Nah,” he says, rubbing Mac. “She’s a good girl. I got her when I was all alone and I was lonely.” Mac nudges his hand. “She kept me company.”

“I thought we could have a picnic.” I smile down at Maddox. “Have you ever had a picnic?” I ask him, sitting on the grass in the shade.

He shakes his head and looks at me as Dylan sits down, and he slowly follows. “Well, a picnic …” Dylan starts to talk, grabbing a bag and taking the stuff out. “Is when people sit on the grass and eat their lunch or supper.”

Maddox sits down, and Mac follows him and sits right beside me. He looks over at Dylan, who just smiles at him, and then hands him a sandwich. “Thank you,” Maddox says softly, taking the sandwich from him.

He grabs half the sandwich and eats it, and I watch him eat. “You are hungry,” I say when he finishes his sandwich faster than I think he should and I offer him another.

“So how do you like the house you are staying in?” Dylan asks, lying on his side and looking at Maddox. Mac sits beside him now as if she’s in protection mode, and I can’t help but smile at her.

“It’s okay. I get to eat food when I want,” he says, and the sandwich bite that I just took wants to come up. “The bed has two blankets,” he adds, shocked, and I just want to grab him and give him a hug.

“That’s cool,” Dylan says like it’s not a big deal.

“Yeah, and they don’t get mad at me if I wet the bed by accident.” He opens up to us. “They don’t make me sleep in it.”

I blink away the tears and look down at the sandwich in my hand, but I can’t see through the tears. My hands shake a little bit when I hear Dylan. “After we finish eating, we can kick around the soccer ball.”

“Okay,” Maddox says. When he finishes his second sandwich, I offer him an apple, and he takes it. Only after he finishes the apple and drinks a bottle of water does he stand. “Are you going to play with us, too?” he asks me, and I just smile at him.