"I want to get Lily a puppy. For her birthday." 

You know, after just making love with my husband, our satisfied, damp, tired bodies still intimately tangled with one another, THAT is NOT what I expected to hear. I lift my head and gaze at Russ. "You just gave me incredible, fantastic sex, and now you want to sneak in discussing getting our daughter a dog? That's low, even for you." But I smile, kiss him drowsily.

I catch that sparkle in his eyes. "The sex was incredible AND fantastic? Wow." He looks awfully proud of himself and I shake my head, giggling in spite of it all. "Don't try to change the subject."

Our daughter's going to turn one in just a couple of weeks. It's a very momentous occasion; we are actually flying my family in from the States just to celebrate with us. He wanted a grand party for her, but I finally talked him into just your typical child's fete: cake and ice cream, balloons and presents, with only the immediate family. She's merely a toddler, after all; we don't need clowns and fireworks and a petting zoo. But we did NOT discuss getting Lily a puppy. Until now.

"How long have you been thinking up this one, then, sweetheart?" I think Lily would really love a dog, but I have to give Russ a hard time before I give in. By now, I'm sure he knows how it is, but he enjoys playing his part in it; it's the sick actor in him.

"A while." He looks appropriately guilty. I have to struggle not to laugh, still maintaining my 'stern mother' persona. "And what kind of dog would she be getting?"

"Haven't decided that one yet." 

"I see."

"C'mon, Lissy..." Oh, he's going to take THAT route; now he's nuzzling my neck and shamelessly feeling me up, hoping to arouse me into saying yes right away, "...you know how much she'd enjoy that. You've seen how she is around animals."

"Is this because..." I close my eyes, giving in just a little, because what he's doing to me feels so nice, "...is this because I said no to getting her a pony?" He loves taking her out with him on Honey; at first I worried, but he goes pretty slowly, holding her on the saddle in front of him, and she absolutely, positively loves riding with him. But I had to put my foot down when he suggested we get her a horse of her own. I'm sure that will come, probably in the next year or so, because I know Russ too well, but right now, Lily's barely learned to walk herself, and the thought of putting her on a horse alone is a bit much for me to take just yet.

"Partly." I do laugh then, at his extreme honesty. "And who is going to end up taking care of 'Lily's' puppy, might I ask? Hmm? Let me guess."

"Oh, we'll both take care of it, and then we'll teach her how to take care of it, when she gets a little older. I'll get a housebroken one, maybe one that knows a thing or two already, it won't be a problem and you'll hardly know it's even there."

He's like a little boy himself. I can't resist teasing, "That's what you said about yourself when you came into my life, and look what I ended up with." 

"But you've had fun training me, haven't you love?"

"Not that you've learned anything." I giggle. 

"I've learned what makes you happy." I shiver and moan, just a bit, at his expertise in that department. "I've learned that this..." my breath catches, "...makes you very, very happy."

"You're not playing fair, Crowe." But I open my dazed eyes to look at him, and then open my pliant, willing mouth for his kiss. 

"I didn't learn that one." 

"You...oh, you...you sure didn't." 

"So...say yes to the puppy, Liss." 

"Yeeeesssss..." He IS good, I have to admit. 

"Yes to the puppy?"

"Yes to you...maybe to the puppy." 

"Not good enough, sweetheart." 

"Oh, all right!" 

"Thank you." And he rewards me for giving in. Very nicely, I must say. 

The next day, I'm playing with Liliana while Daddy's off researching breeds and breeders. One thing I'll say for sure about Russell...he never does anything in a haphazard, superficial manner. He always wants to know what all the options are before he makes a decision. At least about things like buying a dog. When it comes to Lily and me, he just follows his heart. This is, I guess, why we're getting a dog in the first place.

Once Lily learned to walk, everything changed. For one thing, we've all had to be extra careful about possible hazards and points of curiosity for the baby. And she's turned into a zippy little go-getter; if I thought she was rarely still before, it's definitely true now that she's completely mobile on her own. But right now she's in one of her rare quiet times with Mommy, content to sit in my lap while I read her a story, ironically, about a puppy. She points to one of the pictures. "Woof."

"That's right, that's a doggie, isn't it, sweetie?" She nods. "Would you like a dog, Lily?"

She smiles. "Okay...woof." 

"Get one for you?" I kiss the top of her head, stroking her dark brown curls. "Maybe in a bit...do you know what day's coming up, muffin?"

Lily thinks, because we've told her and explained to her about a party and the fun she'll have. Then she brightens and claps her hands. "Me!"

"Yep, it's going to be your birthday. You're turning one; and that means you're a big girl. You'll have a birthday party, and that'll be really exciting, won't it, Lil? How old will you be? Can you show me?"

She proudly holds up one small finger and I have to smile and hug her. "That's right!"

Promptly pointing to the dog in her book again she tells me, "Get woof, okay?"

I sigh. I'm going to have to kill my husband, as much as I love him.

Russ won't tell me anything about whatever he's found out, decided to get, or if he's even gotten a dog for Lily yet. When Lily goes and shows Daddy what she calls "my woof" in her storybook (try as she might, she can't quite say "doggie" very clearly yet), he gives me that annoying know-it-all smug grin that makes me want to wring his very handsome neck. But, truth be known, I can't wait to see Lily with a puppy. I do know Russell's right: she will absolutely love it. At least I got him to hold off on a horse for right now...I'm surprised he didn't just break down and buy her a car, frankly. But his heart's in the right place and although I give him such grief, I love him so much and love the things he does with and for our child.

By the time her birthday is near, he's got her able to say "doggie"; but he still hasn't said much about it to me. He keeps saying I'll just have to wait, the same as Lily. Exasperating man. But as it gets closer and the plans get going, I have to laugh, because he's every bit as excited as Lily about the entire thing. I might have to plan balloons and streamers for HIS next birthday...he's so enthusiastic.

My family arrives and we've got a full, noisy, boisterous household now, but I enjoy that. Both sides get along so well and blend so nicely together, even though times like this are pretty rare. Lily loves the attention she's getting and her favorite thing is showing everyone her one extended finger and telling them about her "me day".

On the day of Lily's first birthday, Russ leaves early in the morning, presumably, I suppose, to get the promised puppy. I think his brother did most of the arranging after he decided whatever he decided. He comes back just before the baby's party is due to begin; at least I think so because he goes right upstairs and I hardly see him when he gets home. I'm helping both grandmas put out food for the luncheon we planned when he sneaks up behind me and takes my hand. "Come up to the bedroom," he whispers in my ear.

"Not now..." I hiss, and he laughs, making everyone smile at the two of us knowingly. "Not for THAT, Liss...not now anyway...you've got to come upstairs and check out Lily's present."

I look to see where she is; she's happily playing on the floor in the other room with her cousins. "All right."

"Gonna steal Lissy from you, Mum..." 

I blush when his mom laughs and tells him, "Be back in time for the party, dear." 

"My god," I tell him, as we furtively sneak off so the rest of the family, Lily especially, won't miss us, "everyone always thinks we're rushing off for a quickie! Why is that, babe?"

"Because they know us too well."

"Because they know YOU too well, you mean." But I have to smile at him as he reaches the bedroom door. "Careful, now," he warns, "I don't want the little mate running out and ruining her surprise." Then he opens the door and we both slip in, shutting it behind us.

I can't see anything for a moment and then a fat ball of fluff hurls itself at us, skittering across the floor and coming to a sliding halt at my feet. Bending over, I pick it up. I have to admit, Lily's new pup is cute. But I can't help protesting, "You said you'd get a puppy."

"He IS a pup, Lissy." 

And in fact, he is what appears to be a purebred Golden Retriever puppy. Although he's just a butterball now, I lift one paw and show him. "Look at the size of his feet! He's going to get bigger."

"Well...so's Lil, you know." 

"But honey...he's going to have to grow into these paws of his...do you realize just HOW big that means he's going to be?" I frown. "I'd thought you were going to get her a terrier or something...well, something a bit smaller, sweetie?"

"Lissy," Russell explains very patiently, as if I was a slow-learning child, "it's gonna be fine. Trust me. This breed is very good with kids, very loyal and loveable. Lily's going to adore the hell out of him. He's housebroken and he already knows how to sit and stay...most of the time..." I roll my eyes but have to smile as the pup licks my chin, to plead his own case. "Can we keep him?"

"Oh, sweet heaven help me..." Russ begins to nuzzle me in that devastatingly familiar way, his hand rubbing my bottom. "Don't start that again. Not now, anyway. Yes, we can keep him." I scratch the dog's ears and he licks my hand again. "I can see why you picked this one. He's very flirtatious. Quite like you." I look at him, into his big brown expressive doggie eyes. "Does he have a name, or do we get to choose?"

"First off, he picked me. Came right to me out of the whole litter, he did. Knew he was Lily's right away. And..." all of a sudden, my husband gets this really weird look on his face. "Yeah, he's got a name, an official one, but we can change it if you want."

"Why? What is it?" Hate to say, but I'm now smitten with the new member of the family. He's playfully snapping at the button on my blouse, but when I look at him in a chastising fashion, he just snuggles in my arms. I think he's a keeper.

"His name's Max." Russ looks almost sheepish and I have no idea why. "Max is a perfectly nice name for him," I say. 

"Well, that's not his whole name." Russ looks at the floor and practically mutters, "His registered full name is Crowe's General Maximus of Kensington." 

I look incredulously at the pup and burst out laughing. "What???" Then, "You're kidding me, right?"

"No, I'm not." He takes the papers and bill of sale off the bureau and hands them to me. Sure enough, that's this little guy's full, slightly overblown title. I can't stop laughing hysterically, which seems to make Russ look even more embarrassed and slightly sour. "Did...you didn't name him that?"

"Of course I didn't name him that...give me a fucking break!" I laugh harder but try to compose myself. "Neither did Terry. That was his name long before we got there...before we even contacted these people...it seems the wife's a big fan."

"Oh, that's rich. Too rich." I'm still giggling as Max nibbles at my fingers. "I can well imagine how shocked she was to see YOU ride up to take him, then." 

"She let me choose...and she couldn't believe that was the one. She only told me after I'd picked him out." 

"Are their other pups all named after you, then?" I can't help snickering. Now he gets a little bit of a silly grin himself. "No...But they're all named after other celebrities."

"That's too funny." I hold the pup up. "We're not changing his name. Max he is." 

"Great." But he reaches out and gives the dog an affectionate pat. "Leave him here and we'll go to the party...when she's opening her presents, I'll bring him down and let him find her."

"All right." I set the puppy down and he immediately goes and curls up on the rug beside our bed. "Be good, Max. We'll see you in a bit." 

"Lissy..." Russ begs me as we're headed back to the family, "Promise me you won't tell everyone his full name. It's kinda embarrassing." 

I just smile and kiss him gently. "Oh, honey. We're all family. They'll think it's a riot." 

He groans but follows me into the family room. 

Lily's party is fun...everyone eats their fill at lunch, talking and laughing as we always do when we're all together...we decide to let Lily open her presents before having cake and ice cream.

She's not sure of what to do exactly, but is fascinated by the brightly wrapped gifts, curling ribbon and big bows. Her cousins help her, show her, and soon she's gleefully tugging at paper. She got a lot of really nice things; since she's the tiniest member of the family on either side, everyone loves spoiling her.

When she's finishing up, Russell leaves, and I know he's gone to get Max. He comes back in, but without the puppy, and when I look quizzically at him, he winks at me and glances towards the doorway. The pup is busily sniffing his way to us, interested in his new surroundings, and then he comes into the room and everyone exclaims. My mother says, "Look, Lily! What's that?" and she turns her head and sees him. "My doggie! Woof!" She's very excited now as she gets to her feet and begins walking to him.

Max is going to have to learn a little restraint. He's figured out he's Lily's, I guess...because he comes bounding up to her the same way he did to us...and knocks her right on her bottom. For a moment, she's stunned and I think she might cry...but Max licks her face and she giggles. "Doggie kissed me." She's trying to hold onto him, but he's so wiggly...I think she's met her match in terms of energy and playfulness.

Russell tells her, "Come here, Lil," and she gets back on her feet to toddle over to him. Max is right there on her heels, but as she reaches her dad, he says, "Watch, sweetheart," and then says, "Sit, Max." The puppy does, obediently, and Lily laughs, delighted. "Sit," she mimics him, and beams when he stays seated, although he does lick her finger she's pointing at him. "Good doggie," she proclaims, and everyone laughs.

Then Terry says, "I have to tell everyone this story..." and proceeds to tell the tale of the puppy's long, distinguished official moniker. Of course everyone laughs even more, and Russ has to, too, although we're mostly fascinated with watching Lily and Max together. Now she's playing a game where she walks about, lets the puppy follow...I think Max is trying to contain his eagerness because he's matching his pace to hers...and every so often, she points at him and says, "Sit!" After the first few times, however, Max is bored with trying to please his young mistress; he ignores her and comes to lick or nuzzle her fingers. She frowns. "Doggie not sit."

"He's tired, princess." I love watching Russell teach her anything new; it warms my heart. "Come here and I'll show you something else." She comes to him, but when the dog tries to follow, Russ tells him, "Stay, mate." Max sits obediently and waits. "Now, if you want him to come," he tells her, "you do this..." he pats his leg, says "Come here," and the pup trots over to them and sits once more, tail wagging furiously. At least we got a fairly mindful young one. "You try it, love."

Lily, who's leaning against her dad, looks from him to the dog, mimics Russ again by patting her own tiny leg, and says, "C'mere, doggie!!" She giggles, impressed, when the dog obeys her, and we all clap.

"How 'bout some cake and ice cream?" Lily nods, coming to me, letting me pick her up, but she adds, "Doggie, too." 

"Punkin...doggies don't like ice cream and cake. But he'll watch." I kiss her and settle her into her high chair as the rest of the family is clearing the discarded wrapping paper and ribbon and making room on the table for more plates and forks.

"No..." she fusses. I give Russ one of those 'see what you started?' looks and fix the bow in our daughter's hair. "Well, we'll see then," I tell her, using that standard mother's stalling line. This placates Lil; she says a cheery "Okay," and I have to sigh.

We bring out the cake; she doesn't quite know what to make of the one big candle on it, so I have to help her blow it out, and then of course, she wants to do it on her own, so we have to light it and sing to her all over again. I get a big piece for her that she can dig into with both hands...I didn't want to have the somewhat disastrous effects of getting her an entire small cake of her own...and then help serve everyone else. I keep an eye on her, as does the rest of the family; it's quite interesting watching a one-year old attempting to feed herself cake with her fingers. She's got frosting all over both hands, around her little mouth and, thankfully, mostly on her bib. Then as I'm finishing up passing dishes of goodies around, I hear her dad say, "Lily...no! No, don't..." and turn around just in time to see her drop her paper plate with the remainder of her cake on the floor, where Max gleefully attacks it.

She looks at all of us, pink and white frosting all over her, but smiling from ear to ear. "See...mmm, doggie!" 

Wonderful. Just wonderful. 

After cleaning up both my toddler and the puppy, the party's kind of coming to a close and everyone starts to go off their separate ways. All of my visiting family is going with Russell's parents for some shopping and sightseeing; I gladly welcome the chance to be alone with my husband, especially when my sister asks if they can take Lily with them. When everyone leaves, the house is suddenly still and quiet; I look at Russ and breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was fun, but I'm glad it's over." 

We both look at Max, who's happy playing with a discarded bit of curly ribbon. Russ pats his lap and tells me, "Come here," and when the dog comes trotting over, he playfully gently nudges him with his foot. "Not you, her." I come and cuddle with him; he chuckles as he watches the pup go back to his scrap of ribbon. "Did you see her with him? Told you she'd love it. They're so goddamn cute together."

"They're cohorts in crime, that's what they're gonna be." I kiss him and then look at him, playing with his hair. "You're in so much trouble, mister." 

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you are." I'm smiling, though, as I scold, "I can't believe I actually said yes to this latest bright idea of yours." 

"Liss..." Framing my face in between his hands, he kisses me more slowly and deeply this time. "I can think of much better things to do than pick a fight with you right now." Actually, so can I; and I think we're going to take advantage of our solitude in the house, but I do so love to make him suffer it out a bit. He whispers, "I can't believe Lily's already a year old...she's growing up so fast...when would you like to make another one? How 'bout now?"

We've talked about this and decided we'd rather wait until Lily's closer to two before having another baby. I know he's pretty much teasing, but have to further reprimand, "There's no way I'm going to have another child right now when I can't handle the ones I already have...you, Lily and Max." I look at the pup; he's actually looking drowsy now that Lily's away. I have to admit, he's a cute little rascal. "He IS basically like having another kid, you know, Russ." Kissing him back, I murmur, "And so are you, sometimes."

"I do know a few tricks." He winks at me and I laugh. "Oh, really?"

"Want me to show you?"

"I really do think you need some obedience training." He stands, with me in his arms, and I squeal as he growls and nips my earlobe. 

"I can obey commands." He's already headed for our room. 

"Oh?" God, I love this, spontaneous and slightly silly. "How 'bout..." and I whisper into his ear. He almost drops me with surprise at my boldness and I burst into peals of laughter now. "Wow. We'll have to see about that." But his eyes are blazing heat as he practically runs down the hall to our bedroom. I'm still giggling as he shuts the door.

Let me tell you...you CAN teach an old dog some new tricks...and he's a good boy. A very, very good boy. 

Both of us are lying half asleep on our bed some time later, wonderfully sated, simply enjoying the peace. The covers are tangled half on, half off the bed and we're kind of both wrapped around each other in whatever position we ended up in after making love.

I lift my head off Russ' chest and smile lazily at him; he kisses the tip of my nose, still mostly unconscious; and then I teasingly dip down and lick his nipple. His hand ruffles my hair and holds me there as I glance at him again, my own hand wandering wickedly down his belly...

And then, I hear Lily's sweet little voice calling "Mama! Daddy!" I don't mean to sound like a bragging mom...well, maybe I do...but her development has been extraordinary for her age; she walked slightly ahead of schedule, and she's already got a fairly impressive vocabulary and can put comprehensible sentences together...something that nearly everything I've read about small children says should come later on. I think it's because we've both spent so much time with her reading and talking to her, and not speaking to her in a lot of baby talk. Russell, of course, thinks she's an absolute genius.

We lay still and wait, not daring to move just yet. We can hear the sound of small footsteps running along the hall, and then she tries to get at our bedroom door...thank goodness she can't quite reach the doorknob yet. "Mommy!" she says once more, but I just prop my head back on Russell's chest and we both wait to see what happens.

"Mummy and Daddy are sleeping, darling." That's Russ' mom; we look at each other and try not to laugh aloud. "Shh...Be quiet...they're taking a nap." 

"They 'sleep?" Lily sounds puzzled by this. I can hear my mom now, adding, "Yes, sweetie...they're tired...come back here and play with Max." 

"Okay!! Woof!" And she's off again. 

Russ sighs, but he's grinning. "You were wondering why everyone always thinks we're running off to have sex?"

"Oh, shut up." Just to be obstinate, I lick his nipple again; sucking and nibbling at it until he groans. Then he swats me on the rear. "We'd best be getting up and seeing what kind of trouble the kids are into now." But he grins, evilly. "Save that for later, though."

Grumbling, I mutter, "You'll be lucky to get anything at all later...brilliant idea to get the little beast in the first place..." I have to smile, though, at the memory of Lily's eyes lighting up when she saw her new puppy. And the memory of my husband's eyes lighting up as he watched her...now, that's something to treasure.

Although...it was nothing like watching his eyes light up when I...but...oh, well. We'll get back to that later. 

If we thought life with Lily was interesting and fun, we couldn't have imagined living with both Lily AND Max. When she went shopping with everyone, they bought him a special collar...Lil picked it out, and with the little princess choosing, it was a bright pink one covered in rhinestones, of course, since she loves anything frilly, bright, or sparkly. Her dad persuaded her, however, to keep that one for 'special days' and took her to select a nice, sedate, slightly more masculine red one for Max to wear the rest of the time. We had to convince her that no, doggie couldn't sleep with her in her crib...compromising by letting him sleep in her room, on the floor...further compromising by buying him a big fluffy pad to sleep on because Lily got concerned he'd get cold. Daddy also helped her pick it out---plaid flannel---go figure.

He's got infinite patience with both child and puppy...which I enjoy observing, since Max was all his doing. I do love the little golden furball myself; but it's especially great to watch Russell teaching Lily the basics of having a pet of her own.

"No, sweetie, you can't hold onto his ears...he doesn't like that."

"Listen, love, you can't grab his tail like that! That's not a nice thing to do." 

"Lily, baby, Max shouldn't be ridden like Honey, all right? He's a dog, you know." 

But he works with her on helping reinforce the commands the pup already knows...starts trying to help her teach him new ones, which usually just ends in both Max and Lily rolling on the floor together, since they're both so young and not inclined to have much of an attention span at this point. Max adores his tiny owner, too...they're a perfect fit.

I also thoroughly enjoy observing Lily playing with her pup...that child has a very active imagination...she tries to involve him in tea parties and dressing up in her princess costumes...scolding him when he tries to eat the feather boa she's wound so artfully around him. I have to explain to her that Max has special dog toys that he likes to play with and that Lily's toys are especially for her; and then she usually compromises by giving him one of his own to chew while she plays with her dolls or something like that. The dog has incredible patience with her, also...I have to admit Russ did a good job choosing him to be her companion.

I do worry what we'll do when eventually Russell takes on another project and we might have to go and travel with him on location...Lil will be heartbroken having to leave Max behind. But for now, he truly is content to be home and Lily and Max are both content to be inseparable. And I am perfectly content to be with and love all of them. 

Lily's now nearly a year and a half old, growing in leaps and bounds. Max is growing too, more and more it seems. He's quickly grown from the round little ball he was when Lily got him for her birthday to being bigger than her, nearly full-grown. And even though he's gotten much larger than her, he's always very careful around Lil, tries not to knock her over or play too rough with her. He's a gentle, protective giant, and where you find one, the other one's sure to be there as well.

Today I've left the two of them in the next room playing while I'm baking in the kitchen. Russ went outside to do some stuff...it's one of those lazy afternoons that I adore.

He comes inside while I'm cleaning up, kisses me, and then goes off to find our daughter. In just a moment, he pops back in and asks, "Where's Lily and the dog?"

"They were just there..." I push past him and look. All of her toys are scattered where she's left them and there's no sign of either of them. I try to fight my irrational rising sense of panic. From the time she began to move on her own, Lily's learned boundaries...where she can and can't go, stuff she shouldn't play with, that sort of thing. I know there's no way she could have gotten outside by herself, or even with Max...she's still too small to reach the doorknobs easily and she knows she's not to do that unless one of us takes her. Max would never let her get close to danger without coming to alert me or Russ; but I can't help the crazy scenarios that race through my head. What if they're both hurt...what if someone snuck in and kidnapped Lily and did something horrible to Max?

Russell must see the intense worry on my face because he kisses me briefly and says, "Now, they've both got to be in the house, and they couldn't have gotten far. You look around down here and I'll go up and try to find them." He calls out, "Lily!" and there's no answer. I try to fight down the icy concern that's taking over and call for her, too. I have to wonder if she's not hiding and playing a game, so I look everywhere, behind doors and under furniture, but there's no sign. Then I hear Russ call softly, "Come here, Liss. I've found 'em."

I meet him at the top of the stairs; he's smiling as he takes hold of my hand and we creep down to the baby's room, peeking in the partially closed door.

Somehow, Lil must've convinced Max to come with her; apparently they both wore each other out. She's pulled one of her pink blankets out through the side of her crib; covered herself and is lying on the floor, clutching her very favorite bear, her head pillowed on the dog's furry side. And they're both sound asleep. Max opens his eyes when he hears us in the doorway, but closes them once he realizes it's us and we're okay with Lily being there.

I have to shake my head but it's the sweetest picture I've ever seen, frankly. "Okay, I have to admit, getting Lily a dog was a wonderful idea." Wrapping my arms around Russell's waist, I kiss him and he grins all the more at my concession.

"Now then...her second birthday's coming...what about that pony?"

I wrinkle my nose at that one; he knows how protective and worrisome I can get about her still. Then I slowly slide my hands down to squeeze his gorgeous butt, nuzzling his neck, placing teasing, nipping tender kisses along his jawline.

"How about having another baby instead?" I whisper gently. 

He looks surprised but thrilled at the idea; we both want more than one child. "Really?"

"Let's just say negotiations are open. As long as you play fair." I reason, "If we got pregnant again fairly quickly, Lily would at least be two when it got here." In response, he cuts me off by kissing me rather deeply and soundly, cupping me against him so I can feel his glorious erection. "Oh...that's not playing fair at all."

"Told you I never learned that one." 

"You definitely need to work on your obedience skills, sweetheart." 

"Why don't you teach me? Right now." 

 I glance at the slumbering child and dog. "We DO have some peace for a little while..." 

Let the negotiations begin.