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“You better not,” Emma said, spinning around and placing her butt directly on top of his chest. “I’ve got a small gift for you,” she said, grinning.
Mike heard a small spurt, and winced. “Holy fuck, Emma,” he said squinting and scrunching up his face, laughs echoing from around the room.
“Next time maybe you’ll help me instead of her,” she said, her face red with laughter as she stood up, off his chest.
Mike saw Sarah doubled over laughing, and Danni likewise laughing, propping herself up on the stairs. Beth was laughing as well, but still focusing on dinner.
“God that stinks!” Mike said, slowly raising up and waving the air away from him as if he’d just been hit with toxic fumes. “You nasty ass!” he said, shaking his head.
“You deserved it,” Emma said, coming forward and helping him up, and giving him a kiss on the cheek as she wrapped him in a hug, forcing herself to keep it as platonic as possible before letting go.
Dinner conversation was lighthearted that night. Sarah made a pig of herself, gorging on Beth’s delicious crab and shrimp. Near the end Danni brought in her gift. It was a DVD that she said they’d have to watch later.
Mike then stood up with a smile. “Well, I guess its time for my gift. But I have to warn you, that I didn’t just get Sarah something. They came as a set, so you all get one.” Mike headed upstairs to his room and emerged a few minutes later with a large box with holes in the lid.
“Aww Mike,” Sarah said, looking at the hastily wrapped box.
“That’s definitely Mike’s,” Beth said, shaking her head at the wrapping job.
“Is it that obvious?”
Sarah giggled as she eyed the haphazardly slapped on news papers. She peered at the box and spied the holes in the top.
“Did you get me a cat?” She asked, but was answered by a sharp yelp from inside the box.
Smiling, Mike shrugged as his grinning sisters all stood immediately and tore the lid off the box.
“OH MY GOD,” they all yelled, pulling the puppies out of the box. “They are SOO CUTE!” Danni said, nuzzling one of them.
“They’re English Bulldogs, if you couldn’t tell,” Mike said, smiling. “There were five when I saw the truck, and there are five of us, so I figured, why the hell not.”
The sisters had each picked out a puppy and were all nuzzling and making goofy noises at the puppies, who couldn’t have appeared less interested.
There was another yelp and Sarah peered into the box, the last puppy peering up at her, pleading at her with cute puppy eyes. “Okay, okay,” she said, smiling and reaching for it.
He began to pant and playfully nip at her as she pulled him close. “We’re gonna have to figure out names for all you guys,” Danni said, scooping the puppy from Sarah’s hand.
“The guy said he still had four more full grown bull dogs at home still, and that he just needed to get rid of these. They’re weaned and they were working on house training.”
Emma was holding her puppy close to her and making kissing noises at it while it whimpered at her. “This one is so cute,” she cooed. “Yes you are, widdle cutie wootie.” She had the puppy up to her nose and was making a “kissy” face at it.
Mike and his other sisters laughed and looked over at Emma, who stopped when she saw all of the stares.
“What?” she asked.
“We’re just not used to you acting so girly,” Mike said with a smile as she reached over and slugged him.
“You did just fart in his face,” Beth reminded her with a smile as she nuzzled her own puppy.
Emma laughed at that, and went back to cooing at her puppy.
Mike reached over and scooped the fifth puppy back from his sister and brought it back to his lap to play with it, turning it over and rubbing his hand across his belly as the dog nipped at his fingers.
“Well now this is just about the gayest thing you’ve ever done.”
Mike ignored the voice and continued mock wrestling with his own puppy.
“Thank you so much guys, for everything,” Sarah started, beginning to stand.
“The night isn’t over yet, silly,” Danni said. “Let’s go to the living room and watch that DVD.”
Sarah smiled and nodded. “Okay,” she said, standing as her siblings followed suit.
“What movie is it?” Beth asked.
Danni smiled and shrugged as she bent over to put the DVD in the player, making sure to face her ass directly at Mike as he moved to sit on the couch, sisters piling in around him with their puppies in tow.
As she reached for the remote from the top of the T. V., she turned and smiled at Sarah.
“Ever since Mom and Dad passed away, you took it upon yourself to take care of us, effectively ending your childhood so that Mike, Emma, Beth, and I could still have ours.” Danni was trying hard not to let her voice crack at that moment, but Sarah, her head on Mike’s shoulder, couldn’t have held her tears back if she’d wanted to.
“I hope you enjoy,” she said, and headed for the pile of siblings. Mike was in the middle with Emma on his left and Sarah on his right, Beth on the other side of her, snuggled up closely to her sister. Danni, not standing for being excluded, promptly stole Mike’s puppy and plopped down in his lap, molding softly into his chest as Sarah and Emma wrapped their arms around the two, Beth’s arm coming from behind Sarah to join the mass.
Danni lifted the remote and hit play.NôvelDrama.Org: owner of this content.
The video was black for a few seconds and then a picture of the whole family flashed onto the screen, Matthews Family captioned underneath it. The picture faded from view and a video of a football game of Mike’s flashed into view. Sarah’s voice could be heard as the purple clad football team assumed a formation. “GO MIKE,” the video Sarah yelled as the ball was hiked.
“There’s Matt,” Mike said, pointing at the quarterback. Matt dropped back and launched the ball at a swiftly moving player racing for the other end zone. “There I am,” Mike said, smiling, as the football sailed in his general direction. “I think that’s the Burkett game, my junior year.”