Adopting Jenny Read Free Page B

the rescue people left, she pulled five small bottles. She mixed the replacement formula while humming off-tune.
    â€œHere, you girls each take a puppy and start feeding them,” Mom said. “I need to get some other supplies.”
    Picking up a bottle, Penny strode confidently into the breakfast nook, selected a puppy, and settled on the floor beside Jenny. The puppy mewled a little before suckling the bottle. For some reason, my stomach knotted as I peered into the box. One of the puppies stood up on his wobbly little legs and stumbled a few steps, bumping his head against the cardboard wall. I giggled.
    I pulled him into my arms. His furry little body nestled against my chest made me relax. I offered him the bottle and after a tense moment where he nuzzled the nipple, he latched on and gulped the milk.
    Penny and I sat in silence while we fed the puppies. When we had finished with the first two we selected two more and fed them as well. As Penny reached for the last puppy, Mom returned with a small lamp and a few other supplies.
    â€œWhat’s all that stuff?” Penny asked, setting the last puppy back into the box.
    Mom adjusted the lamp. “This is a heat lamp. Puppies this young can’t regulate their own body heat so this will help them stay warm. And this is Karo syrup.”
    I watched, fascinated, as Mom poured a tiny bit of the thick syrup into a small dish. She sucked up a bit of the liquid in a medicine dropper. She placed a small bit on one puppy's tongue, and then set the puppy near Jenny again. The puppy sniffed around a bit, but didn’t latch on.
    â€œThey probably aren’t hungry,” I said. I tried to sound confident, but my voice faltered.
    Mom picked the puppy back up. She cuddled it against her, nuzzling it with her nose. “I suppose we’ll have to stay up all night, trying to get them to nurse. It’s going to be a long night," she said again and sighed.
    â€œCan I stay up?” I asked.
    â€œMe too?” Penny added.
    Mom frowned at us. “I don’t know, girls,” she said. I could hear the doubt in her voice and my heart sank. Then she continued, “I suppose it would be alright if you stayed up for a bit. We could work in shifts. Maybe Kaye would like to help too.”
    â€œI’ll go ask her,” Penny said.
    I watched my sister sprint from the room. She seemed as excited as I was, but I knew better than to get my hopes up too high. I knew better because the moment I let myself get too hopeful Dad would come and crush them into a million pieces.
    ****
    Four years earlier…
    The rescue people had called Mom again, practically begging her to foster a new dog. They swore up and down that he was the sweetest dog ever. He was good with kids. He was house broken. They knew that they would be able to place him with an adoptive family within the week.
    Mom consented because fostering animals was still new to her. She had gotten involved with the rescue agency just three days before my eighth birthday. So far we had only taken care of a few cats. None of them had stayed very long.
    So when the woman from the rescue agency had dropped off the little ten pound dog later that night, I was beside myself with delight.
    Mom said, “Let’s call him Buckley.”
    â€œBuckley?” Kaye said with a snort. “What kind of name is Buckley?”
    â€œOkay, Miss Smarty-pants , what would you name him?” Mom asked.
    Kaye smirked at her. “How about Mr. Ice Cream?”
    I burst out laughing, nearly choking on my water. “That’s the perfect name.”
    Mom raised an eyebrow in my direction, but her mouth lifted up in a half smile. “Alright,” she said. “We’ll call him Mr. Ice Cream while he’s here.”
    I could feel my eyes widen as I looked from Mom to Kaye. My oldest sister’s mouth was hanging open as she stared at Mom in disbelief. Then I turned back to the poor little dog that