A pet that paved the way to parenthood

Amelia looked through the cages and none of the puppies caught her attention. She sighed, looking up at her already frustrated husband’s face with a sad expression on hers.

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“Sweetheart, you got to get one of these already,” Ben tried to muffle his frustration with a feigned smile.

“They are all so cute and I’m unable to choose one out of them all,” she started sobbing and Ben breathed out before pulling her in for a hug.

“We can still look out for more,” Ben said, comforting her with a side hug and she nodded, wiping the tears off her face.

They looked further for more than twenty minutes and still, Amelia got none of the puppies.

“How about we come around some other time and check if there are more pets by then?” Ben asked with a hopeful mind as he waited for Amelia’s response.

She looked dejected, skimming around the pet house and looking over at the pet sitter with some sort of encouraging words.

“Do you promise there will be more?” Amelia asked the pet sitter and he nodded. “Alright, Ben. Let’s go,”

As they turned to leave and had only taken a few steps away from the doorway, a puppy with three legs was walked in.

Amelia looked over her shoulder and slowly, she was slipping her hand off Ben’s hold.

“Did you see her? Oh, that poor little girl.”

Ben looked confused as he had not noticed anything.

“What? Who?”

“The tripod. The puppy,”

“With three legs?”

“Yes.”

“What about that?”

“That’s the puppy I want.”

Ben stood still for a few seconds, rested his hands on his waist and stared blankly at his wife. Ever since they have been trying for a child, they have never once thought of getting a pet until their doctor suggested that for Amelia since she was slowly falling into depression which in the doctor’s words, would not be suitable for a child.

“Do you know the care it takes to cater for an incomplete puppy?” His face was serious as well as his tone.

Amelia pouted, feeling the hotness of her burning through her eyes. She was in fact acting like an expectant mother.

“Don’t call her incomplete!”

“Except I am not hearing you well, a tripod is an incomplete or crippled dog.” Ben managed to explain in a soft voice.

“But I want her. I don’t know, it seems you never listen to me…” she started.

“Oh, no. Not now.”

“It’s like you don’t love me anymore and as the day passes by, you love me less!”

“How could you even say that? You know what, babe…let’s get the complete puppy.”

“I sense the sarcasm in your tone,”

“But she’s complete. Isn’t that what you want me to say about her? She has three legs but she most definitely complete,” Ben said and Amelia laughed really loud, blinking her eyes and causing the tears to roll down her cheeks.

“Awwn, come on,” Ben pulled her to his chest, wrapping his hand around her and using his free hand to wipe the tears off her cheeks. “Let’s go get her,” They finally walked back inside the pet house after much back and forth and soon, they walked out with trio, the new puppy with three legs.

It had been a week after trio was named and brought into their home. Amelia would care for her as though she was her child and even though Ben was trying to get used to the puppy as a proper pet, he still would care for her like she was the initial puppy he chose as his pet.

After dinner one night, Amelia bent to feed trio. As she bent her back, she felt a sudden sharp pain in her back that transferred to her lower belly which soon walked its way to her throat and transfixed as a bulge in her throat.

She hurried to the bathroom, throwing up everything she ate.

Ben, who was watching the news ran over to her to help her out.

“Are you okay, baby?” he asked as he helped her wash her face with water and tucked strands of wet hair behind her ears.

“I just feel…” she didn’t complete her statement when she made a retching sound, puking again.

“Here, take this,” Ben handed her a towel to mop her face and the corner of her mouth. “How do you feel?”

“I feel lightheaded. I feel irritated. I feel weak. I feel…” As she listed it all, they both froze in awe, staring widely at each other before they both searched for a pregnancy strip.

“Are you sure?” Ben asked, his heart beating heavily at the possibility that awaits them.

“It doesn't hurt to try!” she replied and immediately peed on the strip.

They shot their eyes, waited in silence and after a few minutes, they opened them only to find out it had two strips.

“I am pregnant!”

This is my submission to the Inleo prompt suggestion for the month of April. The topic is "Pets, Pet Care....". You can join here. This is the calendar