Page 103 of Up In Smoke

“We don’t want to impose—” Rico begins.

Trixie lets him go and pokes his chest. “Nope. Not another word. Mi casa es su casa, and I always try and keep a room spare in case one of my boys needs it. So you ain’t puttin’ me out one bit, all right?”

Rico glances at me but I shrug and open the back door of the car to let Klaus out. “Don’t look at me. I’m too smart to argue with her.”

“Darn tootin’,” Trixie says smugly. “Oh, hey there, fella! Long time no see.”

She greets Klaus with the same enthusiasm as she did us. My heart contracts. I still can’t believe we can keep him. After all the worrying I’ve been doing, it was decided just like that, no fuss at all.

The three of us really are a family now.

I reach back into the car for the bag of groceries we were able to pick up from the all-night mart. So at least we have toothbrushes and deodorant as well as a few other bits and pieces for us and Klaus, and Rico had a phone charger at the fire station that we can both use. Tomorrow, we’ll have to sort out clean clothes and other essentials. But for now, we’ll survive.

“Okie-dokie, you boys follow me,” Trixie says with a wave. We head back toward the Tavern in the quiet of the night. My ears are still ringing from the fire alarm and all the commotion that followed, so the calm now is much appreciated.

When we get inside the entrance door, someone is waiting for us. A small boy of about seven or eight jumps to his feet, clutching a piggy bank to his chest. He looks to be wearing a hoodie over some pajamas with smiling hotdogs all over the pants. His slippers look like bear claws.

“Is this them, Mama?” he asks eagerly.

She moves to his side so the two of them are facing us. “It sure is, pumpkin. Gentlemen, this here’s my boy, Max. Max, this is Mr. Jesse. He’s one of Mama’s dancin’ boys. And this is his husband, Mr. Rico. He’s a real-life firefighter!”

“Wow,” Max says, looking up at Rico in awe.

Yeah, kid. Same.

Trixie hugs her son to her side. “When I woke him up to tell him I was comin’ down here to get you fellas settled in, he absolutely insisted on hustlin’ out of bed to meet y’all himself.”

Max’s eyes go wide and his lip trembles. “Mama said your house burned down. I’m real sorry to hear that.” He holds out the piggy bank. “This is all I got. But you can have it so you can start savin’ for a new house.”

“Oh,” I say softly, tears welling in my eyes again. “That’s so incredibly kind of you, Max.”

“Yeah, buddy,” Rico says gruffly. “We really appreciate the thought. But your mom is already helping us out by giving us a place to stay for a while. So why don’t you keep that and save up for something really special?”

He looks thoughtfully at the piggy bank, then back at us. “Okay, Mr. Jesse and Mr. Rico. If you’re sure you don’t need it for your house…maybe I could buy something for your dog? Is he friendly?”

“He’s very friendly,” I tell the kid. “His name’s Klaus if you’d like to say hello.”

Max looks up at Trixie, who nods. “Make sure’n hold your hand out first like this.” She shows him with her own palm. “That way he can sniff you and know you wanna be friends.”

She takes the piggy bank from Max, and we all watch as he copies her, approaching our dog with his arm out. Once Klaus has inspected his fingers, he nuzzles against them and makes Max squeak in delight.

“Good boy,” he says enthusiastically, stroking between Klaus’s ears. “Do you think he’d like a sparkly collar?” he asks us. “Mama sells those to people!”

Rico laughs and raises an eyebrow at Trixie, who merely shrugs and smiles. “I’m sure Klaus would love a sparkly collar, Max” he says. “Thank you.”

“Okay, trouble,” Trixie announces, handing the piggy bank back to her son. “You head on back upstairs now. Mama’s gonna show the boys to their room.”

“But I’m not tired!” Max protests, practically swaying on the spot.

“Well,I’mtired,” I assure him, faking a yawn that turns real almost immediately. “So if I’m going to bed, you probably should, too, hmm?”

Max apparently can’t help but yawn as well and rubs his eyes. “Okay, Mr. Jesse. But will you have breakfast with us? We can make pancakes.”

“If it’s okay with your mom?” I say, raising my eyebrows at Trixie.

She gives my shoulder a light shove. “Of course it is, sugar. Now, I think it’s long past everyone’s bedtime! So shoo, little man!”

Max giggles as she herds him towards the stairs. “Bye,” he says to us sleepily with a wave.