As much as Hillary insisted that she had been forced into making the waffle breakfast, she ended up enjoying it just as much as her two daughters did. And with the squirrel situation resolved, it was easy to look back on it and laugh, so the two added up to a very enjoyable morning. Once crumbs were scooped up and plates were scraped clean, however, a more routine day began to settle in. Tina went upstairs to change into her work uniform, while Brie messaged a few of her friends to see if anyone wanted to hang out later. It took a raised eyebrow from her mother to convince the younger girl to at least help clean up the dishes while she was waiting, and this time, she obliged without getting tickly over it.
By the time the dishes were done and put away, Tina was downstairs, ready to catch a bus to her beach job. Brie was dressed and out the door soon after, heading out to a friend’s house with a promise that she’d be back in the afternoon. This left Hillary in the house alone, on a lovely summer morning, on one of her days off, and she only then realized that she hadn’t really planned on how she was going to spend the day. Lazily, she turned on the TV and began to stream the first show listed in the “new and trending” section, something or other about a pirate with stretchy arms. It made for good background material as she headed towards the living room couch with a book she had been intending to finish. With a big stretch, she knocked out a nice crick in her upper back, then draped herself over the entirety of the couch, her slippered feet dangling off the edge. Maxie, all his pent-up energy for the morning spent, saw his owner snuggled down, and copied her vibe by nestling down into his bed on the side of the room. Minus the sounds of Netflix in the background, it was a very relaxing morning.
After an hour, and with a few more chapters done, Hillary decided to make herself a cup of tea to go with her book; she marked her page, and then stretched her arms up once again. Maxie, seeing her get up, popped his head up and flipped his ears as he watched her stick her arms up over her head, pulling them so tight that the bottom of her blouse popped up out of her belt. Then, not even bothering to fix it, she made her way to the kitchen, and opened up the treat cupboard.
The cupboard also had human food in it, including the tea Hillary was aiming for, but in Maxie’s mind, it was treat time. He jumped up and skidded into the kitchen, excitedly whapping his tail back and forth, only to let out a confused whine when Hillary shut the door holding nothing but a tea bag for herself. She looked down at the young golden retriever and shook her head as he offered a pleading whimper.
“No, no Maxie. You got a big helping of peanut butter this morning, that’s enough of a treat. You’re getting chunky as it is.”
Maxie continued to beg and whine, trying to gesture to the treat cupboard as Hillary boiled herself some tea. The mother resolved to not cave into making someone else sugary food for the morning, and managed to walk around her dog as she made her way back to the couch. Maxie followed her, and as she laid back down onto the couch, the young dog jumped up onto her belly, catching her off guard and forcing a laugh out of her lungs.
“OOF! Ah ah, ok you big goofball, off.”
Maxie continued to stare at her with big pleading eyes, so Hillary put her book back down and stared back, trying to assert her dominance over her own pet. It wasn’t working. Maxie, in an attempt to move closer, tried to shuffle his way up her body, digging his paws into her stomach as he did so. Feeling her belly kneaded like dough, Hillary began to sputter and chuckle, forcing her midriff up and down with her laughter and making it harder for the retriever to move forward.
“Ohohoho heeheehee… stahahap! No treeheheat!”
But as she tried to reach up and grab him by the sides, Maxie plopped himself down, landing his front legs across the woman’s chest and planting his face directly into hers. The close breathing, and sniffing of his nose into her neck, were enough to keep Hillary laughing even without any tickling contact.
“No… no… hehe… no, Maxie…”
But with one lick of the tongue to her neck, her resolve broke. With a ticklish squeal, she sat up, forcing Maxie off of her. “Oh, me and my big heart” she muttered to herself as she went back to the kitchen, grabbing a tiny treat to satisfy the demanding pup.
*DING DONG!!!*
At the moment she tossed the bite down for Maxie to gobble up, the doorbell rang loudly through the house. Hillary looked up, surprised; both Brie and Tina had keys to get inside, and she wasn’t expecting any company, or deliveries. Curiously, she fixed her shirt as best as she could, before making her way to the front and opening the door.
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