Blake's POV

To my surprise, my son wanted to name our new dog, Princess. It was a funny, very common name, and anything to make Liam happy was my life.

  Except, I couldn't express deep down why I didn't like the name when he asked me. The thought of it was upsetting me and I hated it. I didn't want that.

  With compromise though, my son and I cheerfully agreed on naming her Queen. It was an upgrade from Princess, a coincidental nickname I used to call my wife before she ended her life in that car accident, but it was a beautiful name nonetheless.

   This would be the first night with Queen, so I bet no one was getting any sleep tonight.

   With parking my car in the garage, I had no problems with her getting out. She was a calm and gentle dog whose personality wasn't wild.

It was when I unlocked the sliding door entrance to let both her and Liam in that she decided to dash around everywhere in circles and race all throughout the house. She even started to chase her own tail, which I felt only proved how much she was meant to be here with us.

I wanted the best for my son, so when I saw how happy she made him, I couldn't help but feel accomplished. I wanted the best for myself too, and seeing that smile on his face made me wish we found her sooner. Grateful we had her now.

   We never did own a dog before, because my wife was allergic. We couldn't have any animals with how sick it would make her. And I couldn't tell him that, because I didn't want him to grow up resentful. I'm just hoping Annie appreciated the view from wherever she was.

   Liam hasn't smiled or appeared this happy in almost two years or so, ever since she and his sister Grace died. Now look at him. This is what the both of us needed to bring our family back to what it used to be. Laughter and joy.

   Nothing was ever really going to be the same without the two special people in our lives we lost, but we'd make new friendships and memories.

   After entering the kitchen and settling in, someone must have left the television blaring in the living room. Liam.

    He was goofing around with Queen on the polyester carpet while time passed on by.

    Reaching for the remote on the sectional to shut it off, reeling on the news was a series of grizzly animal attacks. It caught my attention.

    Hearts brutally ripped out of chests and bodies being found at multiple location sites. Detectives at every scene ruled their unfortunate deaths as homicides, unsure of the causes of these recent incidents. They want all citizens to be aware and vigilant.

    Once dinner was served and Liam gobbled everything on his plate —his favorite alphabet soup— I remembered the rest of the night like I remembered the alphabet —and my wedding day— as a sweet, precious memory I'll forever keep stored close to my heart.

    I had Liam in bed two hours before midnight. A record breaker. He was under a Power Rangers blanket he hadn't grown out of yet that smelled of lavender and rainbows. He was all snuggled up and warm when he asked me to read to him.

Not once in his entire life had he asked me to read. It was always his mom that read to him. And if it wasn't her, he would try to read by himself.

It made a huge difference now that he wanted me to read a book to him. This fact was utterly melting my heart. I wanted to pull him into a bear hug.

While he shuffled through his shelf for the perfect bedtime story, I watched as Queen entered the room and joined Liam under his blanket. They grew attached in such a short amount of time.

'Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham' was essentially handed to me. He even smiled when I opened the book to the title page.

"I loved mom reading this book to Grace and I growing up," Liam cried out, petting the dog's fur with such ease.

"I'll do my best to read it just like she did," I told him, hoping to boost my confidence. My wife was the better actress.

I was determined to please my son. This was a moment for history: my son's first time hearing his dad read to him.

I looked up to Liam smiling at me. "As long as you're reading to me, dad, I don't care about you sounding like mom. Be yourself."

I smiled back. What he said was too kind. Too wise. My son was such a gentleman. He was so generous and caring of other people's feelings. I loved the little man I was raising.

"I am Sam. I am Sam. Sam-I-Am..," I read out loud, continuing on like I knew exactly what I was doing. I had no idea what I was doing.

Liam passed out moments later. He was peacefully in a slumber cuddling up with Queen who appeared like she was dreaming of meaty dog treats such as Snausages.

I pulled the covers over him and left the room quietly, leaving three inches in the door. I knew how much Liam was scared of the dark.

Heading back to my bedroom, I noticed the difference in how owning a dog made our lives better. I was thankful for Queen coming to our door when she did, even if it was only to get her paw fixed and be sent on her way. It was like we were destined to find her outside on our porch.

I approached the window closest to me after I entered and closed my door. I looked out at the stars and thought to myself, I love you so much, Annie Ruth Davenport, no matter what happens.