Morning
approaches and Zawadi slowly begins to awaken.
Reluctantly
she crawls out of bed.
The
soft whine of a dog captures her attention as she leaves her room.
Following
the sound, she walks out into the backyard.
She
cannot believe her eyes as she sees the dog.
“Oh
my goodness! Where did you come from?”
She says initially thinking it’s a stray dog.
She
knows it’s not a stray dog when she spots the dog house, toys and dog
food.
Realizing
that this dog belongs here, Zawadi immediately pulls out a toy and begins to
bond.
During
their play session, Zawadi comes up with the perfect name. “I’ll call you Dazzle,” she says out loud.
Dazzle
seems to respond well to the name, as Zawadi uses it while gently brushing her
fur.
Dazzle
darts back and forth in an attempt to initiate play with Zawadi.
Zawadi
is instantly in love.
Overwhelmed
with joy over her new companion, Zawadi suddenly feels bad about the trick she
played on her mother last night.
Zawadi
knows that her parents love her and work so hard to make sure she has
everything she needs.
Providing
is exactly what they do. Miles’ advance
is put to good use toward a remodel of the Ward home…
…including
a new laundry room for Sephora.
Miles
wakes up admiring the changes to the home.
Seeing
that her father is up, Zawadi rushes into the house.
She
wraps her arms around her father in gratitude.
“Thank you so much for the dog! I
love her,” she says into her father’s neck.
“I
knew you would,” Miles says, pleased with Zawadi’s reaction.
“Guess
what? I have another surprise for you,” Miles announces.
“What
is it?” Zawadi asks very interested.
“I
bought a car! Do you still want to learn
to drive?”
Zawadi is excited, but nervous. “I guess so,” she answers softly.
She
steps outside to check out the new family vehicle; her heart racing at the idea
of finally gaining independence by getting her driver’s license.
The
thought of showing off for her friends, not to mention Mitchell makes it hard
to hold in her excitement.
Yet,
she’s still nervous about the idea of finally getting almost everything she’s
ever wanted.
Miles
sits
down at
the table with his breakfast.
Zawadi
joins him with news that Miles wasn’t expecting to hear.
“Daddy, the prom is coming up at school.”
Miles almost chokes at the thought of prom dresses, dates and hot sweaty teens dancing too close together.
“Already? Do you…um…have a date?” Miles asks, already
regretting Zawadi’s answer.
“Not
yet,” Zawadi says causally before stuffing her mouth with food.
“Not yet? Does that mean you have someone in mind?” Miles asks carefully.
Zawadi
smiles involuntarily; which sends a shiver up Miles’ protective father
spine. He knows that smile all too
well. It tells him that not only does
Zawadi have someone in mind, but it’s someone that she likes a whole lot. Miles sighs.
Miles
cannot think of anything to say or do, so he excuses himself from the table and
cleans his dish.
