“Taffy! We home!” Stevie called as he ran through the door into the foyer.
A loud ‘yip’ and the scratching of nails on the floor were his answer. A few seconds later, Taffy came bounding in and rushed to greet Stevie with sniffs and licks.
Tori set her purse and keys on the table smiling at Stevie’s giggles as he tried to pet the puppy and calm her down.
Tearing away from Stevie, Taffy ran up to Tori, stopped and wagged her tail, dancing in place. Tori leaned down to pet her. “Hi Taffy. Happy to see us? Have you been a good girl?”
With a little ‘wuf’, Taffy ran back to Stevie. Then back to Tori. Then back to Stevie again. And around and around again, faster and faster.
“Uh oh! Mama!”
Tori glanced at the puddle Stevie was pointing at. “Better tell Daddy.”
“Better tell Daddy what?” Richie stepped through the door, Lauren – and Elmo – in his arms.
“Taffy peed on the floor.” Stevie informed him.
“She got over excited to see us.” Tori explained.
Richie sighed, set Lauren on her feet, gave Taffy a pat and went in search of cleaning supplies. Before he got out of the foyer, his daughter’s outraged scream had him spinning around and he almost tripped over the puppy as she ran by him, Elmo in her mouth.
Lauren pulled herself up from where Taffy had knocked her down and started after the dog and her toy.
“Do you get the feeling she really doesn’t like that muppet?” Tori chuckled. “Can’t say that I blame her.”
“Boys are so.....stupid!” Spinning on her heel, she stalked down the hallway towards the studio.
“I not toopid!” Stevie argued. “Am I Mama?”
“No Peanut. You’re not stupid. Bean wasn’t talking about you. I think she was talking about a boy at her school.” Tori looked at Richie who raised his hands in a defensive gesture.
“Don’t look at me, this is your area. Just let me know if I have to have a man to man talk with anyone.”
Struggling to her feet, Tori followed her stepdaughter. She entered the studio to find Ava sitting at the piano, blonde head bent dejectedly, fingers idly pressing keys. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Ava sighed. “I wish I understood guys.”
“Usually they’re not that difficult to figure out. We just make it that way because they don’t think ore react like us.” Tori sat down on the bench beside the teenager, who moved over to give her room. “What’s the problem?”
“Most guys who act like they like me are either walking hormones who want to meet Mom, or wanna be rockstars who want to meet Dad.” She grimaced. “I thought Tyler was different.”
“What makes you think he isn’t?” Tori had heard a bit about Tyler, enough to know Ava had a bit of a crush on him, but she hadn’t met him yet.
“Because he can’t remember any important dates and always does stuff that he knows is going to pi...er..tick me off.”
“Honey that just means he’s a male. They all do that. Just like we do stuff that drives them nuts too.”
“But why do they do that?”
Tori debated her answer. “Guys don’t look at things the same way we do. They don’t necessarily have the same priorities as we do or think the same things are important. They don’t remember dates...unless they’re history teachers.”
“But Dad remembers dates.”
“He’s old enough to know that remembering dates is important to us, so he makes the effort. And he has a calendar on his phone to remind him.”
“Ow!” Stevie hollered.
“Sweetpea don’t sit on your brother’s head. You’ll hurt him, and it’s not nice.” Richie shook his head. He wouldn’t have to worry about his youngest daughter. If any boy upset her she’d probably deck him. Unable to resist, he stood and snuck down the hallway to hover outside the studio door and listen.
“Honey, you can’t expect to find Mr. Perfect. There isn’t one. Everyone has faults. You need to find someone whose life goals and core values match yours and whose faults you can live with. And hope that he can live with yours.”
“What goals and values of Dad’s made you choose him?”
“Your Dad is all about family. He will do anything within his power to make sure that his family is safe and happy.”
Ava nodded, then frowned. “We can all see how much he loves you, but he still does things that he knows you don’t like.” Just then, Taffy wandered into the room to sit at Tori’s feet and provided a perfect example. “Like the puppy. You told him you didn’t want one, but he bought her anyway.” She shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
Tori smiled and scratched Taffy behind the ears. “Your Dad has a very big, and very soft heart. Peanut asked for a dog, and he felt sorry for her all alone while her siblings played together.”
“But he knew you’d be mad.”
“Yes, but he also knew that it wasn’t something that would damage our relationship. Sure I’d yell at him and make him do penance, but what we’ve built is too good and too strong to throw away over something like a badly timed pet. It’s not a deal breaker for me and he knows that.”
“You sound like Dr. Phil.”
Tori chuckled. “Yeah, well, I don’t agree with everything he says, but he’s got a point with that one.”
“So what are your deal breakers?”
“Cheating, abuse,” she hesitated. “And letting alcohol take control again.”
Ava was quiet for a few moments while she thought about everything she’d just heard. “Okay, but....how can you just ignore it when he does stuff that makes you mad?”
“I don’t ignore it. I let him know how I feel. But then I forgive him and move on. And he does the same when I do stuff he doesn’t like. Usually we find a compromise.”
“What’s the compromise with Taffy?”
“We keep her, and he looks after her.”
Ava’s smile quickly faded. “But I still don’t see how you can just forgive so easily.”
“If you want any relationship to work you have to learn not to hold grudges and let the small stuff go.” Seeing Ava’s sceptical disbelief, Tori smiled and shrugged. “That’s love. That’s life.”
But at her last words, he stiffened, his creative instincts on full alert. Chord progressions and various possible lines of lyrics swirling through his head, he turned around and stepped into the office in search of pen and paper.
Tori put her arm around Ava’s shoulders and hugged her. “Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out.”
“Why does life have to be so complicated?” Ava sighed.
“That’s what makes it interesting. Keeps us on our toes. Otherwise we’d be bored to death.”
“I thought Uncle Shirley was put here to keep us from getting bored.”
“Well, that’s one explanation for him.”
After dinner, Tori, at the request of her husband and son, was in the kitchen making cookies. She was standing at the counter, stirring chocolate chips into the batter when two strong arms slid around her.
“Have I told you lately what a wonderful woman you are and how much I love you?”
She twisted her head to see his face. “What have you bought now? A drum kit or a playmate for Taffy?”
That got her a low chuckle and a squeeze. “Neither. I haven’t bought anything. I was eavesdropping on your conversation with Ava earlier. Pretty smart there Mrs. Sambora.”
“Yeah, well what I didn’t tell her was that it’s easy to know what you should say and do, but when you’re pissed off, all that tends to fly out the window.”
“Yeah, but the make up sex is fantastic!”
Tori swatted his arm, but a soft smile curved her lips.
“But what I was getting at was that you’re really good with her, explaining all this stuff. I’m glad she’s got you to talk to.” He squeezed her again. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I’ll always be here for her and try to help her if I can.”
“I know, and that’s just one of the many reasons why you’re wonderful and I love you so much.” Tilting her head, he kissed her. “That and your cookies. Are they going to be ready soon?”
“Ten minutes. You can pour the milk.”
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