Replacing Me In Our Perfect Life

Summary

Mike and I adopted a Samoyed named Marshmallow four years ago.

The day we brought that white fluff-ball home, Mike held one of his tiny paws and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "From now on," he whispered, his eyes crinkling with a warmth I thought would last a lifetime, "we’re his mom and dad. Just the three of us."

Then my best friend, Sophie, moved into the apartment directly above ours. From the start, she made a sport of criticizing him.

"Mike, do you even know how to raise a dog?" she’d tease, leaning over the back of our sofa while Marshmallow wagged his tail into a frenzy.