It wasn't until almost 4:30 I noticed the beautifully wrapped box sitting next to the phone on the sideboard desk in the foyer that I remembered again. The smiling couple who climbed the stairs with their luggage thumping behind them forgotten, I lunged for the small box, heard the rattle and felt my heart shrivel.
Mom. Groan.
With Petunia in tow, balancing my oversized purse, my phone, car keys and the present from Daisy-while she leaned out the front door and waved and beamed a smile with a, "Have fun!" that made me cringe-I lurched into the driver's seat of my car and waited for the chubby pug to heave herself over to her own side before slamming the door.
Yes, my hands were full. Yes, I had a purse. Yes, it was too crammed with crap I meant to clean out for anything else to fit. I s
