Ugh

"Those puppies make too much noise," said Simone's hubby as he tried to get some work done.

It was nearly time to get little B at the bus stop so, in the interest of keeping the peace, Simone decided to take the puppies for their very first walk. The puppies remained unimpressed. Puppy T firmly refused to walk and settled for a reluctant drag. Puppy Z shook her head repeatedly as her bum scraped across the grass and settled for walking in short order. Soon, puppy T followed his sister's lead.

When the big yellow NOISY school bus arrived, the puppies freaked. They whined, tugged on the leash and generally attempted to get away from the vehicle. Little B said goodbye to the boy he'd shared a seat with then headed for the stairs. The boy reached forward, handing little B a toy skateboard. The bus driver passed it to little B.

Little B shook his head, refusing the toy. "I don't want that one! I want the other one!"

The other little boy insisted that little B keep the skateboard. The puppies moved forward and back, barking and whining intermittently. Little B's face reddened and his lips thinned. "I don't want that one," he bit off each word. "I want the other one!"

The bus driver stared at Simone expectantly. The children on the bus stared as well. Little B still stood on the stairs, refusing to move. Simone reached for the skateboard and pocketed it. Little B erupted. "Give it back! Give it back!"

Simone helped little B climb down the remaining steps though help is probably the wrong word: a lot of pulling was involved. The bus doors closed just as little B's backpack fell to the ground. Little B strained and tugged toward his backpack but Simone, fearful that he might slip under the bus or even chase after the bus once it left, kept an iron hold on her son's wrist.

"Come back! Come back!" he cried piteously at the bus, still wanting to exchange the "bad" toy skateboard for the "good" one.

Finally, exhausted, he buried his head in Simone's tummy. By then, the puppies had settled as well.

Who knew that a two minute walk to the bus stop would turn out to be so stressful?