He's recounted how Harvey will follow him from room to room, Spottswood will follow Harvey, and Winnie will follow Spottswood, until he has a conga line of pets walking behind him as he putters around the house.
Due to his surgery, Ian has spent the past two weeks at home. He works quietly around the house, trying to finish the painting. Spottswood and Winnie watch Ian as he works, enthralled.
Winnie appears both captivated and terrified of New Daddy: anxious he may raise his voice, but eager to sit near him.
Ian: "It's strange that Winnie has become so attached to me."
Laura: "Not really. Young kids usually crave their parents' attention. A child may have a drunken father or an abusive mother, but he'll still long for his parents' attention. I remember reading about a girl with a messed-up mother. Child services came to take her away, but the girl put up a fight because she didn't want to leave her mom. It's primal."
Ian: "Wow."
Laura: "Yeah. You're like Winnie's abusive father, and Winnie's like your adoring child."
Ian: "Gee. Thanks."
With Winnie, I'm the sentimental softie.
Everyday when I arrive home from work, I scoop up Winnie, nuzzle her head, and coo how much I missed her. I think I've greeted Ian this way once. Maybe twice.
Throughout the evening, I'll spontaneously pick up Winnie and cradle her. Winnie turns into a rag-doll when held. You can hold her for as long as you want, without any resistance.
When I moved in with Ian, I worried over only one thing: I use baby-talk with the dog constantly. I'd covered it up until that point. Eventually, Ian discovered the woman I am:
Laura: "Winnie, I looove you. Mommy looooves you. New Daddy loves you, too. Yes, he does; yes, he does. You're the cutest wittle doggie in the whole wide world. Yes, you are. Yes, you are."
Ian: <Tries manfully to ignore this nonsense>
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