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Six months passed since the Rainbow incident.

Monkey #1 is now ten. And again he had birthday money to spend. What to buy? A gerbil? There is a guinea pig at school he likes. We decided that’s too big.

Monkeys #1, #2 and #3 pester my hubby and I every year for a dog. But a gerbil is smaller. Except not on the pocketbook.

After doing some research, he discovered they sell gerbils and everything else you need at Earl May. He talked his dad into stopping to check them out.

Monkey #1 called me from his dad’s cell phone. A gerbil with all the necessities would be at least $70. Cages, food, bedding and all the fixin’s don’t come cheap. He only had $20.

So no gerbil.

But Earl May has betta fish. Nice blue ones. And he still had birthday money burning a hole in his pocket.

So let me introduce you to Blue.

Yes, he occupies the same bowl and the same spot on the kitchen counter as his predecessors.

He seems lively. Did you know you can only have one male beta in the bowl? Otherwise they will fight to the death. If you hold a mirror up to the bowl, they puff up and strut around.

Typical male behavior.

As a mother, I wish for health and happiness for both my son and for Blue. Maybe for Monkey #1’s 11^th birthday, we won’t need to make another trip for a new fish.

About the author: Denise Howie

Denise Howie is a wife, mother and preschool teacher. She spent her formative years in Minnesota and Iowa, graduating from Iowa State University. After working in the publishing industry for 6 years she became a stay-at-home mom who rarely stayed home! Denise moved to Hastings in 2006 with her husband and three children and dove head first into life in Nebraska.