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If there was one thing that Virgil Sanders wanted, it was a pet snake.
Not the spider toy that had caused Dad to cry. Not the fuzzy hoodie from the store that had grabbed his eye. Not even an infinite supply of candy.
Virgil Sanders wanted a pet snake. It was as simple as that.
Luckily, Patton Sanders was only mildly afraid of snakes, and Roman and Logan Sanders were enthusiastic about pleasing their child and encouraging scientific curiosity respectively, so they decided to invest in a little rosy boa for their youngest son. Remy helped, but he really only picked out toys for the snake. He wasn’t very invested in his little brother’s happiness, which was on par for most fourteen-year-olds. Remy just knew he’d be getting something as well.
So they all took a day off while Virgil had daycare and took to buying and installing the snake habitat in the little boy’s room. Logan had just finished fiddling with the heat lamp when Patton announced that it was time to pick Virgil up and left. Right as the door opened and closed to signify they had returned, Remy lowered the orange and white snake into the tank with a satisfied smirk.
“PAPA! FATHER!” screeched the six-year-old from downstairs. “DADDY SAID YOU’VE GOT SOMETHIN’.”
Logan gave a lovingly exasperated look at Roman and said, “That man can’t keep anything a secret, can he?”
“Not even a little bit.” The two husbands didn’t even have time to move downstairs before they heard tiny footsteps pounding up the stairs and down the hall, stopping with a loud scream as Virgil saw the surprise.
“IT’S A SNAKE?!”
Patton walked up behind him, filming on his phone, and giggled, “Yeah, sweetie. We got you a snake.”
“Uppy, uppy, uppy, uppy,” Virgil commanded at Logan, who smiled and picked him up. The little boy gazed into the tank and promptly declared, “His name is Spooky.”
“Spooky, huh?” Roman asked. “I think that’s a fantastic name, sweetheart.”
“I love him,” cried Virgil before he promptly burst into overwhelmed tears.
Patton put down his phone and took the child into his own arms. “Oh, honey, how about we take a nap, and then we can play with Spooky, okay? It’s been a long day.”
Virgil nodded, and everyone in the room softly smiled. Maybe next they could get Virgil that hoodie.