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I clicked off the television, checking the time. We slept longer than I’d realized and now had to get going in about fifteen minutes. The rain had slowed. I dressed Dolly in a sportswear ensemble with her harness. A knock at the door startled me and Dolly looked up, wide-eyed with her tail straight in the air. She barked out a small, meager noise that wouldn’t do much for intimidation, but it was the cutest attempt. I looked out the peephole and saw it was the front office.
“Hi, Rachel!” I swung open the door, holding Dolly.
“Hello, Katie. You got this box in the mail. Sorry I’m just now bringing it to you. The road only just opened.”
It was Dolly’s new carrier. “That’s fine and this is perfect timing! Thank you.”
“I heard about your sweetie, here. We were expecting you to stop by anytime now, but it’s fine that you haven’t. How about you come by next week and sign our pet forms? We are just catching up with all our paperwork.”
“Oh, sorry I haven’t come by yet! Things have been a little hectic this week.” Lame excuse as I’d just awoken from a nap, but alright. “I’ll be there—probably Tuesday, as we are traveling this weekend. Does that work for you guys?”
“That works for me. Have a good day!”
I shut the door and tore open the box, pulling out the shiny new carrier that had special clip-in technology for car seats and converted it into a stroller. “How fun is this?” I snapped together the pieces to make the stroller and used one of Dolly’s blankets as a pad for the bottom. Perfect to take to the dog diner.
I carried Dolly inside her carrier down the stairs, then pushed it as a stroller to my car to test it out. It was surprisingly smooth, and I was very pleased. Once in the car, I used the other attachment that was under my arm to install it in the back seat, effortlessly unhooking her from the stroller and into that.
We left our complex and headed to meet Samantha at Barker & Walk. Whenwe arrived, it was off-street parking, and we had to cross a busy road. I was thankful for the stroller conversion but felt self-conscious pushing it through a crosswalk, lest someone think I had a secret child. But when we got to the restaurant, I was elated to see many of the dog owners had their dogs in similar carriers and strollers.
Samantha was already inside when I slid the stroller in the door first, the hostess running to hold it open for me.
“Thank you,” I said to the smiling blonde woman. “I’m meeting Samantha.” I pointed to her as she waved back at me, excitedly.
“Have a wonderful meal.” The hostess had a permanent joyful expression, and it was contagious. This felt like a happy place the second I walked up.
CHAPTER 16
YAPPY HOUR
“Well look at you!” Samantha stood, looking me up and down as I wheeled our stroller over to her, and presumably, Stevie, who was a white fluffy dog that had the same essence as the hostess—smiling ear to ear.
“Dog motherhood looks really good on you, Katie.” Samantha smiled sincerely, then giggled as she touched everything that she was enjoying; she gave the stroller an exam, tugged the collar of my pink raincoat and greeted Dolly, who was adorably dressed in a colorful tracksuit.
“Well, thank you! If I had known it would be this fun, I would’ve accidentally adopted a pet years ago.”
Samantha was too busy looking at Dolly’s set up to hear what I said.
“I mean it. You look different, in a good way.” She picked up her dog who was wiggly with excitement as she let him sniff Dolly. “This is Stevie. He’s a little ham.”
“He’s so cute! What is he?”
“He’s a Pomeranian and was the runt of the litter. He came into Newtown after the breeder couldn’t get him enough nourishment from his mom. I had to bottle feed him.”
The visual was about as cute as I could imagine.
“That is so sweet! What are your other dogs?” We both slid into our chairs, Stevie on Samantha’s lap as if there was no other option for him to sit. Dolly was content in her stroller as far as I could tell.
“Believe it or not, I have three more Pomeranians and yes, it’s about as yappy as you’d think. Then I have 2 Chihuahua mixes. It’s a lot of potty trips outside. I’ve considered just setting up a tent in the backyard since I’m out there so much.”
“There’s a guy at the pet superstore with four Pomeranians!”
“Really? Is he my future husband?” Samantha and I both laughed. “No really, is he cute? He sounds likethe one, that's for sure.”
“He was very charming in his own way, I suppose. Boyishly cute, but don’t take my advice. I can’t pick them. I’m currently crushing on someone that's engaged.” I rolled my eyes at the thought. It sounded even worse coming out of my mouth. But then I felt shameful at the revelation. It took me saying it out loud to realize what I had been doing.Coveting someone else’s partner was a sin.I had to let it go immediately and ask the Lord for forgiveness.
“Well as it turns out, I need to make a trip there to set my monthly bulk grooming appointment.” She winked at me, breaking me out of my heavy thoughts.
“So, you're single then?” She didn’t have a ring on her finger, but I was surprised considering her co-worker was extremely handsome.
