Still holding Boots, I scooted around her so I could see her face. “You blush so easily,” I said, shifting the puppy to one arm like he was a fluffy little football so I could poke at her cheek with my free hand.
“Stop that.” She batted me away. “I donotblush that easily.”
“Okay, fine, but when you do, it’s spectacular. Takes up your whole face.”
She stuck her tongue out at me and then leaned down to pick up Doodle.
We spent the next hour laughing and talking in ridiculous voices and making even more ridiculous noises and taking far too many pictures as we watched the dogs explore the first floor of the house.
“It’s not just me, right?” I asked her later. “They are uncommonly adorable.”
She sat down next to me on the floor of the sitting room, and Boots immediately jumped from my lap into hers. “It’s definitely not just you. They stay this adorable all through puppyhood, so you better get used to that cute aggression you’re feeling right now.”
“Do their tails stay curled like this?” I asked, ruffling Doodle’s.
“Yup. But aside from that, they kind of look like polar bears when they get older.”
“How old are they now?”
“About ten weeks. You can start training them right away if you decide in a few days that you want to keep them.”
I was pretty sure I wanted to keep them, but I stayed quiet about that in case my feelings changed for some reason. Instead, I asked more questions about the breed, how much exercise they needed, and how best to train them. Ella answered me with patience and an amount of detail I was grateful for.
“Just like with Huskies, negative reinforcement doesn’t work with them, so yelling will do you little good,” she said. “I’ve found with housetraining, it’s best to bring them outside a lot, and bring treats with you, so if they go,” she shot me a dark look, “pee-poop,” I grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes, “you give them a treat and it lets them know that going to the bathroom outside is good. You don’t do that if they go on the puppy pad, and they’re smart enough to work it out for themselves even at this age that it’s better to go out than in.”
“Do I let them sleep in my room tonight?”
“It’s really up to you, but I would.” She leaned down and lifted Boots from her lap. He immediately tried to lick her face. “Up until today, they’ve been around their mama and littermates, and they’re used to cuddling up to them at night. I have no idea how tall your bed is, so you might want to think about tugging a mattress onto the ground to make it easier for them to get down if they have to. And of course, put some pads in the room.” She raised her head, lifting Boots with her so that they were both looking at me with puppy eyes. It was hard to tell who was cuter. “Please let us sleep with you” she said, miming the puppy’s voice.
I arched a brow at her. “Really, Ella?”
Her eyes flashed wide as she realized how that sounded. “I meant both puppies. Not me and Boots. That would be unfair to Doodle.”
I opened my mouth to keep teasing her, but my phone alarm went off, ruining the moment. Time to take my meds. This would probably be a good segue into bringing up my depression and anxiety. The only thing was, I had no idea how to casually do that.
“Hey, can you watch the dogs? I’m off to down some anti-depressants!”
Ugh. Just no.
I had zero practice with this. I hadn’t even told my parents. Mom and Dad would get on the next plane out if they knew. I’d have to ask Brian in our next session if he had some pointers.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Ella.
“More puppies for meee,” she said, leaning forward to pull Doodle toward her too.
I went upstairs, took my meds, and then called Dad on FaceTime as I headed back down. He answered after the third ring, already smiling into the camera. Behind him, sunshine drenched the deck of their house, the lush, tropical forest just visible beyond, like a wall of verdant green. Lucky bastard was outside enjoying the weather.
“Hiya, Benny,” he said.
“Hi, Dad. Mom with you?”
“She’s inside. One sec. Lemme go find her.” There was so much movement on his end of the line that I had to look away or risk getting dizzy. “Klara! Ben’s on the phone!”
I heard my mom’s distant answer, and within seconds, both of their faces filled my screen.
“Hi,” Mom said, waving.
“Ella got me a present, and I thought you two would want to see,” I told them. I switched the camera direction and took the hallway toward the sitting room. “Ella! My parents want to see what you did!” I called, giving her some advanced warning.
