The squeal she let out had all three dogs bugging out, making the girls struggle to hold onto their dogs as Steph’s new dog leapt up on the couch with her, all tail wags and excitement.
“Oh, you’re so beautiful! What’s your name?”
This was possibly the best part.
“Noel,” I told her.
“No! Did you name her that?”
“Nope. That’s the name she had when she went into the rescue.”
“Noel! Well, you will fit in just perfectly here, won’t you? Hi, baby, hi,” she said as Noel licked her face furiously.
“We knew you’d just love her!” Andy said, rushing into the apartment.
“Wait! Who is that?”
“This is Potroast,” Andy said, snuggling the puppy.
“Oh, my God. I love him too.”
“So does Meatball. And Noel, by the way. Just so you know. She’s been an angel.”
“So, that’s why you’ve been so weird the last couple of days,” Steph said, small-eyeing her friends. “No steamy sex. Just present-hiding.”
“I mean… we can have both,” Andy insisted.
“Except we haven’t,” Sammy added. “Not with a new puppy needing to go potty every two hours. Noel is amazing on a leash too. She loves a walk.”
“But also loves laying around on the couch for half the day,” Andy added. “She’s the perfect dog. Your man chose well.”
“To be fair, Brio was the one to point her out to me.”
“That’s where you went when you left me with Salvatore.”
“Guilty. Brio thought now was a good time to get a dog. To have company while you’re laid up. I agreed.”
“I love her,” Steph said, leaning down to bury her face in the dog’s soft fur. “So are those presents for her?” she asked, nodding toward the tree.
“Yeah, just some toys. I got the rest stored at the girls’ place.”
“Speaking of, I’m going to go grab it all,” Sammy said, setting Meatball down. “We have to get going to Andy’s family.”
“Are you guys bringing Meatball and Potroast?” Steph asked.
“You mean our sons?” Andy asked. “Of course.”
I helped Sammy haul in the massive bag of dog food, bed, toys, food dishes, and a bag full of various other things like shampoo and toothpaste that Brio insisted we needed.
Then the girls exchanged quick presents before Andy and Sammy (and their sons) had to get going.
“You know what I think would be an amazing new Christmas tradition?” Stephanie asked when we were alone again, all three of us cuddled on the couch.
“What’s that?” I asked, petting Noel’s velvety ears.
“A long walk through Central Park with Noel.”
“I like it,” I decided.
