“You paid at the cafe.”
“Yeah, but coming here was my idea,” I said.
He waved a hand. “I can’t let you keep spoiling me. Otherwise, I’ll feel like we’re on a date.” He turned and bent down to slide his sneakers into the shoe cubby.
I frowned at his back because, well, wewereon a date. Weren’t we? Or maybe this was more of a casual ‘hang out’, which was more relaxed.
Once our shoes were off, we stepped into the main room, which was brightly lit with polished wooden floorboards and tables. There were only a few couples around, which made sensesince it was mid-afternoon on a Monday. There were puppies everywhere. Some rested by people’s sides as they sat on the floor. Some trotted underneath tables. Some played with each other, and others disappeared through an opening in the wall to what I assumed was a bathroom or an area where they could rest away from people.
Immediately, a small Japanese spitz ran up to us, and I knelt down, letting her sniff my fist and approve of me before petting her soft coat. Leo did the same.
“Aw, she’s so friendly,” I said.
“How do you know she’s a girl?”
“I just guessed.” I reached over to look at the puppy’s collar. “Mochi,” I read aloud. “That sounds like a girl’s name.”
“What kind of name is Mochi?” Leo asked with a laugh. He caught the eye of something on the wall beside us, and I followed his gaze.
There was a large poster displaying a photo and the names and breeds of every puppy the cafe had. There were stickers next to the puppies that were “on shift” at the moment. Leo read out the names. “Sushi. Nacho. Teacup. Queen Elizabeth II. What kind of names are these?”
“I think they’re cute,” I said. “If you had a puppy, what would you name it?” I paused. “Do you have any pets?”
“Nah, I live in a tiny apartment.” He thought about it. “I like the name Fred.”
“Fred?” I echoed. “That’s a human name. That’s not allowed.”
“I think human names are nice. They’re not ridiculous like mochi. Who wants to name a pet after a food item? That’s like naming your pet pig bacon.”
“It is literally not the same at all,” I said.
“Besides,” Leo continued, “Queen Elizabeth II is a human name. And look! They have Anne Boleyn. And Alexander the Great. And Napoleon.”
I read the name under the picture of an adorable Pomeranian. “Actually,” I said, putting on my best know-it-all voice, “his full name is Emperor Napoleon I.”
Leo laughed. “Right, so every time they feed him, they have to be like, ‘Here’s your food, Emporer Napoleon I’, because otherwise, they’ll offend the poor puppy.”
Mochi started nosing at the paper packet of snacks I held. We decided to sit on some nearby cushions, feet crossed on the floor and split the snacks between us. I gave my first treat to Mochi, which seemed to please her because she sat down by my side.
We sat there for a while, feeding passing puppies, competing for their attention by shaking the food around and making beckoning noises. After all the dog treats disappeared, and our legs hurt from sitting, we moved to a table.
Since we had paid for a drink each, Leo went to the counter to order them. They had the most basic selection of cafe drinks, which didn’t include a matcha, so I opted for a hot chocolate. Leo went for another iced americano.
As we sipped our drinks, we entertained ourselves by taking photos of the puppies walking by and discussing which ones were our favourite. Leo said “Doge” as his favourite, gesturing at a Shiba Inu, which wasn’t actually called Doge but Buttercup. I chose seven puppies as my favourites.
“You know, in this context, favourite is supposed to refer to your number one favourite?” Leo asked.
“I can’t choose one,” I replied. “You know, the whole reason I want to be rich is so I can have a big house full of puppies,” I said, referencing my LULL post.
Leo laughed at that. “That’s a good reason. Screw financial security or driving a fancy car. Having puppies is where it’s at.”
“I intend to be the opposite of a cat lady. A puppy lord.”
“That sounds kind of weird.”
I thought about it. “You’re right, it does.”
“Like you’re a drug lord, but you deal puppies instead of drugs.”
