Ember squirmed in her arms, but as Charlotte put her down, she saw the puppy start to circle and sniff on the linoleum.
“Uh-oh.” She snatched Ember back into her arms and looked around for a leash. Luckily, she found it hanging from the same hook as Marin’s keys, just inside the front door. Charlotte snapped the pink collar around Ember’s neck and rushed outside to the snow-covered yard.
Ember took three steps across the snow before she squatted and peed.
“I knew you had to go! Good girl, Ember. Good puppy.”
Ember wagged her tail at the praise, looking up at Charlotte with big brown eyes.
“You’re a sweetheart, aren’t you? No wonder Marin’s smitten with you. I hope you two make each other very happy. She deserves all the happiness, you know?”
Ember pounced and grabbed a stick in her mouth, which she chomped on happily. Charlotte followed her around the yard for a few minutes, letting her sniff and scuff in the snow. Finally, she circled around and took a poop, which Charlotte collected using one of the bags attached to her leash while praising the puppy again for successfully doing her business outside.
As she walked back into the apartment, Marin was coming out of her bedroom in clean jeans, her hair neatly brushed. “Oh, did you take her out? Thank you.”
“She peedandpooped,” Charlotte said. “Where are you putting these?” She held up the bag in question before leaning down to set the puppy on the floor.
Marin gaped at her. “She did all thatoutside? Just now?”
“Yup.” Charlotte unclipped Ember’s collar, and the puppy raced toward Marin.
“Wow.” Marin pushed a hand through her hair. “I haven’t successfully gotten her to potty outside since I brought her home. As for the poop bag ... uh, that’s the first one, so I don’t know where I’m putting them yet. Let me get a separate trash bag for them. I’ll probably want to take them to the dumpster frequently so it doesn’t get smelly in here.”
“Good thinking.” Charlotte waited until Marin had retrieved a trash bag and then dropped the one she held into it. “I’ve potty trained a few puppies so I’m happy to give tips.”
“I need all the help I can get, clearly, so yes please.”
“Definitely, but first, let’s eat.” She pointed toward the bag of burgers and fries she’d brought with her.
“Mm, yes, thank you.” Marin gave her a grateful smile.
Charlotte washed her hands, and then they sat at the table together while Ember played behind the baby gate in the kitchen, energetically tossing a squeaky toy.
“She’s really adorable,” Charlotte commented.
“She is.” Marin gazed affectionally at the puppy. “I love her to pieces already, but she might be just abitmore work than I had anticipated.”
Charlotte laughed. “Puppies will keep you on your toes, that’s for sure, especially if you’re working on potty training and crate training and all that good stuff. You said one of the students upstairs is going to watch her while you’re teaching?”
Marin nodded. “Yes, I introduced them today, actually. Ji-Yoon’s going to be a big help, but I hope I haven’t taken on too much at once,bringing home a puppy while I’ve got all this other stuff going on in my life.”
“You’ll be ridiculously busy for the next month or so, but you’ll make it work. People do it all the time. You’ve got Ji-Yoon to help, and you’ve got me too. I love puppies, so I’m happy to hang out with her whenever you need a break.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t want to take advantage of our friendship.”
Charlotte scoffed. “You’re the one who’s going to be up half the night with her. Coming over to play for a little while is the fun part.”
“I guess that’s true, and I confess, I’m a little anxious about tonight. Do you think she’ll cry all night in her crate?”
“Has she been in one before?” Charlotte asked.
“Her foster mom said she’d started some basic crate training with them, but not much. I’ve done my research, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Ember so far, it’s that putting these things into practice with a real, live puppy isn’t nearly as straightforward or easy as the articles make it sound.”
“Things rarely are.” Charlotte looked at Ember, who had lain down on the kitchen floor and was chomping on the stuffed dragon Charlotte picked out for her that day in the pet store. “But one great thing about puppies is that they learn and grow so quickly. Anything that feels impossible today will be easier tomorrow, and if tonight is a nightmare, just remember that’ll get better soon too.”
“Okay, thatisreassuring,” Marin said. “It probably would have been easier to adopt an adult dog, but I’ve wanted a puppy since I was a little girl, and I’m pretty excited to finally live out this childhood dream.”
“I love that for you. What’s the point of getting a divorce and starting your life over if not to have the things you’ve always wanted, right?”
