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“Andrea?”
Andy looked up from her place on the floor with a smile. “Yes?”
“What. Is. That?”
Andy laughed and picked up the squiggling fur ball in question. “Goodness, Miranda? Do you need to get back to the optometrist? It’s a puppy!”
Miranda scowled. “No, I can see that. What is it doing in our living room? And where is Patricia?”
Standing up, the wriggling little puppy batting at her hair, Andy pressed a kiss to Miranda’s cheek. “I’m puppy sitting. Relax.” She scruffed at the little puppy’s head, laughing as he nipped at her fingers and yipped, wiggling in her arms. “Patricia’s napping on the back patio. She was tired of the puppy jumping on her too much.”
Miranda’s scowl softened. “Oh.”
“This is Benny. He belongs to the neighbor across the street, Rachel. She needed to go run some errands, and didn’t want to leave him alone. He’s not fully house trained yet, and her husband isn’t home. She knows we have Patricia, and she came by to ask if I’d watch him for a few hours.”
Her wife’s shoulders relaxed. “That was kind of you.”
“Well, I was able to. It’s always nice to be a kind neighbor, good karma and all that. Also, just so you know, Miranda, I wouldn’t get another pet without talking to you about it first. That wouldn’t be right. Though, for the record, I would love to have another dog. Or maybe even a cat. You know I really love animals. We didn’t have any growing up, and I could not have any in my dorm rooms, or in my apartments.”
Miranda reached out and let the puppy lick at her hand before she scratched behind his ears. “He is very cute.”
“He is adorable, isn’t he?” Andy asked, pressing kisses to the puppy’s face. “Want to play with him a bit? I’d like to pee, if you’ll watch him for a minute. He loves playing tug-of-war.”
“I suppose I can watch him for a short while,” Miranda replied, sitting down on the couch. She leaned forward and picked up one of the toys that was good for tug-of-war.
“Thank you!” Andy gave Miranda a quick kiss before setting the puppy down on the floor. “Benny. Grab the rope. Grab the rope.” The puppy went berserk, yipping and growling, tugging on the opposite end of the rope that Miranda was holding. “That’ll keep him busy. I’ll be right back. Rachel said she’d be done around five, so ten, fifteen minutes until she’ll be here to pick him up.”
________
Sure enough, ten minutes later, Rachel came knocking on the door. A short conversation later, and a promise that Andy would watch Benny again if she was able, Rachel had taken the bundle of energy and left.
“She’s sweet. Much better than old Henny Pickerton,” Andy commented as she and her wife settled on the couch, Patricia at their feet.
Miranda chuckled. “I suppose you’re right.”
Andy leaned against Miranda’s shoulder, enjoying the calm quiet that settled between them. It never ceased to amaze her how relaxed she could feel while sitting in silence with Miranda.
“Andrea?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want a puppy, but I did enjoy having another dog in the house.”
“Oh?”
“Perhaps.” Miranda paused for a moment. “Perhaps, when the girls are home from their father’s, we can go to a local pound and find a dog that isn’t so young, that we can give a good home to.”
Andy grinned, and reached to tangle her fingers with Miranda’s. “That sounds like a great idea, Miranda. I’m sure Cassidy and Caroline would love to help us pick out a new member of the family. I’ll start looking into some of the kennels and pounds tomorrow. For now, I just want to relax with you. Benny wore me out.”
Miranda gave Andy’s hand a soft squeeze. “I’m not opposed to a nice relaxing evening. Should we order something, or do we want to cook?”
“Order something, definitely. We can curl up and watch a good movie. It’ll be great.”
“Hmm. Sounds wonderful.”
“Give me five minutes and I’ll call.”
Miranda laughed. “Alright, darling. Five minutes.”