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Tired of being dragged to play referee in the endless fights between his siblings, Jaime didn’t waste a second to take the position opened at the Lanniscorp succursal in the North. During the last months, the hostilities had escalated to a level that was getting on his nerves. He hated the cold, but as long as he had peace, it was a tiny sacrifice he could gladly endure; in fact, the low temperatures would curb any future incursion from his tormentors. Besides, the business operation was so calm up there that he could work from home, having to go to the office only twice or thrice a week, so he would have time to do the things he had postponed for when he was free. He had a lot of books to read, movies to watch, series to binge, and even some sports he would like to try.
He set for a cozy cottage on the outskirts of Wintertown, surrounded by a wooden zone. The polar opposite of the skyrise penthouse where he had lived since graduation. He wanted an open space where he could breathe pure air. But most importantly, he desired to have a dog.
To this end, as soon as everything was in place, he went to a dog shelter.
Jaime always wanted a pet. Yet, circumstances had prevented his wish till then. When he was a child, his mother surprised him before her unexpected passing with a beautiful Westerlander Shepherd puppy; soon after the burial, his father sent him to a boarding school, and when he came home for the holidays, there was no sign of Knight, as he had called the puppy. Then, as a college student, it was a no-no on campus. And finally, once he started working, between his siblings and workload, he didn’t even have a minute to himself.
Dawn was a three-year-old Old Vale Sheepdog whose previous owners had decided to change for a warmer climate and moved to Dorne. Of course, that would have been terrible for the dog –with her double coating, the high temperatures could kill the poor creature. But as they say, their loss was Jaime’s winning. When he saw her, Jaime knew he had found his fluffy companion.
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Outside the pet shop, Jaime –concentrated on planning how to take several bags with grooming products, toys, and food-and-water bowls, a couple of forty-pound bags of dog chow, a doggie bed, and a big-sized dog toward his SUV– was surprised when he heard a sweet, feminine voice.
“Hello, Dawn. I see you found a new human.”
A blonde woman had crouched beside the dog and petted her.
Dawn barked her agreement. Jaime couldn’t help but chuckle, and the woman looked up at him.
Calling her unattractive would be a kindness; she was ugly. Her face was broad, her lips plump, and her nose had been broken at least twice. She had freckles spattered everywhere without rhyme or reason. On top of that, one of her cheeks was scarred. However, that didn’t matter because her eyes were astonishing, the blue of the summer sky.
“Sorry. I usually greet my fluffy friends before their owners,” she said, blushing, a fact that, despite highlighting her ugliness, Jaime found endearing.
“Don’t worry,” Jaime managed to reply, mesmerized by her eyes, brightened by her timid smile. “It seems I have to start getting used to it.” Dawn was very friendly and had been greeted by everyone they met on their way since they left the shelter.
“She has a sweet disposition and is obedient.”
Dawn barked again, seeming to know the woman was talking about her.
“Yes, of course, you’re a good girl,” she petted the dog one more time and stood up. “Do you have everything you need?”
She was taller than him –a couple of inches over his six feet, and was built like a weightlifter. However, she incorporated with the grace of a ballerina despite her size.
“Sorry? Yes… Yes, I have.”
“Perfect.” Then she asked, “Where is your car? Let me help you.”
“My car?” Jaime –bewitched by the marvel before him– barely paid attention to her words. “Yes, my car… It is over there,” he said, pointed across the street, and unlocked the doors with the fob.
She surprised him again by picking up the bags of dog food as if they were filled with feathers and crossing the street after watching both sides, followed by a more than happy Dawn, whose leash Jaime had let go without noticing.
“Get a grip, man. It’s not as if she is the first woman you meet,” Jaime recriminated himself and followed her with the rest of the goods.
After getting her cargo in the back of the SUV, she turned towards Dawn and said, “Good luck in your new home. See you soon.” She waved Jaime goodbye and walked away, down the street, before he could ask her name.
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In the following days, Jaime didn’t have much time to think about the blue-eyed apparition, busy as he was getting used to his new house, establishing a new routine, and –of course, learning to take care of Dawn.
At home, she behaved like a saint. When Jaime was working, reading, or watching TV, she lay at his feet, nibbling one of her toys or just sleeping. Watching her trying not to tumble anything despite her large body and bear-like gait was the funniest thing Jaime had ever seen in a long time. Also, she seldom barked. It was as if she had an off switch that activated when she entered the cottage.
However, once in the exterior, all that was forgotten. Dawn joined Jaime in his morning run and –after resting for a while– explored the surrounding area, barking every time she saw a squirrel until Jaime called her.
She was very fluffy, and Jaime loved to cuddle her, an activity she also cherished. In short words, Dawn was adorable.
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Jaime sent Tommen, his nephew, a video of his household's new member. The boy promoted him to the Favorite Uncle position —as stated in his reply— and bombarded him with tutorials on how to care for Dawn. The kid loved animals, no matter the species, and if he had a say in the boy's future, Jaime would do his best to help him become a vet.
By the end of the week, Jaime had read the articles about Dawn’s breed and watched almost all the videos, not just because Tommen would question him in their next phone call but because he wanted the best for his pet.
On Friday night after dinner, he sat in front of the television, linked his laptop to it, and clicked one of the last videos. It started showing a greyish, pony-sized dog whose ancestor could have been the mythical direwolf, walking in a fenced yard with a lot of dignity despite his enormous body. Jaime was wondering if it had reached its maximum growth when he heard a voice that, though he had just listened to once, he could recognize in a crowd.
“Hello! I’m Brienne. This is our friend Ghost. He was taken on an expedition beyond the Wall, and, as you can see, he urgently needs a bath. Would you believe me if I told you this is not his fur color?”
Dawn –who had been biting her rubber bone, let it go and barked.
The background changed to show the blue-eyed apparition –Brienne had herded the dog into a small tiled room, a shower of sorts. There, standing beside him, she started bathing him. She applied some anti-critter product with the help of the nozzle of a hose, bending her body over the animal to spread the foam with her free hand, massaging him as when one washed one's hair.
“You're stinking, buddy.” She told her charge while explaining what she was doing without stopping her work for a second.
The dog moved his enormous head toward her with an offended air, or at least Jaime perceived that.
“What? Don't give that look. It's the truth.”
The dog huffed and resumed his initial posture while she continued with her task. In the end, Ghost was white. The video lasted about half an hour, but she said it had taken her four and a half hours of work. Half of that time had been chasing him with a blow-dryer while the dog walked around the local –fortunately small- because he was too large and heavy for the grooming table.
Jaime could have watched the whole process without blinking. In fact, he continued watching some of her other videos.
He laughed out loud with a Westerlander Sheppard, a total drama queen, his whining so acute Brienne had to wear noise-concealing headphones –anyone could think she was murdering him. He sobbed along with her when she groomed a rescue of an unknown breed, abused to the extreme, whose heartless owner had called Reek –she asked for the viewers to suggest names in the comments. In general, all the dogs, no matter if they were small or large, melted under her hands and the sound of her voice.
The last one was of Dawn when she was a puppy. When she heard her name coming from the television, she started barking and walking to and from the screen to Jaime.
“So, sweet girl, do think you need a bath?” Jaime said, grinning as if he had won the biggest lottery prize.
Who would have thought fulfilling his longtime dream would open such incredible opportunities?