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Benjamin and Julia had talked about possibly volunteering at a local animal shelter for a little while. And in the end they ended up combining the activity with going on a date. Certainly it wasn't what most people would consider to be a traditional date night activity, but always doing things the traditional way would only end up being boring. And that was the last thing they wanted to be. So, they had contacted and visited the shelter beforehand to meet some of the staff.
And then, on the day they'd agreed on, the couple made their way towards the animal shelter. After walking in they were greeted by the same staff member they'd already met on their first visit. She gave a warm welcome to them both and then led them to where the dogs were. The dogs assigned to them were best friends, that's what Benjamin and Julia were told. They were shelter neighbors and always together when given the chance.
Benjamin was handed the leash of a light brown and tan Finnish Lapphund girl called Ruska. She greeted him happily and jumped up against his leg when she was let out. At the same time, Julia started making friends with a male Finnish spitz, Aku. He was a little more on the timid side, but perked up and started wagging his tail when he realized that he was going to be taken on an outing with Ruska.
After talking about it and considering their best options for a little while, Julia and Benjamin came to an agreement about taking the fluffy friends to a nearby dog park. Apparently they were familiar with it already due to visiting it quite often. They were equipped with a couple tennis balls and some treats and were then sent on their way.
The shelter staff had not joked about the dogs being each other's best friends; they stayed close together the entire walk to the dog park. On the way there Aku stopped to pick up a stick roughly twice the size of him and carried it with pride, not letting go of it even once. Benjamin glanced at Julia just when she happened to also meet his eyes. She smiled and he responded in the same way. Thanks to the two dogs behaving as well as they did, the walk was nice and pleasant for everyone involved.
"What do you think, would this even classify as a date for most people?"
Benjamin wondered as they were still on their way. The weather was overcast but still quite nice and warm enough.
"Honestly? Probably not,"
Julia responded with a subtle shrug.
"But this suits me better than following the traditional ways and spending an evening at a restaurant."
Benjamin found himself nodding. If he was to be honest with himself, this suited him better, as well. And most importantly he enjoyed being in Julia's company, in general. No matter what they'd do, it would be made better because they were together.
"We can create our own normal,"
he stated and she nodded in agreement.
After arriving at the dog park and making sure that the gate was properly shut, they took off the leashes and let the dogs loose. They immediately sprinted to the other side of the fenced-in area and started playing together.
"Wow, they really are like two peas in a pod,"
Benjamin commented as he watched the dogs invite each other to play and start wrestling together.
"So, kind of like you and me, right?"
Julia asked with a smile still lighting up her face. Benjamin turned to look at him and was simply able to nod as he seemed to momentarily lose his ability to speak. Not that he necessarily needed to always say something, anyway, because Julia always seemed to just.. get him, no matter what.
Benjamin slowly tossed the ball from one hand to the other, seemingly lost in his thoughts as the dogs carried on playing. However, the moment they noticed the ball in his hands, they beelined straight for him. Julia kept an eye on him, wondering how long it would take for him to notice. But as the seconds went by with nothing changing, she elbowed him gently.
"Hey, fanboy, are you still with us?"
she asked, barely able to hold back her laughter. This pulled Benjamin back to the present moment.
"What?"
he wondered and looked at Julia who only gestured in front of him.
"You've got an audience waiting for you to do something."
Only then did Benjamin notice the dogs, both of whom were wagging their tails in anticipation.
"Oh, right.. Sorry, you two.. Here you go."
He then tossed the ball and watched as the dogs ran after it, their happy barking ringing in his ears.
The next couple hours went by in a similar way, with both Benjamin and Julia playing with the dogs. And after they'd finally walked them back to the shelter, Julia asked:
"Should we do this again sometime?"
Benjamin nodded without hesitation.
"Absolutely."