Make Me Yours(73)

She presses her little lips together looking to the side. “Would I get to see it every day?”

“Yes! You could see it every day after school. We can go to my house and play with it, and maybe, if your daddy says it’s okay, we can take it to your house sometimes too.”

“Okay!” She starts bouncing in her seat. “Let’s get a puppy!”

“It gets even better.” We’re pulling into Dotty’s driveway, and I kill the engine, giving her my most excited look. “These puppies are called Miniature Schnoodles!”

Her little mouth drops open. “What?”

“Let’s go see them!”

She jumps out of her booster seat, and I grab her hand. We both take off jogging across the lawn to knock on the door.

It’s pretty much love at first sight when we see the box of three apricot puppies with their curly coats and happy little faces. Lillie tries to hold all three at once. She squeals and sits down, and one starts licking her face while the other grabs her pigtail and plays with it like a chew toy. Finally, she gives up and lays flat on her back as the puppies jump all over her.

Janet stands back grinning with her arms crossed. “You taking all three of them?”

That makes me laugh. “No. We’ll just get one. It’s going to be a hard choice.”

We hang out a little while watching Lillie roll around in puppy heaven until finally, I make the call. “We’ve got to pick one, butter bean. Which do you like the best?”

Her mouth presses into a frown, and I’m afraid she might cry. Janet hops in and saves the day.

“I’ve got a little boy coming by later today. He’s been wanting one of these guys, so you’d better pick the one you like best.”

Lillie’s eyes go round. “Is his name Louie?”

I swallow a laugh, and Janet pretends to think about it. “No… I think his name is Nicholas.”

“That’s good.” She lets out a little exhale and returns to the small reddish dogs.

One has returned to the box and is rooting around in the blankets. Another has gone to the food bowl. Only one stands by her feet as if waiting to see what she’ll do next.

“Him!” Lillie reaches down and picks up the small dog. “We’ll call him Buddy.”

“He might not be a boy…”

Janet scoops the little dog up and checks its bottom. “Buddy it is!” She presents him to me and walks to her kitchen. “I have their vaccination records I can give you.”

“Are you sure you’re giving them away for free? These guys are normally kind of expensive.”

Janet only waves a hand. “Everybody’s got a dog in Oakville. Nobody’s going to buy one.”

I don’t want to argue her out of a deal, so I just agree. “Let’s go, Lillie and Buddy.”

Lillie holds the dog in her arms like a baby, and he puts his puppy head on her shoulder. It’s the most adorable thing I’ve seen since… pretty much ever.

I put her in the booster chair and take a blanket out of my trunk. “Wrap him in this just in case he pees. He’s probably never been in a car before.”

“He won’t pee, will you Buddy?” She’s talking to him in her little sing-song voice, and I make the short drive to my house.

Fortunately, I have a fenced in backyard, and we spend the rest of the afternoon deciding where Buddy should sleep. I decide I’ll have to buy a large kennel until he’s house broken.

“We have to train him to use the bathroom outside.” I’m on my laptop reading all about the breed. “He’s supposed to be a very smart dog, so hopefully it won’t take too long.”

“I love him.” Lillie is in the middle of my bed with her new baby, and as I research, both of them curl up together and fall asleep.

I cover them with a thin blanket and walk out to my dining room where I’ve set up an easel. I started a painting on the canvas I bought yesterday. At the moment it’s just line sketches, but I plan to make it my version of Gustav Klimt’s “Mother and Sleeping Child.”

In my version, I want the mother to have distinctively Asian features, and I want the child to have golden curls and sweet green-hazel eyes.

I’m just laying down the eggshell background when I hear a knock on my door. This time I’m not terrified. I’m pretty confident I know who it is. He always liked to watch us playing together as if it gave him back something he’d lost.

I miss having him above us, looking down.

Opening the door, he glances up and gives me that panty-melting smile. “Can I see what all the excitement is about?”

“Of course.” I reach out and clasp his hand. He threads our fingers immediately, and it feels so good. “Be quiet.”

His eyes travel quickly around my small house as I lead him to my bedroom. He pauses a beat to study the painting, but I give him a gentle tug. Finally, he joins me outside my door, and for a minute we both stand watching Lillie lying on her side with Buddy curled up right beside her.

“Oh, man.” Remi’s voice is so warm. “That’s the cutest thing ever.”

“He’s a Miniature Schnoodle. Lillie named him Buddy.”

“A Schnoodle?”

Turning quickly, I launch into the speech. “Don’t worry, he can stay here at my house, and I told Lillie she could come and see him as much as she wants—”