Epilogue One
July . . .
“You need to stay calm, Gigi. You don’t want to scare him,” I tell Gigi, holding Arlow in my hands. “Sit,” I command.
I hope I didn’t make a huge mistake getting us a second wiener dog.
Liam kept joking about getting one, and a couple months ago he sent me a link to a local breeder, and I might have made an impulsive decision and reserved a puppy.
He has no idea that I actually got a second dog; I didn’t tell him a thing.
I knew he was going to be busy today—meeting a couple clients for the graphic designs he started doing again as a side job.
I figured I’d keep the surprise going until he walked back into the house and noticed the cute little brown and black fur ball.
Now is not the time to second guess yourself, I tell myself. It’s way too late to question my decision, because now, here I am, with a brand new wiggling puppy—who I’ve preemptively named Arlow—in my arms and a bouncing Gigi at my feet.
I know she loves puppies, I just don’t know how much she’s going to love having a puppy in her space, sharing Liam and I.
“Okay, okay, sweet girl. I’ll put her down, but be nice,” I warn before putting down the newest addition to our little family.
The second her four little paws hit the floor, the inspection begins.
Gigi gets right into her face, flipping her ears over for a good smell, then nudging her to his back so she can get a good read on her.
She must approve because she steps back and lets her do the same before leading him to the feeding area.
Instantly, I let go of the breath I was holding.
The rest of the afternoon goes by in a pretty boring manner.
Arlow looks like she’s going to be an easy puppy, and Gigi is already teaching her the ropes.
With only one accident in the house, and Gigi herding her away from my plants, I can safely say I don’t regret my decision. Fingers crossed Liam feels the same.
I glance at the time. Liam should be home soon, but I have time to take a quick shower and start dinner before he gets home. Quickly, I bring both dogs in the bathroom with me to make sure they don’t get into anything together.
I step into the shower, only to step back out remembering how much Gigi loved toilet paper as a puppy, and move the roll onto the counter and hop back in.
I quickly rinse off the day with both dogs watching me through the glass.
I barely have both feet out of the shower before I hear the front door open and Liam calls out my name. Shit.
I was hoping to be waiting for him in the living room. I even got the girls some Big Sister and Little Sister T-shirts.
“In the shower,” I yell back, crossing my fingers that he doesn’t decide to come find me. Standing still, I wait to see if I can hear his footsteps coming closer. Thankfully, I don’t hear a thing.
“All right, can you both be good girls for the next forty-five seconds? Just enough so I can grab a shirt and some underwear and go surprise daddy?” They both look at me with identical head tilts, as if they can actually understand me.
“Who are you talking to?” Liam asks me through the door. “And where’s Gigi? Usually she’s at the door waiting for me.”
Gigi barks at her name.
“Why is the door closed?” he asks, before I see the door handle start to turn. He’s right, Gigi spends her days waiting for him to come back home to her and I never close the bathroom door when I shower, always hoping he’s going to come join me.
“No,” I start saying, trying to get to the door first. I really want to surprise him, but the minute I take a step forward, I step on Gigi’s tail, making her cry out.
Arlow thinks it’s a game so she starts barking, making me bend down to try to calm her, but as I do, my towel intrigues her and she gets a bite of that and starts pulling.
And that’s how Liam finds me—still wet from my shower, towel barely covering my front as Arlow thinks we’re playing a game of tug-of-war, and Gigi sitting there, judging us.
“What do we have here?” Liam asks, laughing.
“Surprise?” I say, keeping my eyes fixed on him as I stand up straight with a wingling Arlow under my arm.
He doesn’t say a word. He just stands there looking at me, not blinking.
Smiling, at his surprise, I say, “Meet Arlow,” holding out the puppy toward him.
He finally snaps out of it when his fingers hit her soft fur. “You got us a puppy?” he asks.
I just nod as he bends down with the puppy in his arms to pick up Gigi and make his way to the bed.
I watch from the bathroom doorway with a big smile as he gives Gigi her usual afternoon kisses and love before he turns his attention to our new addition in awe.
I get closer, grabbing the underwear and Liam’s old T-shirt I had set on my dresser, quickly pulling them on before I join them on the bed.
“Good surprise?” I ask, running my fingers along Arlow’s spine as she lies on Liam’s chest.
“The best,” he answers, looking at me. “I can’t believe you kept this a secret from me! Usually, you can’t keep anything a secret for more than twelve hours!”
“It was so hard,” I tell him truthfully. “I honestly don’t know how I did it!”
“Thank you,” he says, leaning up on his elbow to drop a soft kiss to my lips.