Chapter Nine
Charlotte arrived at Marin’s apartment just past five, carrying a bag of burgers and fries for her and Marin, as well as a few goodies for Ember.
She knocked quietly, not wanting to disturb the puppy if she was asleep.
Sleeping puppies were like sleeping babies in Charlotte’s opinion .
. . never to be woken if it could be helped.
A few seconds later, the door swung open to reveal Marin with a small black puppy cradled in her arms.
“Oh hi, puppy,” Charlotte cooed.
“This is Ember.” Marin looked a bit harried, locks of brown hair escaping her ponytail, slightly out of breath, and there was a wet spot on the thigh of her jeans.
Charlotte would guess that Marin had already gotten a crash course in how exhausting it was to keep up with a young puppy, but at the same time Marin’s eyes sparkled with joy.
She looked so happy, and maybe because Marin had been just a dim shadow of this woman when Charlotte first met her on that bus, she found she couldn’t look away.
“I don’t have to ask if you love having a puppy,” Charlotte said.
“You don’t?” Marin cocked an eyebrow. “Because I haven’t sat down in three hours, I’ve lost count of how many accidents I’ve cleaned up, and I’m not even sure what’s on my jeans, but I hope it’s water.”
Charlotte laughed, setting her bags on the table before she extended a hand to pet the puppy. “Yeah, but you’re beaming, and I’m here now to help with the puppy wrangling. What do you say, Ember? Want to hang out with me and give your mom a breather?”
“You’re a lifesaver.” Marin passed the puppy into Charlotte’s arms.
“Nah, I just love puppies. Go do whatever you need to do. We’ll be fine.
” She turned toward the kitchen while Marin disappeared into the bedroom.
The kitchen floor was strewn with toys and a cardboard box with puppy teeth marks all over the flaps.
“Looks like you’ve been a busy girl this afternoon, hmm? ”
Ember squirmed in her arms, but as Charlotte put her down, she saw the puppy start to circle and sniff on the linoleum.
“Uh-oh.” She snatched Ember back into her arms and looked around for a leash. Luckily, she found it hanging from the same hook as Marin’s keys, just inside the front door. Charlotte snapped the pink collar around Ember’s neck and rushed outside to the snow-covered yard.
Ember took three steps across the snow before she squatted and peed.
“I knew you had to go! Good girl, Ember. Good puppy.”
Ember wagged her tail at the praise, looking up at Charlotte with big brown eyes.
“You’re a sweetheart, aren’t you? No wonder Marin’s smitten with you. I hope you two make each other very happy. She deserves all the happiness, you know?”
Ember pounced and grabbed a stick in her mouth, which she chomped on happily.
Charlotte followed her around the yard for a few minutes, letting her sniff and scuff in the snow.
Finally, she circled around and took a poop, which Charlotte collected using one of the bags attached to her leash while praising the puppy again for successfully doing her business outside.
As she walked back into the apartment, Marin was coming out of her bedroom in clean jeans, her hair neatly brushed. “Oh, did you take her out? Thank you.”
“She peed and pooped,” Charlotte said. “Where are you putting these?” She held up the bag in question before leaning down to set the puppy on the floor.
Marin gaped at her. “She did all that outside? Just now?”
“Yup.” Charlotte unclipped Ember’s collar, and the puppy raced toward Marin.
“Wow.” Marin pushed a hand through her hair.
“I haven’t successfully gotten her to potty outside since I brought her home.
As for the poop bag . . . uh, that’s the first one, so I don’t know where I’m putting them yet.
Let me get a separate trash bag for them.
I’ll probably want to take them to the dumpster frequently so it doesn’t get smelly in here. ”
“Good thinking.” Charlotte waited until Marin had retrieved a trash bag and then dropped the one she held into it. “I’ve potty trained a few puppies so I’m happy to give tips.”
“I need all the help I can get, clearly, so yes please.”
“Definitely, but first, let’s eat.” She pointed toward the bag of burgers and fries she’d brought with her.
“Mm, yes, thank you.” Marin gave her a grateful smile.
Charlotte washed her hands, and then they sat at the table together while Ember played behind the baby gate in the kitchen, energetically tossing a squeaky toy.
“She’s really adorable,” Charlotte commented.
“She is.” Marin gazed affectionally at the puppy. “I love her to pieces already, but she might be just a bit more work than I had anticipated.”
Charlotte laughed. “Puppies will keep you on your toes, that’s for sure, especially if you’re working on potty training and crate training and all that good stuff. You said one of the students upstairs is going to watch her while you’re teaching?”
Marin nodded. “Yes, I introduced them today, actually. Ji-Yoon’s going to be a big help, but I hope I haven’t taken on too much at once, bringing home a puppy while I’ve got all this other stuff going on in my life.”
“You’ll be ridiculously busy for the next month or so, but you’ll make it work. People do it all the time. You’ve got Ji-Yoon to help, and you’ve got me too. I love puppies, so I’m happy to hang out with her whenever you need a break.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t want to take advantage of our friendship.”
Charlotte scoffed. “You’re the one who’s going to be up half the night with her. Coming over to play for a little while is the fun part.”
“I guess that’s true, and I confess, I’m a little anxious about tonight. Do you think she’ll cry all night in her crate?”
“Has she been in one before?” Charlotte asked.
“Her foster mom said she’d started some basic crate training with them, but not much.
I’ve done my research, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Ember so far, it’s that putting these things into practice with a real, live puppy isn’t nearly as straightforward or easy as the articles make it sound. ”
“Things rarely are.” Charlotte looked at Ember, who had lain down on the kitchen floor and was chomping on the stuffed dragon Charlotte picked out for her that day in the pet store.
“But one great thing about puppies is that they learn and grow so quickly. Anything that feels impossible today will be easier tomorrow, and if tonight is a nightmare, just remember that’ll get better soon too. ”
“Okay, that is reassuring,” Marin said. “It probably would have been easier to adopt an adult dog, but I’ve wanted a puppy since I was a little girl, and I’m pretty excited to finally live out this childhood dream.”
“I love that for you. What’s the point of getting a divorce and starting your life over if not to have the things you’ve always wanted, right?”
Marin’s face brightened. “Exactly.”
“Remember that when you’re outside with her at three a.m., and you’re exhausted and frustrated. It’s all temporary, but the joy she brings into your life is something you’ll cherish forever.”
“Thank you,” Marin said, her expression soft. “That was just the pep talk I needed.”
“Anytime. Just tossing this out there, and feel free to say no, but I’d be happy to pack a few things and sleep on your pullout couch tonight if you think it would help. We had so much fun at our last slumber party.” She gave Marin a playful smile.
“That was a fun night,” Marin said, her expression fond.
“And I’d love your help if you really mean that, but please don’t feel obligated.
I’ll figure things out with her one way or the other.
I mean . . .” She chuckled. “I can’t imagine volunteering to help take a puppy out to potty in the middle of the night in Vermont in January. ”
“Well, I never said I’d be the one to take her outside in the middle of the night,” Charlotte teased. “But honestly, I wouldn’t mind. For one night, it’s a fun adventure and a chance to help a friend. So . . . sleepover part two?”
Marin’s expression was luminous. “Yes.”
Marin sat cross-legged in her bed with a puppy lying belly up across her knees, gnawing happily on a piece of cardboard.
It was almost ten, and Marin was about to try putting Ember to bed in her crate for the first time.
Marin was already exhausted after fewer than twelve hours of puppy wrangling and feeling somewhat apprehensive about the night to come.
Charlotte sat in Marin’s bed across from her, wearing flannel pajama pants and a blue hoodie.
She was such a good friend. Marin had laughed so much tonight having Charlotte here, but there was nothing friendly about the way her pulse raced every time Charlotte’s hand bumped hers.
Charlotte just looked so adorable in her pajamas.
Marin’s feelings for her were growing by the day.
It was a good thing she’d had so many years of practice keeping her feelings to herself.
Such a shame, though, that she was finally free to pursue a relationship with a woman, and she’d immediately gone and fallen for her straight friend.
Fallen so hard that she was losing interest in the women she was messaging through the dating app.
She and Laura were still chatting, but Marin didn’t feel the same fluttery excitement with Laura that she did when she got a text from Charlotte.
“Are you going to be a good puppy tonight, cutie?” Charlotte reached out and rubbed Ember’s tummy, and the little dog kicked her back feet happily. Marin tried not to notice how Charlotte’s blond hair brushed her arm as she rubbed Ember, but goose bumps rose on her skin regardless.
Sitting together in Marin’s bed this late at night felt unexpectedly intimate, and more than that, it hinted at the kind of domesticity Marin yearned for. How she wished she were sitting here with her girlfriend or wife, someone who’d share her bed forever . . .