For Keeps

54. Meet the lovely Greta.

*This one is for K. Your amazing journey with therapy dog breeders and trainers inspired this storyline! Of course your true love Cary Douglas must have a therapy dog too <333*

{Kurt}

St. Aidan's Queer Choir performance was everything Kurt hoped it would be. The old nave rang to the arched rafters with carols; folks from their church and the neighbourhood pressed shoulder to shoulder in the wooden pews. The whole White family filled the front row, Mel's face shining with pride and Pete's eyes crinkling in his smile.

The concert lacked the raucous energy of the shows Kurt had played before, but music was still music. Kurt's body was still singing with that energy when he and Jon finally freed themselves from the crowd afterwards.

Kurt told Cary he was taking Jon on a coffee shop date but to wait up for them to start a movie marathon of Jon's favourite martial artist, Tony Jaa.

However, Kurt was not taking Jon on a date--he was taking Jon to meet the beautiful dog he wanted to bring home for keeps. A present for Cary Douglas...and as long as Cary's home was Kurt's, let's be honest, a present for himself.

In the car on the way to the meet up, Jon scrolled through the dog photos Kurt had collected on his phone. "She's a retired mom," Kurt said.

"The dog?" Jon clarified.

"Greta," Kurt said dreamily. "We're so lucky to find an adult standard poodle that's trained and good with PTSD for that price. She's got all her shots and her spay and her fur is even 'allergy friendly.'"

Jon laughed softly. "You sound like you want to keep her for yourself."

"I'm a little smitten," Kurt admitted. More than a little--Greta's soulful eyes and long curly black-brown ears were all he'd been able to think about while he mudded and painted and finished their basement job. His heart was going like he was heading to a blind date and he couldn't stop grinning. "I found the breeder through AA--and she checks out. No sketchy puppy mills here. She's in town tonight and I just got her to squeeze in a meet up with us."

"Oh!" Jon's eyes widened. "This is happening tonight. Do we have everything we need? Dish? Food? Collar? Did you check if our fence is intact?"

Kurt bounced happily, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. "Yup yup yup. I asked myself--WWJD? What would Jon do?--and I made a list and a plan--and anyways Greta comes with all that stuff already."

"Okay, wow." Grinning, Jon grabbed Kurt's hand, squeezing tight. "Kurt Visser, we're gonna be dog-dads!" he squealed.

Kurt shouted a laugh. "I know! Do you think Care will mind if I start her an Instagram page? Or am I getting ahead of myself?"

Jon laughed. "Maybe a little? Let's just make sure she actually likes us and uses the toilet outside to start."

{Cary}

Cary hummed tunelessly to one of Kurt's carols' playlists as he sorted through his pencil collection in his drawing studio. He had no particular plans to draw tonight and all his gifts were bought and wrapped, so he was just passing time 'til his housemates came home.

He thought the house felt different since their conversation the previous day. The bedrooms in the floor below weren't being temporarily filled by his brother and his partner while Jon finished school--this was their home together indefinitely, a lopsided little family unit.

The idea was growing on him. When Cary had bought this house with the inheritance from his elderly Aunt Tru's passing he'd imagined filling this home with a family. In his mind, that family had looked like a wife and a child or two of their own, and maybe the woman in the picture bore a strong resemblance to his long-time high school sweetheart, Kadee Yoshenko.