To Infiniti & Beyond

Chapter Forty

For as long as I can remember I've wanted to own a German Shepherd. It took my mom some convincing to let me get a dog - but I truly believe I'd benefit from the responsibility of it and she agreed. From the second she said yes I have been searching for the perfect fit to expand our family.

I've applied for five dogs, three of which fell through, one is still pending, but I just got approved for lucky number five today and I'm over the moon about it!

He's two years old, was found abandoned in Texas, and severely underweight. I've been in contact with one of the ladies from the rescue and she's been so efficient in making this process move quickly.

I was lucky enough to get the remainder of my paperwork completed in time for this handsome boy to be shipped up to me this week. His truck leaves Thursday and the estimated pickup day is Saturday.

I text my girls the good news to which I got various forms of "congratulations."

Seeing as Maya is still not planning a visit home anytime soon, and Eva is working, I reach out to Brynn curious as to see if she'll come with me to start this new chapter of my life.

I am not surprised when she tells me she's not sure if she'll be available. I revoked my invite to Brynn and group call my brothers.

They're excited to become doggy uncles and look forward to coming with me to pick him up.

I spent all night ordering the essential puppy items to be express shipped to me. Most of them estimate arriving Friday, the remainder on Saturday and Sunday.

Over the next couple of days, I get more excited with each package I open in preparation for my new pup. I spend every moment I can puppy-proofing the house and cleaning.

It's Saturday and waiting for the confirmation text of our meet time is borderline torture.

My brothers come over to hang out with me in order to help pass the time.

Just as we're deciding on where to go to grab a quick bite to eat, my phone chimes and I jump up from the couch, "they're two hours away!" I practically squeal with excitement.

Jake grins and Beau laughs at my antics.

We pick a fast food place to stop at on the way to the rest stop I have to pick him up from. The whole way there the boys can't stop telling me how sketchy it is that we're meeting a van at a rest stop on the turnpike at nearly 9pm.

I assure them that we'll be fine, they make it known to me that they think I'm crazy but they're ready to throw down if this turns out to be a scam. I roll my eyes but laugh regardless, I appreciate that they have my back no matter the circumstances.

We pull up to the rest stop after an hour and a half on the road, and sure enough, there's the truck with my pup inside!

The three of us walk up to the two women standing off to the passenger side, we make introductions as they walk us to the back of the truck.

It takes them a couple of minutes trying to convince him to come out of his crate. When he does I see how big he really is - even in his malnourished state. His ears are pinned back and his tail is tucked under in fear.

I cover my smile with my hands, tears building up, I look up at my brothers in pure joy as they smile back at me with approval.

I'm glad they were able to come with me for many reasons, the one in particular is because Beau had to go pick my boy up and carry him out of the truck.

The three of us take him for a walk and start to bond. Jake and Beau try to convince me he looks like a Diesel, but I've already decided on a name - Aston.

He wears a deep green collar that I picked out because it reminds me of the Buckinghamshire Green that I hope to own on a Vantage one day.

For the ride back home I can't stop smiling. Aston sleeps peacefully in the back on my lap. I let Jake drive my Subaru home and Beau take the front seat so I can bond with my boy.