Stumbling Through It {C.H}

Chapter 24

One July morning, I got a call from Calum, asking me if I wanted to go out and help him with something today. Naturally I said yes, always willing to hang out with him. I drove over to his house, and waited on the front step for him.

"Ellie!" He opened the door, greeting me with a beaming smile. He leaned over and kissed my lips. Damn, I would never get tired of that.

I stepped inside, "Where's Daniel?" I asked, looking around for him.

As if on cue, the dark haired boy darted down the hall, wearing only his underwear. Michael and Livi chased him, carrying his clothes.

"Come on Daniel! You have to get dressed!" Michael called, half out of breath from trying to catch him.

"They're in training to be parents." Calum exclaimed with a mischievous smile, happy to be getting a break from the energetic child.

I laughed, "Doing a great job guys!" I gave them a thumbs up. Livi stuck her tongue out at me, then went back to helping her fiancé catch Daniel.

"Okay, let's go." Calum nodded toward the door, his arm draping over my shoulders.

I glanced back at Daniel, who was in a fit of giggles as the couple ran after him in the living room, "You sure it's okay to leave them?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Calum nodded, "They can handle it. They need to get used to it if they are gonna be able to handle a kid. Daniel will calm down... Eventually." He smirked and led me out the door, leaving the mess behind him.

"So where are we going?" I asked as he started the car.

"To get Daniel's birthday present." He told me.

I gasped, remembering, "Oh right! His birthday is in what? Two days?" Calum nodded. "What are you getting him?" I asked.

He grinned with a glimmer in his eye, "You'll see."

=

I stared out the side window, watching the trees pass by in a blur of brown and green. The AC blew my hair back in a wave of refreshing cold air. The radio played 80's rock and Calum tapped to the beat on the steering wheel.

He turned the corner and started to slow down, pulling into a parking lot. I looked ahead to see where we were.

"No!" I gasped almost in disbelief, a smiled spreading across my face as we arrived at the local dog shelter.

Calum nodded, his face lit up in excitement.

Neither of us wanted to wait any longer. We hopped out of the car. He grabbed my hand and we ran to the doors like little kids to a toy shop.

A young woman at the front desk welcomed us, "Hi, are you here to adopt or just browse?"

"Adopt." Calum answered, squeezing my hand.

"Fantastic!" The woman stood up from her desk, walking to a door. I could hear muffled barking coming from the other side. She typed a code into a keypad and the door buzzed open. She waved us inside.

The high ceilinged room went mad with barking and yapping that echoed off the concrete floors. Kennels lined the floor. Dogs, both large and small, jumped up against the fences that kept them in, trying to get a glimpse at the newcomers.

"Sorry about the noise." The woman said, "They're just excited."

Calum's eyes grew wide, darting across the room trying to look at every dog.

"So what kind of pup are you looking for?" The woman asked.

It took him a moment to peel his eyes away from all the dogs to actually answer the question, "Um, well it should be a good family dog. It's for my son's fifth birthday."

She nodded, "Oh how sweet! Well we have a litter of new puppies, if you are interested."

We both nodded enthusiastically. The woman laughed at our childlike giddiness, and led us to the back of the room, through another door. We followed her into a short hallway, stopping at yet another door.

"We keep our puppies in here until they are bigger." She opened the door that led into a small room. It was quiet and seemingly empty. I didn't notice anything until Calum gasped, pointing to the far corner.

Curled up in a ball on a large puffy pillow was a bulldog. Around her, a litter of puppies played, walking over their mother, biting each other's ears, and chasing each other around the pillow.

"Can we pet them?" I asked. My voice had gone all soft and squeaky. The woman nodded.

Calum and I approached the puppies slowly, trying not to scare them. We sat down beside the pillow, watching the little dogs scamper around.

"They're so cute and wrinkly!" I squealed, reaching out to one who approached me curiously. It sniffed my hand, a look of wonder on it's face. Gently, I scooped it up.

It was hardly bigger than my hand, but covered in brown and white fur like the rest of its siblings. It's face looked smushed with wrinkles all around its little muzzle.

I turned to show Calum, but found him lying on the floor, half the litter crawling over his chest. He smiled broadly, his eyes crinkling as he laughed at the feeling of tiny paws walking across him.

"This is the best day of my life!" He exclaimed through a breathless laugh. He was in heaven.

We played with all the puppies for a while more, not wanting to stop, but finally we needed to make a decision.

"Can we just take them all?" I whined, looking over the litter of wrinkly pups. "Your house is big enough!"

"I wish." Calum sighed, looking longingly at all the dogs.

"How are we supposed to pick just one?" I watched one of the puppies playing tug of war with its brother, pulling at a piece of rope.

One of the puppies, tired out from playing, lumbered over to Calum, climbing onto his lap. It flopped down, shutting its eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.

Calum stroked it's back, "I don't think we need to. This one chose us." He turned to the woman, "Is it a girl or a boy?"

"Girl." She told him.

Calum nodded and looked to me with pleading eyes, "I think she's the one."

Calum did the paperwork and paid for the dog as I held her in my arms. We placed her in a carrying crate and took her out to the car, careful to keep the crate steady as to not wake her up. I gently set down the crate in the back seat.

"Where are you going to keep her until Daniel's birthday?" I asked, looking at the little sleeping ball of fur.

"In one of the guest bedrooms. I have everything set up, I just have to make sure he doesn't go in the room." Calum explained, wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned into his chest and he kissed the top of my head.

"We did good." He whispered, watching the dog as if we were the parents of a newborn baby.

I nodded, "He's gonna love her."

"I already do."

=

Sorry it's been so long! Trying to get back into the swing of things! Hope you guys are still interested in this book 😂