The Ties That Bind

Chapter Eleven: Wanderlust

Franziska thought she would nearly burst with joy. "I have been dreaming of this for so long," she whispered, her eyes shining with happiness as she looked at Miles. "There is nothing in the world I could ever want more, liebling."

"I was hoping you would say that." Miles smiled lovingly at her. "I've wanted one for the longest time, although I wasn't too certain about your reaction. But now that I know we're on the same page, I am so delighted that you share my excitement. I even have the name picked out."

Franziska was surprised. He'd even gone as far as to pick out names? Without discussing them with her first? She'd liked the name Gregory for a boy in honor of his late father, and for a girl she'd thought Mila was beautiful as a female variation of Miles' name, while Manfrieda could have been a nice secondary name to commemorate her Papa, assuming Miles wasn't opposed to that idea. But she was trying to be more open-minded and flexible now, and saw nothing as set in stone. If he had his heart set on a name, she could certainly at least hear him out.

"Go on," she urged softly. "I'd love to hear it."

"What do you think of then name Pess?"

"Pess?" Franziska blinked. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's the perfect name! Believe me, when you meet her, you'll fall in love with her as much as I have, and agree that it was made for her, meine dame."

"Her?" she echoed blankly.

"Pess, this absolutely beautiful golden retriever I found from a top breeder in Los Angeles when I was over there," he told her excitedly. "I'm in the process of ensuring she has all her shots and purebred papers together right now even as we speak. We just took to each other immediately. I can't wait for you to meet her. I just know you'll fall in love with her as much as I have!"

Franziska sat there, her smile still frozen on her lips even as she felt her heart sinking down into her shoes, which were brand new Louboutin pumps, purchased to match the new white Halston dress she was wearing as part of her painstakingly chosen attire for the evening.

A dog . All this time she had been day dreaming about being the mother of his children and thinking of meaningful names for them. Had been giddy at the notion that he shared the same aspirations... and this entire time, he been thinking about them becoming parents...to a dog ? In Los Angeles, no less!

"You do like golden retrievers, don't you meine dame?" Miles was looking at her expectantly, noting she still hadn't spoken since he'd made his revelation. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind that I picked her out already and you didn't already have your heart set on some sort of smaller breed?"

Oh yes, she'd had her heart set on a much smaller breed. One of the approximate six to nine pounds at birth variety that would eventually grow up and know how use the toilet instead of using it as a drinking bowl!

Struggling to maintain a levelled tone, Franziska finally spoke. "I hope it won't be a lot of trouble to arrange all the certifications and papers in order to bring her over here?"

"That's the other thing I wanted to discuss with you." Miles cleared his throat. "Pess is going to stay in LA."

"How did you plan on keeping and taking care of a pet in American when you are residing in Germany?" As soon as she'd spoken the words, Franziska held her breath afterwards, already knowing the answer.

"Here's the thing, meine dame. After much thought and consideration, I've decided, as my investigative partners are all in the States and most of my investigations seem to be around there anyway, that it would probably be best if I moved back to California."