Bolt and Penny

Day 6 Christmas Eve

Penny opened her eyes wearily and looked around her room. Sunlight shined through the bedroom window and warmed up the room. Reaching over Bolt, Penny grabbed her phone off the side table and checked the time. 9:12, nearly time to get up. Closing her eyes once more, Penny snuggled up against Bolt and fell asleep. 

Penny awoke with a start, as her phone's alarm went off. Rubbing her eyes, Penny recognized the song as Kashmir by Led Zeppelin. Reaching over, Penny grabbed her phone and shut off the alarm. Letting out a sigh, the redhead forced herself to let go of Bolt and get out of bed. Slipping on her house slippers, she winced at a flash of sudden pain in her side. The doctors at the hospital said that the wound would be healed enough to get the stitches out in 7-14 days. Leaning down, Penny gave her sleeping Bolt a kiss on the muzzle and nuzzled his soft face. 

Stepping from the shower, Penny dried herself off and wrapped a towel around her waist. Emerging from the steamy bathroom, she walked to her dressing table and sat down in front of her mirror to brush her hair. Running the brush through her long red hair, she opened a drawer in her dresser and pulled out a makeup kit. But just as she was about to open it and start putting it on, a voice popped into her mind. "No Penny, don't put on makeup." Penny turned and saw that Bolt had woken up. "Please don't, you look better without it." Setting down the brush, Penny got up and walked to her Shepherd. Sitting down next to him, Penny leaned into his warm body and spoke softly, "Bolty, I don't look cute at all. Please... don't lie." The White German Shepherd nuzzled her arm. "Penny, I told you to not put on that makeup because you are cute to me. You're beautiful, and if other people can't see that, then their head must not be screwed on straight." Penny looked down at him, "Bolt..." Her dog just lay on his side and sighed. Giving him a kiss on the side muzzle, Penny got up and went to her closet. Opening it, she decided to wear a long sleeve sweater with pictures of snowmen on it, a pair of black leggings, and a black bra. Since she normally stayed in during the winter, Penny never usually wore panties. She knew it was a bad habit, but who was going to complain about it? Getting dressed, the redhead slipped on a pair of purple fluffed up house slippers, and walked out into the hallway. 

"Merry Christmas sweetie!" Penny's mom walked toward her daughter, arms outstretched. Penny embraced her mom, "Mom, it's not Christmas yet, it's Christmas Eve." The older woman laughed, "Hahaha! Why should that matter? I got you, and I'm just glad you're okay." Letting go of her mom, Penny walked into the kitchen and grabbed her usual coffee mug from the cupboard. Pouring the piping hot liquid into the mug, Penny heard the front door open and the sound of her grandparents voices echo through the rooms. "Yet and I say! What have I always told you Harold!? I told you to not pester the clerk, but no you go and do it anyways!" Her grandma didn't sound mad, it just seemed that she was blowing the whole situation out of proportion. "Honey! You know me! I love to talk! I hear someone talking about the election and I just have to intervene." Penny laughed behind her hand. Her grandparents were always like this. Pulling out a chair, Penny sat down at the kitchen table and stared into the blackness of the coffee. Looking outside, Penny saw that it had begun to snow and smiled. If it kept up like this, there would be a fresh blanket of snow outside by Christmas morning. Penny had bought Bolt a very special Christmas present, something that would make him blush behind the fur on his ears. Speaking of Bolt, the White Shepherd popped around the corner and lay down at Penny's feet. Kicking off her slippers, Penny began a belly rub and sipped her coffee. Bolt's fur felt soft between her toes and it seemed he was enjoying it. "Penny! Come in here! We have a surprise for you!" Sighing, Penny stopped the belly rub and put her slippers back on. Walking into the living room, her mom stood smiling, holding out a wrapped gift. "What is it?" Penny's grandma smiled, "Go ahead, open it." Taking the oddly shaped present in her hands, Penny began tearing the wrapping paper off. When she saw the end of it, a smile graced her lips and she excitedly tore the rest off. In her hands, she held a brand new Fender American Standard Stratocaster electric guitar. Penny threw her arms around her grandma and said, "Oh grandma! How did you know!?" Her grandma chuckled, "Well let's just say that your mom told us you play guitar, and we wanted to hear what you could do with an electric one. There's an amp over there next to the fireplace, play us a tune." Jogging to the amp with Bolt in close pursuit, Penny plugged in the amp and then plugged in the guitar. Sitting down, Penny took hold of the tuning tabs and fiddled with them. Once she had it tuned to the right chord, DADGAD, she turned to her mom, "Mom, can you sing the lyrics to Kashmir?" Sitting across from her daughter, the middle aged woman nodded and waited patiently as Penny began the first line of notes. Then from across the room, Penny's mom let loose a strong chorus, "Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, and stars fill my dreams.... I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been." With her mom singing and her playing the guitar, the two of them put on a small performance for her grandparents. 

When the two of them had finished the song, Penny's grandparents applauded their performance and said, "That was pretty good. Now who did you say the artist was again? Led Zeppelin?" 

*Before I end this chapter, let me just say that Kashmir is the complete property of Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant, NOT ME. I don't own this badass song! I guess I've sold my soul for Rock n Roll!*