Them & I || Stranger Things Cast

Yo Karen

No Karen. Just, no.

~Joe Keery~

I heard more paws scramble across the slippery floor.

"But how would a dog get into this house? The doors are all shut to keep the insulation in. The only door that would be open is the sliding door to the backyard, but the snow is 6 feet high and it's keeping the beer cold." Emma asked me.

I scratched the back of my  neck, "Maybe it got in through a window."

"I just hope that it's friendly."

She pulled my shirt, "Is anyone in the neighborhood missing a dog?"

I shrugged, "Honestly I don't even know if it's a dog. It could be a buck with horns for all we know."

"It doesn't sound large."

We peeked our heads around the corner and into the living room.
A puppy the size of a kleenex box was slipping and sliding around the floor.

I quickly scrambled to cover my ears before Emma yelled, "AWWW! IT'S SO CUTE!" She grabbed my wrist and dragged me across the icy floor, "HELP HIM!"

I looked down at the dog before correcting Emms, "Her."

"The cat certainly isn't going to like this." Emma added.

"Benji will get over it."

I grabbed a nearby blanket and scooped the little puppy up and put her on the dining table. I scanned her fur. The poor thing had twigs and leafs stuck all over her body. Emma wiped a fake tear from her eye.

"Let's get her cleaned up before we start stapling signs around the neighborhood." I grabbed the small dog and wrapped her deeper into the blankets. It was shivering.

"Emms can you grab some towels? I'll start a bath. We can just use Benji's shampoo to wash out any dirt."

"Sure." She dashed upstairs.

I laid the animal in the bathtub. It was a beautiful dog. It had fuzzy paper-white fur and a long tail like a fox's. One ear was up and the other fell down to the side of the dog's muzzle.

Emma returned with pet shampoo and brown towels. We ran the water and started scrubbing.

~

"Joe, I don't know if this dog has any owners." Emma poked at me and gestured to the newly cleaned puppy, asleep on the sofa.

Matt strode into the room, swiftly opened the fridge, and pulled out a coke. When he turned around, his eyes went wide.

He pointed at the dog, "Where did that come from?"

"Don't know. Hard to say how it got in. The dog was sliding all over the floor so we had to bathe it." Emma replied and patted the dog's head.

"Is that thing carrying a disease?"

Emma and I looked at each other.

Matt waved his hands in the air, "Seriously guys?! That never crossed your mind?"

"Whoops."

Emma got up off the couch and announced excitedly, "This smol dog doesn't have a name! It needs a name!"

Matt groaned. "It does?"

"Of course!" She grabbed my phone off the charger and typed in dog names in the search bar, "Everything needs a name!"

"Not really."

"Yes really. I name everything. My laptop has a name."

"What is it then?" I asked.

"Quirky after the connector cord's brand." Emma sweetly replied.

"You two are nutcases." Matt rubbed his temples and walked down the hallway.

Emma grabbed a can off of the kitchen island and shouted back at her brother, "YOU FORGOT YOUR COKE!"

"HAVE THE DOG DRINK IT!" He yelled back.

"Well," I grabbed the drink off the counter and opened it before taking a sip, "what are we going to name this dog?"

"Patricia."

"What the hell kind of dog's name is that? That's my grandmother's name!"

"Stephanie? Christina?" She suggested.

I shook my head no. "Those sound like sorority girls."

"Ginger?"

"The dog has a white coat."

"Sage."

"I don't want this poor dog to be named after a herb."

"Then you suggest one!" Emma kept scrolling down the website.

I thought for a bit before spurting out, "Karen."

"I thought you didn't want any soccer mom names."

I laughed to myself, "It sounds like a wiener dog's name."

She burst out into a fit of giggles, "Imagine that though."