“What is it? Now you have me all intrigued. I’m sure I’ll love it, as long as it’s not jewelry. No more jewelry.” She smiled.

He seemed to relax. “No, it’s nothing like that. If you’re not happy… I’ll make a plan.” He walked towards the door and then back towards her. “I’m sure you’ll like it.” Only, he didn’t look sure at all.

She smiled at him. Torrent turned and disappeared behind the front door.

When he came back, he had a sheepish look on his face and the cutest little puppy under his arm. It was a mix breed of some kind. The little thing had long hair and a long nose and the biggest brown eyes. The puppy reminded her of a teddy bear. Okay, not quite a teddy bear, maybe a dog mixed with a miniture bear. “Oh my word.” She gushed. “That’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” The little guy… She didn’t know how she knew but it was definitely a boy… had to be a few months old already. His tail wagged like mad.

“I didn’t name him. I thought you could do the honors. He’s yours.” Torrent smiled, it was shy and so sweet. “If you want him.”

Her heart melted a whole lot more. The dog began to squirm in his arms as she drew closer. He began to whine a little as she put her arms out towards him. Torrent spoke as he handed the bundle of fur to her. “I rescued him from the pound. They wanted to do a home check but when I told them that he was for you, they said it was fine. The check I wrote probably helped too.” He smiled. “Don’t get mad. This had nothing to do with money.”

She had to laugh. “I know that.”

Candy felt teary. She sniffed and widened her eyes to try and keep any tears from falling. She was so ridiculously emotional, which wasn’t like her dammit. She was just so happy. Her mom would never let her have a pet and her erratic hours made keeping a pet difficult after she left home. She’d always wanted a dog. The little one wriggled in her arms he was wagging his tail so hard. He licked her neck and her hands and tried to reach up to get at her face. He had puppy breath and everything. “You are the cutest little guy. Just the cutest.”

“Um.”

When she looked up Torrent was rocking on his heels. He looked nervous all over again.

“What’s wrong?” She licked her lips. “I’m thrilled. I couldn’t be happier.”

“There’s more.” He blurted.

“More?”