Never The Bride(56)

'You'll find out in a minute,' he replied mysteriously as he rang the bell. The door opened revealing a ruddy-faced man in his fifties.

'You must be Mr. and Mrs. Davis. I'm Rupert Bonneville,' he greeted with an outstretched hand, which Miller shook. 'So glad you found us. Come on in, they're just finishing up their lunch.'

'We can come back if we're interrupting at a bad time,' Miller offered.

'No, not at all. Honestly, they're almost done, so it's perfect timing,' he replied, gesturing for us to step inside.

Miller gave my hand a gentle tug as I wondered what was going on. Rupert shut the door and led us down a soft grey painted hall, with large old flagstones on the floor, and took us into a huge kitchen diner with a glass wall that faced out onto the garden at the rear. There was no sign of anyone eating, so I was feeling rather confused as he led us to a side door which he threw open. All of a sudden, my ears were assaulted by the sound of tiny excited barks and the pitter-patter of of claws on the old stone floor as we followed Rupert into a huge conservatory. 'Here they are.'

'Oh my God,' I cried, my heart fluttering to see five tiny white fluffy puppies scampering around inside a large four-sided pen, while a larger dog, who I presumed was their mum, lay on a plump rectangular dog cushion watching them.



       
         
       
        

'Aren't they adorable?' Miller asked, squeezing my hand.

'They look like little teddy bears,' I laughed, letting go of Miller's hand to crouch down as one of them came scampering over and barked at me. 'Can I touch it?' I asked, looking up at Rupert for confirmation first. He smiled and nodded.

'I'll let you into the pen so you can sit down and interact with them all, see which is your favourite.'

'I don't understand, what's going on?' I replied with a frown, glancing across to Miller.

'We're here to chose one for us. They're pedigree bichon frises,' he confirmed, leaning on the wooden rail. 'I know you prefer smaller dogs, and while I thought about a bulldog again, I wanted a dog that can come on a plane, so it can fly with us whenever we travel to New York. We've got first choice for you to pick the one you want and it's coming home with us now.'

'Are you serious?' I exclaimed as my heart leapt with excitement. I'd really missed not having a dog, but to be honest, I'd felt disloyal to the memory of Sumo to even think about going to look for another. I'd never have suggested it, or done it on my own, but somehow Miller making the choice that we were having one took that weight off my shoulders.

'Is that ok?' he asked gently. 'I know no dog will ever replace Sumo, and I didn't want to surprise you with one I'd picked, since I knew how much it broke your heart that he wasn't as loving with you as he was with other people. I thought it was best to let you choose a puppy that you bonded with.'

'Is that ok?!' I scoffed, then laughed as I felt a little wet nose nudging my hand through the bars of the pen and looked down to see the bravest of the pups lick me. 'It's wonderful!'

'Come on then, let's get you both inside. Best to sit on the floor and let them come to you, though it looks like you've already got a fan,' Rupert chuckled.

I nodded eagerly and pulled my hand away as I stood up. The pup let out a bark and bounced back and forth, like it had springs attached to its feet, its tiny tail wagging ten to the dozen. Rupert opened up the pen in the one corner, to give us room to squeeze in, and caught the pup as it tried to zip out. When we sat down, the mum just lay there, relatively unperturbed by our arrival. Three of her pups had gone to cuddle up to her, their eyes full of fear, and another was sitting closer to us, appraising us apprehensively. As soon as Rupert set the original bundle of fluff back down inside the pen, it trotted over and tried to climb up onto my lap.

'Miller, look,' I cooed as I gently stroked it.

'I think you've already bonded with him,' Rupert said as he watched me pick the pup up and hold him gently against my chest, then receive a sloppy lick as a reward. 'He's never been that friendly with me or my wife.' 

'Oh, he's adorable,' I breathed, smiling at Miller as I got a neck wash from the little guy. Miller laughed and held out one of his hands, which he slowly offered to the pup, and was rewarded with a lick and a nuzzle himself, then an excited bark. 'I don't know much about bichons, what are they like as pets?' I asked, hardly able to tear my eyes off the fluffy ball of gorgeousness in my arms.

'Very sociable and easy to train, but they don't like being left alone. They need regular grooming, as they shed a lot and their coats are quite thick and fluffy.'

'Not a problem. My best friend is a dog groomer and lives virtually next door,' I confirmed, reluctantly passing the pup over to Miller when he asked for a turn.

'They're not normally known for their barking, but this one's extra vocal today,' Rupert stated, as the pup continued to vocalise his enthusiasm at our petting between excited licks of Miller.

'Oh, hello, little one,' I said quietly as as the bravest of the other puppies came a bit closer to see what was going on. I offered it my hand and it leaned in and sniffed, but as soon as I tried to stroke it, it scampered back to the safety of its mother. I turned back around to find the original pup was struggling to get off Miller's lap to come back to me. 'Oh, Miller, can we have this one? He's so friendly.'

'Of course we can. Anything to see that amazing smile of yours,' he confirmed, offering me a kiss as he let the little mite come back to settle down on my lap for more cuddles. 'Is that ok, Mr. Bonneville?'

'Of course it is, and please call me Rupert. I have all of the paperwork in my office, and we can leave your wife to play while we go and set up your car with the cage, bedding, and accessories as discussed. Would you like a drink, Mrs. Davis? I can hear my wife back in the kitchen.'

'No, I'm fine, but thank you for the offer.' I gave him a grateful smile as I tore my gaze from my adorable new little boy.

'See you in a minute,' Miller said, leaning over to give me a quick kiss. 'Now you have your own teddy bear.'

'I do,' I nodded, giving him a grateful smile. 'Thank you, this was such a thoughtful gift.' Miller climbed over the edge of the pen to save opening it again, and I focused my attention on my new puppy. I wondered what Sumo would have made of him. 'What are we going to call you?' I asked him. He barked again and I laughed. 'Noisy little fellow, aren't you? How about Mr. Barker, Teddy for short?' I suggested, laughing again as he licked my hand.

There, it was settled. Mr. Teddy Barker. I picked him up and held the squirming bundle of fur in front of me, unable to break the smile on my face.

'Awww, you're just so cute! Who's the cutest?' I said in a baby voice. 'Who's the – ' I let out a startled cry as cute Teddy decided now would be an appropriate time to relieve himself. A jet of warm pee splattered my face, some entering my open mouth, and ran down onto my cream jumper.

'Oh dear, didn't Rupert warn you? He's been a bit slower with the toilet training than the others, especially when he's excited,' came a laughing female voice behind me. I put Teddy down, stuck my tongue out, desperately trying to wipe it clean on my sleeve. 'I'll go and get you a cloth.'

'Unbelievable,' I grimaced, wiping the pee from my face as Teddy darted back and forth, his tail wagging incessantly as he yapped and tried to encourage his siblings to play. 'First I get the gassy dog that hates me, now I've got the dog that loves me so much, he engages in non-consensual water sports.'



       
         
       
        

'What was that, dear?' Mrs. Bonneville asked as she reappeared with a damp cloth, some kitchen towels, and a glass of water for me to rinse out my mouth with.

'Nothing, just muttering to myself,' I answered as I stood up and accepted the damp cloth first. I closed my eyes and gave my face a good scrub, then moved down to rub my jumper, but it was so damp, I had to carefully peel it off, grateful I had a shirt on underneath.

'Come on out of the pen for a minute. You can go and rinse your mouth over the kitchen sink and I'll get you something stronger to take away the taste,' she said as I stuck out my tongue and shuddered.

'Thank you.' I did as I was told, then swilled the brandy she returned with around my mouth before swallowing it down.

'First time dog owner?' she asked when I gave her the empty glass back.

'No, but it's been a while since I've had a puppy, I forgot what they're like. Will his mum and brothers and sisters be ok? I feel awful taking him away from them.'

'She'll pine for a while, but she'll soon get over it, they always do. I hope you don't mind dogs in the bedroom, as they don't like being alone, and he'll probably find it extra hard being away from them for the next few nights.'

'As long as he doesn't pee on me in my sleep, I have no problem him joining us in the bedroom,' I confirmed, looking over to watch him tumbling around with his siblings.

Miller couldn't stop laughing about the whole pee incident as we drove away, with Teddy in his new travel cage in the back of the car. We had to pull over shortly after we left, though, as he was whining and sounded so upset that it broke my heart. We got him out and I cradled him on my lap, but not before putting a puppy training pad on it. I'd learned my lesson, that was for sure. He was just so different to Sumo. He adored being stroked, having his tummy tickled, and was a real nuzzler and licker. He soon fell asleep, curled up against me, and I caught Miller's soft smile as he looked over at me.