"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language."
~Martin Buber
"Wow, Daddy! Look at this one!"
Ty had to wrap his arms around Tessie's waist to prevent her from walking over to the cage with a Chihuahua in it. She pouted a little, but her face lit up when she saw where we were headed.
Alicia was standing in front of a room, sitting beside a blue dog bed with a bunch of puppies crawling around in it.
"Mommy! Do we get one?" Tessie gasped, squirming in Ty's arms. I laughed, kneeling down in front of the bed of puppies and glancing up at the woman.
"You must be Alyssa." She said, outstretching her hand, "I think we talked on the phone." I nodded, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Yeah. This is Ty and his daughter Tessie." Alicia shook both of their hands before we all knelt down and stared at the dalmatian puppies.
"They're all ready to be adopted. Is there one in particular you want?" She asked, gesturing toward the puppies. Tessie started pointing at the puppy that had wandered off the bed and was teetering toward us.
"That one, Mommy. It likes us." She said, giggling. Alicia picked the puppy up, looking it over.
"This here is a little boy. You want to hold him?" Alicia held the puppy out to me, and after a second of hesitation, I took him. He nuzzled his little nose into my hand, earning a laugh out of me.
"They're great for young children." Alicia said, gesturing toward Tessie, "And if you plan on having another child, they are great to have around babies as well." I knew she was trying to sell the puppy, but she didn't even need to say anything. The puppy's big brown eyes had already sold me, I was going to buy him.
"Hey there, Spot." I said, leaning back against Ty so Tessie could see the puppy, "You're going to be coming home with us." He tried to wiggle out of my hands, his nose digging into Tessie's hand.
"Let me get all these other little guys ready to be adopted and I'll be right back out to give you the adoption papers and lists of supplies needed."
*
It was nearly night time by the time we got back home. Ty and I sat Tessie down and explained to her that the puppy couldn't be carried all the time, that he couldn't run around with her just yet. That he was still fairly young and could get hurt easily.
That's how she ended up curled up beside Spot's bed on the couch, a princess blanket thrown over her as she hugged her stuffed animal against her chest.
"She's so adorable." I whispered to Ty, laying my head against his shoulder. He nodded, but didn't say anything.
"She keeps asking if you're coming with us." Ty changed the subject, turning so he was looking at me.
"What do you mean?" I knew exactly what he meant, but I didn't want to let him know that.
"To the house. It's only about a half hour from NYU. They said they'd pay the first month's rent, so I could just live there until I'm working again." I looked down, feeling Ty gently touch my hand, "This is pretty much the last thing on the list, Ally." He pulled the folded piece of paper from his pocket and showed me everything I had crossed off.
"I mean, except the whole baby thing, but we're going to wait as long as you want for that." He went on.
"I think. . . I think maybe you should let Tessie adjust to the new house without any int interruptions. Maybe I-"
YOU ARE READING
The Wish List
Teen Fiction"Her dying wish was for me to complete her list, and I wasn't going to stop until it was completed." When Alyssa Morrison loses her little sister to cancer, the last think she wants to think about is completing the ridiculous list she left beh...
