Sanem brushed her hand through her hair. She had been feeling a bit off since last evening. They had eaten some suspicious looking left-overs for dinner last night. They had been too caught up in their not-so-little puppy to want to cook anything. She wasn't entirely surprised it had come back up.
Arslan was still looking at her, his tongue hanging out.
"Alright, bebek?" She reached out for him and he immediately trotted over. Jumping on to her lap and letting himself be fussed over with a grin on his face. She loved this dog, his silly little grins, his lanky legs, and his soft blond fur. She ran her fingers through it, sighing in annoyance that she had missed out on extra sleep.
Sanem sighed. Well, she was awake now, she might as well get ready for work.
---
Fifteen minutes later she returned to the bedroom and changed out of her pajamas. Can was still fast asleep. She checked her phone - 7.30 am. Still 15 minutes before her alarm would go off. Sanem sat down on the bed, encouraging Arslan to join her. She laid down, Arslan nuzzling into her arms. Sanem presses a kiss to his fur, then let her eyes close again. Just for a minute.
---
The alarm shocked Sanem awake. She groaned, stretching her arms above her head, consequently unraveling them from around Arslan, who was still lying beside her. Sanem's eyes flickered open to find Can's staring at her. Or rather, staring at the dog cuddled up against her chest. She flashed an innocent smile at her husband.
They didn't want to let Arslan get used to this. He wasn't supposed to be sleeping in the bed. Can just rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh.
---
Can got ready as Sanem went to check on the cats. Their food and water had been replaced last night, and their litter tray cleaned.
Sanem slid inside, pushing Arslan away with her with her leg when he tried to nuzzle his way through the door. Ahu chirped at her from where she was sat on the window - her favourite spot when she needed a break. The kittens were sleeping peacefully in the nest.
"Günaydın, Ahu." Sanem greeted, rubbing the cat's chin. "I will be back at lunch time." Sanem promised. Outside the door, Arslan began whining. She left, then led the puppy downstairs, letting him out the sliding glass doors to relieve himself. The rescue center had done a remarkable job in house training him, he was only 5 months old but had managed to go the whole night without an accident.
Arslan had been let in the garden briefly last night, but it was still a very new and exciting place. He ran around like a bumblebee in a flower field, sniffing flowers, chasing leaves, chewing up sticks, his tongue hanging out his mouth.
Sanem considered making breakfast but thought better of it, her stomach was still slightly unsettled. She was sure she would be fine to go to work. The feeling had mostly passed, but she'd better not eat anything for a while. She poured herself a glass of water.
"Günaydın." Can arrived downstairs. He pulled Sanem into a hug, kissing her on the cheek. Sanem wrapped her arms around his waist, careful not to spill her drink.
"Günaydın." She returned as Can moved away to begin making toast. Sanem finished her glass, waiting for Arslan to return inside. Sanem hadn't wanted to tell Can about her incident earlier, he would only start worrying about her and really she was fine.
---
Arslan hadn't come back in by the time they were ready to leave. They spend 10 minutes chasing him around the garden, in-between fits of laughter. Eventually, they were all in the car. Sanem locked the cage door in place, rubbing his face when he stuck his nose through the bars. She was excited to show Arslan off to everyone. Leila had been waiting to meet him for weeks, Ceycey and Güliz had been animated about the idea of having a dog in the office.
