Devil's Fate

Cheese Shopping

Mike sat in the passenger side of Chester's little red sports car, the tiny black and brown terrier cuddled in his arms. Every once in a while he heard her whimper softly, and he could feel her heart beating rapidly. "Shhh," he soothed while Chester drove toward the pet store. "You're okay, lovie." He looked over at his boyfriend and smiled. "I still can't believe we left with her. She's going to be so much fun."

Chester glanced over and smiled. Their new puppy was so small. If you didn't know what you were looking at, you might think that Mike was holding a stuffed animal. "I think so, too. Have you thought about a name yet? We should name her something fun."

"I have no idea. We should wait and see what kind of personality she has." Mike looked down at the puppy. "I hope she's kind of sassy. Or maybe spunky. Although I guess that's kind of the same thing." He sighed happily. "She's so soft and warm. But I think she's a little scared. Her heart is pounding."

"Aww," Chester cooed as he reached over and gently rubbed behind the terrier's ear. "But who wouldn't be scared? I would be if two strangers took me away from everything I knew." He didn't miss the look on Mike's face. "But it will be okay, Sexy Boy. She'll settle down in no time." He looked back out over the road as he turned into the shopping complex where the pet store us, his Google map app on his phone informing him that they had arrived at their destination on the right.

The parking lot was pretty full, but they found a space and Chester turned the car off. "We're here. You know, I've never really been in one of these places," he mentioned as he looked out the window at the neon sign that had a dog and cat face on it. "Good thing the humane society people gave us a list. I've never had a dog." He reached into the backseat, grabbing the mound of papers they'd been given before leaving Score.

Mike bit his lip. In all the excitement he hadn't wanted to think about how expensive the trip to the pet store would be. He knew their puppy didn't need all the extravagant things his mother's dogs had always had, but she did need quite a bit. The essentials, at least. "There's going to be a lot," he admitted. "We'll have to be smart about it. Maybe we'll get some good deals today." He opened the door and stepped out of the car, the terrier in the crook of his arm.

Chester rounded the car, locking the doors from his keychain as he did. He slid one hand around Mike's waist as they walked. "We'll get everything on the list," he said as he glanced down at the top piece of paper. "Food, food bowl and water dish. A collar and a leash," he read before he frowned. Collar. He swallowed hard as he looked down at the little puppy. He really didn't like the idea of putting a collar on anything, and especially not their new pet. "Maybe we can find a collar alternative," he mentioned as they stepped up on the sidewalk, and to the double doors, which opened automatically.

"Maybe a little harness," Mike answered calmly. He didn't want anything to dampen the mood, and they had talked about the collar and its role in their relationship enough. It wasn't entirely clear to him if Chester had made peace with all of that, but Mike hoped that he had. "Sometimes those are better for little dogs, anyway. They go around their chest and front legs. If we do that, we'll need to get her microchipped for sure, so if she gets lost she'll be returned. Not having tags on a collar means she'll have to be identified another way." The smell of animals and dog food hit him as they picked up a shopping cart. It had been years since he'd been in a pet store, but they all smelled the same.

"Yeah, we need to make sure she has something on her in case she gets lost. Which hopefully that won't happen," Chester rushed to say. "Here, let me drive. You just hang onto the munchkin. There's lots of other dogs in here." He took hold of the red cart as he looked around. People had their dogs on leashes as they looked at toys and shampoos and treats. "They all look like they could eat her for a snack."