“If you could only see, the beast you made of me..”   Bry sang as she jogged her way back home. Kells was there organizing the house for the pups that would arrive in a few  hours.   She was anxious.  Bry could tell.  She could read it in the tension that liked to  settle right between her shoulders and  between her  furrowed brows.    Coming inside, setting aside her  mp3 player   she wrapped her  arms around her girlfriend and took in a deep breath.  Kells relaxed instantly. And even offered up a bubbly  giggle in gratitude.  “I have to finish puppy proofing the house.”

“It’s been puppy proofed, and  puffed and prodded, and  prepared in every single way possible. We have enough kibble for all three of them for the next few months.  We have  toys , we have  beds,  we have  leashes,  and food dishes.  We have the yard  mowed for them to run around in.  We did all the things, now it’s time for Mommy Kells to relax while Mommy Bry  fixes her some lunch?”

“Lunch  does sound good.”

“Good.”  Bry said with a peck on her lover’s cheek then she released her.  “Let me do a quick shower and then I’ll make you my famous quesadillas. We still have tortillas,right?”

Kells giggled,  Bry turned around.  “What?”

“Nothing, I just love when you say  things with your  Spanish accent….”

Bry  offered a little smirk.  “Well they are Spanish words.  How else would I say them, huh?” she then clicked her tongue and winked as Kells continued to giggle, like a girl with a crush only it was on her current partner, and not  some stranger across  the food court or classroom or  workplace…. Etc.

Showering,   Bry let the water flow heavily  as if symbolically rinsing the stress out of her own shoulders.  She hated letting anyone see her  be anything but calm and collected, and in control.  But the shower was her confessional, her sanctuary, her asylum.  She offered many offerings to the shower god,  in tears,  in  orgasms, in sighs, and  spanish rambles as she   tried to process out the part s of her day she didn’t feel  comfortable bothering Kells  with.  

Like right now,  was getting  3 dogs  a good idea, would it strengthen or  weaken their relationship?  She didn’t want to lose Kells  by voicing this when she was so set  on having all three of them and they already paid for them. And  Kells looked so happy fussing about making sure everything was perfect….

.

Bry kept her long, long, long hair  up in a tight bun and told herself she’d wash it later.  She didn’t feel like  fighting with it not when she had to make the quesadillas and  then  they had to bring home the puppies.  On second thought.  Maybe she should?  She couldn’t decide.  Bry’s hair went down to her ankles so washing and  styling her hair took hours.  So she kept it in a bun and just  splashed water on her face.  The stress wasn’t leaving so she changed the pressure of the water under the waterhead to pulsating and then  she groaned in pleasure  as the water   beat between her shoulder blades.

She offered up a prayer,  a prayer to her  ancestors,  it was who she ever prayed to.  It wasn’t  a fully fledged belief system more like hobbled together by what worked at the time,  and praying to her  ancestors worked always.  Without fail.  She always prayed in Spanish.   She felt they heard her better that way.   Once she voiced her concerns in a prayer under the  altar of the shower head .. pouring holy water from the city she loved the most, she felt her great grandmother’s voice, who she  spent every  day with up til she was  3, and formed some of her earliest memories with the sound of her voice, and the  smell of her hair, and the soft yet strong feel of her hands… once she  voiced her stresses, she got a reply,  not with words,  but with  a deep  almost telepathic,  primal  before words, feeling of  just knowing, that things would be okay.  That things would be  alright, and that she needn’t worry.  

Turning the shower off, she went and got dressed,  then went to the kitchen to  make lunch.

Once they were done eating.  They got in the car to drive to the Shelter.  “You spent a long time in the shower, is everything okay?”  Kells asked.  Bry went quiet for a moment.   “Yeah,  just  couldn’t decide if I wanted to wash my hair or not.”

“Ah,  okay., just checking.”

Bry turned on the radio and the two of them started to sing to the song that was playing. They almost didn’t want to get out of the car, cause as per usual,  when it’s time to get out of the car,  that’s when the good song comes on.  But they did,  and  were laughing as they lowered the seat in the back for the doggy cages to sit securely.

Torush was waiting for them  when they  came in.  “Ms. Santiago, Ms. Kramer,  Good to see you both  again.     Are you ready to meet your new additions to your family?”

“Yes.” they said in unison.  Then  he guided them to the  pick up room,  and then helped them  carry the cages out to the van.  They got the  doggies squared away and then were on their way.  Kells drove again so that   Bry could keep an eye out on the puppies.

________________

It was dark in the room where the  cage was kept, and cramped,  Mavery didn’t like,it, but she could hear Iyke  scurrying about in his cage next to her.    And Batz sleeping.  Batz. she couldn’t believe she’d be sharing humans with … Batz. .. of all the dogs? Batz?

They were moved and then  Iyke kept  yapping. And yipping,    and scurrying about in his cage.   Mavery  stayed still, tail curled around her body,   eyes looking around at the wide world she could see in between the bars.

Batz opened an eye and  looked around,  perked an ear up  as he heard  that they were outside.  Then  they were in a bumpy  dark room again.  Mavery  whimpered,  Iyke. Would. Not. Sit. Still…  at all.  Just a ball of restless energy.

“Ooh, look at  him, Iyke ,he’s gonna be a blast to run with, so full of energy, look at him, it’s okay little guy , we’ll be home soon.” Bry  said as she held out her hand in front of his cage and he sniffed it and then  licked it.  Bry smiled.  

The drive home went relatively quick thanks to minimal traffic.  They backed into the garage of their  ranch style home that Bry inherited from her mother,  8 years ago when she passed. They carried in each puppy one  cage at a time.   Saving Batz, the biggest one for last.