Libby and Miss C come to the Pond

Saturday morning, I was contemplating how to vacuum without making any noise and disturbing Ben on his conference call when my phone rang. Sprinting toward it, I saw it was Libby calling.

"Hello!" I greeted her. "What's up?"

"Whatcha doing?" she asked me.

"Cleaning."

"What are you doing later?" she asked coyly.

"Cleaning." (I have a very simple life on the weekends.)

"Well, I was thinking about coming over and bringing Miss C." My eyes began to twitch and I started to hyperventilate.

"Miss C? The puppy?"

"The one and only!"

"I'll see you in five minutes," I said abruptly, hanging up the phone. I wasn't going to prolong her departure with any unnecessary courtesies like goodbye or anything.

Jumping happily, I scurried into Ben's office and tapped him on the shoulder. "The puppy's coming! The puppy's coming!" I hissed. Ben ignored me and pointed to the earbud in the ear. I scurried around the house, frantically trying to pick up things. Then I sat in the middle of the room and stared at the door. It didn't ring. I looked out the window. There was no car in the driveway. I looked at my phone. It was silent. I looked at my watch. It had been three minutes.

"This is going to take awhile," I muttered to myself.

By the time Libby finally showed up an hour later, I had mopped and swept the front hallway and bathroom, mopped the kitchen, dusted and washed the windows. I had pulled out the wrapping paper she wanted to borrow and photos to give her. I had danced around the living room, eaten lunch and read three chapters of a book. The whole time I fluttered around the house, I kept sneaking looks toward the door. Nothing. I looked at my phone. Silent. I'd peek out the window. The driveway was empty.

Finally, Libby pulled into the drive with a whimpering Miss C in tow! Miss C immediately bolted out of the car, prancing in the dead grass happily.

"Hello!" I cooed, ignoring Libby and flopping on the driveway to stare at the dog. "How are you? I like you! You're so cute and tiny and I want one!"

Libby said something, but I didn't pay much attention. I was in a dog coma. We went into the house where Miss C proceeded to investigate our house. I chased after her, pleading, "Please let me hug and kiss and love you and pet you!" Libby rolled her eyes and followed after me. For awhile, our house looked like a circus.

While I had tackled Miss C to the floor and was rubbing her belly, Ben stumbled out into the living room.

"Hello," he said, looking confused at the tiny dog prancing around his foot. He looked down and saw he was only wearing boxers and a shirt. "Be right back," he said abruptly, disappearing to the back. He came back and proceeded to steal Miss C's attention. I was not amused. This was all about me, after all.

"Let's take her outside," Libby said. The dog howled happily, and I howled along in agreement. We scampered down the sidewalk and to the neighborhood behind ours. I showed Libby where the goats live and Miss C showed us where all the dog poop was. We passed one house where an older couple were getting into a car.

"Oh, how cute!" the older man cooed, bending down to pet Miss C. "Who is this puppy? What's her name?"

Libby patiently answered his questions, and Miss C patiently sniffed his yard. We scurried on back to the house and Miss C explored the living room a little more. Finally, I realized Libby was there and hugged her goodbye as she left armed with bows, wrapping paper and pictures.

The last thing I saw was Miss C hopping into Libby's lap as she drove down the street waving goodbye. I grinned and walked back into the house. I had to figure out a way to extract Chihuahuas from Ben. If he was distracted, there was a good chance he'd agree. I peeked my head in. He was on the phone. Beaming, I called out in my sweetest voice.

"Hey baby? I had the greatest idea...."