Josey's Christmas Cookie (2 page)

A cranky chinchilla hissed at me, the rabbits backed into a corner when I tried to pet them and the ferrets seemed a little too rambunctious for me. Another hundred dollars went into the donation box for the small critters.

And then, last but not least, the dogs and puppies. Clint said to keep an open mind, so that’s what I’d do. There were definitely more dogs that needed homes than any other kind of animal. I wandered up and down the aisle twice. There was a crowd around one of the larger dogs; I couldn’t get close enough to see what they were all talking about. I figured it must be a pretty impressive dog if it had that many admirers. Of course, I had to see what all the commotion was about. I waited my turn to scoot forward. I got up on my tiptoes but still couldn’t see anything. Finally a lady moved her son out of the way and I heard him ask, “Mom, why is that dog wearing a diaper?”

She said, “I don’t know Bobby. Come on, let’s go look at the rest of the dogs.”

As I stared at the pathetic dog in his diaper, I realized no one wanted the dog; they were just gawking at him. The sign said his name was Cookie, part Basset Hound and part Redbone Coonhound. I didn’t know anything about either breed. I did know he was very large and he was slobbering everywhere and he should have a diaper around his neck. I turned to continue my search and a felt a tug on my pant leg. I looked down and Cookie had ahold of my jeans. When our eyes met, Cookie’s twinkled, just like Clint’s. Uh-oh, Cookie found me.

A glob of drool hit the top of my shoe. He let go of my pant leg and licked the goo off my shoe. I wanted to say, “gross,” but instead I said, “thank you.” I was hooked. His fur was a reddish brown and soft as silk. Not caring about drool or dog hair, I sat down on the floor next to Cookie, wrapped my arms around his neck and finally felt at peace.

Another glob of drool hit the floor next to my butt. He looked sad; like that was a deal breaker and I’d leave him behind. I looked Cookie in his sad eyes and laughed. He pulled back his goofy lips and smiled back.

That’s when I heard Clint’s voice. “Well Josey, it looks like you found your soul mate.” He laughed, but not at my expense.

“Oh Clint, I think I already love him. Is that possible?” I asked.

Clint said, “Anything is possible, Josey. Cookie wouldn’t have been my first choice for you but sometimes, when fate intervenes, it’s easier to accept that some things are just meant to be.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked and continued to stroke Cookie’s head.

“Cookie’s owners were killed in a car accident last month. He was hurt pretty badly, hence the diaper. The state patrol brought him to my animal hospital and I repaired some pretty substantial internal injuries. I didn’t think he’d make it, but he did.”

I guess it really was fate I’d found Cookie. “My parents were killed in a car accident right before Christmas last year. I thought it would be hard this year but now I have a dog. Is there an instruction booklet that comes with him? Like how to turn off the drool?”

“I’m sorry about your parents. I feel fortunate my parents are still alive and kicking. I have two brothers and one sister, all with kids and various animals. They all come to stay at my parents’ ranch, as we call it, Christmas through the New Year. It’s always a zoo, but I love it. As far as Cookie goes, the drooling is part of his breed. It helps to have lots of towels handy, all over your house.” He was laughing at me again and I was okay with it.

I can handle drool, but I’d never been fond of changing diapers, “Clint, will he always have to wear a diaper?”

“No, it’s not a bladder issue. He had multiple incisions and this seemed like the best way to keep them clean and dry. I guess the shelter that took him in agreed with me. If you want to bring him by the hospital, I’ll give him a free check-up, for old time’s sake.” Clint replied.

“That would be great, Clint. How long does he have to wear the diaper and are there any other health issues I should know about?”

“No, he’s healthy. His wounds will take a while to fully heal though. Give it another week or so. He should cheer up now that he has a permanent home. I’m sure he misses his owners. You do have a fenced yard, right? He needs to be active when he’s feeling better.”

I reassured Clint. “Yes, I inherited my parent’s home and it has a large fenced-in backyard. He can run all he wants. Sorry, one more question. Do you happen to know why he’s named Cookie? It’s kind of a strange name for a dog.”

“That was the name on his dog tag when he was brought in. But, I have a pretty good idea why he’s named Cookie. You let me know when you figure it out. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you Josey. I need to get back to my booth. If you have any questions about Cookie, call me or stop by.” He walked away, turned, stared back at us, shook his head, smiled and continued on his way. What did that mean?

I filled out all the necessary paperwork, paid the fee and with the help of two large guys, loaded Cookie into the back of my Ford Escape. I looked in my rear-view mirror and Cookie smiled at me and said,
“Bay—aaarrrrrrOOOOO.”

“Back at you big guy. We need to make a stop at PetSmart and pick up a few things for you. I don’t suppose they sell diapers. Probably not. We’ll also have to stop at the grocery store.”

“Bay—aaarrrrrrOOOOO.”

“
Cookie, that’s going to get old, real fast.”

***

Sitting up on a power line in front of Josey’s house,
Harry said to his mate,
“Look my darling, Josey brought home a lovely animal. I wish she would have brought Clint home, but this is a good start.”

“Oh Harry my sweetness. He’s very lucky; look at all the stuff she bought for him—a very large dog bed, a dog blanket, chew toys, an extra large bag of dog food, and a water dish. Maybe we can use the dog to get Josey and Clint together. She left him in the car; let’s go talk to him.”

“Hello there fella, what’s with the doggie diaper?”
Harry boldly asked.

“My darling Harry, that’s rude. I’m sorry for my mate’s poor manners. I’m Beatrice and this is Harry. We live in this neighborhood and watch after Josey. It’s nice to see she has company now.”

“Its okay, I know I look silly. My name’s Cookie. My owners died in a car crash and I have cuts all over my belly. This contraption keeps them clean,”
said Cookie.

Beatrice replied,
“Oh my sweet creature, I’m so sorry for your loss. From what I can tell from the trips Josey’s making back and forth to her house, she’ll take very good care of you.”

“She’s a really nice lady. I hope she keeps me. I can be a little messy; at least that’s what my owners said. They didn’t care though,”
said Cookie.

Harry said,
“I’m sorry for what I said. It looks like Josey is coming for you. We’ll see you around, Cookie.”
Harry and Beatrice flew back to their perch on the power line.

***

Oh boy, it took two guys to get Cookie into my car. I hope I can get him out without hurting him. “Okay Cookie, I’m going to slowly lower you to the ground. Please don’t run away.” Cookie landed softly on all fours, sat back on his hind legs and smiled at me. My phone rang and I knew it was Karen. I forgot to call her and she’d probably been waiting by the phone all day. I’m a bad sister. “Hi Karen, I’m sorry I haven’t called.”

“Um, this isn’t Karen.” a familiar voice said.

“I’m sorry. I thought for sure this was my sister.”

“Nope.” Clint was playing with me.

I had to laugh. “Are you sure? You sound like her.”

Clint said, “Very funny. How’s Cookie doing?”

“Well, so far, so good. We’re standing in the driveway to my house and he’s smiling at me. What could be better than that? It took quite a while to buy all of Cookie’s doggie necessities though. He couldn’t decide on a navy blue bed or fire engine red bed. He had to test them both out and picked the red one. While I was at Wal-Mart shopping for his diapers, I bought myself a pair of rubber boots. He can drool on my shoes all he wants now. Then I got this other great idea. You know how you see dogs with bandanas wrapped around their necks? We’ll I picked up a huge pack of absorbent car wash rags in a cool camouflage color. I figured he’d look cute and they can absorb some of the drool. What do you think?” I was proud of myself.

“I was going to ask if you needed help with Cookie, but it sounds like you’ve got it covered.” Clint sounded a little disappointed.

“Really? You wanted to help me?” I sounded like a dork. “I was going to make spaghetti tonight; you’re welcome to come over and see all of his toys.”

He said, “Spaghetti is my favorite. I’d love to. What time? Can I bring anything?”

“How about 6:00 p.m. and no, you don’t have to bring anything. I have a good supply of beer, wine and soda. I’ll make salad and garlic bread and I picked up some chocolate cupcakes too.” I hadn’t cooked in over a year; I hoped I wouldn’t disappoint Clint.

“Hey Josey, are you going to tell me where you live? Or am I going to have to follow the smell of spaghetti sauce?”

“Sorry, I’m usually more organized. My house is located in Madison Park, 21610 South Street. It’s at the end of the street, on the left.”

“Great, see you tonight.”

“Bye.” He hung up at the same time as I did. My palms were sweating and I almost dropped my phone.

Cookie was eyeing the grass. What did the instruction sheet say about him going to the bathroom? I pulled out the stack of papers given to me by the pet adoption agency and shuffled through them. Here we go. Take off his covering when you let him outside, wipe his incisions clean before putting a clean covering back on. Got it; I can do this. “Cookie, come over here to the side of the house. I’ll try and keep your dignity. Now, don’t go too far, I don’t want to lose you.”

***

“My love, look at Josey; she’s smiling and we can’t even take credit for it,”
said Harry.

“My darling, Josey still doesn’t have anywhere to spend Christmas. We must focus our energy on Clint. He has family that would surely welcome her. We have to get him to invite her,”
said Beatrice.

“Sweet Beatrice, it’s getting dark; let’s go home. We’ll think of something; we always do.”

***

I took a photo from my phone of Cookie sniffing my mom’s prized rose bushes. There weren’t any roses on them, but they were still beautiful. I sent it off to Karen; that should make her night. Now, into house to organized my new roommates stuff and start on dinner.

“Come on Cookie; come see your new home.” It was evident by the look on his face—his jowls were pulled up and a large drop of drool hit the floor—he was happy. I placed his new bed by the fireplace and he sat down on it while I secured a new diaper, cleaned his incisions and a bandana around his neck. I kissed the top of Cookie’s sweet head and left him to explore the house. Time for me to get cooking.

At 5:15 p.m. I got a text from Karen saying, “You’re making progress; he’s a cutie. The next thing you know, you’ll be dating.”

I wondered if tonight was considered a date? With my luck; Clint wanted to see Cookie, not me. The sauce was flavorful and bubbling on my stove, the bread was ready to be heated and the salad to be tossed. I took a moment to look at myself in the hall mirror and was horrified. Speckles of sauce covered the front of my white blouse. Why in the world did I change before cooking? I headed upstairs to change when the door bell rang.

Not many people dropping by my house without calling first, except maybe my next door neighbor. I definitely hadn’t expected my old boyfriend Kyle to be standing on my door step. He looked good; he was wearing his trademark Armani black suite, crisp white shirt, and gold Rolex. It had been almost a year since I’d seen Kyle.

The night before my parents’ funeral we were supposed to meet my sis and her family for dinner and he was late picking me up. I checked my cell and found he’d left a message, “Josey, this is a very busy time for me right now and I don’t have the time or energy to be constantly at your side. Please forgive me; I’ll be in touch when I can.”

I’d pictured and practiced a thousand times what I’d say to Kyle if he came back, he never did. But after almost a year, the first thing out of his superficial mouth was, “Josey, what’s all over the front of your blouse?”

It was none of his business. “What are you doing here Kyle?”

He ignored my question and said, “You look great; can I come in?”

I opened the door wider and motioned him in. “What can I do for you Kyle?”

“Things have slowed down considerably and now I have time to focus on our relationship. I thought we could have dinner and talk about our future together.”

Cookie lifted his head and out came,
“Bay—aaarrrrrrOOOOO.”

Kyle looked startled. I walked over to Cookie who sat alert on his new bed. I stroked his soft head and he rubbed his body against my leg. The bandana was soaked already, perfectly doing its job by absorbing Cookie’s drool.

“That dog is getting hair all over your clothes. Whose dog is it?” Kyle asked.

He didn’t like anything that would make his life disorderly. That ruled out kids and pets. “This is Cookie, my new dog. You didn’t answer my question, why are you here?” I was beginning to get irritated with having to repeat myself.

“I missed you Josey, I want us to get back together. I thought we could go to the Bahamas for Christmas and get reacquainted.”

“That’s awfully sweet of you to think of me Kyle, but I can’t leave Cookie alone.” His ego couldn’t hear the sarcasm in my voice. I kept stroking Cookie’s pretty head.

“If you want to spend your life with me, you’ll have to get rid of the dog. Take him to a shelter; he looks like he needs special care.” He looked around and said, “This house will be perfect for entertaining clients.”

I was more intelligent than Kyle had ever given me credit for. It was obvious—he must’ve found out about my inheritance and came to cash in on it.

“Bay—aaarrrrrrOOOOO,”
said Cookie again.

Kyle yelled, “Would you please make that dog shut up?”

My front door opened and closed softly and I heard a familiar voice, “Cookie obviously doesn’t like you. Maybe you should go.” Clint had steel in his voice. Cookie jumped up and bumped his head against Clint’s leg who stroked his soft fur.

“Who the hell are you? Was it your idea for Josey to get a mutt?” asked Kyle.

Calmly, Clint replied, never taking his hand off Cookie’s head, “I’m Clint and this is Josey’s dog, but I patched him up after he was hurt. They make a perfect pair.” Clint sniffed the air and said, “I think something’s burning.”

Clint was right. I’d left my sauce on the stove bubbling and I’d forgotten about it. Clint and I rushed into the kitchen to save dinner when we heard a yelp and a menacing growl. We made an about-face and rushed back to the living room. Cookie had Kyle backed against the front door.

Between clenched teeth I asked, “Kyle did you hit my dog?”

“He leaned against me. I nudged him with my foot, that’s all. Get him away from me.”

My voice quivered. “I have no idea what I ever saw in you. Leave, before I let Cookie take a bite out of you. Don’t ever step foot in here again or I will.” While I was bent over Cookie, checking to make sure he wasn’t hurt; I heard that familiar voice murmur, “Now, that’s one lucky dog.”

“What did you say buddy?” Kyle was furious—I was ecstatic.

When Clint didn’t acknowledge Kyle’s question, because he was staring at my rear end Kyle said, “This is ridiculous. How can you let this mutt come between us? If you want a dog, I’ll get you something with a pedigree.”

I guess Cookie took exception to the comment because he pulled his jowls up, shook his head vigorously and drool sprayed all over Kyle’s crisp black suit. Kyle made a sudden move towards Cookie, murder glinting in his eyes. Clint opened the front door, shoved him hard enough that he stumbled on the cobblestone and nearly fell on his face.

Kyle had to have one last parting shot, “Josey, you were never in my league anyway.” He straightened his suit, as best he could, and walked stiffly to his car.

Before I shut the door and locked the deadbolt, I could hear the mourning doves cooing to each other. How lovely. I couldn’t resist and peaked out the curtains; Kyle was still standing outside his car. I hoped he wasn’t planning on coming back.