16 Donner and Blitzen

After pulling through the gates I can finally see his house. It's a spanish style mansion with stucco and terracotta tiling on the roof. There's stone accents and wooden shutters. The overall effect is stunning. It has a similar style on the inside. Cream colored walls with accents of wood, stone, and iron fixtures. The home is absolutely beautiful but seems lacking somehow. When I look around I don't really see anything personal. Even a bachelor pad has personal touches. The place was clearly done by an interior designer but even they give personal touches to a home. Why is it that the only pictures he has is of himself and his dogs? Where are his family and his friends? Suddenly, I see a flash of fur and I'm knocked on the ground. There's cold noses and lots of sniffing.

"Donner, Blitzen off now!"

With the weight off of me, I'm finally able to breathe. Looking around, I see two german shepherds bouncing around Will and wagging their tails. What's interesting is one of them is pure black. I love them already.

"I am so sorry, they're usually not like this."

"It's ok. They're so adorable!"

"Donner, Blitzen sit."

They follow his command immediately, still wagging their tails. They must really love him. He starts to pet them while we talk.

"I found their litter outside in a dumpster one night. So I took them home and raised them until they were old enough to be adopted, but I just couldn't let go of these two for some reason."

"I can't believe there are actually people in the world who would do that! Thank goodness you found them. Lord knows what would have happened if you hadn't found them. Is it ok if I pet them?"

"Sure. They need to get to know you anyways since you'll be coming here a lot."

"I will?"

"Since you're my assistant now you'll have to come here to do things for me."

"Right. Should I get a tour now since I need to know where things are and where I can and cannot go?"

"We're on vacation right now remember? We'll do it another day."

Hearing the door swing open, we both turn to see Dillon looking sullen with a handle of vodka in his hand. Suddenly he perks up and starts jumping up and down.

"There's dogs! Let me pet them! Oh please, oh please, oh please? Come here boys!"

The dogs sit there unmoving staring at Dillon with curiosity in their eyes. He looks disappointed when they don't come to play with him.

"Don't mind them Dillon, they only listen to my commands. Besides, Donner is a girl."

What other commands do they know? I ask out of curiosity.

"Watch this."

He makes his hand into the shape of a gun and points at the black and tan dog.

"Donner, bang."

Blitzen immediately falls over and plays dead.

"That's so cool! Can I try?"

"Sure, but like I said they only listen to my commands."

"You said their names were Donner and Blitzen?

"Yes."

"Wait hold up Will. Their names are Donner and Blitzen?" Dillon says interrupting.

"Yes."

"Where's the rest of them then?"

"Rest of who?"

"You know, Santa's reindeer. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, and Rudolf? You need Rudolf to light the way you know."

"They're names mean thunder and lightning."

"You had an opportunity and you missed it."

Focusing myself on the task at hand I turn my attention back to the dogs.

"Blitzen."

He turns and looks at me.

"Bang."

Immediately, he falls over and plays dead alongside Donner.

"Donner, Blitzen roll over."

They both follow my command with tails wagging. I'm so excited I just start squealing.

"Oh my goodness! Who is the cutest little boy and little girl in the world? It's you two. Yes it is. Yes it is! "

I start giving them both pets and kisses on their heads. When I turn around, I see Will and Dillon both standing there slack jawed.

"Hey, I thought you said they don't listen to anyone but you?"

"They don't. At least they haven't before. This is the first time this has ever happened."

"I don't believe you." Dillon says with a pout.

"I'm serious. This has never happened before. They don't even listen to Keller. They must really like her."

"So what's our plan?

"I have a firepit here. We can just have a bonfire by the pool and then go to the beach when the sun starts rising."

"I'm good with that. How about you Dillon?"

"That's actually perfect!"

"Why, did you bring hot dogs?" Will asks with heavy intended sarcasm.

"No. I bought stuff for s'mores."

Will and I look at each other and just start laughing. This man is really prepared for anything.

"Hang on, I might actually have stuff for hotdogs. Let me check."

While Will is in the kitchen, Dillon and I sit on the ground and take turns petting Donner and Blitzen. When Will comes back, he sees both the dogs resting on my lap taking a nap. After looking for a second, he lets out a loud whistle and both the dogs come running to him. Looking pleased, he gives each of them a hot dog. Was he jealous? He stands there awkwardly with the food as if he's out of his element.

"I found the hot dogs and condiments."

"That's perfect! Dillon, go grab your speakers and we'll get this party started!"

Pulling out his speaker from one of his magical beach bags, we decide that Will is going to be the DJ for the night and hook up his phone to the speaker. He hits shuffle and the first thing that plays is BTS. Dillon and I look up at the same time and speak in union.

"You like BTS?"

Even more surprised we turn to each other.

"You know BTS?"

I guess we all have good taste in music. Sitting by the fire, we roast hot dogs and marshmallows while listening to a variety of K-Pop and sneaking bits of hotdogs to Donner and Blitzen. The time flies and before we know it it's dawn.