Episode 6

***Alastair***

When she came back over, she said, "Give me your hand."

Alastair glared before doing so. It was awkward, but he gave her the hand that wasn't bandaged.

"What do you want to drink?"

Alastair didn't want anything.

"You're getting water if you don't speak up now. You don't want coffee or tea?"

Alastair scrunched his face before saying, "Hot chocolate."

The person at the counter smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Wilhelmina smiled back. "A peppermint green tea and a hot chocolate, please."

Alastair didn't understand why she wanted that, but En would probably think she had nice taste.

They sat at a nearby table.

"What do you think we should name the puppy?" Alastair asked.

She raised her eyebrows. "You wanna come up with a name for it?"

The boy nodded.

"You do know that there's a..." She shook her head. "Forget it."

She grabbed their drinks off a nearby counter.

"What would you name your pet?" he asked.

"I'm more of a cat person." She sipped her tea. "If I got one, I'd probably name her Minerva."

Minerva? Alastair raised his eyebrows. What kind of name was that?

"Have you gotten any ideas yet?"

"Ivory?" Wilhelmina raised her eyebrows. "I might name a stuffed elephant that. Isn't that made from them?"

"Opal?"

She smiled. "That's a nice name. What else?"

I looked toward the ceiling. "Snowy?"

She sipped her tea. "I don't know…"

"Frost?"

"Snowy might be better. Although you might up settling on a different name altogether."

Gee… Thanks, captain obvious… Alastair planned to ask the puppy what she thought when she was feeling better.

"How do you think she's doing?"

"Relax. Stressing won't help that puppy."

The boy bit his lip. "You aren't worried?"

"Of course, I am. I just have to have faith that the vets will do their best for her. That's all we can do."

She said that, but Alastair didn't think she really cared. She didn't seem upset at all.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

He folded his arms. "Not 'til that puppy is back in my arms."

Wilhelmina sighed and put her hand over her face. "Breathe. Sip your hot chocolate."

Her glare compelled him to comply.

"Have you had a dog before?"

Alastair shook his head. His mom didn't want to get the twins one after they realized En was allergic to cats.

Del had friends who did, though. They usually let Alastair play with their pets when he came over.

Wilhelmina picked up her tea. "We should probably stop by the pet store."

"What for?"

She put her free hand on her hip. "Do you have puppy food in your pockets?"

Oh, right…

"Give me your hand," she said.

Alastair gave her his good hand.

They then appeared in front of a large building.

When they went in, a woman in a green shirt said, "Welcome to the store!" She had a giant smile on her face. "Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Just some puppy supplies," Wilhelmina replied.

"Let me know if you need anything," the lady said.

He waved before following Wilhelmina to the back of the store.

"What food should we get for her?" Wilhelmina furrowed her eyebrows. "I should do some research…"

Alastair's eyes got big when a screen popped out of her watch.

She flicked through the screens like it was nothing.

"Okay, I'll get the food." She turned away from him. "Why don't you look for a collar?"

He smiled as he went to look for the dog collars.

What kind should Alastair get? It was important to get one that was the right size, but that still left a lot of choices.

She was a girl so the puppy probably wouldn't appreciate a blue collar. White things tended to show stains, so that was out. Yellow might blend into her fur too much.

He wouldn't mind if his puppy had a red collar. It'd look nice on her.

He then grabbed the red collar closest to his eye level.

Wilhelmina scrunched her face when she saw the collar. "Aren't there any more interesting collars?"

"Well, I like it!"

She shook her head. "No need to get your knickers in a twist…" She then took a breath. "Go wait for me by the entrance. I'm going to pay for our things."

Alastair then walked to the entrance as slowly as he could. It would probably take her a minute to pay for everything, so why did he need to rush?

Right before Alastair got to where the checkout was, a red package caught his eye, so he got closer to investigate.

Puppy ice cream? The boy didn't know that was a thing. The puppy would probably love that. He had gotten some when he was too sick to talk. His mom cuddled with him and he got to eat ice cream. Those were the only good things about getting sick like that.

Alastair ran over when he saw Wilhelmina because he didn't have any money.

She raised her eyebrows. "What's that?"

He handed it to her.

"Why do you want to buy dog ice cream?"

"Sick kids like ice cream."

Wilhelmina shook her head before passing it to the cashier. "Go on ahead."

"Have a nice day," the cashier lady said.

When Wilhelmina met him at the exit, she said, "Let's go. They're ready for us to pick her up."

Alastair grinned from ear to ear. He was so ready to have that puppy back in my arms.

When Wilhelmina and Alastair were brought back to see the puppy, she was groggy but awake and had a splint on her back leg.

The puppy gave Alastair puppy eyes. She wanted to be back in his arms.

He was gentle as he scooped her up into his arms.

The vet lady said, "She'll probably feel lousy for a day or two. Don't let her run around too much."

"We won't," Wilhelmina said.

"Bring her back if she gets worse."

"Will do."

They stepped out of the room.

"You don't have to carry her. I also bought a crate at the pet store."

Alastair glared at Wilhelmina. "I'm fine. Sick kids want grownups."

Wilhelmina raised her eyebrows. "If you insist on carrying the puppy, at least only use your good arm. You're going to get yourself more hurt otherwise."

He looked at her sideways. "Fine…"

When they got home, Alastair brought the puppy into his room, and they dozed off together on top of his bed.

He stroked at the top of her head when he woke.

The puppy then yawned before perking up.

"Did you have a nice nap?" he asked with a smile.

She yipped and said, 'I had the best nap!' before eying the floor.

He scooped her up. "Did you need something?"

'I need to go potty. You can put mee down.'

"You shouldn't walk."

'Why not?'

"Your owie will get better faster if you try not to walk on it."

Wilhelmina raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

Alastair brought the puppy into the backyard, set her in the grass, and turned his back so she could go potty in peace.

She limped when she tried to take a few steps, so he scooped her up again.

"Did it hurt?"

'Yeah…'

"I'll take you wherever you want, so just take it easy, alright?"

Wilhelmina put her hands on her hips when they came back in. "Doesn't your wrist hurt?"

"No…"

She pulled out a chair. "Sit. Now."

Wilhelmina gently put the puppy on the hardwood floor.

She got a yellow washcloth damp. "Here. Let me wipe your hands. That way you won't strain your wrist."

Alastair couldn't react before she did it. He would have washed his hands if she'd asked.

She set a green bowl in front of him. "Eat. You have not eaten anything today. It's not good to do that."

Wilhelmina had made a chicken soup with star-shaped noodles. That was worth eating. Alastair loved things that were star-shaped.

When he came up for air, Wilhelmina was getting the puppy something to eat.

"Do you want more soup or something else to eat?" she asked.

"More noodles."

"Alright."

Those noodles probably came out of a can, but they were still good. He'd have to ask her for more.