“You want a dog?” Erin asked her wife.

“Yeah. Why not?”

“We have cats, babe. I run a cat café because we love cats.”

“Yes, we love cats,” Becca confirmed as she placed a cup of coffee on Erin’s bedside table and walked around to the other side of the bed to lie back down. “But we can also love dogs.”

“You know I love dogs. I’m constantly watching animal videos and telling you about cute puppies.”

“And otters. But I don’t think we should get any otters. They seem like a lot of work.”

Erin laughed and said, “And you don’t think dogs are work?”

“No, I know they are. I’m not suggesting we get six of them or even a puppy, which would be more work. We could adopt. You have an in at the shelter.”

“For cats,” Erin returned. “I have an in with the women in charge of the cats.”

“And you don’t think they know the people in charge of the dogs? Erin, babe, you’ve gotten dozens of cats adopted for them through your work. You have pictures of those happy cats with their new families on your bulletin board. If you tell them you’d like to adopt a dog, they’d fast-track your application.”

“I’m sure they would. But, Becca, a dog is a lot. We have three cats now.”

“Yes, I’m aware. We could not resist little Timothy,” she said of their newest rescue, who was currently asleep at the end of their bed.

He was a tuxedo cat named by the shelter after Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol because he’d been the runt of his litter and had a little limp when they’d first gotten to him, his mom, and his five siblings. They’d adopted him after his surgery to repair his leg so that he could recover at home with a loving family.

“You really want a dog?” Erin asked. 

“I’d like us to talk about getting a dog, yes. I think it would be fun for the cats.”

“Fun?” Erin laughed and picked up her coffee. “For our cats to have a pet dog?”

“A friend dog,” Becca corrected with a smile. “If you’re saying no, the answer is no, and I’ll drop it. I know we have a lot going on, and we do have three cats… But maybe if not now, we can agree to someday in the future?”

Erin considered what it would be like for them to have a dog. There would be multiple walks a day, wrangling them and the cats, vet visits, food, leashes, and everything else. It would be a lot for them to take on at the moment, but Becca looked so hopeful, and Erin hated it when her wife was sad. She loved making Becca happy, and she did love watching cute dog videos on YouTube.

“Okay. Here’s what I will agree to do,” she began. “I will agree to go to the shelter with you this Saturday, and if we see a dog that wants us to be its parents, we can consider it.”

“If the dog wants us?”

“Yeah, I want the dog to claim us how Tiny Tim did.”

Tim had been brought into the café as a kitten with his little limp and had walked right over to Becca, who had been sitting at one of the tables. He’d climbed up her leg and into their hearts, making them his moms instantly.

“Really? We can go?”

“Just to see, Becca.”

“No, that’s fine. Babe, really? You’re sure? I don’t want you to do this for me.”

“I’m sure.”

Becca took the coffee cup from Erin and set it down on her own table.

“Hey, I was drinking that.”

“Yeah, in a minute,” Becca replied and climbed on top of her, making Erin laugh until Erin wasn’t laughing anymore.