Fostered Affections

Chapter 1 The lobby of the shelter was a moving quilt of camo and fur, well-enunciated conversations, and assorted barks. Austin felt a childlike giddiness around all these dogs. What excited him more was the fact that he and his wife, Erika, would go home with one, even if it was a temporary arrangement. Austin had been dropping hints about adding a dog to their life ever since their second wedding anniversary. “Honey, don’t you think it gets lonely here sometimes?” “Not really.” “Sweetie, we really do have a great backyard. Shame there’s only the two of us and we don’t use it that often.” “I tan out there sometimes, and we host parties on the back patio.” “Erika, babe, do you ever think about…expanding our household?” “We don’t have money for renovations.” Eventually Erika had sat him down in the living room to talk. She sighed. “Okay, honey, I get that you…want something more in our lives, but the fact is that I don’t think I’m ready for kids yet.” Austin blinked at her in surprise. “Kids? I was talking about a dog.” “A dog?” Erika thought for a moment. “Well, it’s still a big commitment, but…a dog is definitely more manageable than a baby. I’ll think about it.” The problem was that Erika had grown up in an apartment complex that didn’t allow pets, whereas Austin had always had at least one pet in the house as a kid, even when it was just his turn to watch the class’s pet hamster. Austin had gotten his fix from visiting friends with dogs, but after several years living together with Erika, he was feeling the absence a pet could fill. Once he stopped being subtle, he felt like a little boy begging his mom for a dog. Fortunately, an opportunity for compromise arose when Austin heard about the Fosters for Fighters program. “We can help out a member of the Armed Forces and have a trial dog,” Austin said, excitedly pointing to the flier tacked to the grocery store’s community board. “Plus, I could write an article or two about it, at least. What do you think?” Erika read the poster top to bottom several times, the light frown on her face eventually softening. “Okay,” she said. “We can try it.” So here they were, about to meet their foster dog. Austin had let Erika pick, since he would be happy with any dog. She applied for several dogs, including a corgi named Joby, a terrier mix named Soccer, and a “schipper-poo” named Bunny. “I looked up schipperkes, and they’re pretty small. And poodles are really smart, so a cross between the two should be manageable, right?” That was what she wanted: low-maintenance. Austin would be the one taking care of the dog most often, since he worked from home. However, he understood how Erika didn’t want to come home from showing houses all day onto find her own in shambles, covered in drool and muddy paw prints. One of the event organizers, a smiling stocky woman wearing rectangular glasses and the Fosters for Fighters camo T-shirt, came over to them with a clipboard. “You must be Mr. and Mrs. Inverness,” she said. “That’s us,” Erika said, smiling back. She looped her arm around Austin’s and rested her head on his shoulder. Austin didn’t know whether to roll his eyes or snicker or both. Though he tried to be modest, Austin knew from experience that he was a damn handsome man. The issue with that was sometimes Erika felt people wouldn’t believe he was her husband, since she considered herself average at best, and did what she could to emphasize their relationship when it came up in conversation. The woman flipped through her papers. “Okay, well, unfortunately your first two choices are no longer available. Joby’s human is going to have him stay with her cousin, and Soccer went home with a different foster family half an hour ago, but the good news is Bunny is still looking for a temporary home!” The hope Austin had been losing returned. Once again he felt like a kid tugging his mom’s arm. “C’mon, Erika, you picked her for a reason.” Erika glanced around the room. There were several pit-bull mixes, a St. Bernard, two greyhounds, and a few smaller dogs that were already in the arms of civilians. “Okay, we’ll look at Bunny.” “Great!” The woman wrote down an annotation and went to find Bunny. Austin held back for a few seconds, then quietly squealed in joy to himself. Erika snorted and shook her head. “You are so adorable sometimes.” “Sometimes? I think the reason you married me is because I’m adorable all the time.” “True,” Erika said, pinching his cheek. “I didn’t want to miss one cutesy-wutesy moment.” She gave him a kiss and rested her head on his shoulder again. The stout woman returned, followed by a uniformed man in his early thirties holding the leash of a black dog that resembled an adolescent German shepherd. Her shoulder came up to her person’s knee, but the tips of her ears were almost level with his hip. Her coat was a pelt of long curly fuzz, like most other poodle mixes Austin had seen, except for the straight fur on her tail that waved like a sable flag. “Mr. and Mrs. Inverness, this is Airman Neil Stafford from the Travis Air Force Base in Fairfax. As I’m sure you saw on Bunny’s profile, he’s being deployed to Turkey for about six months. That is how long you said you were willing to foster for, right?” Austin nodded. “Absolutely.” “Great!” The woman smiled at the three of them and said, “I’ll let you guys talk for a while then, see if Bunny will be a good fit for your home.” Then she shuffled off to meet with other foster families. “So…this is Bunny?” Erika asked. Airman Stafford grinned sheepishly. “I let my little niece name her. Her mother and I had already turned down Cheese and Sparkles, so we went with Bunny because of her big ears.” “What will you be doing in Turkey?” Austin asked Airman Stafford. Though he didn’t want to invoke bad luck, Austin didn’t know what would happen to Bunny if her human died overseas. He supposed he and Erika would keep her, but he was concerned nonetheless. Airman Stafford looked like a good man. “I’m in Aircraft Maintenance, so I won’t be seeing much of the action myself,” Airman Stafford said. He scratched under his cap, revealing a freshly shaven head. “I could fly if they needed me to, and might have to fly out to reach someone downed in a remote area, but most of my job will be helping other guys fly.” He patted Bunny on the head. “Last time I got shipped out Bunny here stayed with my sister and brother-in-law, but their apartment complex recently changed its rules and now it doesn’t allow pets larger than a Jack Russel.” Erika rubbed Austin’s arm. “Well, truth be told, I thought she would be…smaller.” “Yeah, her mom was a Standard poodle. Don’t ask me how that happened ‘cause I don’t know and frankly I wouldn’t have wanted to be there anyway. She’s an absolute sweetheart, though. Knows plenty of commands, doesn’t bark at the door, only pulls on the leash when she wants to go meet another dog. She’s my little lady.” Airman Stafford crouched and snapped his fingers. “Bunny, salute!” Bunny’s ears folded back at the sound of two dogs barking at each other. She turned her head for a moment, but when Airman Stafford repeated the command and pulled a treat out of his pocket, she sat down, reared up, and lifted one paw to her head. “Good girl!” Airman Stafford gave her the treat and scratched between her ears. “That’s the other thing: if at first you don’t succeed, she is very food-motivated.” He stood up, still petting Bunny. “Other than that, she’s spayed, up-to-date on all her shots, no allergies, doesn’t really shed unless it’s stupidly hot out, and…um…oh, she doesn’t bark much, unless you bring out the vacuum cleaner. If I don’t lock her in the bathroom when I’m cleaning she’ll throw a fit. Even then, she’ll whine, but…yeah, just don’t let her near a running vacuum.” “We have a Roomba,” Erika said. “How does she do with those?” Airman Stafford shrugged. “She’s never seen one, so you should get her used to it first. If it doesn’t make too much noise, she should be fine.” “Can I pet her?” Austin asked. He had held back that question long enough. His hands had itched to pet every dog in the room, but this dog was probably going to be his responsibility for the next few months. It was high time they got acquainted. “Sure!” Airman Stafford smiled. “Bunny, Bunny go say ‘hi.’” Bunny took a few cautious steps towards Austin, who knelt with his hand out for her to sniff. Her tail wagged slowly. It picked up speed when he patted her. “Can you sit?” Austin said. “Sit!” Bunny sat dutifully, back straight as befitted the dog of a serviceman. She looked to Airman Stafford for her treat. “Okay, you spoiled brat,” Airman Stafford said with a chuckle. He took a treat from his pocket and knelt next to Austin. He was wearing some form of cologne that Austin thought he recognized from somewhere, like a magazine sample or a department store, something he had tried once and contemplated buying. He nearly asked Airman Stafford where he got it. However, Airman Stafford was having Bunny do another trick. “Bunny, say ‘please!’” Bunny sat back on her hind legs again, but this time she put both her paws together in a begging motion. “Good girl!” Airman Stafford rewarded her with the treat. He had a sad shine in his eyes. “I am going to miss you.” “We’ll take care of her,” Austin promised. He tensed. Erika hadn’t agreed to this yet. Austin glanced up at her apologetically. Fortunately, she was smiling at him. “Yes, we will,” she said. Austin leapt back to his feet to hug and kiss his wife. “I love you,” he said. “I love you, too, you softie.” Airman Stafford stood to shake Austin’s hand. “Thank you, Mr…uh…” He grinned awkwardly. “This is embarrassing. I…don’t remember your name.” “Austin is fine,” Austin said. “And this is my wife, Erika.” “Pleasure to meet you. And you can call me Neil.” “Okay, Neil.” Austin could see how happy Neil was to have found a home for Bunny. He hoped that, likewise, Neil could see how happy Austin was to have her, even temporarily. If Erika had shown hesitation, Austin was willing to pull the “Consider it my early birthday present” card, but he had already pestered her like a child too much. This was ultimately her decision, and as usual, she made him the happiest man alive.