Page 14 of Duchess Material

“The puppy is new,” Winston said.

“Winston, the puppy? There is a black dog there I don’t recognise.”

“I got her while Lucy was out of town. Dreadful backstory, that one.”

“You cannot take in every dog on earth with a devastatingly sad backstory.”

“You sound like Lucy,” Winston sighed.

The fat, happy puppy waded over to his mother and attempted to climb in her lap. The puppy struggled to get up onto the couch. His fat rolls and tiny, useless little legs made it impossible.

Mairead picked him up and plopped him in her lap. “Here you are, darling. What is name and why do you have him? Tell me he is a foster or something.”

“He is Lucy’s puppy,” Winston answered. “She got him because she wanted a puppy and Frida wanted a friend. He’s a puppy mill dog. Look at how his one ear is a mess? We don’t know what happened. But he had an infection. He’s better now. He’s a Shar-Pei. He goes everywhere with Lucy when she’s home. It’s him and Frida following her around like she is a goddess on earth.”

Rita chuckled. “And what is this little cutie’s name?”

“Vince. For Van Gogh,” Winston chuckled. “Lucy’s idea. The black dog is Holly for Warhol.”

“Fitting. Well, she’s adorable, too. So, is she yours or Lucy’s?”

“I mean, they’re our pack of misfits.”

His mother shot him a look. “Uh-huh. Winston, you mean to tell me that the two of you are just getting dogs together now? But there is nothing going on?”

Winston crossed his arms, uncomfortably. “Well, we live together.”

“Uh-huh.”

She wasn’t buying it.

Winston wanted to explain what was going on. He had loved Lucy for years. It was only recently Winston had been able to tell her for a variety of reasons. But what were they?

“Winston, you mean to say you have no feelings for Lucy and things aren’t already ‘complicated’?”

Yes, they were complicated. Yes, they did have feelings for one another. Things were far more complicated than either he nor Lucy could explain to anyone without sounding mad and ridiculous.

“Mum, I have it under control. Whatever is going on with us, we’re taking it a day at a time. I can’t say much more than other than we have a nice life here and we like it this way.”

“Alright. Well, I will once more remind you Lucy is a nice girl. She is also Natalie’s right hand. So, mind yourself. I warned you about this situation—”

“Yes, mother. It’s not complicated in a bad way. All is going well. I don’t have a word for it. We are trying to give ourselves some time.”

“While adopting a dog together?”

“I don’t expect other people to get it, okay? Did anyone get you and Bruno when you began? When you decided to have a baby without being married first--in your forties?”

Winston’s sister, Nina was the product of Rita’s second marriage to a man a decade younger.

His mother smoothed out her skirt and shrugged. “Fair point. You clearly have feelings for that girl. I won’t point out the additional complications with her—”

“No, no,” Winston sighed. “I know well what you mean, Mummy. So, what have you brought me?”

“I have brought you a partnership agreement we need to sign since we’re both on the account. This is for the leaseholder,” Rita handed him a pen and paper. “It’s nothing much. I figured I’d be nice since I never get up this way and you said you were in the middle of editing.”

“I appreciate it. But don’t lie. You wanted to make sure I was alive and so were the dogs.”

“I also wanted to tell you your brother has set a wedding date. Did he tell you?”

---