It was a big day around here on Wednesday. I kept telling Murphy (and the cats, too) that their cousins were coming and they’d get to meet them.
Being smart like he is and understanding what I’m telling him, Murph was all jazzed up.
“Cousins? As in plural? Little guys named Charm and Chenille? Cool!” (Well, really they’re little girls, but Murph uses “guys” generically for any gender.)
He helped me straighten and clean, a sure sign guests were expected. But as morning turned to afternoon and afternoon was succumbing to early evening, it became obvious he was starting to doubt I knew what I was talking about.
“I thought you said they were coming toDAY, Mom? The day’s almost over, so where are they?”
Shortly after that we got the call. (From my human cousin, Kim.) They’d just hit the north side of Nashville, smack dab during rush hour traffic. They were close, but it was going to take them just a little bit longer to navigate down I-65 towards our house.
When they reached the exit I’d told them to take, they called again to make sure they had the rest of the directions to guide them here right. They did.
“Are you getting excited, Murph? They’ll be here anytime now.”
He went to his sentinel post in the office window. It has the best view of all cars coming and going in the subdivision.
I was trying to get some last minute writing squeezed in, so I was in the kitchen on my laptop. All of a sudden Murph barked and raced excitedly into the living room, where windows look out on our driveway. Seconds later their car pulled up. (It’s amazing that he knew that their car, one he’d never seen before, must be them when it turned on our street.)
Once their car doors opened, he raced back to the front door. Before I let him out to do his greetings, I warned, “Be gentle. They’re much smaller than you.”
Both are poodles, but Charm only weighs 11 pounds (yep, full-grown) and Chenille’s even smaller at just over five pounds (again, full-grown). Charm took to Murph right off, and he to her, but Chenille was frightened by her 65 pound cousin. She yelped in fear and hid behind her mommy, my cousin Kim.
Even though Mr. Meow outweighs them both, and Tabby’s the same weight as Charm, the cats didn’t want any part of dog cousins. They took off to their respective hiding places.
But Murph was a good host. He let them inspect all the toys in his toy room, had fun exploring his backyard with them, and was more than delighted to share his water bowl with them.
It was just a short visit. Kim and crew had been away from home for nearly three weeks and were anxious to get back. They didn’t stay the night. (Once they got to our house they were only four hours from home.) They just stayed long enough for a quick chat, hugs of sympathy for the loss my mom, and then they were back on the road again.
But it was a great visit. And Chenille even warmed up to Murph at the end, once she realized he was a gentle giant. We’re hoping we can all catch up with each other again soon.
The Love Triangle: Murph nosing on Charm; Chenille daring to sniff Murph from the safe high ground of her mommy’s lap.