Blue Paint & Red Lights

We were out of the house on the early side of noon because of Antti's "early internal clock" that he had just developed. I laughed at the excuse again and buckled myself into the seat and Antti started the engine. I didn't feel fantastic internally, though. It felt like I was going to get sick soon, my stomach ached and I felt dizzy. I quickly pushed the thoughts of illness to the back of my mind.
"You know where we're going, right?" I had to ask. The anti-cruelty society of Chicago was close to downtown Chicago and I was curious as to how he knew how to get there.
"I've been there before. There's a puppy I want you to see." Antti smiled wide and shyly before paying attention to the road again.
"Somehow, I knew you were going to say that." I laughed, reveling in the utterly cute thought of Antti visiting the shelter looking for puppies before a game or when I'm at work.

We pulled into the parking lot of the long brown building that was attached to a smaller one. As we walked up to the entrance, Antti took my hand and lightly stroked his thumb over my knuckles out of habit.
Once we entered, the loud noise of dogs barking filled the air even though the room we had stepped into only held a couple chairs, a counter, an old woman and a cat, sleeping peacefully on top of the aforementioned counter.
"Hello there again, Mr. Nemmy." The old woman greeted him, mispronouncing his name but polite.
"Hi. Is he still here?" Antti asked, and I could practically feel the vibrations that came off of him. So Wrigley was the one he wanted me to see. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of dog he is. Hopefully not a small one.
"Yes, he is! Feel free to go through, Mister and Misses Nemmy."
I smiled at the woman as Antti led me through the adjacent door and once again had to assume he had told her he would bring in his wife. The barking sound was louder in this long room and Antti practically bounded past the other dogs I only had a chance to glance at before he came to a halting stop in front of one kennel. This dog was much more quiet than the other dogs, but just as energetic. He jumped up onto the chainlink gate that separated us and stood there with his two very large front paws resting on the metal. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and it seemed he was smiling when Antti dropped my hand and pressed both of his against the puppy's pads.

"Sorry, Mr. Niemi, would you like me to bring him into the room again so your wife can meet the puppy?" An older man who pronounced 'Niemi' correctly had appeared in the doorway and Antti quickly nodded, taking my hand and leading me into another room that the door swung shut on. We sat down next to each other on the creaky plastic chairs and Antti was grinning like a madman. I just smiled to myself before the man entered the room holding Antti's new found love by the collar. He led the puppy into the room and quickly left.
"Hei, Gretz!" Antti exclaimed in Finnish as the dog, known as Gretz ran to him. Antti left the chair and crouched on the floor, ruffling up the puppy's thick tan fur. I giggled and two sets of ice blue eyes met mine, one belonging to my husband and the other to the large dog he had fallen in love with.
Gretz bounced over to me, throwing a paw up onto my leg.
"Good boy, that's momma!" Antti smiled, leaning back onto his heels to watch how he reacted to me. "Gretzky is a husky mixed with a Shepard. Usually huskies are not bright, but Gretz here is a real genius."
The only resemblance to a husky that Gretzky had was his eyes and ears. The large alert triangles atop his head swiveled with the noises in the room. I rubbed his neck, scratching his head.
"Hey buddy, how are you?" I cooed and he licked my face from chin to forehead. "Aw!" I mumbled, wiping off my face. "You're a keeper, aren't you?"
"He's house trained, good with kids, and knows some commands. Sit, Gretz!" Antti commanded and the dog's butt plopped onto the tile.
"Speak!" Antti called again and the dog barked, his tail wagging happily against the floor. "Come, Gretzky!" and the dog stood and bounded over to Antti, where he greeted the puppy again by scratching his head.
"Where's the paperwork?" I asked, standing.
--

As we signed for the puppy and waited for our funds to go through and the anti-cruelty society to check his health one final time, I found out that Antti hadn't named him Gretzky, that was the name the organization had given him once the animal was processed for the first time.
"It's so suiting, is it not?" Antti asked me, his hand finding mine as we sat in the waiting room. I had to agree, laughing and nodding my head at the same time.

Finally, Gretzky entered the room again, tugging on the red leash the older man had attached to his collar. "He already knows." The man commented, handing the red loop of the leash to Antti.
The grin that radiated off of him was contagious and I was smiling as well, ready to welcome the new addition to our family.

As we walked out to the SUV, Gretzky didn't once tug on the leash that Antti held, but instead walked with his tail high and fanning directly next to his new master.
I climbed into the passenger seat with the blue folder they had supplied for us with all the information on Gretzky. Antti allowed Gretz to hop into the backseat before he started the car.
"Pet store?" He asked me and I nodded, still grinning as the puppy rested his head on my shoulder from the back seat.
Antti's smile grew wider and the skin underneath his eyes crinkled with happiness.
"Well, Merry Christmas Eve, yeah? Let's go before the stores close." I said, petting the head that still rested on my shoulder.
Antti agreed quickly and pulled out of the parking lot.
The pet store wasn't that far away, practically inbetween the anti-cruelty society and our apartment. We kept Gretzky in the car for now, since we would be in and out like storm troopers. Antti and I split up, reciting the mental list of what we needed.
I jogged to the wall of pet beds and found a pillow large enough for Gretz. After grabbing it, I looked at the different kinds of leashes and to my surprise and delight, the Blackhawks leash was on sale.
"Oh yes." I pulled it off the rack and smiled, jogging off to meet Antti in the toys section when he had found the food and food dishes.
I had been staring at the toys for only three seconds before Antti bounded into the aisle, a bag of chow over his shoulder and two bowls under his arm.
"Toys!" Antti commented, a smile still on his face.
We made some quick choices, a slingshot duck that Byfuglien swore by, a large rawhide, and a large rubber bone. The purchases were made and Antti and I were running the bags out to the car, laughing and pushing each other playfully. We could hear Gretzky barking playfully the closer we were to the car and when we opened the latch in the back to put the bags in the back, Gretzky greeted us with kisses.

"He's a lover, isn't he?" I asked Antti as we brought him into the apartment for the first time.
"He knows who's in the pack, now." Antti smiled, throwing down the bags and quickly getting to his knees and beginning to play around with Gretzky, roughing up the thick fur around his neck. "Nik's in the pack too, right?" Antti asked me, looking up from the puppy.
"Of course he is. Is he coming over tonight for dinner?" I made my way into the kitchen to pull out the necessary food items for a Christmas Eve dinner. My family would always have them so I decided to carry on the tradition and luckily, Antti's family did the same.
"Maybe, but I was thinking- could a couple others come over too?"
I laughed at his lack of confidence and replied, "Only if you're okay with Angelina and Troy coming over tonight."
"Yes! No problem. I was thinking Marian and Tomas could join us, too."
"Mmkay, but you're helping me with the pies, okay?"

That night after I had slaved in the kitchen and Antti had gone out to buy a Christmas tree and set it up, snow started to softly fall on Chicago. Before the bell rang announcing Gina and Troy's arrival, Antti and I stepped back to admire the table of food in one room and when we turned around, a beautifully lit tree, it's white lights reflecting gently off of the walls and silver ornaments. Gretzky snoozed happily underneath the dining room table, quickly running to the door once the bell rang.

"It looks amazing. I'll get it." Antti said, kissing me softly on the cheek before walking over to the door to buzz them in.