"Anita, darling!" the woman called out enthusiastically as she swept through the door, successfully slamming Nanny into the wall once again.
"Hello, Cruella," she replied calmly, if somewhat nervously.
Downstairs, Pongo and Perdy were busy ushering their children into the basket, desperate to keep them safe. The problem was, they were already six weeks old and quite large, so it was a challenge to fit all fifteen anywhere, much less a small basket. They yipped and growled as they pushed and shoved, trying to make room in the small space.
"Shh, children," Perdy whispered, afraid the witch upstairs would hear.
"Mother! Mother, help!" called Penny, the youngest pup, who also happened to be pinned under Rolly's bottom.
"Oh, my. Rolly, Rolly dear, stand up please. You're hurting your sister."
"Huh? Oh, sorry, Penny. I didn't see you there."
She growled as she wiggled away from her brother. She loved her family, really she did, but sometimes it was just hard to be a part of such a large family, and even harder to be the youngest. Her ears pricked at the new voice upstairs. It was a woman, and she seemed to be rich. Her voice was on the deeper side, and it was rich and sort of rolled in her pronunciation.
She seemed to know their pets, but Roger didn't seem to care for her. She lost interest in the conversation rather quickly, but it didn't stop her from being curious about the woman.
"Mother, who is that lady upstairs?"
"Cruella De Vil," her father answered, almost growling the name. "She is an evil, manipulative human. I don't want you anywhere near her."
"Yes, Dad."
"Anita, about the puppies, where are they?"
"Downstairs, Cruella. Would you like to see them?"
"Well, since you asked..."
Anita led the woman down to the small basement and straight to the closet. Pongo and Perdy met her at the door, growling threateningly. Cruella had enough sense to step back from the pair of dogs, but Anita simply placed her hands on her hips and glared at them.
"Pongo! Perdy! You know better than this! She won't hurt them, she only wants to see them. Stand aside."
Reluctantly, the parents moved away from the puppies. Cruella drew in a breath at the sight of so much lovely fur in one place. The puppies whimpered and drew back, all except Penny. She took a tentative step forward. Anita smiled and scooped her up, turning toward the other woman happily.
"And who is this charming little thing?" Cruella asked, transfixed by Penny's unique pattern of spots.
"This is Penny. She's the youngest of all the puppies. Would you like to hold her?" she asked when she noticed how Cruella was looking at the puppy.
She held out her hands wordlessly, and Anita placed the small dog in her arms. The adult dogs growled quietly, ready to spring into action should the need arise. For a moment, dog and human stared at one another. Penny was the first to move, and she leaned up and licked the woman on the cheek. She drew back, surprised, but not angry.
"She likes you!" Anita chirped.
"Yes, it seems she does."
And Penny did. She knew what her parents had said, but there was something about the woman that told her otherwise. She seemed energetic, and perhaps high strung, but not evil. In fact, she seemed more lonely than anything. The small dog curled closer to the woman, snuggling into her chest and giving a yip of happiness.
Pongo and Perdy couldn't believe their eyes. Their daughter actually liked that devil woman. They could see that she had found a pet of her own, and unfortunately there was nothing they could do about it.
"Anita, how much do you want for her?"
"Oh, Cruella, we couldn't part with her. Perdy wouldn't be able to bear it."
"I'll give you double what she's worth."
"I'm sorry, Cruella."
"Triple."
Anita bit her lip. That was a lot of money, and Penny did seem to like her. But she wouldn't feel right separating her from her brothers and sisters.
"I'm sorry Cruella, the answer is still no."
"But Anita, she's only one puppy. Surely you wouldn't miss her."
"You're wrong, Cruella. We would miss her very much, as would her parents."
"Very well, then." She sat the puppy on the ground carefully and turned to follow her friend upstairs. "Goodbye, little Penny."
Penny barked in protest, but neither human seemed to care.
"No! No, Cruella, come back! Don't leave!" she called.
Of course, all the women heard was barking. Determined to go with this new human she had claimed as a pet, the small puppy began scrambling up the stairs.
"Penny! Penny, wait!" Perdy called.
She began to go after her, but was stopped by a gentle tug on her collar. She looked at her husband questioningly, confused as to why her wouldn't permit her to go after their daughter.
"It's too late, they bonded. Didn't you see? To keep them apart now would only cause misery for both of them. And, as much as I hate to say it, our daughter would be happier with her than here with us."
"You're right, Pongo," she sighed, already missing her daughter.
"Come on, Perdy. Let's go make sure she stays happy."
Penny had managed to get up the stairs, and was concentrating on reaching the woman before she departed. Fortunately, Cruella had accepted Anita's offer to stay for tea. She found them in the living room, and wasted no time in running over to Cruella, yipping and barking to alert her of her prescience. Both women looked down, surprised to see one of the puppies. Cruella recognized her immediately, and put her hand down as way of calling her.
Penny zipped over to her, licking and nuzzling the hand affectionately. The woman smiled, the first genuine emotion she had displayed in a long time. Gently, she picked Penny up and sat her on her lap, not quite ready to part with her. Pongo and Perdy, who had followed their daughter upstairs, entered the room. Cruella stiffened when she saw them, well aware that they could possibly hurt her.
They simply laid down beside Anita, one on either side of her. Anita's hand absently drifted down to stroke Perdy's head. Cruella watched for the dog's reaction before lightly running her fingers across the top of Penny's head. The puppy sighed and pushed against the hand, silently asking for more. She continued to stroke the dog, keeping the conversation going with Anita and also watching the two adult dogs.
Before long, the tea was finished and it was time for Cruella to go. She placed Penny on the floor, but she was having none of it. She let the woman stand before sitting on the floor in front of her feet. She stepped around her, so Penny took drastic measures. When the woman wasn't looking, she managed to wiggle into her purse.
She was determined to go with that human one way or the other. Cruella didn't seem to notice the added weight when she picked up the bag, and Penny smiled. Pongo and Perdy saw what she had done, but chose to stay quiet, hoping that against all odds their daughter would get what she wanted.
"Thank you for a lovely afternoon, Anita."
"You're welcome, Cruella. I'm glad at least one of the puppies took a liking to you."
"Yes, and I would like even more if I was leaving with her. Oh, well. Cheerio, darling."
The door closed behind her and she began to descend the stairs to her car. Penny, unable to keep still any longer, began to wiggle and squirm in the small bag. Cruella froze in place, slowly unfastening the clasp on her purse. Penny popped her head out, panting happily. Cruella smirked at the dog's cleverness, and turned to take her back to her rightful owners.
Penny whimpered at the turn of events, not wanting to go back to her family. The closer they got to the door, the louder her whimpering grew until she was all but howling. When Anita opened the door, she did begin to howl.
"Cruella, what are you doing with Penny?"
"Returning her. She climbed inside my purse and I thought you might want her back."
"Thank you."
She held out her hands for the dog, but when Cruella tried to hand her over she whimpered. Anita drew back, shocked, and they both stared at the puppy.
"Perhaps she should go with you, since she doesn't seem to want to stay here." She looked down to the pair of dogs that had followed her to the door, and could have sworn they nodded their heads. "All right Cruella, you may buy Penny." The little dog yipped happily, and didn't even protest when she was put down so Cruella could write the check. "Take good care of her, Cruella."
"Of course I will, darling."
With that, the woman turned and left with her new dog, and if anyone had bothered to pay attention, they would have noticed said dog was smiling.