Chapter 17
Another month has passed as Leonard became more busy with his job as a consultant as the design drawings were beginning to be finalized and the budget for the project is close to being approved by the owner of the hotel. It was almost six in the evening when Leonard finally reached home. He entered the house and saw that Penny wasn't in the living room.
"Honey I'm home!" he yelled.
"I'm here." Penny yelled from the back of the house. Leonard put his bag on his desk and went to see her.
"What are you doing there?" he asked when he saw Penny crouching down cuddling a small dog. "and whose dog is that?" he asked.
"Our neighbor Sammy said that the owner is leaving town permanently and left this dog to him." Penny said.
"Please tell me you're not thinking what I'm thinking." Leonard said.
"But he's so sweet honey….can we keep him….please?" she said. The dog barked, wagging it's tail at Penny. "See...he already likes me…..please honey?" she pleaded.
Leonard sighed. "And where is it going to stay?" he asked.
Penny smiled and went near Leonard. "Well I got him a small box and a couple of old pillow cases for it's bed…" she said as she put her hands on his neck. "...and I promise I'll train him so he won't do a number inside the house…" she said kissing his cheek. The dog went near their feet and wagged it's tail at Leonard. "See….he even likes you!" she laughed.
"Fine." he kissed her. "What are you gonna name it?" he asked.
"Him Leonard." she corrected him.
"Okay….what's his name?" he asked again.
"I was thinking of calling him Buster." she said.
Leonard knelt down and patted the dog on his head. It immediately licked his hand and wagged it tail at him. "You will henceforth be named….Buster!….you will behave and do your business outside the house….do you understand?" he told the dog. The dog barked twice at Leonard.
"See that honey….Buster already understands you….he is such a smart boy!" Penny said as she picked up the dog and cuddled it in her arms.
Leonard stood and tickled the dog on it's belly. "So what's for dinner?" he asked.
Penny put the dog down on it's makeshift bed and went inside with Leonard into the kitchen.
"You sit here while I prepare the table." she said as she prepared the plates and the food she cooked earlier for them to eat. They started eating while making small talk.
"This is delicious Penny." he said.
"I'm glad you liked it….I found the recipe on Google and decided to give it a try." she smiled at him.
"Very good….what about Buster?...what are we gonna feed him?" he asked.
"As long as we don't feed him any seafood, he'll be fine." she said as she turned to look at the dog looking back at them from his makeshift bed. "See that?...he's well behaved too." she smiled.
"Did you feed him already?" he asked.
"Yeah...before you came home." she said.
They finished eating and Penny cleaned up in the kitchen while Leonard went to the bathroom to wash up and change his clothes. Penny took the leash that Sammy gave her and put it on the dog to prevent it from running away while they sleep.
"This is only gonna be for tonight okay Buster?" she said to the dog. The dog barked at her and licked her hand. "Awww….you're so sweet." she said scratching the dog's belly.
Leonard took a beer from the fridge and sat on the couch. Penny sat beside him and held his hand.
"Ugh I'm so tired….and my neck hurts." he said.
Penny moved and massaged his neck and shoulders. "Ugh your shoulders feel stiff honey. Do you want me to give you a massage?" she asked.
"Maybe later in bed….I just want to sit here for a while." he said. The couple were silent for several minutes when they heard a faint whimpering sound. They turned their heads and saw Buster looking at them.
Penny smiled at him. "Do you want to sit here with us?" she asked. The dog immediately wagged it's tail and barked at them. Penny turned to Leonard. "See that honey….he's very smart and sweet….like my boyfriend…." she said kissing Leonard's cheek. She stood up and went to untie the dog and carry it with her on the couch. The dog sat on Penny's lap and licked Leonard's hand. It then rolled over when Penny began scratching it's belly.
"Honey did you have a dog back in New Jersey?" she asked while playing with Buster.
"Yeah….Mitsy….but she's gone now. My mom told me a year after she died." he said while playing with the dog.
"What!?...that is so terrible!...why would she do that?" Penny asked.
"Because she's the worst….maybe that's one of the reasons why my father cheated on her….because she was so cold and emasculating." he said.
"Well….I'm glad you didn't get that from her." she said kissing him on the lips.
Leonard drank the last of his beer. "Let's go to bed." he said. Penny stood up and put the dog on it's bed, securing the leash on it's neck. She followed Leonard to the bedroom and removed his shirt for the massage.
"Honey why don't you lie on the bed, face down so I can massage your back and neck." she said. He laid facing down on the bed while Penny climbed on top of him and began massaging his shoulders. "Ugh….your shoulder is so stiff honey….you should slow down with work…." she said as she kneaded Leonard's shoulder and back.
"Ugh….that's it….that feels nice….ugh…." he said as Penny continued rubbing his back. "Do you want me to give you a massage too?" he asked her.
"And what else?" she asked him.
"Well...you know?…." he turned his head sideways and smiled at her.
"Isn't there something else on your mind besides sex?" she asked pounding his back with her fist.
"Ugh that feels nice….do that again…." he said. She continued pounding his back and shoulders. "...and to answer your question...no….all I ever think of is sex." he said jokingly.
Penny pounded him again. "Jackass!" she said.
"Hey that hurt." he said.
"Good." Penny smiled while continuing to massage him. She finished her massage then laid on top of Leonard's back. "I could sleep like this." she said putting her face against the back of his shoulder.
"Hmmm." Leonard moaned as he slowly dozed off.
"Honey don't sleep….I thought you were gonna give me a massage?" she whispered to him.
"Hmmm." he groaned.
Penny sat up and punched his shoulder. "Jackass!" Leonard was startled.
"Hey that hurt….I was only joking!" he smiled. "Come here." he said as he pulled her for a tight hug. He then sat up as Penny laid facing down on the bed. Leonard slowly removed Penny's nightshirt revealing her body with only her underwear on. He gently massaged her back, shoulders and neck.
"Ugh….that feels nice honey….make it a little harder." she said as she felt relaxed under Leonard's touch. Leonard continued kneading her muscles and noticed that she was slowly drifting off to sleep. He finished and decided not to wake Penny up. He kissed her head as he gently moved her on the bed so he could sleep beside her. He pulled the sheets to cover them both as he went to sleep.
The next morning, Penny woke up hearing some banging sounds from the back of the house. She sat up, got dressed and went to the back to see Leonard cutting and hammering some pieces of wood together. The dog was with Leonard watching him work.
"Honey, what are you doing?" she asked as she kissed him on the cheek
"I'm building him his own house so he won't sleep on that cardboard box." he said looking at Penny. The dog saw Penny and immediately ran to her, barking and wagging it's tail. Penny picked up their pet.
"See that Buster?….daddy is making you your own house….isn't he the best?" she said to the dog. The dog then moved and licked Penny's face. "Stop it Buster….that tickles!" she laughed as the dog won't stop licking her.
Leonard continued with his work while Penny put the dog down and went to the bathroom to wash up. Afterwards, she went to the kitchen to make breakfast for them.
"Honey do you want some coffee?" she yelled at Leonard.
"I already had some….thanks." he answered back. Penny took a sip of her coffee and started making breakfast.
They were eating breakfast when Leonard's phone rang. He answered it and talked to the person on the other line.
"What is it honey?" Penny asked.
"They're calling for an emergency meeting. But it's not a big deal. They probably want to settle the things that didn't get resolved yesterday." he said as he finished eating. "I gotta go….I'll finish the dog house later when I come back." he said.
"Okay. What time do you think you'll be back?" she asked.
"I don't know….maybe a little after lunch." he said as he went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. After showering, he went to the bedroom to get dressed for the meeting. "Okay honey….I'm going." he said as he kissed Penny on the cheek while she was cleaning up in the kitchen.
"Have fun! Text me when you're coming home alright?" she said.
"Yeah." He looked at Buster wagging his tail at him. "You be a good boy okay?" he said. The dog barked, wagging it's tail at him as he exited the house.
Leonard returned home around three in the afternoon. He saw Penny sleeping on the couch with the dog cuddled beside her. He leaned over and kissed her on the head as he put his bag on his desk and looked in the kitchen for something to eat. He found the lunch Penny made and started to eat. He finished eating and began to clean up when Penny and Buster woke up. The dog immediately ran to him and barked.
"Ugh...what time is it honey?" Penny asked.
"It's almost four." he said.
"Did you just come home?" she asked.
"Yeah." he said as he finished cleaning up in the kitchen. He then went to the bedroom to change his clothes to continue working on the dog house. Penny went with him to the back of the house.
"So what happened in the meeting?" she asked as she looked at him while he is working.
"They extended our contract for another two months." he said.
"Really? Did they say why?" she asked.
"Well they want to value engineer the designs. Make sure that they're getting their money's worth." he said
"What does that mean exactly?" she asked.
"It means they're gonna pay us extra." he smiled at her.
"That's great honey!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah it is." he continued looking at the dog. "What kind of a dog is Buster anyway?" he asked.
"I'm not sure...maybe some breed of hound or something." she said as she scratched the dog's belly.
"Well I hope he doesn't get too big, or I'll have to make him a bigger one." he said as he continued building the dog house, hammering and cutting the scrap planks of wood. Leonard was done after a couple of hours and Penny was so excited when she saw the finished house.
"Look Buster, your house is done! Isn't it beautiful?" she exclaimed as she put the dog in the dog house. Leonard took the old pillow case from the makeshift bed and put it inside the dog house. The dog was hesitant at first, wagging it's tail and smelling the house, going in and out trying to familiarize himself in his new home. The couple stood up and looked at their pet as he anxiously gets acquainted with his new house. The dog looked at them and barked a few times as he walked and sniffed his way around his home.
Penny kissed Leonard on the cheek. "Thank you honey….look at him….he's so happy." she said leaning her head on his shoulder. "Do you wanna continue our massage later?" she teased him.
"You slept on me last night." he said.
"I know….don't worry I'll make it up to you." she continued. "...if you want we can even do it 'human style'?" she winked at him.
Leonard was surprised and looked at her. "You are a naughty girl!" he said.
"Hey it's not like we haven't done that before right?" she said. Leonard put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.
Later that night after dinner and after feeding Buster, the couple went to the bedroom to turn in for the night. Penny immediately shed her nightshirt off leaving only her panties on. She went to Leonard and took his shirt and boxer shorts off.
"Well?….are you ready for your massage?" she teased him.
"Yes ma'am!" he said as he put his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss. Penny draped her arms around his neck as they locked lips. Leonard lifted her up to put on the bed as they started making love.