Before Alfred had even met Daina, there was Labby, a pretty Golden Lab Retriever. She'd been his constant companion from early childhood onward, and by the time that he'd met Daina, Labby had gotten older. She'd been the one that he'd came home to after his very first date with Daina, and gushed over it with.
Labby's his best friend, his closest companion, and she was always willing to offer him a paw, or to snuggle up with him when the days felt either absolutely amazing or absolutely awful. So, he'd hold her and pet her, and they'd both pretend that she was the size of a lap dog, even though some of his friends over the years had tried to inform them that this wasn't so.
But Labby was there, from the get go. And Labby was the one that Alfred had practiced his proposal with.
"Daina, w-will you marry me?" And Labby would bark out a reassuring "yes," as if to tell him that Daina, the sweet woman that he'd fallen head over heels in love with, would say the same.
And she was the one that he came back home to, and held him as he both cried and rejoiced when Daina did in fact say "Yes," just as Labby had predicted. And hands down, she was the one that he'd cuddled with when his mind was shot from wedding preparation, just as he waited for the day when the prep work would be all finished, and Alfred could lift up the veil and see his future wife underneath it.
And yet, maybe Alfred had underestimated Labby's age after all. Had forgotten to realize that she'd already began growing older and older, still. And one day, she refused to leave the bed to go outside and play fetch, and somehow when she did finally leave it, the two of them are laying on the living room floor, and this time all of the cuddling is in Alfred's hands and not Labby's paws.
It's as if the world around them has gone still and silent, and Alfred doesn't know what to do with that fact, he's alone with her, as Labby leans her head one last time on his chest and gives her last breath moment to Alfred.
His hands tremble when he picks up the phone to try texting Daina, but after three attempts that are riddled with so many typos, even Alfred can't stand it, he finally calls her.
"D-Daina? Can you come over real quick? Labby, Labby, just died. She's not waking up anymore." Alfred took a deep breath, but it entered and left his lungs, rattling, a sob that's painful to hear.
"I'll be over." Daina must have been grabbing her purse and throwing herself in her car, Alfred speculated briefly, before his attention once again drew back to Labby, just how was he supposed to deal with this? Just how? It's not the first pet of his that has died, but Labby's been there through everything. She's been his best friend for pretty much his whole life.
And she was the only one that moved out of his parents' home with him. Just already his heart seemed to be pierced, filled with so much pain that he didn't know what to do with. There was a shovel out in the shed, but Alfred couldn't be bothered to go get up and grab it, a sign of reality that he didn't want to face yet.
And then Daina's coming in the unlocked front door, and Alfred isn't sure what to do anymore. She'd been over in five minutes tops, so quickly, that Alfred still couldn't imagine how she'd gotten here so quick. She drops her purse off by the front door, and then she's right next to him, sitting down near them.
"I'm here." Daina's hand comes to rest on Alfred's arms, "I'm here."
"Me too." Alfred mutters, for lack of any other words.
"Have you called your parents yet?" Daina whispers within the quiet of the living room.
"Not yet." Alfred admits.
"You can call them, while I go get the shovel, alright?" And Daina gets up, a true lifesaver, so Alfred turns his attention back to Labby and back to the cellphone as he dials up his parents, to ask them to come over for Labby's funeral today.