"Well… You see, Desmond…" Dylan rubbed his paw. "Big Ben has been closed for restoration for a couple of years now. And it will be for the next two years or so.
Desmond rose his eyebrows in disbelief. "What?!"
"Yeah… Sorry." Dylan scratched the back of his head as he apologized. "And even if you wanted to go see it, scaffolding was put around the whole tower, so you won't even be able to do that."
Desmond's ears dropped as he heard this, he sighed, sounding very downhearted and he tsked from disappointment. "… I was really looking forward to this… Always wanted to visit the world-famous clock tower…"
Dylan walked up to him and patted him on the back. "… You know… The London Eye's nearby Big Ben, we could go there instead?"
"Don't fret, Desmond. You're going to be living here, right? You'll see Big Ben eventually!" Dawkins tried to reassure him.
Desmond exhaled heavily then looked them both and forced a smile. "Sure, 'the Eye' was another landmark I wanted to visit anyway!"
"We'll have to walk a bit until we reach a bus stop, though." Dawkins said.
The dogs began heading towards a nearby sidewalk and continued down the street. As they were walking, D.J. saw a music store along the way and bumped Dylan by his leg. "Huh?! What is it D.J.?"
D.J. pointed towards the music store.
"Ahh, yeah, that's right." Dylan remembered. "Go ahead then."
Desmond turned his head, wondering what was this all about. "Where's D.J. going?"
Dylan gestured to the music store. "D.J. wanted to get a new album that recently came out. That's why he also wanted to come on the tour."
"You don't mind, do you Desmond?" Dylan turned to him.
"Nah, it's fine." Desmond waved with his paw. "Let's go check out the store!"
The dogs then went into the music store. As they were there, D.J. was searching for the new album trough the shelves, while Dylan and Dawkins were looking at the acoustic guitars, Desmond was trying an electronic keyboard, and Delgado was walking from product to product.
After quickly getting the hang of it, Desmond began playing on the electronic keyboard. Dylan, Dawkins, and Delgado turned their attention to Desmond when they heard how well he was playing the instrument.
"Wow, Desmond!" Delgado walked up to him. "You're pretty good at this!"
Dylan leaned closer to Desmond. "Have you played on such an instrument before? Because as Delgado said, you sound great, playing on it!"
"You're quite talented indeed." Nodded Dawkins.
Desmond blushed as he heard them say this. "Thank you! I do have experience with this… Not this electronic keyboard, mind you, but with an upright piano."
"Though… I guess it isn't as hard playing on this keyboard as I thought." Desmond continued playing on the instrument. "Back home, I would play the piano for my mom. She loved listening to me play on it."
The dogs were too captivated by the sweet melody Desmond produced with the instrument to hear him, catching some of the words he said here and there.
"I would sit on the chair and play on the keyboard while my mom would help with the pedals." Desmond explained as he played the instrument. He then noticed another auditor listening to him.
D.J. had already found the album he was looking for and came to listen when he heard Desmond playing the instrument. He moved closer to Desmond and put a paw on the electronic keyboard.
"You want to have a go too?" Desmond asked.
D.J. nodded and Desmond stopped playing, letting D.J. take over the keyboard. The sudden pause of the music as Desmond and D.J. switched places made the three dogs snapback and noticed D.J.'s appearance.
"Oh, hey. You found that album, D.J.?" Dylan leaned toward his brother.
D.J. nodded as he played on the electronic keyboard.
"Okay, then. Let's go." Dylan told the dogs.
"Ah, Dylan! Don't forget to get a plectrum for Dante." Dawkins reminded him.
"Oh, yeah. Dante did want a new pick." Dylan noted. "Alright, everyone, give me a second and we'll be on our way."
Dylan went on to choose a plectrum while the others listened to D.J. play the instrument.
"Very good, D.J.!" Desmond told him as he listened to him play. "Mind if I take over again?"
D.J. moved to the side, letting him on the keyboard. As Desmond sat down and was about to start, he thought of something. "Since you mentioned Dante… You think he'd like this?"
Desmond started playing Frédéric Chopin's Funeral March.
"Funeral March?" Dawkins recognized the melody. "Yeah, Dante would like it."
"Can you play something else? Something… Happier?" Delgado laid on the floor. "This one is kinda sad."
"Sure." Desmond said. "How about this?"
Desmond began covering the song 'Walking on Sunshine' on the electronic keyboard.
"Oh, hey, hey, hey!" Delgado stood up as his ears did as well. "Isn't that… 'Walking on Sunshine'?!"
"Yup!" Desmond confirmed. "You guessed it."
"Alright, I got Dante his pick." Dylan walked up to them.
Desmond stopped playing on the keyboard. "So we're done here?"
"Ah-huh." Dylan nodded. All of them then walked out of the music store.
As they did Desmond turned to Dylan. "So Dante can play on a guitar, huh?"
"On an electric guitar." Dylan specified. "He's quite good at it."
"I'd like to hear him play it, sometimes." Desmond smirked.
"Ah… He'd probably refuse if you ask him. He doesn't like playing in front of others."
"Well, that's a shame. I wanted to hear him." Desmond tilted his head.
"Don't worry." Dylan bumped him on the side. "If you're lucky, you might catch him play while you're visiting."
"Hey, Dylan." Dawkins turned to him and pointed towards a building. "Mind if we go there?"
Dylan looked at the direction Dawkins was pointing to. "A science museum?"
"Oh, no!" Delgado disagreed. "You've visited that museum a billion times already. We are not going there again!"
D.J. joined Delgado's side and nodded in agreement. They then both stomped on the ground, heavily, emphasizing their disagreement.
"But I want to go too." Dylan told them. "We have the whole day to ourselves, it's not like we have to go to 'the Eye' immediately."
"Na-ah!" Delgado argued again. "We ain't moving from this spot!"
"… I suggest we vote." Dawkins turned to them. "That should be the best way to decide this."
"Alright." Dylan agreed then rose his paw. "Whoever wants to go to the museum, raise their paw."
Delgado and D.J. obviously didn't raise their paws. Dawkins rose his paw, and then Desmond rose his paw as well.
"Huh?!" Delgado exclaimed in disbelief. "Really, Desmond?! You want to go there? Don't tell me you like that science stuff too?"
"I'm more interested in visiting the museum, actually." Desmond specified. "I just want to check it out."
"Aww! Come on, Desmond. Put your paw down, please~." Delgado begged. "It's not like the previous museum, this one's super dull!"
"… Sorry guys, but I want to go see the museum." Desmond said, firmly.
"Argh! Then we'll just have to make you!" Delgado told him with a determined face. He and D.J. then dropped their ears, and made the sweetest puppy dog eyes they could, and started lightly whimpering.
"Aaah… No! None of that you two!" Dylan frowned at his younger brothers. "Play fair!"
"Ohhh… Aaah…" Desmond began feeling slight guilt form in him. "Well… I… Umm…"
Dawkins quickly stepped in front of Desmond and covered his eyes.
"Aww~" Dawkins turned to them then made a sweet face and smiled. "That won't be working anymore~"
Delgado and D.J. fiercely frowned at their older brother.
"How about now, Desmond?" Dawkins asked, his paw still covering Desmond's vision. "Still want to go to the science museum?"
"Uh-huh." Desmond nodded his head.
"Excellent!" Dawkins then smirked at Delgado and D.J. "Seems like you lose, dear brothers."
"TSK!" Delgado exclaimed as he sunk his head while D.J. heavily exhaled in frustration.
"D.J., please tell me you have another pair of headphones?" Delgado looked at him. "Cuz I don't wanna hear them blabber about scientific mumbo jumbo for hours!"
D.J. came prepared for such a situation and pulled a pair of earbuds that were connected to an MP3 player from his backpack and put them on his brother's ears. He then put the MP3 in Delgado's backpack.
"Ohhhh~! Thanks, bro! Didn't know you brought two of these." Delgado wagged his tail. "Ah!? Already played my favorite song."
D.J. had played the song 'Born to Be Wild' on the MP3 player before giving it to Delgado. He then pulled a CD Walkman out and played the disc from the new album he just got as he preferred to listen to most of the albums he purchased on the spot.
"Is that dad's…?" Delgado asked, surprised. "Still haven't thrown that away...? Well, I guess that's what you like, huh?"
The two of them then followed their older brothers and Desmond, who were already heading to the museum.
As Dawkins explained and showed the exhibits, with Dylan and Desmond closely listening to him, Delgado and D.J. were mostly just following them listening to their music which made their time spend in the museum more tolerable. And finally, after two hours of the dogs looking around the museum, they left and started heading to the bus stop.
"Ahh! Finally! Those were the longest two hours in my life. I'm so happy it's finally over." Delgado exclaimed in relaxation, he then returned the earbuds and the MP3 player to D.J. "Thanks again, D.J."
After reaching the bus stop, they waited for a while before the bus arrived and they all boarded on it. Like last time, the dogs shoved their head out the windows, with Desmond being the most eager to do so this time around. As the bus approached the Westminster Bridge, Desmond saw the London Eye. "Wow! It's huge!"
After the bus passed through the bridge, it stopped to a near bus stop where the dogs got off and continued down Belvedere road.
"Alright, Desmond. After we reach Jubilee Gardens, we turn left and we're there." Dylan pointed in the distance.
Desmond then thought for a bit. "Say… How much time are we going to spend on 'the Eye'?"
"A revolution on the London Eye takes around 30 minutes, Desmond." Dawkins replied. "If you're worried if it's going to get late, don't. We can go for two revolutions and still make it back home before 10 pm."
Suddenly Dawkins recalled a thought. "Dylan! I just remembered, our curfew is at 10 pm."
"Wha— Oh, yeah, that's right!" Dylan slammed himself on the cheek. "Well… Umm… Desmond, we won't be able to do more than two rides, then we'll have to be heading back home. Mum's going to kill me and Dawkins if Delgado and D.J. aren't back by 10 pm."
"… Let's go for two, then." Desmond said. They quickly then rushed to the London Eye.
"It's even bigger up close." Desmond grind at the colossal wheel as he stood in front of it.
"I got the tickets!" Dylan said. "Let's get on board!"
After waiting in line for around 20 minutes, the dogs finally boarded on 'the Eye'. The capsule they went in was relatively empty compared to the other ones, so Delgado had space to run around. As the capsule elevated, the dogs glued themselves to the glass, looking at the city outside.
"I'm so excited about this! Can't wait to reach the top!" Desmond said in eagerness as he hopped in excitement.
As Desmond was looking at the city, he saw the one place he wanted to visit the most—Big Ben, and immediately remembered the long time he'd have to wait to visit the clock tower, which made his enthusiasm drop a bit. The others quickly saw this and pushed Desmond to the other end of the capsule.
"Let's make sure Desmond's mood isn't ruined, okay?" Dylan whispered to his brothers. All of them nodded their heads in agreement.
"What are you guys nodding for?" Desmond asked, puzzled.
"Nothing!" Dylan replied with a smile. "Just enjoy the view, Desmond!"
At the second revolution, at the midpoint of the capsule's elevation, the sun started to set which engulfed the whole sky in an orange-red color and gave the clouds a purplish appearance.
All of the dogs were mesmerized by the beautiful view, they sat together as they watched the sun disappear under the horizon. As they gazed at the fading sun rays, Dylan subconsciously pulled his brothers closer to him in a hug, and Desmond recalled memories of him and his family gazing at the sunset when he was younger.
When the sun went under the horizon, twilight came. The whole city sparked with lights, illuminating the darkened cityscape. The London Eye itself lit up, and the lights from the city were reflected in River Thames making the scenery even more stunning.
"It's amazing…" Desmond murmured as he surveyed the city. "I had no idea London could be this incredible at night."
"You like it?!" Dylan turned to him.
"I love it…" Desmond grew a smile. "I think I'm going to love living here."
"Happy to hear that." Dylan smiled from ear to ear then went back to watching the cityscape.
At that moment, Desmond heard faint music coming from D.J.'s headphones. He leaned closer to him to get a better hear of the music D.J. was listening to. "What are you listening, D.J.?"
D.J. turned to him, smiled, removed his headphones and put them on Desmond.
"Ohhh…! … This song brings me back." Desmond was surprised when he heard the song playing, that being 'Last Train Home', on the headphones. "Like your taste, D.J.!"
Dylan was shocked by the actions of D.J. He lowered his head to his brother's level and whispered. "D.J.! You gave him your headphones?"
"Yeah, so?" D.J. asked his brother.
"You hardly give them to anyone, so why…?" Dylan wondered.
"Cuz I like him." D.J. simply replied. "He seems like a great guy. Not to mention that he can play on an electric keyboard, something only I do… It's nice to have someone with the same tastes as you, you know?"
Dylan looked to Desmond who was still listening to the music, unaware of Dylan and D.J.'s conversation as he was too focused on the music and the view outside.
"I get you." Dylan nodded. "Now that he has an interest in the prehistoric, I have someone to finally share this passion with."
"Hehe… Happy for you, big bro!" D.J. lightly jabbed him by the side. "Though you know I don't like talking all that much, so I'll be heading back to my music."
D.J. then walked up to Desmond, and tapped him, getting his attention.
"Want them back?" Desmond removed the headphones and gave them back to D.J.
D.J. sat next to him and without Desmond noticing, the small dog gestured to his brothers to join him. All of the Dalmatians sat together as they enjoyed the remainder of the ride.
"Thank you, guys! You really made this day special for me." Desmond thanked Dylan and his brothers as they arrived on Dalmatian St, walking back home from the tour.
"No need for gratitude, Desmond. It was our pleasure to make you feel at home." Dylan pulled him in for a quick hug.
"No, come on, Dylan…" Desmond rolled his eyes. "You're being modest right now."
Dylan giggled and broke his embrace. "So… What are you planning to do tomorrow?"
"Nothing really." Desmond answered nonchalantly. "Why?"
"I was thinking that… If you're free, we could hang out, perhaps?" Dylan replied.
"You want to hang out?" Desmond looked at him, puzzled.
"Since we're friends now, why not?" Dylan smirked at him. "That is of course if you aren't busy?"
"Nah, I'm free. So sure, I'll come. I have a session with Da Vinci, anyway."
Delgado bumped into Desmond's hind legs. "Huh? What's the matter, Delgado?"
"You're gonna race with me sometime, right?!" He spurted out, dashing by Desmond's side.
Desmond playfully shook his head. "Sure, sure! You can stick a note on me if you think I'll forget."
"ALRIGHT!" Delgado yelled in happiness.
Dylan put his paw on Delgado's mouth. "Not so loud, you're going to wake someone up, it's night time."
"Sorry~…" Delgado whispered.
The dogs finally reached Desmond's house and walked him up to the main door, but before he entered his home, Desmond turned to them. "Listen...
"Dylan, thank you for being an amazing tour guide, you made me like London even more than I initially thought. Dawkins, Delgado, and D.J., you too made my experience today amazing!"
"No problem, dude!" Delgado spurt out.
"You're quite welcomed, Desmond." Dawkins smiled.
D.J. winked and smiled slightly.
"Alright then. See you tomorrow, Desmond." Dylan and his brothers waved at Desmond, giving their goodbyes.
"Oh! By the way, many thanks to your mother! Tell her my back's getting better!" Desmond shouted out to Dylan. He waved back at them then entered his house as the dogs continued their way back home through the night.
"BEEP!" Dylan put his paw on the scanner, unlocking the main door.
"Phew!" He exhaled in relief. "We made it just in time."
Dylan entered his house, followed by his younger brothers then closed and locked the door.
"… Doesn't seem like anyone's up." Dawkins noted.
"Alright, you two…" Dylan looked towards Delgado and D.J. as he pointed at the second floor. "Off to your beds."
The two small dogs yawn and rubbed their eyes.
"Fine… Night, bro." Delgado began climbing the stairs. "Come on, D.J."
D.J. followed him up the stairs and the two of them went to their rooms.
"Think I'll go early to bed, Dylan." Dawkins told him. "Goodnight."
"See you in the morning." Dylan replied.
Dylan then went into the kitchen, where he was about to take a quick gulp of water from his bowl.
"Think fast!" Out of nowhere, Dolly threw a Frisbee at him.
Dylan quickly turned and caught the disc. "What are you doing, Dolly?!"
"Hehe! I saw how much you were into the game today, so I thought you'd like to continue." She snickered as she walked up to him.
Dylan put the Frisbee on the floor. "It's late, Dolly. Don't be ridicules."
Dylan walked out of the kitchen as Dolly went after him. "Well?"
"'Well' what?"
"I haven't seen you play '500' in years. Why now?"
He paused. "Because of Desmond.
"I wanted to make him feel more welcomed, and a quick game of '500' was a good way to do that."
"Ahaaa~" Dolly sat next to him. "That so~?"
"And here I thought you might've gotten a fever or something, cuz you aren't the type of dog to like sports." She shoved her face in his, with a smug smile.
Dylan pushed her aside and continued to the living room. "Well, how did the chores go?"
"Fine… Just fine…" Dolly yawned then headed for her room. "By the way, since you missed dinner, I've saved you some kibbles, but we're running low on them, so order more in the morning, will ya?"
"Sure thing, Dolly." Dylan replied.
She yawned again, louder this time. "I'll be heading to bed now, all these chores completely bushed me…"
"Goodnight." Dylan told her, then went for a quick snack.
Desmond entered his room. He tossed his backpack on the bed then walked over to his computer and booted it.
He removed the skipper cap off his head then stared at it for a moment. "… Friends… We're friends now, huh?"
"Guess that means I'm a step closer now." Desmond jumped on the chair and opened the chat application. But before he started texting he looked back at the cap.
"…
"Tsk! I suppose I have nothing essential to share with her…"
Desmond closed the application and turned off the computer. He jumped on his bed and pulled out the book he got from the natural history museum then pulled out the sketchbook Da Vinci gave him. He looked at both of them then back at the cap, Desmond grew a smile, then opened the book and spend the night reading it.
As he read it, only one thought floated in his mind. I'm certain I'll enjoy my stay here…