About a couple of years had passed. Whisper was no longer a puppy as she's fully grown now. She's a bit taller than me in comparison. But she still likes to sleep near me despite her being fully grown. Dodger and I had raised her well to be a great street dog.
We haven't heard anything from Ednis ever since we had that confrontation two years prior. Although it didn't make me feel entirely relaxed because she could strike again at anytime.
The sun was setting under the cool autumn sky. We'd made plans to visit Ryan and Oliver tomorrow at Central Park to see how they were holding up. Ryan had been in an accident a while back due to a train and he ended up losing his right hind leg. Despite that, it hadn't brought him down. We did visit him a week before the accident and let him recover overtime.
Since it was growing dark, we made sure that we wouldn't get near the crazed adolescent humans that hung out in the dark side of the city. I had my fair share with those humans a couple of years old. Those humans had used not only their feet but a bat to beat me up pretty badly. Although I was rescued by the gang, it taught me not to mess with humans like that.
There was no one in sight in Central Park where Dodger and I had wandered to. There were lights on the fences that illuminated the sidewalks with a romantic interlude.
We decided to stay underneath that light by a nearby tree. Luckily for us, no humans come to Central Park during this time so we had it to ourselves and we took advantage of it. I laid on my back with Dodger laying on me with a warm, sweet look on his face with a lopsided grin, getting me to blush. He knew how to make me feel warm inside.
"Will ya stop smirking at me like that?" I say, unsuccessfully hiding a smirk of my own, "Impressive as it was, it's not a good look darling." "That's what they all say, honey." he chuckles, "But they find their way back." He rested his head on my side and smiled at how soft my fluffy coat was. Jenny had been kind enough to give me a bath which was surprisingly nice.
I watched as he closed his eyes and took the feeling in. During my years of being with Dodger, I had seen what a flirt he was with many of the female dogs in this city. But since I came into the picture, it was different. After we rescued Ryan, I knew. Never have I believed that I would fall in love with Dodger. But it happened…
Then, a dark thought crossed my mind. It wouldn't leave me be. This didn't go unnoticed. Dodger looked at me with a worried look. "What is it, my love?" he asks, tilting his head. "I'm just… worried." I say, rolling over to my belly. "About what? What could be distracting you from our moment together?" he says, trying to comfort me. "It's about Ednis, Dodger." I say, sounding more serious.
"What are you worrying about her for? It's been two years, Rose. Nothing has happened." he reassured. "But what if it does, Dodge? What if she's planning something?" I asked, my ears laid back some. He licks my furry cheek tenderly. "I'm sure she isn't. Besides, she's on the other side of town. She hasn't bothered us since then." he asked. "But what if she does? She could even hurt Whisper." I say, still worried.
"Baby, Whisper is fully grown. We've taught her everything we need to protect herself from the other dogs." Dodger reminds me. "Even so, something could happen…" I say, looking down and frowning. Dodger put his paw on mine, getting me to look at him.
"Don't worry okay? Everything will be alright. Let's enjoy our moments together. Besides we're going to see our Railroad Tycoon of NYC and our Vice President tomorrow." Dodger reminded, smiling. I couldn't help but smile back. "Alright. I'll try." I say, tucking my head underneath his chin. He chuckles at this. "That's my girl." he said comfortingly. He knew just how to cheer me up. I truly loved him… There's nothing that could change this moment. The moment I can spend with my mate…
It was the next day. The sun was high in the sky giving New York a warm feel. That is the best part of autumn in my opinion. The seven of us make our way towards Central Park with Whisper taking the lead. It boggles my mind that she's all grown up now. She's old enough to find her place in this city. But she prefers to stay with us. I can't force her to change. It wouldn't be right of me as her mother.
"Mom! Dad! Look, we're here!" Whisper said excitedly, running towards the park. "Stay close to us, dear." I remind before she could go to far from us. "Yeah, yeah I know!" she called, starting to run through the park. She gets excited whenever we go to Central Park since that's her favorite place. As we entered the park, we saw Oliver and Ryan, who saw us instantly.
Rita lit up at seeing her mate again. "Let's go everyone." she said, looking at us with a smile. We all ran to the two. "Dodger! Rose! My Chica Rita!" Ryan said, getting to a play bow position. Rita made a leap at him and the two tumble down the park. The rest of us go over to Oliver.
"Hey, kid. How ya been?" Dodger asked, doing his signature playful high-five but he pulled his paw away at the last moment. "So where is my rosalita?" Tito said, looking for Georgette. "Nope. It's just me and Ryan. Georgette has got a reputation. But I'm sure didn't want to be with us unlike Ryan." Oliver said, much to the disappointment of our little Romeo.
"Sorry loverboy." Francis teased. "Wha?! But I haven't seen her in weeks! Our relationship won't blossom if I'm not allowed to see her!" Tito complained. "Hi, Oliver!" Whisper exclaimed, bounding over to him. This startled the poor cat. "Calm down, Whisper." Dodger reminded. The husky skidded to a stop at Dodger's warning. "Sorry dad. Got too excited there." she said smiling.
"Is this the infamous Whisper that I've been hearing so much about?" Ryan said, limping his way over to us with Rita at his side. Whisper turned to look at the dalmatian. "Yeah that's me." Whisper said bashfully. "My word you got big. You two have raised her well." Ryan said, impressed by Dodger and I raising her like how we raised our other pups.
"How have you been, Ryan? Still hurting after the accident?" I asked, gazing down at his missing leg. He looked down for a moment. "It doesn't hurt as much anymore. Jenny had been taking care of me along with Oliver here. Even having my Chica Rita here with me helps me out a lot." the dalmatian said, nuzzling his mate and she nuzzled him back. "I'm glad to be here with you two, dear." Rita said, wagging her tail.
"So have you got a special someone, Oliver?" Rita asked, looking at the now grown cat. "Nope. Not yet. I'm not much of a hopeless romantic." Oliver answered, "Unlike someone." He gazed over at Tito. Tito looked back in embarrassment.
"So what are we doing today, Dodge?" Oliver asked. "We'll just hang around and play in the park. And then get us some lunch from a picnic." Dodger answered, stretching his aging limbs. "Sounds great to me." I say, agreeing with what he said. "Yay! Food! I'm so hungry!" Einstein exclaimed, starting to bound happily.
"Einstein, keeping you fed is a waste of exercise; you consume your own bodyweight and still complain of hunger." Francis said, rolling his eyes. "But it'll be fun, Francis! Don't be such a stick in the mud!" Whisper exclaimed, clearly excited. Francis just rolled his eyes. And with that, we started walking through the park. The grass was soft underneath my aged paws and the sun felt nice on my fur. We found our way into the forest part of the park.
"Mom?" Whisper said. I looked over at her and saw a worried expression on her face. "What is it, dear?" I replied. "It's Einstein. He's not following." Whisper said, looking back with her ears lowered. I did the same and Einstein was far behind us, looking confused as to where he is. "Oh no…" I said, feeling worried.
"What is it, Rose?" Dodger asks, coming up beside me. "Einstein is having another episode." I answer, still looking at the confused great dane. Dodger looks to his right and saw where Einstein was. "Oh no. C'mon Rose." Dodger said, starting to run ahead of me.
I quickly follow him. When we make it to Einstein, he looked misty eyed as if he was unaware of where he was at. "Einstein? Are you alright?" I asked. He jumped at the sound and shook his head. "Oh… Sorry Rose and Dodger, I got lost…" he said, sounding embarrassed. I took to his left side, giving him a comforting smile. "Don't worry, old friend. We'll help you." I said grinning softly. Dodger took to his other side.
"Thank you guys. I guess I just got confused." he said, keeping up with us. "It's alright, Einy." Dodger said kindly. We make it back to the others, who were also worried. "What happened to ya? Didn't you see where we were going?" Tito asked, "This is the 10th time that this has happened!" "Tito, cool it. He just got lost." I say in defense to Einstein.
"Is he okay?" Whisper wondered, her ears lowered. I go to Whisper and give her a nuzzle. "He'll be fine dear. Don't worry." I reply, licking her on her forehead. "Oh I hope so…" she said, looking at him.
"Did Einy have another episode again?" Ryan asked, sitting by Rita. All I did was look at him. Sometimes you don't need to respond to figure out the answer. He looked down for a moment. Despite that happening, I didn't want to forget why we came here in the first place. It was to spend time with Oliver and Ryan.
"Hey, how about a race guys? Let's not worry anymore about what just happened. Let's remember why we came here." I remind, starting to wag my fluffy tail. This excited everyone and the started to bound in excitement; especially Whisper. She was ready to go.
We all started to run across the park. Oliver did fairly well to keep up with the seven of us as well as Ryan despite him having only three legs. It was a little hard for him to rough-house but he got the hang of it. Whisper ran and jumped at us while whining happily. Being in this park was one of the places she felt the happiest.
The wide open space meant we could run for as long as our hearts contended. All of us loved the freedom it gave us. Ryan jumped up in the air to catch a butterfly with Rita behind him. I'm amazed that she was able to jump up like this even at her elderly age.
Finally, we all start to wind down. I laid down on my belly next to Dodger and Whisper laid next to me while panting. Einstein was lying on his right side, resting from all the fun we all just had. It definitely gave us quite the appetite. Rita was beside Ryan and Oliver was beside Dodger and I and Francis sat by his lonesome.
Tito was the only one who didn't rest. He tried everything he could to bring us back up. "Hey, chill out would ya Tito?" Dodger said. Oliver looked over to Dodger and I. "So, are we ready to get lunch?" Dodger said, standing up. I joined him.
"Alright troops. There's a ham over there with our names written all over it. Francis, you give that old girl a performance they won't forget." Dodger said, making a head gesture towards the family behind us, "Tito, Einstein, give them a helping hand. Rita, Ryan, Whisper, and kid you're with Rose and I. We shall have us a feast." Dodger declared. They all give a nod of approval.
Francis puffs his chest out and prepared himself to present them with his theatrical nature. Einstein was bounding around again in excitement. Einstein and Tito also played dead on the ground. It distracted the family long enough for the rest of us to make our move. I grabbed the ham, Rita grabbed the basket with the other food in it. Dodger grabbed bread and Ryan grabbed a meatloaf that was sitting on a plate. Whisper swiped some fruit.
"Let's get out of here." Rita said getting us to nod. Just before the people noticed us, we all took off with our prizes. When we all make it to the entrance to the park, everyone puts the food down.
"Well, guys, me and Oliver got head home before Jenny gets home from school. I'll be seeing you tonight, my Chica Rita?" Ryan said, nuzzling his mate. Rita nuzzled him back and her tail wagged. "You know it, Ry-Ry. I can't wait for it." she replied. Ryan blushed deeply at this remark. They had to put off their date since Ryan's accident so now they can take their time.
"I'll go with them, Dodge. I'll be back soon. You head back with them Whisper. Make sure no one eats until I get back." I said, looking at my daughter. "Okay, mom. I'll keep them in check. You can count on me." Whisper nods. Dodger nuzzles me and licks my cheek. "Be careful, Rosie." he said in a whisper. This gets me to giggle. "I will." I reply, licking him back.
And with that, I go back with Ryan and Oliver, who was now on my back. Today felt good because my family got to spend today together. I didn't even think about Ednis the whole time and Ryan didn't need to know at this moment. I didn't want to ruin our time spent together. With not only my friends… but with my family as well.