Romano woke up and heard a soft knock on the door. He stood up and walked to the door and swung it open. Canada was standing outside with a little tan bag. "Hey Canada." Romano forced a smile. "Hello Romano" Canada smiled sweetly. "Ready to go Christmas shopping?" Romano asked. "Yep." Canada said putting his bag down. "Canada, leave I need to get dressed." Romano said, his face going red. "Oh sorry!" Canada blushed leaving and closing the door behind him. Romano got changed into a red plaid shirt and jeans. He put his shoes on and opened the door for Canada. Canada nodded and they headed out.
Romano pulled his puffy green coat on as they stepped out of the hotel and into the cold, bitter weather. Canada looked totally calm as Romano was shivering like crazy. "What the hell man? You're not cold?" Romano whimpered. "Oh I'm used to the cold." Canada smiled. "Who should we get presents for?" Romano asked staring forward into the snow. "France…, America…., Spain…, North Italy…, Germany…" Canada listed. "Oh yea. We should go get little bro a kitty." Romano said looking around for a pet store. He spotted one right across the street. "Let's go get kitty." Romano said crossing the street with ease. Canada followed nervously.
"Look kitty." Romano said pointing to a fluffy white kitten with a pink ribbon tied around its neck loosely in a pretty bow. "Oh, it's so cute." Canada grinned. Romano stepped into the store with Canada behind him. They stepped into the store and there was a little bell on the door announcing their arrival. The store was very warm and had lots of puppies and kittens in large cages. The store was colorful with bright green and pink walls and pet toys scattered on shelves. "Good Morning!" A cheerful blonde girl behind the counter greeted them. She was in a Christmas elf costume for the holidays and had her short light hair in piggy tails reaching her shoulders. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She grinned at Romano blushing a bit. "Kitty." He replied simply pointing to the little white kitten.
"Would you like to adopt her? I'd recommend you play with her first." The girl said picking up a ring with lots of keys on it. Romano glanced at his watch, "Uh sure, let's play with it." He said sternly. The girl walked over to the cage and picked it up. She led Romano and Canada to a separate room. "We need to go in here so the kitten doesn't run off and out of the store." She explained putting the cage down and closing the door. The room had the same green walls at the open part of the store and a bottle of hand sanitizer in the corner. The girl took out a pink key matching the ribbon and unlocked the cage. The kitten was shy at first. Romano reached into the cage and dragged the poor kitty out. "Don't force her…" The girl said nervously. "I won't hurt it." Romano snapped. "What's her name?" Canada asked nicely looking up at the girl. "Peppermint. We got her around the holidays so we thought it'd be a fitting name, especially if you were giving her as a present." The girl grinned. "Cute name." Canada smiled reaching out to pet Peppermint. The cat looked terrified but wasn't running. Canada's hand touched the cat's fluffy white fur. "So soft." He whispered.
"Can we buy him now?" Romano asked. "It's a her…" The girl said quietly putting Peppermint back in the cage and locking the little door. She led them out of the room and to the counter. She placed the cage on the counter and dug threw a few papers until she found one. She put the paper on a clipboard and handed it to Romano with a pen. "Fill this out and then you may have Peppermint." She said with a less cheerful disposition then before. Romano went over to a bright yellow chair and began to fill out the form while Canada made small talk with the girl. After about half an hour Romano came back with the sheet. He handed it to the girl who looked over it for a minute or so then handed him the cat. "Happy Holidays." She said plainly waving goodbye. "Same to you!" Canada said before they left.
Romano carried the white cage in hand. "What's next on our list?" He asked his quiet Canadian friend. "France...We can bake for him." Canada suggested. "How we are not near either of our kitchens." Romano said irritably. "We're in the northern part of America, my house isn't too far." Canada corrected. "Alright let's bake for him." Romano said nervously.
