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As Emma watched the car with her mother, Aiden, and the two dogs disappear behind the gate, she couldn't help but do a little two-step dance by the window, reminiscent of Kevin from Home Alone. She loved her family, and she loved the holidays, but this year she was looking forward to a quiet holiday with no excitement. The last five holidays had been whirlwinds running back and forth between wherever she was living at the time and home, always full of parties and family gatherings. Since her mother and Aiden were off on their holiday adventure, she intended to have a nice quiet solitude Christmas.
"It's just me, myself, and I for the next couple of weeks," she whispered with a grin. Then, shaking off her playful mood, she turned to look at the disarray from her unpacking and decided the first thing she needed to do was get herself organized before she headed over to check on the design studio. The disarray wasn't as bad as it looked, and it took little time to get herself organized; her clothes were put in dresser drawers, her books on the shelves, and little mementos that she picked up on her travels on the counter. As she worked, she hummed a Christmas carol. When she opened the fridge for a bottle of water, Emma wasn't at all surprised to see that her mother had stocked it fully with all her favorite foods and drinks. Megan chuckled and spoke as if her mother was standing next to her. "Thanks, Mom, but I have no plans on doing intensive cooking around here. It's Susie's Diner for me."
Finished with her task, she glanced at the clock and saw she had about an hour before dark. It was a perfect time to explore the studio without the helping guidance of Paul; who had insisted on pointing out every little detail. While it was nice to know all that, Emma wanted the chance to just stand in the middle of the room and absorb the ambiance. This was going to be her space, her creative hub, and she wanted to get to know it on her own. From what she had seen during her grand tour, it was perfect. But Emma knew things were going to need her own touches and she couldn't wait to get the first design on the drawing board. On impulse, she grabbed her computer as she walked out the door. There was no reason she couldn't open her current project and print out some of her ideas and get them up on the board where they could set the tone of the room. The office needed to feel like it was in use, and that was just what Emma was going to do.
As Emma walked over to the studio, she waved to Zoe who was in one of the golf carts used to move around the ten acres. She was coming from the direction of Paul's office, which was on the same path as her studio. Zoe returned the wave but didn't stop to talk, and Emma hurried past Paul's office, taking the winding path to her own part of the compound.
As she made her way to the front door, she couldn't help but notice the beautiful gardens her mother had created. Emma had happily let her have her way with the outside. She had no interest in planting flowers and plants. She loved to look at them and enjoy their scent and bright colors, but she had no desire to get dirt under her fingernails from planting. This was one trait she had not inherited from her mother.
Slowly opening the door, Emma held her breath, wanting to remember each moment as she took her first steps into her own studio. Taking a deep breath, her nose picked up the fresh scent of newly cut lumber mixed with a bouquet her mother had put on the table by the entry. She took a step into the room and slowly turned, taking in every nook and cranny.
It was an open floor plan with no specific reception area. Shelves held supplies and books and there was a large desk area looking out over into her mother's gardens through the large windows centered on the wall. On the opposite wall were more windows, and skylights were giving her the optimum amount of light. She knew the windows were tinted to keep out the heat and the glare, which she was grateful for, knowing full well how hot the summer sun would be. There was a traditional designer drawing board, but Paul had created it so that it was more of a cork board knowing that Emma's process was to work from the computer, print out her designs, and put them up to look at. Most of her work was done on the computer; it wasn't like the old days of drawing things out.
"Oh, you did a fantastic job, Paul."
As she looked around more, she noticed little touches that were clearly from Lucy, a beautiful, braided rug was in the center of the room breaking up the span of the hardwood floor. There were candid pictures from the local beach and lighthouse. Emma knew these were contributed by Toby or Sammy, both loved taking pictures. Lucy was a designer herself but one of jewelry and art. And when Emma walked to her desk, she found a beautiful Tiffany lamp she had admired in Lucy's shop. It was one of her creations and when Emma turned it on, the warm glow of the light through the stained glass reflected on the glass top of her desk.
She sighed with contentment and continued moving toward the back of the room, where there was a screen set up for privacy and a small kitchenette. But when Emma walked around the screen, sitting in the center of the room wasn't the small kitchen table she'd seen earlier. Instead, there was a large wire crate with a bright red bow tied on top of it. There was a card attached to the bow, but Emma didn't notice it at first.
Her eyes were glued to the object in the center of the crate, and she felt a sense of déjà vu. A soft whimper made her lean down and stick her fingers into the gaps in the crate's wire. Not believing what she was seeing, Emma watched a small puppy work its way toward her fingers. The first lick was all it took, and before she even knew what she was doing Emma had the door open and was cradling a small beagle.
"Oh, Mom, what have you done?" Emma asked the room at large while dodging a lick on the nose.
Still holding the puppy, she reached out and grabbed the card from the bow. Struggling with the puppy, who wanted to get hold of the card as much as Emma did, she finally pulled it out of its envelope and found a beautiful Christmas card. She laughed when she realized it was one of her designs and opened it up to see what her mother had to say for herself. "This was supposed to be given to you on Christmas morning. But then I remembered a certain puppy that was given to me when you left to go away to college. Since I'm leaving, I decided you should have one too. Her name is Dixie, and she's a pocket beagle, a distant cousin of Barney. She should give you plenty of company and entertainment over the holidays as you get to know each other. We love you very much, Mom and Aiden."
Emma's laughter echoed in the tall ceilings of the design room, and the puppy looked at her surprised at the sound. She clearly remembered the day she had stuffed Barney into her mother's hands as she was leaving for college. Her mother hadn't wanted a puppy, any more than Emma did now. But it had taken little time for Barney to win over her mother, and Emma had a feeling Dixie was going to take even less time.
Looking the puppy over, she couldn't help but notice Dixie's coloring was the opposite of Barney's. Her ears and the top of her head were a dark chocolate brown, as was her back. Her belly, legs, and tail were bright white and her eyes a dark, mesmerizing hazel.
"Hello, Dixie. It looks like you and I are going to be best buds. Welcome to the family." Emma hugged the puppy with acceptance, and Dixie wiggled her behind a little harder and grabbed one of Emma's fingers to chew. "Oh no, we're not starting with chewing. Let's look and see what toys Mom left you."
Pulling her fingers away, she scratched the puppy's head and then placed her back into the kennel. Dixie didn't whimper, she merely walked over to the center and curled up in a soft bed that had been placed there. Emma noticed there were plenty of toys, and as she looked around, she saw by the sink that there was a food dish and water. Yes, her mother had thought of everything.
"There's no way Mom pulled this off by herself. Zoe had a hand in this, I'm sure of that, didn't she?" Emma talked to the dog as she walked around opening cabinets and finding dog food and treats. There was a leash and more toys in one of the drawers. She had everything she needed to keep the puppy comfortable. And she had a sneaky suspicion by the time she got back to her apartment, she would find several of the same items there as well.
In the top drawer, Emma found paperwork that outlined Dixie's breeding and a certificate for puppy training and puppy daycare. There was a handwritten note from Zoe as well, stating she would be happy to help with the puppy any way she could, wishing Emma luck with her new friend.
"Well, Dixie, looks like you're going to be well cared for. Now, let's just hope you don't get into trouble as much as Barney did when he was your age. I can just bet my mother would laugh at that." smiled down at the sleeping Dixie, Emma mused on the upcoming quiet holiday, now brightened by this unexpected but delightful companionship.