D’Vee entered the large room and said a general “hello” to her friends. It was Saturday morning, Christmas Eve, and she was in a merry mood. All her friends responded in kind.
“Well, don’t you all look festive?” Her friends lounged on fleece blankets printed with ornaments, stockings, and other Christmas symbols. She shook her head, making the bells on her felt antlers peal, and the room erupted in happy response.
She poured tea from her thermos into a travel mug and took a long draft. Sighing in contentment, she replaced the lid and set the thermos on the table by the door.
As she worked the room, she greeted each friend by name and exchanged kisses with them. Suddenly her gaze was drawn to a pair of dark, dark brown eyes at the other end of the room. Someone new.
The owner of the eyes stood, and D’Vee pulled in a quick breath. He was magnificent! Dark brown hair with streaks of silver, an expressive face… She moved toward him, taking her time, trying not to appear too eager.
She made it to his side, but hoping to present a professional persona, she took his chart and read.
“Hmm,” she said out loud and looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. “Corky. There appears to be nothing wrong with you, Corky. So why are you here? Not that I’m complaining.”
“Yip!” was the reply.
D’Vee set her mug on top of the kennel, bent down and opened the door. The little Yorkie jumped into her arms and lavished her face with wet, sloppy kisses.
“Aww, I think you like me!” D’Vee said with a giggle.
“Ahem.” The voice behind her took D’Vee by surprise. She turned around quickly and looked up into chocolate brown eyes with long curly lashes.
“You’re blond,” she said. “You’re not supposed to have brown eyes.”
The chocolate brown eyes blinked. “I’ll…tell my mother.”
“Oh. I guess that sounded rather rude.”
“Rather.” But the mouth below the nose below the chocolate brown eyes twitched. “Why are you fondling my dog?” he asked.
“Corky the Yorkie is yours?” D’Vee tried to choke it back but the giggle bubbled out. “Please tell me you inherited this dog. And its name.”
“What? I don’t look like the type to give a Yorkie a quirky name like Corky?”
D’Vee laughed as she wiggled her eyebrows. “He’s a little porky.”
Chocolate Brown Eyes sighed. “Yeah, I’ve been a little bad in giving him table scraps. But we’ve both been on a diet, and he’s actually lost a pound.
“I’m Alex Lurkey, the new vet.” He extended his hand.
Again, D’Vee giggled as she took his hand in hers. “Any relation to Turkey?”
“What? Oh, I see. Turkey Lurkey. Henny Penny. The sky is falling… No. No relation. And you are…?”
“D’Vee Devoh. I volunteer on weekends.”
“You’re kidding, right? You are Devo, D-E-V-O?”
“Yeah, I get that a lot. But it’s really Devoh, D-E-V-O-H.”
“Your name is D’Vee Devoh, and you’re making fun of Corky the Yorkie and Alex Lurkey?”
D’Vee eyed him for a long moment and then replied, “I guess I have my nerve, huh?”
“Mm-hmm.” Alex nodded.
D’Vee found herself mesmerized by the chocolate brown eyes but finally shook herself free. “Well, anyway, I’m glad, though sad, Corky the Yorkie is spoken for. I already have three cats and two ferrets. Though I’ve always been a sucker for a fine pair of brown eyes, and as the saying goes, there’s always room for one more.”
Suddenly Alex’s head dropped back slightly, and his eyes narrowed as his nostrils flared. “What’s that wonderful smell?”
“What? The Lysol?”
“No, nothing medicinal. It’s—spicy.”
“Oh. You must mean my chai.”
“Shy?”
“No, I’m pretty much of an extrovert.” D’Vee bit her lower lip, trying to suppress another giggle. Alex gave her a mock glare and she added, “Chai. Spicy Asian tea. Would you like some?”
“I don’t know. It smells wonderful, but I think I had it once at Starbucks and didn’t like it.”
“Starbucks? Pish tosh.” D’Vee curled her nose. “Their chai is as good and authentic as Kroger’s frozen pizza is good and authentic.” She put Corky back in his kennel. She drank the rest of the chai in her mug then took it to the sink by the door. She rinsed it out and retrieved the thermos, filled the mug, and handed it to Alex.
He took the mug and, after sniffing it, took a drink. “Mmm,” he said. “Mmm.”
D’Vee giggled again as he turned up the mug and took a long drink and repeated, “Mmm.”
“I take it you like it,” D’Vee said.
He wiped chai from his upper lip with a knuckle. “It’s wonderful. Better than coffee. Almost.”
D’Vee didn’t giggle this time. She laughed, and Alex looked at her strangely. “What?” she asked.
“Do that again,” he said.
“Do what?”
“Laugh. It sounded like…Christmas. You know. Merry and…bright.” His voice trailed off, and a light pink stain washed over his cheeks.
D’Vee looked at him, her mouth open, and finally managed to clear her throat. “No one has ever said anything nicer to me.” She smiled.
“You don’t have any husbands or boyfriends hanging around, do you?”
“No, as a matter of fact. How about you? Any wives or girlfriends?”
“No, as a matter of fact. Do you want to get some lunch later?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I would.” D’Vee grinned, and Alex grinned back. “Would you like some more chai?”
“Oh, yeah.”
A little bit later D’Vee and Alex munched on Big Macs and fries. That evening they made chai and watched White Christmas on TV. By New Year’s Day Corky, the cats, and the ferrets were all friends.
Upon reflection, D’Vee and Alex decided there was definitely something magical about the Christmas season.