Pet-shop Face-Off by Elizabeth Sowden

Tassimo gurgled and whirred as Allison prepared herself another latte. She had a soufflé in the oven, cream cheese and lox in the fridge, and grits on the stove. She stood at the counter slicing cantaloupe while she listened to Trisha Yearwood on the radio. She was excited. She hadn’t hosted anything at her apartment since before her divorce. Today all of her friends were coming over for brunch, and they were going to meet Mitchie, her new teacup Yorkie.

Mitchie was named after Allison’s favorite writer, Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind. Mitchie was all white and resembled a pile of shredded coconut. She was only as tall as a Coke can and fit neatly into one of Allison’s size eight pumps. As she sliced star fruit and arranged it on a platter, she wondered why she got married at all. She should have just gotten a tiny dog instead. She never knew having a pet could be so satisfying. All day long, Allison could carry Mitchie in her purse, and at night Mitchie could sleep on Allison’s pillow and hardly take up any space. Since she got Mitchie, Allison never had to be alone.

Immediatley after bringing Mitchie home, Allison bought a hot pink rhinestone studded dog collar with an engraved name tag, and a tiny pink bow she could tie in Mitche’s hair. Allison spent hours online looking at tiny outfits for tiny dogs—little sweaters, fairy costumes, ponchos—she couldn’t decide; she wanted them all.

Allison’s buzzer rang.

“Who is it?” she asked over the intercom.

“It’s Roxie and Graciela.”

“Come on up,” she said, holding down the button. She scooped Mitchie up in her arms and cooed, “They’re going to love my little lovie muffin, aren’t they?”

Moments later, a knock came at the door. Roxie and Graciela came in; each of them carrying covered dishes.

“Ooh, what did you bring?” Allison asked.

“Mac and cheese,” Roxie said with a shrug.

“Oh, honey I love macaroni and cheese,” Allison said. “And you?” she asked Graciela.

“Arroz con pollo, mamí,” Graciela said with a wink.

“Sounds great, just put it down on the table, and then you can meet Mitchie!” She held the dog up proudly for both women to see.

“Ooh, she so cute!” Graciela exclaimed. “Can I hold her?”

“Sure!” Allison cried and she handed the dog over to Graciela.”

“Hola, linda,” Graciela trilled, “tu eres tan adorable, mi blanca nieve.”

“Its going to be like this all day, isn’t it?” Roxie grumbled.

“Oh, lighten up, you,” Graciela snapped, “You can’t tell me that this face doesn’t melt that icy heart of yours,” she said, holding Mitchie close to Roxie’s face.

Just then, Noelle arrived carrying two long baguettes. She set them down on the table and said, “all right, where’s the flea-bitten animal?”

“Noelle!” Allison cried, hands on her hips.

“Don’t take it personally,” Roxie said, “Noelle is strictly a cat person.” The four of them each sat down in Allison’s living room on her 18^th century antique fainting couch and listened while Allison regaled them with stories of the attention she got when she was out on the street with Mitchie in her purse.

“This little darling is a man magnet!” she exclaimed. Just then, the buzzer went off. “Oh that must be Kyoko,” she said.

As soon as Kyoko arrived at the door, Mitchie began barking furiously and running around in circles on the carpet.

“Mitchie, what’s the matter with you?” Allison asked. “It’s just Kyoko.” Then, Allison looked up and saw the long leash Kyoko was holding, and then, with a gasp, she noticed the big green iguana at the end of it. Allison quickly scooped up Mitchie and held her to her chest. Mitchie wriggled in Allison’s arms.

“You brought Mr. Flippers to my house?”

“Oh, relax,” Kyoko said, “the worst thing he can do is eat a roach or two.”

“You walked all the way over here with him on that leash?” Roxie asked.

“Yeah, he likes it! Plus,” Kyoko said with her eyes glittering, “he’s a total chick magnet!”

Written by: Elizabeth Sowden

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