The rental market in Dublin has been out of control for years, as many people come and go to work in countless international companies and new places don’t seem to be ever built. Some say life is getting out of control there. That did not deter Aimee and Rob when the opportunity of moving to the city presented itself to them. It has been an old dream of Aimee to move away from NYC and lead a less stressful life (less stressful at least for a born & raised Brooklynite as Aimee) in the native land of her great-grandparents. They would think she is absolutely mad for coming back to the same place they fought so hard to leave back in their youth. Aimee has been working as a freelance editor for a publishing house, so she can actually work from home and virtually anywhere ever since the pandemic in 2020. So the moment seemed good to put their roots down elsewhere. She could also use the change of scenery to finally start writing her own novel. After so many years reading and editing other people’s work, this is the perfect opportunity to do her own writing. Aimee and Rob have known each other since they were in college so he knows that she has always wanted to be a writer. Life got in the way though and the job she took as temporary after graduation in an established publishing house to make connections and gain experience in the field ended up being permanent when she made it as senior copy editor. After a while, she then had the idea of at least moving to a different job, as a freelancer, because that would give her the time to write but then the lockdown hit the world and all you wanted was just to stay alive and employed. They were about to have their first wedding anniversary right before everything closed. Rob brought Oreo as a present for his new wife and as a pet for her pet, Cheesecake. Having dogs and jobs while the world was coming down seemed like they had enough and should be grateful for all of it. But deep down, Rob knew that eventually he and Aimee would pick up their dreams of moving, travelling and her writing before they had kids. Rob was always focused on his programming jobs and had a very defined career plan, unlike Aimee. She has always been more a go with the feelings person while Rob has been a worrier and an organiser. They were a good team, always pushing the other in the direction they needed, sometimes with more whimsy, sometimes with more planning. So Rob continued doing what he did best: planning ahead. 

 Years later, Rob received the news for the event he planned so hard for: the possibility of being transferred to Dublin and promoted from his programming job. That was a step up in his professional life and also involved the city his wife always dreamed of living in. It didn’t take as long as he thought once he told his manager about his interest in the EU HQ opportunities. He knew that there was no need to overthink the proposal because the money was good and Aimee would be ecstatic in going as soon as they could, so he said yes straight away. Of course Aimee was over the moon with the news and there was a spark in her sapphire blue eyes that Rob had seen last when he brought Oreo home. He was also excited for his new job and to finally start living the life they dreamed (and planned) so long. Aimee could also see a change in his gaze, his furrowed brow finally relaxing a bit and giving space to a serene expression. The dogs were more rambunctious and happier than their usual, they for sure would appreciate the better life balance. Not really, because they are dogs and not capable of that emotion, but Aimee wanted to believe they could feel the happiness in the air and Rob agreed. 

    Rob’s job took care of finding them some temporary accommodation for the first month, so the couple would have plenty of time to find a place to live as Aimee has a flexible schedule at work and could go look at places during the week. It should work like a breeze for someone who is so used to the craziness of NYC…or so they thought.  In reality, the rental market in Dublin is not really out of control because it is completely collapsed. 

    As the month they spent in the corporate flat provided by Rob’s company is coming to an end, the couple still haven’t found a home to call their own. While Rob works his 9 to 5 at a tech giant’s office downtown, Aimee queues up with other 10 or 15 people (on a good day) to look at places that could only be described as a potential crime scene or a location to keep someone in captivity after kidnapping them. Seems like anything can be called a flat nowadays, even something that could pass for a cleaning cupboard given it barely fits a sofa bed. Rob usually joins Aimee on weekend views and it proved to be more of the same, as the places seem to be unfit for people and animals alike. 

    The couple has two dachshunds, a red smooth haired, called Cheesecake and a black and tan, also smooth haired, called Oreo. Although they were both mini dachshunds, they still need space to live comfortably while Aimee works. Not to mention having a park nearby for their daily walks. At this point, Rob was already stressed out enough and wanted to just take a break from looking at flats. He suggested to Aimee he could try and talk with his boss and HR about extending their stay on the corporate flat before someone else needed it or they could even get an airbnb for a while, if they take small dogs. A frustrated Aimee agrees, still surprised at how difficult this whole ordeal has been. She reasons with Rob that they should at least go to the last view they have on Sunday afternoon, as the realtor made an extra time for them so they could bring Cheesecake and Oreo to get a feel of the place. Cheesecake was a dog with a good judge of character for crappy humans, so he was an asset in reading the vibes of the realtor. Oreo was the dog with excellent prey drive, and would be another asset in looking for red flags, as in vermin. Dublin, as much as Brooklyn, had a notorious pest problem, especially in older buildings. 

    The couple, plus their faithful companions, arrive politely on time for the view on Sunday and the realtor is already waiting for them in front of the building. The place was already disappointing from the curb and Aimee and Rob exchange looks that signal they are in for more of the same flats: too old, expensive, small and unfit for dogs and working from home. Disappointment was an understatement, as the flat did not even have a proper bedroom. It had a musty Murphy bed on a wall in the only room, a couple armchairs instead of a couch, and judging by the big yellow flower print on its cushions along with the yellow wood armrests, that place hasn’t seen new furniture since the mid 90s.  Cheesecake growled as soon as his chunky paws touched the fake wooden floor boards and Oreo started sniffing around the room, having to be restrained before he ate the rat poison hidden under the mini fridge in the kitchen area. Clearly, that looked like a flat fit for a young student, not an early 30s couple with two small dogs. Rob starts to tell the realtor that he doesn’t even get why they are looking at that studio and before he gets too huffy, Aimee jumps in and tries to be more diplomatic while remaking their case and what is needed. The realtor seems to commiserate with Aimee and sadly says that in their price range and location close to Rob’s job, things don’t get much better than this. Unless they could be willing to sacrifice just a bit and go a little more south of the city center and a little up in the rent price. Defeated, the couple decides that this is the way and the realtor says that now that he knows this, the owner of this building actually has another flat that might be just what they were looking for.  

    He knows for a fact that the landlady is there right now as she is finishing refurbishing the place, so they could just take a look straight away if they have the time. Having nothing else to lose, Aimee and Rob agree, pick up their dogs and start getting directions to the next viewing. A hop on a tram later and a couple blocks walking, they see the realtor again waiting for them. As his car was a Smart, he could not offer them a ride, although Aimee is sure the dogs would have fit in the tiny car but would never go without one of their humans anyways. Both dogs start pulling their humans towards the realtor they just met and then Aimee smiles as she looks at the façade of the new place. It had just the amount of character they were looking for without being decrepit, nor over renovated. A brick Georgian style building with two floors, a bright blue door, a white arch on the top, and stairs small enough that it would not be a pain to carry the dachshunds into the building. The street was lined with leafy trees and sounded quiet and calm. The apartment was on the first floor, in the back, facing another yard from a different building. Maybe it was slightly cheaper (according to the realtor) for those reasons. But, truth to be told, Rob and Aimee preferred the first floor because of their dogs’ sensitive backs and also by being in the back, most likely the dogs would be less prone to bark at whoever is walking outside. A dream that dachshunds’ humans have, but it never comes true. Once inside the building, they were greeted by the owner, Terry. She was a late 60s woman with a broad smile and an Irish accent from County Cork. Terry spoke so fast that even though Rob and Aimee had the same mother tongue, it took them both extra attention to understand the lady. She explained that the flat used to belong to her daughter, she lived there when she was a student at Trinity College and when she got a job in Paris five years ago, the flat became a pied de terre for her in the city whenever she visited. Now that her daughter is back for good in Dublin and has her own family, she is taking a bigger flat in another of their buildings and this is back in the market. Colin, the realtor, told her that Aimee and Rob could be a good fit for the place and they had impeccable references. Obviously that them being willing to pay extra was not bad either. With the dachshunds growing impatient with all the talk, they all decide it is better to come in and explore the place. Once Terry opens the doors, the dogs run through her legs and all you can hear is their paws clickity clacking on the wooden floor boards, like tiny horses galloping in a field. The flat had wide double white doors that opened to a bright living space. It seemed to have been modernized recently, as most appliances looked brand new with their stainless steel finish and clean lines. Much like the outside, it didn’t look overdone and had soul left. It had one bedroom and although it doesn’t have an office space for Aimee, there is plenty of space for a small work desk in the living room. There is even a small balcony in the back of the living space, granted it looks more like a mashup between a window and a door, but it is perfect for the low rider dogs when they get into their neighborhood watch mode. While Rob asks more practical questions about deposits and the tenement to both Terry and Colin, Aimee watches as Cheesecake calmly sits in front of the balcony window. Soon enough Oreo joins him to do the same. Both dogs look comfortable and at ease, and Aimee pictures the scene of her dogs being this content as she taps away on her computer either working or writing her dream novel. Rob then catches Aimee sweetly looking over their pets and knows this will be the place for them all. 

   Now with the new place secured, they would sign the papers the next day and in less than a week they can move in. All Terry needed was for some smaller things to be done, call the cleaning company and air out the place and they could start bringing in their things. With the summer just about to start, the weather was on everyone´s side for a change and moving day went without much stress. Just minding the dachshunds wanting to escape the doors every two seconds, trying to make friends with the moving crew was a bit of a challenge. Terry comes in to welcome her new tenants and gives her contact number in case they need anything done in the flat; she and her older son, Brendan, manage the family properties themselves. She asks if they will be home tomorrow for someone to take a look at the lock in their door that is a bit loose. That shouldn’t be an issue because the deadbolt works from the inside and the building is super safe. Rob took a couple days off to move in, and there is still so much stuff to be assembled and cleaned that they will be home for sure. The first night goes like any other when people are in the process of moving their things in or out of a place: everyone, dogs included, is exhausted and just waiting for the time to sleep in their own bed. Aimee and Rob collapsed in bed and even let Cheesecake and Oreo sleep with them because they had no energy to make their dog beds. They all slept like a rock throughout the night and early morning. 

    While the humans were still knocked down unconscious, Oreo woke up and perked up his ears like a satellite dish, clearly woken up by some noise that was not loud enough to wake Aimee nor Rob. Oreo started huffing and puffing while Cheesecake made a 180 in bed and darted out towards the living room, soon starting to bark. He was then followed by Oreo, who decided it was time to bark as well. Now that was loud enough for waking up Aimee. She looked on her night stand and it was almost 9 in the morning. They slept close to 10 hours straight, so the little ones must be bursting and wanting to go outside. She looks at Rob´s side of the bed and he is still fast asleep, he must be so tired that not even the loud barks woke him up. Considering that a dachshund’s bark is disproportionately loud compared to their tiny stature, Rob was not waking up and Aimee had to take the dogs out. She starts putting on a light jacket on top of Rob´s old Knicks t-shirt she slept on, then grabbing a pair of leggings and some slip on sneakers. She goes towards the living room getting dressed, asking for the dogs to dial down the volume of the barks. Weirdly enough, they are not stopping and are not coming to jump all over her legs. Puzzled by their lack of nosiness and usual interest in going out, she grabs their collars and walks towards the kitchen, calling their names so they come already. She then realizes the main door is slightly ajar, they must have forgotten to bolt the damn door when they went to sleep. Now Aimee feels a cold knot on her stomach, how could they forget to bolt the door! Terry said it was a safe building, but not safe enough to leave the door open, she guesses. She again calls for Cheesecake to stop barking and she picks up a broomstick for protection, like it was a baseball bat, goes slowly into the kitchen and finds something that she did not expect. Oreo was laying down on the floor, paws up and getting a belly rub from a small kid while Cheesecake, the Red Devil, as she called him, kept barking. Aimee freezes in shock at the scene, she was expecting a burglar, not a little kid, a bit bigger than a toddler. 

    Cheesecake comes to her huffing and puffing, looking disapprovingly with a side eye to his brother who surrendered to the intruder so easily. Aimee shushes the dog, picking him up in her arms and then she talks to the kid, asking how he got into there and where he came from. He just smiles and points to the entrance door and goes back to playing with Oreo, the sellout. Aimee, trying not to show she is frustrated with the situation, calls Oreo and he comes to her, so the kid now can focus on answering questions. She then tries again, asking his name. He feebly says his name is Lenny. Suddenly now Oreo is barking because he hears Rob walking towards the kitchen, Finally it was enough noise to wake the man up, he drags his feet into the kitchen, asking the dogs to stop the ruckus and questioning Aimee why is she taking forever to go out with the little dogs, only to have the scare of his life. He cannot help but shout when he sees Lenny sitting on the kitchen floor, snapping his fingers at the dogs, so they come to play. He asks Aimee who is that and she just says all she knows is his name. The couple stare at each other, completely puzzled and not knowing what to do and then they look at the kid. He has dark brown hair, blue sunken eyes, very pale skin, he is skinny and kind of small. He is dressed in very drab clothes, even if they were pyjamas, they look a bit ratty for someone who lives in this neighborhood, let alone the building, provided he indeed lives here. Soon enough there is a knock on the door and a woman asks if she can come in, already being half way in anyways. Lenny runs towards her and says that there´s cute little dogs in the flat now. Aimee and Rob look even more confused and while the woman affectionately pets the dachshunds that are now jumping on her legs, she says she is sorry. She introduces herself, she is their neighbor, Claire and she is Lenny’s mom. She has an accent that they cannot identify, but it sounds slightly East European. Aimee and Rob both shake her hand and each pick up a dog so they can talk without being interrupted. Claire says she is sorry that Lenny came in uninvited, he used to play there all the time ever since the lock was a bit dodgy and the flat has been empty for so long. Claire looked like she was a bit tired or hungover, her hair as messy as Lenny´s and her mascara a bit smudged on the corners of her eyes.  Both Rob and Aimee thought it was weird that a mom would not know straight away that her kid was missing and even weirder that she would let him roam around the building unsupervised. Most likely she has just been alerted that the kid was here and needed to be picked up, because Cheesecake went nuts and was disturbing the peace of the whole place. Aimee and Rob tell Claire that they just moved in yesterday and introduce the dogs to the neighbors as well. Rob says Cheesecake is a bit more suspicious than Oreo, but with time he learns to trust people. Lenny is now staring at Aimee and Claire says to him if he introduced himself properly and he nods that he did. Claire then says she is a translator and most times works from home, she came here from Poland four years ago and Lenny is five and homeschooled at the moment, so they will have a chance to get acquainted with the dogs in no time. Aimee says she also works from home, and that prompts Claire to say maybe they can take Lenny and the dogs to the park every now and then. Aimee pretends not to be uncomfortable with the thought of suddenly having playdates with a complete stranger, but Rob jumps in and says that will be a wonderful idea, once they are settled in. Claire gets the memo and starts asking Lenny to say bye to his new friends and he smiles at the dogs and says bye only to Aimee, looking her right in the eye. Aimee says bye back with an anemic smile and then closes the door as soon as the neighbors step out, bolting it this time. 

    Rob releases the dogs and covers his mouth to muffle his laughter. Aimee gives him a dirty look and says it isn’t funny and throws the dog collars at him, telling him he is the one now taking out the fur babies. While Rob puts on a sweatshirt over his old Devils jersey, he says that was kind of surreal, what type of person just lets a five year old kid wander around unsupervised? Aimee agrees and says she is as confused as Rob and, while he is out with the dogs, she will send Terry a message telling her about what happened and asking more about who Claire and Lenny are. Once Rob and the dogs are out, Aimee makes a cup of coffee to clear her head and cannot stop thinking that the whole ordeal was off and that kid did not speak much, and he was kind of small for his age. Maybe she is over reacting, he is just a child, afterall. 

    Once the coffee seemed to take effect on her senses, she wrote the landlady a text message. She first apologized for writing on a Sunday morning, but what happened seemed to be big enough, in Aimee’s view, to contact Terry as soon as possible. After five minutes, the phone buzzes and there is a response from Terry. She says, although the situation is not ideal, both Claire and Lenny are harmless, most likely he is just a lonely kid who wanted to play with the dachshunds. Aimee wrinkles her nose at the text, as she feels like Terry is downplaying the situation. Sensing that nothing much will come from this, Aimee says she will make sure the door is bolted at all times and that if Terry cannot fix the door soon enough, she is more than happy to find a locksmith and install a new lock. Terry responds straight away thanking Aimee for the offer, but she already has someone lined up to do the job this upcoming week. It might be the case they need a new door frame so she wants one of her contractors to see it. Aimee gets frustrated thinking what else can be done if the door opens when they are not at home, or one of them would have to be there at all times? That is impractical to say the least but instead of venting to Terry, she just let it slide and told her that it is good to know this will be fixed soon and wishes her a good Sunday. Aimee puts the phone away and then sighs, clearly fed up on how this day is turning out to be. The only thing she can think of is to put a motion sensor alarm and a camera by the entrance door. Just to guarantee things will be ok. Plus a baby gate to at least try and contain the dogs in the kitchen without closing the door, so if the entrance door opens, they won’t wander around the building or even worse, get outside. She picks her phone again and places the orders online and to be delivered the next day, the wonders of the modern world and late stage capitalism, she ironically thinks to herself. 

    Soon Rob and the dachshunds are back and, while they clean the dogs paws, Aimee tells what the landlady has said about everything and the items she shopped online. Rob gets a bit frustrated as well as he listens to Aimee. He voices his confusion as to why it is so hard to fix a door. It´s not like this place is cheap nor Terry is a slum landlady, like the shows he has watched on YouTube about people that live in bad places in Dublin. At least Aimee seems to be proactive to mitigate the problem  and he thanks his wife with a kiss on her forehead and a bearhug that makes her back crack, making  the dogs jump at them, the little jealous creatures.

    The rest of Sunday was busy and tiring. With lots of furniture assembling, cleaning and mopping around the flat. The dogs were sound asleep in bed, snoring away under a blanket while the humans were hard at work. If aliens would come to Earth and see that scene, they would think that the humans were the pets and servants to the tiny legged creatures. Every now and then either Cheesecake or Oreo would come to check on someone who stumbled a toe when moving a table or another that hammered a nail too close to their actual nail. After making sure that Aimee and Rob were ok, the dogs enforced a cheese tax for their services and went back to bed, sighing so loudly that it promptly made Rob laugh out loud in return, afterall no one is more tired than a dog who does nothing all day. Aimee laughs and agrees that it is very accurate. As the day goes on, eventually Aimee brings up again the incident of the morning. Rob says it will all be ok, he will make sure the door is bolted and tomorrow he will install the camera and the alarm she bought. And also they have Cheesecake as an extra alarm, powered by treats and general antipathy for most creatures, animal and human alike. When the flat starts looking more like a home rather than a campsite, the couple feels like it is time to stop, take a Guinness and toast to their new place, followed by a pizza they order. Before 10 pm they are wiped out and after Rob takes the dogs out for the last bathroom trip of the day, Aimee bolts the entrance door and just to be sure, wedges a kitchen chair under the handle. She wanted to sleep with one eye open but that idea lasted for 10 minutes before she fell asleep hugging Oreo. 

   The next morning before going to work, Rob got up a little bit early to take the dogs out for Aimee. By the time he came back, she was already up and brewing some coffee in the kitchen. She greeted the dogs and after quickly acknowledging her presence, they ran to their bowls where their morning kibble awaited them. Aimee passed a mug of warm coffee with a dash of cream, no sugar, to her husband and he had sips of it while getting his stuff ready to work. He asked her, mug in one hand and laptop in another, at what time she was getting the cameras and she said sometime after 12 or so. Rob said he could help settling all up by the time he was back, but Aimee said she could do it, it must be simple enough. Rob acquiesced and said she could text him if anything came up, for now she had to use her phone network because it will take a few days for the wi-fi to be installed, he should go and get all done tomorrow after work, he has an early day and can solve all those things. Aimee makes a mental note of those and says that she hopes Terry gets the door sorted soon enough. The dogs are done with their kibble and come to the living room to find a place to lay down. Aimee goes to sit next to them on the sofa, still sipping her coffee. Rob follows her and puts his workbag on the floor and his empty mug on the side table. Now he is holding her hands and saying he is only a twenty minute tram away from her, if she needs him. She smiles and gives him a kiss, promptly making the daxies jump on their faces, joining in for more kisses. The humans cannot help but laugh and it seems a good moment for Rob to step out before he gets late. Aimee takes him to the door and kisses him again and they both say they love each other. In the hall there is no one else, and all Aimee can hear is Rob´s hurried steps towards the main door and the sound of her own door being bolted seconds later. 

    Now it is barely 8 in the morning, so Aimee thinks she could have some breakfast and open up her computer to read her work emails and then come up with a writing schedule, so she can be productive and get things done. She will only get the tech she bought hours away, so she has time to do all that until then. Soon enough, Aimee is immersed in her work emails, project deadlines and rearranging her work calendar and writing schedule, only ever taking eyes from the computer screen to take turns petting Cheesecake and Oreo, who are sitting on a big fluffy dog bed under the work desk and next to the balcony window. 

    Soon enough the dogs run to the door and Aimee jumps when the bell rings. It cannot be the tech delivery, it is not even 11 yet. So, after pleading with the dogs for them to stop barking, without success, Aimee picks them up like a purse, and tuck them under one arm and away from the entrance, using her free arm to open the door. She then gets greeted by Claire, who is carrying flowers in one hand and holding Lenny on the other. She says the flowers are both a welcome to the neighborhood and a sorry we scared you on your first day. Lenny now is behind his mom, only ever looking up when Aimee is not looking at him. Aimee says Claire shouldn’t have and thanks her for the beautiful white roses anyways. Claire says she is taking Lenny to the park and if by any chance Aimee and the little dogs would be interested in some exercise as well. The dogs go crazy with the mention of one of their favorite words, park, but Aimee says that sadly she is busy with work and she has some deliveries soon, for the new house. She is not saying that the delivery is for things to keep her safe from them too, although it is true, because she doesn’t want to offend Claire. Lenny must be just a lonely kid who likes dogs. Claire says another time, then, maybe later in the week when Aimee is more settled. Aimee politely agrees but she is already thinking how can she say no again without sounding like a bitch. Claire says they should get going and tells Lenny to say bye to Aimee and the dogs, but same as yesterday, he only says bye to Aimee, now looking her straight in the eye. Aimee feels the chills again and thinks she is being ridiculous for having the creeps towards a child. Once they leave and Aimee closes the door, she can release the two hell hounds, but not without giving them a lecture on how bad mannered dogs they can be. Her speech is cut in half by the sound of a notification on her phone, saying that in a couple hours she is going to get her order delivered. She feels instantly relieved, now she will have at least some things to keep them all safe, even if she feels ridiculous about it. 

    By the time Rob got home, he saw that Aimee installed everything by herself, even a video door bell she failed to mention before. She has always been handy, so it´s no surprise that she did it all by herself, he just offered some help in order to be polite. He is tripping onto the dogs as he comes in, and Aimee is proudly showing him as she kisses him hello, as much as the dogs let her, that they have a whole set up now. They can even see the place remotely on their phones when they are not at home. There is even a camera that catches if Cheesecake and Oreo start barking, so they can talk to them and dispense treats. Rob is very impressed and also relieved that Aimee feels better about the whole thing, even though Terry hasn’t called or sent her handyman yet. Most likely the new found feeling of safety helped everyone to sleep better and through the night, dogs included. 

    The next morning, everything happened as the day before, Rob getting the dogs out and then heading to work while Aimee started her day a bit later, reviewing the tasks and deadlines from her ongoing projects. Everything was going smoothly, dogs snoozing away, cuddled on their beds and Aimee tapping away her keyboard until the doorbell rang followed by a cellphone ping. That was enough for the dogs to get up in a rush and start barking their way to the entrance door. Aimee looked at the door camera app on her phone, thinking it might be the handyman coming to fix the door, but it was actually someone else. She stood up, took a deep breath and rolled her eyes as she walked towards the door and before opening it, she closed the doggie gate, so the two tiny escape artists could be contained. Aimee fixed herself, and put on her best fake smile as she opened the door to see Claire standing there. It sounds like she was already half a sentence in even before Aimee says good morning, as she is apologizing for something she hasn’t asked yet. She then takes a breath, and stops talking to give space for a confused Aimee to chime in and say hello amidst the loud barks of the tiny daxies. Claire says she is super sorry to ask, but her usual person fell ill today and she got a last minute job, and needs someone to look at Lenny for the rest of the morning, tops mid afternoon. Since he seemed to like Aimee and the dogs so much, Claire thought it would be ok. Aimee thought this is way worse than the walk in the park as like, who asks a virtual stranger to take care of a child they barely know? She can see Claire is pressed for help and that she must need the money, I mean, who doesn’t need it nowadays? Aimee felt sorry for her and empathized with her problem, as she is also a foreigner in a foreign land and it must be hard to raise a kid without a support network and most likely Claire tried with friends and co-workers before, so she reluctantly says yes. Before Aimee has as chance to change her mind, Claire shouts for Lenny to come in with his things to “aunty Aimee”, even the dogs get weird out, tilting their heads at the unnatural sound of that expression using their human´s name. The kid comes to the building hall and stands in front of the neighbor´s door, now looking as the dogs jump up and down at the small containment gate, barking as louder than before. He covers his ears and Aimee gently picks up the noise offenders again and puts them both under her arms. She reassures both Claire and Lenny that the dogs just need their time, and Lenny maybe can feed them some treats inside, how about that? Claire is still apologetic and thankful at the same time, and she hands Aimee a card with her contact info in case something happens, and that Lenny has no known allergies nor dislikes anything, so he is a good sport and most likely will be happy playing with the dogs or drawing, and he has what he needs in his bag. She quickly kisses her son and asks him to be good and do what Aimee says and that mom will be back soon. She thanks Aimee again and then quickly leaves while the kid stays motionless staring at his shoes. Aimee tells him to come in as she opens the dog gate. Lenny comes in, still looking down and every now and then twitching his eyes at each bark from the dachshund duo. Aimee closes the door behind them and tells Lenny to sit on the rug in the living room, he immediately obeys and then he raises his eyes to look at Aimee as she goes to the kitchen, dogs still under her arm like a purse. She keeps talking, saying she is bringing some of the dogs’ favorite treats, tiny biscuits in the shape of a little bone. She gets a jar of biscuits and comes back to join Lenny. She sits on the couch and then asks Lenny to sit next to her, as she puts the little devil dogs on the rug. Aimee then proceeds to tell Oreo and Cheesecake to sit down, while they stare at the dog biscuit jar. She explains to Lenny that the dogs will do tricks for treats and show that if she says “give paw” while holding a biscuit inside his hand, the dogs will obey and then he can feed them the treat. She does that and the dogs do exactly as she said, followed by loud crunch sounds as they munch on the biscuits. That seems to get a small smile from Lenny and then Aimee asks if he wants to try it too, as he nods positively. She asks the dogs to sit, as they do and then she gives a biscuit for Lenny to hold in his hand, as he tentatively reaches out his arm towards her direction. Aimee gently places two biscuits on his hand and even more gently folds his own hand over the treats, now telling him to tell the dogs to “give paw”. For a second, Lenny seems to hesitate and he looks at Aimee with his deep big blue eyes, and then he looks at the dogs, takes a small breath and with a whisper of voice repeats the command taught by Aimee. The dogs immediately give him their front paws, touching his hand, eliciting a shy laughter from the boy, followed by a smile towards Aimee. She says that is good and now he opens the hand and gives each dog a biscuit. He does what he is told and Aimee asks the dogs to be gentle as they each pick a biscuit from the boy’s hand. He jumps a bit at the cold touch of the dogs´ noses and he laughs, saying in a small voice that they licked his hand and that is funny. Aimee laughs too, saying that a cold wet nose is a sign of health and that they can do another round again, if Lenny wants it. He nodded his head again as a yes and now he gets the biscuits from the jar himself, looking every now and then at Aimee to make sure he is doing it right, his smile getting bigger every time. After a couple more rounds, everyone seem to be more comfortable with each other and Aimee says Lenny can pick up some dog toys from the basket by the window and throw fetch with the daxies, and he does as he is told and chooses some tennis balls, and the dogs immediately follow his lead. While they are playing, Aimee sends Rob a text telling he won´t believe what’s happening. She then sends him a video of Lenny playing with the dogs and Rob responds with a surprised face emoji. Aimee says she´ll tell him all about it later when he gets home, as of now she needs to keep an eye on the new found friend trio. Rob sends her a thumbs up and Aimee comes back to watching the boy and the dogs, they seem to be in the groove of playing and then Lenny starts taking different toys, like a fluffy stuffed monkey and a soft rubber frisbee, paying attention to what the dogs seem to like more. He smiles at the happiness of the dogs playing and smiles back at Aimee who asks if he is hungry and if he wants something to eat, to which he nods positively. He follows Aimee in the kitchen, she asks him to wash hands with her in the sink. Lenny comes and then points at the fridge, saying in a small voice that he likes the pictures of the dogs Aimee put up. She then waits for him to wash his hands and gets her polaroid camera from her desk and asks if she wants a picture with the dogs, to which he enthusiastically says yes, although he stands there looking very serious as Aimee takes the picture. While the photo develops, she pours him a glass of milk and gets some double stuffed oreos from the cupboard, as she asks him to sit by the kitchen table. She pours some milk for herself and places half a pack of oreos on plates in front of herself and Lenny. Aimee is sorry that this is the most kid friendly food she has in the house, and she doesn’t even finish her sentence when Lenny starts eating, saying thank you with a mouthful of cookie, making Aimee laugh out loud as she gets a cookie herself. As they eat, Lenny breaks the silence and asks, a bit less shy than before, if Oreos are Aimee’s favorites because one of the dogs is named Oreo, to which Aimee agrees to, as she drinks a bit of milk to wash down the cookie she is still working on. Getting more confident now, he takes another cookie and then proceeds to ask if Aimee also likes cheesecake, as it is the name of the other dog, to which she says, that is a good observation because she does like cheesecake. The kid seems to be pleased with himself and then adds that Aimee must like strawberry cheesecake the best because the dog is red and that he looks like a long slice of strawberry cheesecake. Aimee agrees and laughs again, saying that is another excellent point, because that is the best cheesecake flavor. Now Lenny is laughing more, moving his feet under the table and munching on another cookie. Aimee then says that later she can make him a grilled cheese with some apple juice, so he doesn’t need to fill up on just milk and cookies. She thinks that must be what moms do, no one should let kids eat too many cookies. He then agrees and says thanks as he finishes his milk. Aimee brings his bag and asks if he wants to draw while she reads some things for work and that she can draw the canine Oreo and Cheesecake along with their pastry counterpart, getting a loud laugh from the kid. She then brings him the picture she took, clears the table and he brings his drawing pad and crayons. Aimee then sits next to him and starts drawing the dogs and the pastries next to them, while the real ones are snoozing under the table. Lenny is amused and laughs saying they look just like the dogs. Although Aimee is not the best illustrator, at least she can get by to entertain a five year old. The morning goes by and after Lenny colors a few pages designed by Aimee, and she gets through some readings for work, soon enough is early afternoon and she asks Lenny to go to the bathroom and wash his hands before eating, because he patted the dogs again. She shows him the bathroom and asks if he needs help and he says no, that he is big enough to do it himself. He sounded slightly indignant and offended Aimee thought of him as a baby, but she just says that is ok and he should close the door, without locking, otherwise the dogs come in. He does what he is told and Aimee goes back to the kitchen to work on a couple grilled cheese sandwiches for the humans, and some kibble for the dogs. She hears the toilet flushing and the water tap opening and closing, so Lenny does know how to use the bathroom himself, because then she doesn’t need to help him. By the time he is back, the sandwiches are on the grill and he takes the same place on the table as before, clearing out his crayons and drawings aside and then back into his bag. He then asks Aimee, as she is waiting for the grill to be ready, as to why she doesn’t have kids. His raw honesty gets her off guard, as usually kids do with their questions. She then turns to him and says that eventually she could have a kid, that the dogs are good practice for now, those two little terrors are like big babies anyways, as she bumps her feet on Cheresecake´s butt. Lenny laughs out loud, both dogs confused as to why they are the object of the joke. As Aimee serves Lenny his sandwich, he thanks her and says he thinks she would be a good mom, as his mom never draws or makes him hot sandwiches. Aimee is touched and at the same time sad at what she just heard. She sits down to eat her own sandwich and tells Lenny he could ask mom to make him hot sandwiches if he likes them, to which he replies it’s easier to ask Ms. Kowalska (maybe his sitter?) because mom is too busy anyways, she always makes him either spaghetti rings or beans on toast and he dislikes both but needs to eat otherwise…then he stops talking, realizing maybe that Aimee was actually listening to him too attentively. Turns out she was and that did not sit so well, anyone should give their kids something better than those foods. Soon enough there is a knock on the door followed by barking and running, kid and dog like, and Aimee looks at her phone and sees via the app that Claire is back. Lenny seems happy to get his mom back and once Aimee opens the door, he wants to tell, without pauses for breathing, that he learned to feed the dogs and that they are named after pastries and there is a picture, and drawings! Claire says that is fun and asks Lenny to get his things, meanwhile she will talk to Aimee. He runs back in, followed by the forever nosy dogs, leaving both women alone to talk. Aimee tells her what they did and what he ate, and that he seemed to like the grilled cheese very much and he wasn’t very interested in beans on toast when she offered him some, hinting on what he told her before. Claire makes a little sour face, followed by a forced smile, thanking Aimee for all the help and sorry again for the imposition. By the time she finishes the sentence, Lenny and the dogs are back and his mom says it is time to say bye to all and thank Aimee for her hospitality. He then hugs Aimee on her legs and looks up to her saying that he likes her more than Ms. Kowalska because Aimee likes Oreos and has a dog named Oreo too. Claire is embarrassed by how comfy Lenny was with the neighbor in such little time, and she quickly gathers her son and his things and once again thanks Aimee as she starts walking back to her place. Lenny says see you soon Aimee and then Oreo and Cheesecake as the black dog wags his tail and the red one barks. 

     Later when Rob arrived from work, they took the dogs for a walk around Merrion Square and while Cheesecake and Oreo pulled them towards the Oscar Wilde statue, Aimee told him what happened in details, saying that the kid is more comfortable with her and the dogs, his mom works too much and she seems to be single, so that is double the work. Rob agrees and says there is no problem giving an extra hand for a neighbor that is in need. Once the dogs had enough running around, Aimee and Rob head back home to start thinking about dinner and when they reach their building, they can see Lenny sitting by the balcony window, as he waves to them and calls out Oreo and Cheesecake. He then waves enthusiastically to Aimee and gives a shy smile to Rob who waves back at him, as so Aimee. Once they are in and the dogs continue pulling them towards where they want to go, Claire opens the door and Lenny runs out, petting the dogs that run to him. Claire laughs and says it´s nice he is making friends with the dogs. Rob agrees and says the dogs love to get as much attention they can get from people and Aimee just politely agrees. Rob excuses themselves as they have to come home and make dinner, to which Lenny asks his mom if he could join them. Claire says in a mild annoyed tone that she has dinner almost ready, maybe another time and Lenny sees that his mom means business when she talks like that and says bye to everyone, rushing back in. When everyone is back in their own places, Aimee says to Rob she is not that sure about Claire as a mom to which Rob interjects that just a couple days ago she didn’t like the kid either, so time will do the trick with the mom as well. 

   Most days when Rob and Aimee are either coming or going to walk the dogs, Lenny does the same thing as he did before: stopping them in the hall to pet the dogs and his mom making the same inane comments about how cute the dogs are. Unlike Rob said, Aimee´s opinion on Claire is not growing, yet she likes the kid more. She feels sorry for him being home schooled, she never sees him playing with other kids and she feels her heart getting small thinking of him eating the beans on toast he hates because his mom cannot be bothered to cook something for her only son. Rob sticks by his opinion that kids do weird things and that being a single mom must be a lot, and Aimee gets annoyed that he is not listening to her.

    More time passes by and then the kid starts wandering into the neighboring flat, Aimee can see him in the phone door app when he rings the door. Sometimes to ask for more play time with the dogs, or if Aimee can draw more for him, or his mom asking if the couple can watch Lenny a bit so she can run some errands. Rob is still unbothered that the kid wanders in at all times and is so taken by them, maybe because he isn’t working from home like his wife. Claire says it’s cute that Lenny likes the neighbors so much. Aimee wonders, does the woman know other words? Everything is either cute or nice. Rob eventually convinces Aimee that being boring is not a crime and that being around Lenny is good practice for when they have kids in the future.

    Aimee and Rob decided to embrace (maybe more accept, in Aimee’s case) the status quo of Lenny’s wandering in; and eventually those started to evolve to actual visits. First those visits are innocuous, he wants to play with the dogs and watch tv. Then he comes asking to eat a grilled cheese, which pulls Aimee’s heart strings again. In the fashion of the saying “when you give an inch, they want an arm”, Claire keeps asking the neighbors more frequently to sit for the kid while she runs errands. There’s a myriad of excuses: the old sitter is busy, Claire is a bit short on cash and needs the extra work, Lenny likes Aimee and the dachshunds so much…and so on. Those errands and work events start to take longer and longer, prompting Aimee to question when the kid studies and has a routine, even skeptic Rob being forced to agree with his wife now.

     One night, Aimee hears a noise and the dogs growl. They find the kid using the bathroom and then he asks to sleep in the living room. Somehow the door was not bolted and he learned the passcode to the alarm? How is that possible? Finally Rob gets to where Aimee has always been, and decides this is all a bit much. They are not responsible for someone´s kid, especially when this starts to disturb their own life. The landlady also had the chance again and again to have her “own guy” to come fixing the door, so now they both had enough, and if Terry doesn’t send her guy this week, Rob will find someone who does the job, whatever it costs. This nonsense has to stop. Aimee barely has time for her actual work and never has the energy to write more for her novel. They feel sorry for the innocent kid, but they need to put some sort of limit on his mom, who is the one mainly responsible for this mess. Aimee says she will stay with Lenny and the dogs, to keep the noise under control, and Rob goes to Claire´s to have a serious talk with her. Lenny left the door unlocked, so Rob knocks before coming in and sees the lights are out. He calls out for Claire and yet, no one comes. Rob feels uncomfortable doing the same thing he came here to complain about, but he sees no option. He calls Claire again, but still no one answers. He then imagines the worst, could she have left Lenny on his own? Once he gets towards the bedroom, he can smell liquor in the air, and then gets his phone to turn on the torch and see what is happening, because he can hear snoring. He then sees Claire is asleep on her bed, and a stranger is with her. He slowly backs down and returns to the building hall, then starts ringing the bell non stop until Claire answers the door. Disheveled and drunk, she seems completely unaware that Lenny went out to the neighbor’s place and was missing. Claire is visibly shaken and embarrassed, and runs in the neighboring flat to get Lenny back, apologizing profusely about the whole situation. She finds Lenny cuddling with the dogs, and Aimee covering them with a blanket. Aimee stops Claire in her tracks and says it´s better if he stays a little while, maybe until she gets a shower and puts herself together. Claire seems to take great offense in the offer, saying that Lenny is her kid and no one has the right to tell her how to raise him. Rob intervenes saying that in the moment she started treating them as a free babysitter service and doesn’t even bother to feed her kid right and doesn’t even notice he is missing, she kind of walked herself on that lane. Now Claire is huffing and puffing and the dogs wake up, Cheesecake is growling and standing guard in front of his humans. Oreo is awake now too, sitting next to his brother and showing his teeth to Claire. Aimee knows that she needs to pick up the kid herself, otherwise the dogs will attack. Rob gets the situation and stands in front of Claire, telling her that Aimee will take Lenny to her, so the dogs stay put. Reluctantly, Aimee picks up the boy carefully for him not to wake up, passes him to Rob, who then hands him to Claire. The woman then stomps out back to her place, shutting the door close with her foot and they can hear Lenny calling for Aimee before it gets quiet.   

     The next day Aimee and Rob hire a handy man to fix the door. They call to inform the landlady they also installed new locks. Terry just accepts she took too long to fix the door and the couple also accepts that most likely they will lose their security deposit over this. One stupid problem at a time, they think, before starting on something before they are through with their current issue. After commenting and questioning Claire´s behavior last night, Terry says the woman has always been a good tenant and no one has ever made a complaint about her, nor Lenny. Well, that was useless, thought Aimee, no one seems to know anything provided you are paying rent and staying out of the way here. After the call with Terry is done, they lock up the house and go out with the dogs to try and save their weekend by clearing their heads a bit and tiring their bodies. They take the train and spend the day in Howth, walking up the cliffs with the dachshunds pulling them as tiny horses, and then back down for a tasty plate of fish and chips along with a cold Guinness. In the late afternoon back in Dublin, everyone is tired enough to feel like they could sleep a long night, especially now they have fixed the door for good and they doubt that Claire will ever ask them another favor again. At least they were partly right. 

       The next day, after Rob is out to work, Lenny tries to come in again but nothing that he did before works, since the door was fixed and security amped up. He starts banging on the door, calling Aimee’s name. He has a freakout because he cannot come in. The dogs are going crazy inside and the neighbors are coming in to see what is happening. To avoid the worst, Aimee lets Lenny in, while the curious neighbors are looking at what is happening as they go out to work. After closing the door, Aimee calls Rob to come back home immediately, and for him to message his work text chain group that he has a family emergency and needs to be back home asap. Aimee is alone in the house for now and she has to call social services because apparently so is Lenny, his mom sight unseen as she went to check Claire’s flat a minute ago. Soon Rob is back and Aimee tries to fill him in with the little information she has. A couple hours later, the social services people come in and the couple tries to tell everything that has been happening from the beggining. The police have been alerted already, so now they have to wait. After taking notes and making a physical check on the boy, the social worker lets the kid state what happened and all he says is that he wants to stay with Aimee and Rob. The social worker says this is unusual, but he is better off at home with someone he knows, otherwise he will go to a shelter and then to a foster home until an investigation is done. The couple begrudgingly accepts it for the sake of the kid, Rob now switches places with Aimee, being the one who is more suspicious of everything.

   Soon enough a detective with the police arrives, and informs Rob and Aimee they cannot find Claire. Landlady Terry was also summoned by the detective and she gave Claire’s full personal information, plus copies of her documents and identification. During a computer search, it was found that those docs were forged, and no one knows who Claire really is. There are no findings of Lenny’s name in any system either. For now, the police will keep searching based on her pictures and sightings of possible witnesses. Rob is asked to give the physical details of the man he saw at Claire´s flat the night before, so he needs to go to the closest precinct. Aimee is nervous being by herself, but there is no point leaving the dogs home and all of them go, now with the kid there and all. Hours later, Rob comes back and Lenny is fast asleep at the sofa in the living room, the dogs standing guard next to Aimee, like tiny gargoyles. Rob tells Aimee everything that happened in the precinct, that now the police have enough for a composite of the guy and they will put an alert for finding him as well. Rob wishes he could make a request for working from home or more time off, but between the nature of his job, the NDA he signed, and being new, that is not so wise to do. Aimee of course understands, although she doesn’t like it. 

    Aimee works from home and watches Lenny while Rob works in person at his job. The dogs have been keeping distance from Lenny ever since that night when Claire came. The kid has a mom missing, and he keeps getting more attached to Aimee, much to Rob´s unease.

    During the night, the dogs growl and wake the couple up, only to find Lenny in the bedroom, looking at them sleeping. Rob tells him to get back to the sofa and the kid says he is scared to sleep alone. Aimee says it´s ok, he must be scared without his mom, that is all. Rob gets so fed up, he starts sleeping in the living room, going to work with a stiff neck and a headache everyday the following week, until finally the police and social services contact him to tell they cannot find Lenny’s mom, so it’s time for the kid to be taken the next morning. Aimee learns about this from Rob, and although she is relieved, she is also profoundly sad with the outcome. Maybe Claire ran away with her boyfriend, leaving a kid behind? That is so disturbing, you’ll see it in the news all the time, but never think it will happen close to you. 

    The next morning when social services and the police come in, they inform Aimee and Rob of what will happen and they also need to tell Lenny. The kid goes crazy, screaming and running around the house. Rob needs to get the dogs and put them in the bedroom, so no one gets hurt, since they started barking aggressively or too protectively maybe? Lenny cries and screams, asking Aimee to be his mom. She starts crying and pleading with him this is not how it works, but to no avail. Rob says to the authorities there that they cannot keep a child at the moment, the apartment is too small and they don’t have enough money yet after moving in just a while ago. Lenny kicks Rob in the crotch and keeps avoiding being grabbed, until the police officers team that came with the detective have enough, and grab Lenny forcefully. Eventually, the boy is taken kicking and screaming, Aimee is heartbroken with sadness and Rob is relieved this is coming to an end. The detective says he will be in touch, and if Rob or Aimee see something suspicious, they must call in immediately to his cell phone.

    That night no one slept, everything that they went through going in their heads again and again, like a movie that finishes and you press play to start once more. Even the dogs seemed to be restless and decided to camp in front of the entrance door, like the smallest security guards one could get. Days go by with no news, and sometimes no news is better than bad news. Rob is working in the office, as usual, Aimee is starting to relax again and resumes working on her book, Cheesecake and Oreo are sleeping in the bedroom with their humans again, snoring the night away, having abandoned their second jobs as security of the household and being just pets for now. 

   A few days later, just when everything seems to have fallen into the groove of normality, police called the couple to say they found a body that is consistent with Lenny’s mom picture they had been given, but no man is found, dead or alive, who is consistent with the description given by Rob yet. Either Aimee or Rob are summoned to identify the body, so Rob goes to the station. He identifies the body as Claire´s, even though what is left doesn’t look like the Claire they knew. Police say Claire was stabbed on the neck and found near Oscar Wilde park, a place Aimee often walks the dogs and sits to read. And because no bad news ever comes alone, police also say that Lenny is missing from the temporary home he was put into. Aimee and Rob fear the worst and that maybe Lenny’s unknown dad might have killed the mom, maybe her friend and also might have taken Lenny and went away. That could explain her new identity, was she a runaway from an abusive husband?

    Days go by and again, nothing new comes up from the police nor social services, so Aimee and Rob are back living life as normal as one can live. Aimee is out taking the dogs to the groomer today, when Rob arrives home early from work. He brought groceries to make a nice dinner for Aimee, he even picked up some filet mignon especially for Cheesecake and Oreo’s benefit. He comes in, unloading his work bag on the sofa and rushing with the groceries to the kitchen counter, when he is startled by a noise. He feels a cold shiver on his belly. Is it the man he saw asleep in Claire´s flat? Is it the unknown father to Lenny? He hears more noises coming from the living room and fears someone broke in, and before he can call the police, he finds Lenny, coming from behind the sofa, flat key in left hand. The little bastard had stolen a key from the extra set they had been meaning to hand to Terry, he must have found it snooping around before he was taken. Rob tries to ask Lenny if he is ok, as he tries to grab his phone from his back pocket without alarming the little kid. If he made such a fiasco last time he was taken, now he was not going away without a bigger struggle, especially if he came all the way back here. Once Lenny steps into the light, Rob sees he is covered in blood and he panics, rushing to tend to the helpless child. Only closer Rob sees that Lenny has no apparent injuries, and the blood he has on him is dry. Rob is confused as he keeps checking the boy´s body, who doesn’t seem to be resisting. He then gets Lenny´s right arm and sees he is holding a small knife. Before Rob can make sense of what is happening, Lenny stabs him on the neck, repeatedly. As Rob lies on the floor, bleeding and gurgling, Lenny calmly sits next to him on the floor, watching him die. They got everything partly wrong and somewhat right: Lenny was the one who killed his mom, he tells a dying Rob that Claire was not a good mummy, she never gave him grilled cheese. He was tired of every bad daddy she had found him and then Aimee and Rob moved in. He loved Aimee, she named her dog after her favorite cookie. Rob could be a good daddy but he was always grumpy and mean and did not let Aimee be Lenny´s mummy. Now it was bye bye time for Rob and everyone will be happy forever. Lenny has a big smile on his face when he hears the key turning at the main door. Aimee comes and shouts that Rob better be in the kitchen because she has bought wine to chill before she picks up the dogs back from the pet shop. Once she puts more lights on, she is faced with the horrible scene in her living room. In shock, she drops the red wine bottle, and the blood of her husband slowly puddling around his body is getting mixed with the wine from the broken bottle by her feet. Rob is dead and a smiley Lenny is next to him. Lenny, covered in fresh blood, happily says to a terrified Aimee: “See, now you can be my mummy!”