"You should name him. We need something to call him with."
Dorrie looked up at the boy with a smile spreading over her lips. Her eyes seemed to flash the universe as she thought over names for the puppy.
"Peanut Butter." she spilled out unconsciously.
"Hah!" Edison exclaimed with his eyes wide open. Dorrie could be absurd that he knew, but to this extent, was out of his mind.
"He remains me of peanut butter. So, that will be his name." Dorrie smiled from ear to ear.
"He doesn't even have that colour, why peanut butter?" Edison looked at the girl- happily patting the puppy, namedly Peanut Butter, with disbelief in his eyes.
"Look at the spots on his body," Dorrie traced one such spot, "They look like peanuts." she was running her index over the dips on both side of the spot as if pointing it to him.
Edison leaned for a better look only to conclude that the spots were fairly circular to him; not peanut at all.
"And he melts people just like butter," Dorrie continued chirpily. And this Edison could agree with. The puppy had eyes that could compell anyone with a living and breathing heart.
Dorrie was distracted by the little thing's cuteness and didn't think much about the way Edison was looking at her.
She scratched Peanut Butter on the back of his ear and coed, "Hello Mr. Butter, do you like your name?"
He rubbed his face the hand on his head and barked softly in agreement while swinging his tail. Dorrie laughed at his antics, enjoying the feeling of soft fur again her palm.
"Edy, whoever left him was taking care of him. Look at how clean he is."
Edison had a small smile on his lips, saying nothing in response. How could he give her something dirty. When he brought the dog home, his hair was matted in dried mud which later he washed to reveal the shine of the dark brown fur. 'Well, it paid off.' he thought.
Peanut Butter was enjoying his time with Dorrie, or Peanut as Dorrie called him. Dorrie gave him food every morning and Edison, at night- for her parents wouldn't let her out of the house after 8 o'clock. Every evening they came to play with him thus the pair of Edison and Dorrie became the trio of Edison Dorrie and Peanut Butter- no matter how she called him, for other's the name remained so with no shortforms. Not even for Edison.
"Why do I have to call him that when Butter is supposed to be a surname." the difference in treatment was really irksome for Edison.
"No! You have to respect him." yet her refusal remained firm.
"What about you then!"
"No formality for me. You won't understand it." Dorrie huffed and pointed a finger at him, "Mr. Butter or Peanut Butter, your choice."
Edison gave her an exhausted look and grumbled, "Have you left any choice for me to choose from?" but Dorrie's stern look changed his tone to helplessness, "Fine, whatever you say," clearly still reluctant.
Everyone continued on their life. The town was oblivious to Peanut Butter's adoption. But not to what followed after it.
A rainstorm washed the city with a vengeance never seen before by the pair of innocent eyes of Dorrie. It rained for three days with no mercy. Thunderclaps were constants among the heavy pitter patter of the rain. Some parts of the town were flooded on the very first day and the two after, only added to that.
Every time Dorrie opened the curtains, dark storm-clouds and the rolling of thunder greeted her and made her snap the curtains back in place.
She couldn't play with Edison anymore. The only time they saw eachother was when going to school.
Seeing Peanut was becoming hard as well. Though Edison told her he will take care of Peanut, she was still worried. She missed him.
And now that the rain had died down, she was going to see him. She made plans with Edison to go tomorrow but she just couldn't wait any longer.
She fixed the scarf around her neck one last time before leaving.
"Ma, I'm going with Edison." she voiced while opening the door.
"Don't slip on the mud, sweetie." her mother send back.
There really was a lot of mud in the playground. Small pits filled with muddy water and damp, soggy earth. Dorrie almost slipped a few times which made her regret coming without Edison. He was never clumsy like her. He could walk on even while supporting her.
Everything seemed almost too silent after the storm. The pines were always silent, with little rustles of the leafs but this time the silence made Dorrie question the woods. It was close to creepy this time.
She quickened her steps to end the journey fast when a light thumping of metal against metal froze her legs in place. There should have been no one in here...then who was making this sound.
She suppressed the trembling of her heart and walkd with light steps to see what or who was making the sound.
As the distance decreased the thumping became louder and louder. Dorrie stood behind the tree that overlooked the clearing, for the source of the noise was there. She gripped the tree with shaky hands and looked at Peanut's house.
She didn't know what she was expecting but it definitely wasn't that. And she surely didn't know how to feel about it. Pleasant surprise or horrifying shock, she didn't know. But seeing Edison fixing Peanut's house was one unexpected scenario she could have never expected.
She remembered the first thing Edison said after finding Peanut here, 'Maybe because they couldn't take care of him anymore?' he didn't sound surprised then, more like persuasive, which she didn't notice as abnormality because of Peanut.
'Did Edy make the house for Peanut!' she realised, 'Ifhe did then why hide it from me?'
She was hurt that Edison didn't tell her this when they were supposed to share everything. She was grateful that he thought enough about her to do something like this for her. She was annoyed that Edison's consideration created an itch in her stomach that she couldn't scratch.
The concept of butterflies in her stomach was too new for her to identify just yet.
"Edy?"
Edison jerked up at the innocent melody of her voice. He looked like a dear caught in the headlights with his eyes wide open. Still as a rock, trying to process why Dorrie was here today when they planned on coming tomorrow.
"Dorrie," he said slowly as of still having trouble registering her presence.
"Yes, Edy?" it was like she knew nothing of what he thought she knew. Only the pain in her eyes cleared his doubt. She knew.
"What are you doing here?" he prompted.
"What are 'you' doing here?" she emphasized. He stood up with his head hanging low and a small hammer in hand. She asked again, "You gave me Peanut, didn't you?"
Edison remained silent for a while then nodded, an almost unnoticeable nod.
"Why did you lie? Why did you not tell me?" Dorrie started rambling, "It's really nice of you to do something like this for me. I know it must have taken a long time but you could have told me you did all this. Here I was thank a stranger because I didn't know who gave me Peanut and you said nothing. You were silent! Just like right now! Why don't you say something? Why did you hide this!"
Dorrie was outraged by the end of her rant. But that wasn't why Edison looked at her in surprise.
Did she really just praise him even in that fit of anger. He smiled so faint, it went unnoticed by Dorrie. He whispered, "You didn't need to know."