Cutie

"I think you just said it," Valerie said. "Cutie. It's simple, but it fits her so well."

"It really does," her wife nodded. She was still crouched in front of Lucy, and petted her head gingerly. "Do you like that name, Cutie?"

Lucy couldn't say that she did. And yet she didn't hate the name either. She knew the point was to dehumanize her, but it felt like it was being done affectionately, if that made sense. She expected Kim would have come up with a far more degrading name for her. Being called cute was the last thing she'd complain about in this situation.

Raising her head, Lucy licked her second mistress' hand. "Aww, she loves it!" Petra exclaimed.

Lucy licked Petra's hand again. Now Valerie crouched down by her side as well. "She's been well-behaved since I picked her up at the kennel. She was a good girl in the park before that too, so I don't think we're going to have any problem caring for her. It was that student who mucked things up."

Her wife's smile waned for the first time since she'd stepped through the door. "I don't know what they were thinking, entrusting a unique animal like Cutie to a college student. Maybe she was necessary on day one, but her responsibility should have been to prepare her for an owner who's equipped to retrain her."

"But you're here now, Cutie," she said, her smile returning. "Oh, our friends are going to be filled with envy!"

"I bet," Valerie said. "But our Cutie gets overwhelmed easily, and she's still learning to let go of what she was. We should let her settle into the life she was meant to live before we start showing her off."

"I agree, at least in person," Petra conceded. "But there's no reason we can't flood Instagram with pictures of our new pet!"

"Sometimes I feel like I'm married to a teenager," Valerie teased. "You are obsessed with that site. But I'm looking forward to documenting our progress too."

Petra gave Lucy another pat and stood up to take her blazer off. "With that settled, have you fed her yet?"

"Right before you got home," Valerie said. "But her bed is still in my trunk. Do you mind bringing it in while I take your car to pick up some supplies?"

"Not at all," Petra answered as they traded keys. She disappeared out the door again and Valerie stood up to put on her shoes. She had just thrown on a light jacket when Petra returned, carrying the dog bed from Lucy's dorm room. Lucy couldn't help letting out a soft whine when she saw it, remembering what had happened when she woke up in that thing this morning.

Petra stopped in the doorway, looked at Lucy, and then frowned at her wife. "I don't think she likes this bed, hon."

Valerie looked apologetic. "Right, I should have thought of that. It must remind her of Kimberly. Leave it outside then, I'll pick up a new one while I'm out."

The two women kissed each other goodbye, Valerie walked out to her car, and Lucy was alone with her second mistress. Petra closed the door and smiled down at her pet.