Sinclair could not exactly tell how long the ride was and he could barely see anything other than the cream colored inside of the sweet smelling bag he was in, so he laid down, wishing that all his expectations of his new home would prove true.

Prim and her husband, whom she often called "honey" had a lengthy discussion during the whole ride. Sinclair found that he admired how easily they spoke to each other even though a huge quarter of their conversation revolved around businesses and conferences and travel agencies. He barely understood what those words meant.

At last, the car stopped and Sinclair perked up.

Prim opened the backdoor and he looked up at her. She was frightfully tall, yet her smile was reassuring and sweet.

"Come on, boy. We're here." She announced enthusiastically.

Sinclair stood up straight in the bag, did a once-over of the environment and almost ruptured with tangible excitement. There was a yard indeed. A big green, beautiful yard with spots of round things that he thought looked like compressed rainbows. The Hopkins car had parked in the middle, where the ground was paved and cobbled, and led to the biggest house Sinclair had ever seen. He ignored honey talking over the phone by the left of him and oogled at the building. It was covered in white paint and there were so many things around it that he really liked, but could not name because he never saw them before.

The inside of the mansion turned out to be much better than the outside. It was loftily decorated and smelled just as nice as his carrier. There was also an infinity of space, and to his unsurprise, other people lived in the building too. People dressed in uniforms and walking stiffly.

"Matilde?" Prim called, going up a spiraling staircase. In the hallway after it, a young girl in clean white apron appeared.

"Yes, ma'am."

Prim handed the bag with Sinclair in it over to her. "This is Sinclair. Wash and feed him and let him settle down. I'm gonna go to my daughter. They'll be meeting immediately you're all done."

"Of course, ma'am." Matilde said.

Sinclair stared at the girl's face as she picked him into her arms. He always thought human females had softer skin than males and felt he was right as he squirmed about in Matilde's gentle grasp. She smelled like gingerbread. A little laugh came from her as she tucked a strand of loose brown hair behind her ear.

"You really are going to like it here, aren't you? You look excited already."

She arrived a big room and placed him atop a dress table then squatted to his eye level. "Well, aren't you the cutest thing? Understand English?"

She held out a hand and stressed the word while gesturing. "Sit!"

Sinclair went down on his behind. Of course he understood English, but he guessed Matilde needed to be sure.

"Good dog!" She squealed and softly stroked his back. "Now, don't move. Sit. I'll be right back to get you."

He watched her walk into a door then glanced around. The room he was in was obviously a bedroom. Its walls were surprisingly closer than everywhere else. It was painted with a bright shade that wasn't white. There was a black screen on the opposite side of the wall; in front of it were furniture, decorations and beautiful lights in encased things that looked like jars. The floor was rugged and Sinclair knew he would be damned if he dared widdle or put a scratch on it. Given the spotless environment, he was certain that there was a special place to answer the call of nature. It was Sinclair's first time inside a real bedroom and he was feeling enthusiastic.

In fact, he was eager to explore more of his new home.

Just as he wondered what the big, brown, square shaped, wooden thing holding clothes at the corner of the table was, Matilde came back out.

"Time for a bath, Sinclair." She cooed. "I'm sure you like warm water."

She picked him up and Sinclair shivered at her cold touch. A result of wet hands. Inside the other room, everything was white or the color of steel like the bars in his old cage at the pet shop, except shinier and smoother. Matilde lowered him into a round sink filled with welcoming bubbles. The water was warm and smelled nice. Sinclair thought it better for his nose to quickly accept the comforting fact that his new environment would never stink, instead shocking him with pleasant new smells at every turn.

Matilde washed across his coat with soap, and commended him on knowing when to shut and open his eyes. He wondered why he amused her because she often laughed at everything he did – even when he sneezed. Afterwards, she dried him with a towel and used what she called a hair dryer to dry out his wet fur. The device was interestingly shaped and black and oozed warm air like an air vent. Within the short time he spent with her, Sinclair easily noted that Matilde would often explain how things worked – if he stared at them long enough.

She walked to a device on the wall and touched it several times then smiled when she noticed that, as usual, Sinclair was staring.

"That keeps the room toasty enough so that it doesn't freeze in here." Matilde explained, going over to a drawer. She pulled out a brush and held it up. "Now, let's delouse you as best we can. Mrs Hopkins cannot have her baby touching a dog covered in lice."

The brush was soft and Matilde was gentle with it, making Sinclair wish she would remain his caretaker for as long as he lived. When she found no insects in him, she left him all by himself again then returned minutes later with food in a stainless bowl. Sinclair thought he would never taste a meal as delicious.

Back in the pet shop, he often shared his food with Bubble because the beagle had a big appetite and Fitzpatrick was stingier than a glued fist. The only pets who got enough to eat were the fishes in the aquarium because they ate like birds even though Lola and Reed ate like cows, thus dismissing the aforementioned statement about eating like a bird as as relatively false.

Matilde stroked him as he ate, but he barely noticed it until he was almost done. Then, she filled the empty bowl with water and he drank all of it.

"You must be terribly thirsty!" She commented with a whoop then picked him off the floor and set him on the table. From the pocket in her apron, she provided a red band with a golden tag in the middle. A collar.

"A lot of Mrs H's neighbors own dogs too." She stated, fitting the band around his neck. "This is how they know you belong to her. There! Now, you're all set to meet your new friend."

The door opened and Mrs Prim Hopkins walked into the room, holding a very tiny person by the finger. Behind them was honey, Prim's husband. He had shed his formal wears and was wearing a big grin with his new outfit. Prim, on the other hand, was still in the same clothes. Sinclair glanced down at their daughter, who walked in calculated baby steps.

"Sinclair, meet Leah." Prim introduced.

Matilde lowered Sinclair to the ground and he cautiously approached Leah. She was nothing like her parents. Her hair was dark and held up by decorative pins. She was dressed in beautiful matching pants, a top of thin fabric and a small jacket. In her mouth was a pink thing that she looked to be either chewing or sucking. At the sight of him, she took the object out from her mouth.

"Dog!" She exclaimed in a voice as tiny and as adorable as she was.

"Yes, sweetheart." Prim beamed, kneeling next to her. "Dog. That's your dog. His name is Sinclair."

Leah tottered forward and her palm rested against his face. Sinclair barked his appreciation and licked the inside of her palm. She smelled better than everywhere and everyone else in the mansion.

"Tinkel!" She repeated and patted Sinclair's nose repeatedly.

The parents stood by, enjoying the scenario and showing admiration of their daughter. Sinclair jumped around and nudged Leah, drawing numerous happy giggles out of her. Soon enough, she lost balance and sat on the ground. Each time he would run back then unexpectedly close the distance between them, Leah would laugh until she almost keeled. Sinclair had concluded that he liked her very much from the very moment she trudged into the room. She had dark eyes and a lovely smile that was reminiscent of Prim's. Her grip was solid and he found that out when she surprisingly grabbed hold of his tail as he ran past, thus resulting in her being dragged about the rugged floor on her belly.

"No, no!" Prim disagreed, attempting to put a stop to the play, but her husband held her back.

"Let them get acquainted however they want to, Prim." He encouraged. "Matilde will keep a close watch. Just let em play for a while."

Sinclair stared at Prim, who obviously fought to reach a decision. Then, she sighed in defeat.

"Well, Sinclair's not a violent dog and he's being really careful with Leah. Come on, let's go. Matilde keep an eye on them, okay?"

Matilde nodded. "Of course, ma'am. I'll bring Leah down when it's her lunchtime."

For the next three hours, Sinclair tailed Leah and vice versa as they toured the mansion. She held his tail and often tried to climb onto his back. Because she was yet to balance properly, he ran less often and kept up with her own pace whenever they walked. Many times, she went down on all fours and crawled in imitation of him. She copied his barks and laughed at everything he did.

"That's the longest I've heard her giggle." Prim noted in awe, staring as Sinclair rolled over and showed his belly, allowing Leah rub it vigorously.

"She loves him already." Matilde pitched in.

"Tinkel!" Leah screamed excitedly as Sinclair raced across the wide, empty room, nosing a soft green ball. He knocked it toward Leah and in turn, she slapped it to the other side of the room. It was the fifteenth time she had done it.

"And that means she's going to drain him like she does everybody else." Prim chuckled.

Matilde shrugged. "I'm sure Sinclair wouldn't mind, ma'am. He's a very good dog."

At lunchtime, Leah refused to eat until Sinclair took a bite off her fingers. She refused to nap unless he laid right next to her and would not shower unless he sat by the door where she could see him.

That night, he overheard Leah crying and screaming and wondered what the problem was. He sat up in his little cot, fearing that something terrible had happened, but hours later when the crying intensified and the Hopkins could not take it anymore, Matilde rushed into his room and picked him up. She was in a black chemise nightdress accompanied by a black robe. Leah's room was only three doors away and so it took no time for them to arrive.

Prim was seated on the big bed, also in a nightdress, with Leah squirming rigorously in her arms. She looked frustrated and on the brink of tears. Upon seeing the dog, she hastily brightened.

"Look, Leah, look. It's Tinkel! Tinkel's here. Look. There he is."

Leah's squeals ceased as she inclined her body to confirm her mother's statement. Her cheeks and nose were red from crying and her clothes looked disheveled. Her face was tearstained, but as soon as she saw him, she cooed and held out her arms. Prim rose and allowed Matilde set Sinclair on the bed then placed Leah next to him.

"Tinkel!" Leah hiccuped and encased him in a hug.

"It's been a whole week and my daughter still hasn't been able to sleep longer than three hours per night." Prim lamented, wiping her eyes as she sniffled. "The doctors say her fevers come in too frequently."

"They haven't diagnosed the problem yet?" Matilde inquired, nervously squeezing one of Leah's plushy toys in her clasped hands.

"Not yet. We took her with us on a trip to Zimbabwe last month. It was really humid and there was an endemic at the time. We vaccinated upon arrival, but Leah's been falling sick on and off since then."

"It could be that she caught whatever was in the air. You said you would not take her with you on trips anymore."

"No, I'm never making that mistake again." Prim said, turning away.

Sinclair laid still and glanced at Leah, who had quietened and was lying on his back. He was not thoroughly sure, but he gathered from the conversation that she was sick. Also, her temperature was unusually high. Her clothes felt like they were burning. After a while, her breathing completely calmed and Sinclair confirmed that she was asleep, but when he turned, there was no one else in the room.

He carefully rose, allowing Leah slide from his back into a better sleeping position. Then, he laid next to her and watched her sleep, hoping that whatever the problem was, his new friend would be alright soon.