How I met Molly
Topic: Fact Short Stories
One day, about 3 years ago, I was driving home with Tom, past what looked like a new disco that opened in my neighborhood. RR1 on Ashland. It was about 10 pm and you could see the disco ball spinning from the street inside. This was really out of place on a street with many an abandoned building. Stopped in to check it out. Turns out it was a gift shop that was going to be opened the following week. The Saras were getting everything ready, and let us come in for a preview. The place was on the eccentric side. It carried unusual soaps and candles (I hate scented soaps and candles and end up giving a bag of them to salvation army every year, that I get as gifts from people I don?t know well), teas, flowers, and greeting cards. The following week, my friend stopped by there to see how the store was doing. And there he saw Vladdy, a very nice, friendly dog. Before I even met the dog, he tried to buy it for me from the owners, he liked it so much. You see, I?ve been looking for Molly for a year at that point, diligently visiting animal shelters once a week, with no luck. He stopped by to tell me about Vladdy, and got me all excited. Then he said they aren?t selling. ?Thanks a lot,? I said. He said ?Vlad is daddy to 12 puppies, ready to be adopted.? Next day, I met Molly. Love at first sight. She was only two weeks old and couldn?t come home with me for another six. She was pretty much all skin and paws and couldn?t even walk straight yet.

Here?s a twist for you. My dad?s name is Vlad too. What are the chances of that ? living in America and meeting Americans whose dog?s given name is a Russian name that is the same as my fathers. So Molly and I have fathers with the same given name. If we were in Russia, this would auto-assign Molly and I the same middle name, by the way.