A Puppy

On an early summer afternoon my sister comes to me: "Hey, J, do you have some spare money?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Go get it and then we'll pick the puppy I've reserved."
"Excuse me? Puppy? What puppy??"
"The puppy we're going to buy. If we bring him home and tell that we paid for him and we can't take him back then he'll have to stay."

My sister is 14 and I have just started my first job. As children we always wanted to have pets but father was strongly opposed to having any pet in the flat. But my baby sister is determined to change that and she wants to make me accomplice in her plot - not a very reluctant one, I must admit. So I take the money, go with her and we bring the puppy home.

Father raged for some time, repeating, "Get rid of that thing now! Either it goes or I do."
Neither did. We'll never know how big a role mother played in making him change his mind and to what expense, but eventually that tiny whining lump of black curly fur melted his heart.