Fortunately, today is Pippa's day off work. To occupy herself, she's done some housecleaning, played with her dog, and now she's looking through the channels on her telly.

Pippa, after unsuccessfully flipping through the channels on her television, decides to take her dog, Fudge, outside for a walk.

She grabs Fudge's leash and hooks it onto his collar, scratching the top of his head when he licks her hands.

"It's time to go outside! And if you're a good boy when we go outside, I'll give you an extra special treat when we come back home! Does that sound good to you?" Pippa asks, grinning when Fudge barks happily, practically dragging her to the front door. Pippa laughs at the eager Chocolate lab, obliging to his demanding tugs.

As soon as she opens her door, Fudge dashes down the porch and through the walkway, sniffing the grass and flowers joyfully. Pippa tugs on his leash once, and Fudge sits, panting heavily and eagerly looking around.

"Stay right here. I'm going to close and lock the door, then I'll be right back," Pippa explains, backing slowly up the porch and to the front door, doing precisely as she said she would. Fudge watches her, and he barks once, almost as if saying "Hurry!"

Pippa grins at the impatient dog, picking his leash back up and tugging it again. Fudge gets up and slowly meanders from Pippa's walkway to a small tree in the front of her lawn, where he promptly cocks his leg up and pees. Pippa sighs, shaking her head at the antics of the dog.

When Fudge is finished peeing, Pippa takes him out of the yard and onto the sidewalk. Fudge tugs at the leash, trying to speed Pippa up so he can run around. Pippa remains firm and tugs on his leash once. The dog sits.

"Fudge, don't run off. Walk. No treat if you run away like last time," Pippa scolds. The dog whimpers, and Pippa sighs, rolling her eyes. Silently, she scratches his head, and Fudge perks up again, licking her hand.

With a giggle, Pippa pulls her hand away and tugs the leash. Fudge gets up again, this time walking down the sidewalk, occasionally stopping to pee or poop.

Pippa picks up the poop with little baggies and tosses it in the bin when she and Fudge reach their destination. Starbucks.

Fudge instantly recognises the coffee shop, and he tugs on his leash. Pippa obliges to his request with a smile, first making a pit stop in the bathroom to wash her hands.

She walks up to the counter and glances at the menu, tugging on Fudge's leash so he'll sit.

"Alright, Fudge, what should I get today? A Gingerbread Latte, Caramel Brûlée Latte, or Peppermint Mocha Latte?" She asks the dog, peering down at his happy face. The dog wags his tail when she mentions the third option. With a smile, Pippa turns her attention to the barista.

"Hello, what can I get for you today?" The peppy, blue-haired barista named Luke, asks with a large grin. Pippa mirrors his grin, gripping onto Fudge's leash tightly.

"Hi! I would like one puppuccino as well as a tall Peppermint Mocha Latte with whip," Pippa orders. Luke asks for her name, rings her up, and Pippa slides her debit card.

Pippa pulls Fudge to the end of the counter, where his puppuccino is almost ready. She grins at the big dog, scratching behind his ears.

The puppuccino is placed on the counter, and Pippa happily accepts it, holding it out for Fudge to enjoy. The dog licks up the whipped cream in the cup greedily, making quite a mess on his dark brown face. Pippa giggles at the messy dog, grabbing a few napkins to wipe up his small mess.

Another barista named Emerald—Pippa knows her very well, as Emerald usually rings her up—hands Pippa her Peppermint Mocha Latte. Pippa gladly takes the coffee, tugging Fudge out the door.

"You have been a very good boy, Fudge! You behaved very well in the Starbucks. I'm so proud of you!" Pippa coos to the happy dog, who walks beside Pippa on the sidewalk. Fudge barks once, making a face akin to a smile.

Before the duo know it, they're going up the steps to Pippa's porch, Fudge's nails clicking mutedly on the wood as they go. Pippa pauses, however, when she sees a lovely vase of white Jasmines.

Her Secret Santa knows where she lives. That cuts it down to Mark, Angus, Jasper, Donahue and Ben.

Fudge doesn't hesitate to trod over to the flowers, putting his big, wet nose on them as he sniffs them. Pippa snaps into action as she hurriedly pulls the vase away from Fudge and opens the door, releasing Fudge's leash. Fudge, forgetting the flowers, heads inside, scampering into the kitchen to greedily lap up water.

Pippa sighs in relief of the avoided catastrophe, and plucks the card from the bouquet. She skips to the message from the Secret Santa:

White Jasmines meaning 'sweet love' are a symbol of my feelings for you.

Pippa raises an eyebrow, walking hesitantly inside. This Secret Santa thing was beginning to seem like a terrible Hallmark movie.