ALREADY, THE DAY HADN’T STARTED OFF WELL. ABBY was somewhere with America, trying to talk her out of dumping Shepley, and Shepley was chewing off his fingernails in the living room, waiting for Abby to work a miracle.
I’d taken the puppy out once, paranoid that America would pull up at any moment and ruin the surprise. Even though I’d fed him and given him a towel to snuggle up with, he was whining.
Sympathy wasn’t my strong point, but no one could blame him. Sitting in a tiny box wasn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. Thankfully, seconds before they returned, the little mongrel had quieted down and gone to sleep.
“They’re back!” Shepley said, jumping off the couch.
“Okay,” I said, quietly shutting Shepley’s door behind me. “Play it coo—”
Before my sentence was complete, Shepley had opened the door and run down the stairs. The doorway was a great spot to watch Abby smile at Shepley and America’s eager reconciliation. Abby shoved her hands into her back pockets and walked to the apartment.
The fall clouds cast a gray shadow over everything, but Abby’s smile was like summertime. With each step she took that brought her closer to where I stood, my heart pounded harder against my chest.
“And they lived happily ever after,” I said, closing the door behind her.
We sat together on the couch, and I pulled her legs onto my lap.
“What do you wanna do today, Pidge?”
“Sleep. Or rest . . . or sleep.”
“Can I give you your present, first?”
She pushed my shoulder. “Shut up. You got me a present?”
“It’s not a diamond bracelet, but I thought you’d like it.”
“I’ll love it, sight unseen.”
I lifted her legs off of my lap and went to retrieve her gift. I tried not to shake the box, hoping the puppy wouldn’t wake up and make any noises to tip her off. “Ssshhhh, little man. No crying, okay? Be a good boy.”
I sat the box at her feet, crouching behind it. “Hurry, I want you to be surprised.”
“Hurry?” she asked, lifting the lid. Her mouth fell open. “A puppy?” she shrieked, reaching into the box. She lifted the puppy to her face, trying to keep hold of it as it wiggled and stretched its neck, desperate to cover her mouth with kisses.
“You like him?”
“Him? I love him! You got me a puppy!”
“It’s a cairn terrier. I had to drive three hours to pick him up Thursday after class.”
“So when you said you were going with Shepley to take his car to the shop . . .”
“We went to get your present.” I nodded.
“He’s wiggly!” She laughed.
“Every girl from Kansas needs a Toto,” I said, trying to keep the fur ball from falling off her lap.
“He does look like Toto! That’s what I’m going to call him,” she said, wrinkling her nose at him.
She was happy, and that made me happy.
“You can keep him here. I’ll take care of him for you when you’re back at Morgan, and it’s my security that you’ll visit when your month is up.”
“I would have come back anyway, Trav.”
“I’d do anything for that smile that’s on your face right now.”
My words made her pause, but she quickly turned her attention back to the dog. “I think you need a nap, Toto. Yes, you do.”
I nodded, pulled her onto my lap, and then lifted her with me as I stood. “Come on, then.”
I carried her to the bedroom, pulled back the covers, and then lowered her to the mattress. The action itself would have been a turn-on, but I was too tired. I reached over her to pull the curtains closed, and then fell onto my pillow.
“Thanks for staying with me last night,” she said, her voice a bit hoarse and sleepy. “You didn’t have to sleep on the bathroom floor.”
“Last night was one of the best nights of my life.”
She turned to shoot me a dubious look. “Sleeping in between the toilet and the tub on a cold, hard tile floor with a vomiting idiot was one of your best nights? That’s sad, Trav.”
“No, sitting up with you when you were sick, and you falling asleep in my lap, was one of my best nights. It wasn’t comfortable, I didn’t sleep worth a shit, but I brought in your nineteenth birthday with you, and you’re actually pretty sweet when you’re drunk.”
“I’m sure between the heaving and purging I was very charming.”
I pulled her close, patting Toto, who was snuggled up to her neck. “You’re the only woman I know that still looks incredible with your head in the toilet. That’s saying something.”
“Thanks, Trav. I won’t make you babysit me again.”
I leaned against my pillow. “Whatever. No one can hold your hair back like I can.”
She giggled and closed her eyes. As tired as I was, it was difficult to stop watching her. Her face was makeup free except for the thin skin under her lower lashes that was still a little stained with mascara. She fidgeted a bit before her shoulders relaxed.
I blinked a few times, my eyes getting heavier each time they closed. It seemed I’d just fallen asleep when I heard the doorbell.