Riley didn’t need to be psychic to guess what Sesame and Tommy were going to do in that bed instead of sleeping.
“On that note, I’m gonna go,” she decided. “Come on, Burt.”
The dog let out a low growl from the closet.
“Burt. Come.”
Sesame was making bedroom eyes at Tommy as he karate chopped the bed pillows.
Reluctantly, Riley entered the Creepy, Smelly Closet and found Burt on his belly at the back, his nose pushed against the old-fashioned metal grate. His tail was swishing back and forth on the floor, but he was still growling.
She comforted herself with the fact that the smell seemed a little better. More paint fumes and less rotting compost.
“Let’s go before our guests get naked,” she whispered, hooking her fingers in Burt’s collar. She had to physically drag all ninety pounds of him backward but finally managed to get the dog out of the closet.
“Good night,” Riley called as she tugged Burt into the hall.
“Sweet dreams,” Sesame said before shutting the door in Riley’s face.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked the dog.
Burt didn’t seem inclined to answer and instead trotted happily toward their bedroom on the other side of the second floor. Upon entering, Riley was immediately suspicious.
Nick was in the shower…singing “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys.
“Well, that’s a first,” she observed.
Burt threw himself onto the bed and flopped down on Nick’s pillow.
The adrenaline of the night drained out of her, and she was left feeling like an exhausted shell of a human being. She flopped down on her side of the bed and glanced around the room, trying to be objective.
It had potential. The size was ample. The natural light acceptable. And the view of the river was the best in the house. With a fresh coat of paint, new carpet, ducting that did a better job of delivering heat and cold, and maybe some furniture that didn’t look like it had come from a great-grandmother’s estate sale, it could be great.
But the leap frompotentialtogreatrequired a leap of faith. Not to mention a serious investment of time, effort, and resources. To further complicate things, there was no guarantee that potential would ever actually turn intogreat. Especially if your partner wasn’t willing to go all in.
But the only way to find out was to make the investment.
And that was exactly what scared her.
Burt seemed to sense her rising anxiety and rolled over to plant his gigantic head on her shoulder.
“I can always count on you, buddy.”
His tail thumped in appreciation against the mattress.
The water shut off in the adjoining bathroom, and seconds later, a still mostly wet Nick strolled into the room whistling, wearing only a towel.
He spied her waiting for him and gave her a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. “Come here often, beautiful?”
“Are you serious right now?” Riley asked.
“Burt, go away,” he ordered.
The dog snorted out a fake snore in her hair.
“Burt, if you don’t get off the bed in the next three seconds, I’m switching you to that vegan dog food you hate. Three, two…”
The dog slunk off the people mattress and tiptoed over to his own bed, shooting the mean man an aggrieved look.
