He leaned over and gave me a lingering kiss on the cheek.
I was in the middle of thinking how domestic this all felt, and how that must have been Mick’s play in inviting us over. But all that flew out the window when his bag moved.
“Did your duffel just move, or am I hallucinating?”
Mick chuckled. “Oh, no. It moved. Funny thing happened today in New York. First, I secured the chef, and then we went and secured the sous chef he wanted, who happened to be at home with her mother, who happened to be a dog breeder ...”
He stopped talking and set the bag down in front of my feet, then leaned over to pull out a very tiny, shiny blond puppy.
“Meet Tito. He came with the name.” Mick looked up with a silly grin on his face. With his hair falling over his forehead, he looked like a little boy.
Priscilla couldn’t get out of her seat fast enough, maneuvering her way to the floor, her cast hindering her less and less. “Oh my God. Look at him.”
She was on her knees, rubbing him all over with her available arm and hand ... and falling in love with a puppy that wasn’t ours.
“I hope you let Rochelle know about this,” I blurted.
“Ha. You catch on quick, Mar. I most certainly did. She’s thrilled, especially because her son has been wanting a puppy and she can’t commit, but now they have one by default.”
“Was this part of your master plan or spontaneous? I have to ask.”
“It was one hundred percent on the spot. Honestly, I don’t have time for a puppy, but I do like the fun of it.”
“Well, welcome home, Tito,” I said, taking in Priscilla, who hadn’t moved since she got on the floor with the dog.
“What kind of dog is this?” she asked Mick while scratching the puppy’s belly.
“A Lab. A yellow Lab. He’s probably going to be around seventy-five pounds, so I’m glad I have the terrace for him to run on.” Mick tilted his head toward the balcony doors.
“Your place is soooo cool,” Priscilla said for the eleventh time since we’d arrived.
“I’m glad you’re here. Did you get everything you needed?” Mick looked toward me and winked.
“I did.”
“How about we pour you a small glass of wine? I know you’re driving later, so a little one, okay? Then, Priss and I will take Tito to do some business outside ... and then I’ll be back to hang? Yeah?”
I went to put the water on to boil, and said, “Perfect.”
As he took a bottle of white out of the fridge, I said, “You know what? Let me do that. You take care of Tito.”
“It might be best for everyone,” Mick said with a frown. “He’s starting to sniff around.”
I looked toward the floor, and sure enough, the tiny puppy was walking around, nose to the floor and butt shaking.
Mick held his hand out for Priscilla, and she stood before he picked up the dog.
“Rochelle is looking into a patch of AstroTurf for the corner of the patio, where he can do his thing,” I heard him tell Priscilla on the way out. “She works crazy quick, so we’re a good working team.”
I took a larger gulp of my wine than expected, trying to calm my nerves over how natural this felt, and how my daughter was falling for my guy ... but was he even mine? And what about her own father, did she miss him? Not to mention, what was Mick’s commitment level? It would be easy to fall in love—even to fall in like—with this simple domesticity.
My head swam with questions as the oven timer beeped, letting me know it was time to uncover the eggplant. Welcoming the mindless task, I opened the oven and took a whiff of my cooking before closing it again.
Tommy never allowed me to experiment in the kitchen. He was a steak-and-potatoes guy, but Mick was much more easygoing. I tried to think back to Tommy in the early days. Had he been easygoing back then?
As I watched Mick and Priscilla over the rim of my wineglass as they came back inside, Mick carrying Tito, I decided it was unfair to compare the two men. Tommy was my past, and Mick was my present. I wasn’t sure who would be in my future ... certainly people who met under less than desirable circumstances like Mick and myself didn’t build lives together.
Priscilla plopped back down in the stool. “Mom, we should get a puppy.”
