I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to give Bruno his meds at the office, but when he was with me, I never left home without them. I got to work covering each pill in peanut butter. “It’s his favorite,” I said. “And my last resort in getting him to take hispills.”
Sebastian’s silence was so long and so rare that I glanced back athim.
“What’re they for?” heasked.
I wasn’t thrilled about letting Sebastian into what was a very significant and sometimes painful part of my life, but I was even less interested in wasting time fabricating a story. “He has an enlarged heart,” I said. “As much as I try to pretend it just means he has more love to give, it doesn’t. It means his heart works harder and less efficiently. And that he’s very sick.” So as not to invite any more questions, I added, “But wemanage.”
I squatted by Bruno, teasing the concoction in front of his nose until he licked his chops. When he started to drool, I gave him the pills and rested my elbows on my knees, praying he’d swallow them. He spent a full twenty seconds sucking all the peanut butter off before he spit out the diuretic. Then the supplement. Then the rest. I dropped my face in my hands. “Damnit.”
Sebastian came over. “Did youtry—”
“I’ve tried everything,” I said, not bothering to hide the frustration in my voice. “I made him chicken and rice this morning and he took his pills then, but as you can see,” I gestured toward Sebastian’s desk, “he threw themup.”
“Does that happen alot?”
I lifted my head to look up at Sebastian. From my angle, he seemed to hit the ceiling. “Some mornings are fine, others areimpossible.”
“Sounds like it could getexpensive.”
Of course, Sebastian’s first concern was money as Neal’s had been, but he wasn’t wrong. Bruno’s illness, in addition to supporting myself and my ex for years, had eaten up my savings. From consistent check-ups to daily medicine to alternative therapies, there was no cost too high to keep Bruno alive, but it did require a steady paycheck and personal sacrifices on my part such as turning one dinner into two when possible and regularly opening up my closet to eBay. “The meds keep his heart working and fluid out of his lungs, so I don’t really have achoice.”
Sebastian removed his suit jacket. “I’ll clean up themess.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said, but he picked up his shoe and left the room. I faced Bruno. “Okay, big guy. I tried to play nice, but here’s how it’s going to go—I’m going to stuff them in your mouth, and you’re going to swallow. It won’t be pleasant, but it’s the only alternative you’ve left me. And it’s for the best. Gotit?”
Bruno cocked hishead.
I picked the pills out of the carpet, stood, and pointed at a spot next to my feet. “Come.Sit.”
Bruno groaned as he got to all fours, then dropped his haunches at my side. Slowly, so as not to spook him, I straddled him from behind. He wagged his tail then looked up and back at me, as if we were about to play. I scratched his chest until he thumped his back leg. “Good boy,” I said in my most soothing voice, then quickly pried his mouth open, tossed the pills back, and held it shut. My vet had shown me how to do this, assuring me it wouldn’t hurt him, but I usually left it as alastlast resort anyway. He wrestled with me until I was forced to release him. Within two seconds his meds were scattered at myfeet.
“Comeon,” I said, plucking them off the ground. Bruno sensed what was coming and backed away. “No,” I said, gesturing for him to come back. If Sebastian saw this and thought Bruno was a distraction, he’d go to Vance, and I’d be forced to take Bruno home. I lunged, chasing Bruno around the office. Luckily, Sebastian had shut the door, or I had no doubt Bruno would be bounding through cubicles right now, jumping desks and dodging my coworkers like he was on an obstaclecourse.
I pushed two of my boxes, still partially unpacked, next to Sebastian’s mammoth desk, then went around to the other side. Now that Bruno was trapped, I rested my hands on my knees, partly to look him in the eye, and partly to catch my breath. The most exercise I’d had lately was sprinting from the subway after work to catch my favorite taco truck before it left for the night. “Finally, this overcompensating hunk of wood is serving a purpose,” I said toBruno.
“Hunk of wood?” Sebastian asked as he reentered the room. “Should I be flattered orinsulted?”
I looked back over my shoulder. Sebastian held a bowl of liquid with a spoon sticking out, along with a roll of paper towels under hisarm.
“I was talking about your ridiculous desk,” Isaid.
“Ah.” He grinned. “The word you’re looking for isundercompensating.”
“That’s not a thing.” I shrugged as best I could while bent over. “I see something like that, and I have to draw my ownconclusions.”
“Without all the evidence, your conclusions are simplyhypotheses.”
I nodded at the colossal piece of furniture that would probably qualify as a small boat. “This is all I have to workwith.”
“That’s all youchooseto work with. If you’d like me to invalidate your assumptions, all you have to do isask.”
I frowned. Had he just offered to show me the goods to disprove my overcompensation theory? Sensing my distraction, one of his many humanlike abilities, Bruno made a break for it. I pounced, caught his collar just as he tried to escape through my legs, and straddled him from behind as I worked my fingers between his clamped teeth. “It’s for your own good,” I said, panting. “Swallow the pills. Swallow thepills!”
“Keller—”
“Stay out of this,” I said to Sebastian. Bruno wriggled underneath me. “You want atreat?”
He opened his mouth, and I shoved the pills in just before he bucked me off. I toppled on my ass, flopped back on the ground, and covered my face with my forearms. “I can’t do thistoday.”
