Rain snorted. “No. He never understood the way I was never jealous despite his best efforts to make me so. He was jealous if I said hi to the mailman, for fuck’s sake.”
“Good riddance, then?”
“Yeah. Oh, and the kicker is, he would’ve wanted kids. Like to adopt or something—we all know I’m too old for that now.”
“Oh well, he definitely was the wrong one, then,” Leaf said, understanding that it would’ve been a deal-breaker for her.
“Mhmm….” The sound of Rain pushing her ashtray farther away signaled her finishing the joint and leaning back in her chair again. He’d seen her do the same routine enough times to know exactly how she looked and moved in that moment. “Do you think we’d be like this, if our parents were… different?”
“You mean, had we become regular productive members of the society with normal names and shit, if our idiot parents had been strong enough not to fall into the lure of a fucking cult?”
She laughed and laughed, until his anger at what he’d just said dissipated and he could only laugh too.
“I love you, Leaf.”
“Love you too, Rainbow. You should come visit us sometime soon, okay?”
“Yeah, I will. Meet your dogs. Talk art with Seth. Hug the shit out of you,” she murmured, getting sleepy like she always did after smoking.
“Take a nap and get to work, sis. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” He smiled, feeling somewhat lighter suddenly.
“Mhmm… love you.”
He disconnected the call and reached over to scratch Missy some to calm himself. He hated his childhood. Hated the fact that he and Rainbow had had to escape it when he was twenty and she’d just turned eighteen. They’d known they had to leave if they wanted to have anything resembling a normal life.
At least by then they’d been in Mexico, so getting to the States hadn’t been such a hassle, especially when they’d had all their paperwork, unlike some other kids who grew up with them. Their parents—or father, mostly—wanted them to have their own way as soon as they turned eighteen.
Leaf knew his father had wanted out but wouldn’t leave their mother to the cult. Only after falling in love with Seth had Leaf understood his father’s decision. In any case, he supposed their parents had done their best, gullible as they’d been. The horrible shit that had happened to Leaf and Rain hadn’t been things their parents had directly done to them. They’d just not been very good parents to begin with, and the cult hadn’t changed that for the better.
The seventies had been such a different time. Leaving in the late eighties, when everyone in the States was a fucking yuppie instead of the hippies they were used to, had been a bit of a shock. At least they had been able to get jobs. Leaf, having always loved animals, had walked enough dogs to last a lifetime, and Rain had been a waitress. They’d stuck together, and they always would, even if they now lived in different states.
SINCE LEAFwasn’t feeling particularly hungry yet, he drove straight to the shelter near Salt Lake City. He’d been there before, and the staff was waiting for him. There, he was somewhat of a celebrity. He’d come to their rescue a few times over the years, and they were the shelter where he’d picked up Husky three years ago.
When his RV rolled to the yard, one of the employees, Suze, ran out and gestured for him to drive to the gated area on one side of the main building. There were several others on the large property in addition to the regular big shelter. There was a cattery, one house just for puppies, a grooming and storage building, and decent runs for the dogs they had at any given time, among a couple of other building in varying sizes.
Leaf parked the car and got up, stretching his back, which cracked and popped like usual.
“Okay, guys. Wait here.” They’d been driving for almost four hours and the dogs needed to pee for sure, but he’d always check the environment first—he needed to, to be a good leader of his little pack.
“Hey, Leaf.” Suze, a sixty-something woman with a long gray braid came to hug him as soon as he got off the RV.
“Hey, Mama Suze. How’s it going?” he asked and kissed her cheek.
“It’s fine, just the new group needing a bit more work and expertise than we have right now.” She frowned but then perked up again. “You have the pack with you?” she asked hopefully.
“You know I don’t travel without them. Wanna see your boy?” he asked, going back to the door to open it. “Come on, guys!”
This time, Grace peeked out first, but then her body language changed when she realized where they were. She climbed down, wagging her tail, and went straight to Suze to be petted.
“Heya, Gracey honey,” Suze cooed at her, then took a sturdier stance to prepare for the other two.
As they’d both expected, Husky and Missy tumbled out of the RV in a tangle of limbs, both so very excited to be there. Husky whined at Suze, almost like the dogs in those “soldiers coming home to their dogs” videos. He loved her, knew she’d saved his life, and was ecstatic to see her every time. Missy, well… Missy just loved people in general and knew this was a nice lady who had treats in her pockets.
“Okay, kids, behave,” Leaf said in an even tone, putting a bit of pressure in the last word. It made the younger dogs snap into attention and Grace glance at him where she was sniffing at some rocks nearby. “Yeah, go pee, you heathens, so I can put you into a run for now.”
They did as told, then followed Leaf and Suze to the “guest runs,” where the staff could leave their own dogs temporarily. There was shade from some trees, part of the runs had roofing over them, and there were toys and water bowls in them too. They were also very clean, which was something Leaf liked to see.
“In you go, guys. I’ll come pick you up when I need you,” he told the dogs, and was pretty sure only Grace understood what he was saying. The old lady knew she was there to do a job, after all.
