“He dropped me off, but I didn’t tell him August is here…” she eyes me.
“I’m no snitch,” I say, raising my hands.
“I hope it’s okay that I brought them?” Daisy shifts in her t-shirt and jeans. She looks cute, but is very nervous to have August around. Lori, on the other hand, is completely unbothered and is sticking her hands in a bird cage close to her.
“The more hands, the merrier.” Cosy wipes her hands and stands. “Hey, you want to help them? Might clear your head?” She turns to me.
“Sure,” I say with a shrug and follow her out to the front of the shelter.
“Usually, Bright and Daisy walk the dogs on weekends,” Cosy explains.
“They do?” I say, surprised, and Daisy laughs. “That’s cute.”
He would.
“They need adult supervision with them, so do you mind going to the park with them?” She asks me, and I nod. I could use the chaos it brings to make me feel less guilty about not being at home today.
“Hell yeah, Ms. Drake!” Lori lowers her voice and yells, causing all the animals in the shelter to go crazy.
“Who are we taking?” I clap my hands together. Cosy smiles and collects a few leashes and a few dogs, one of the three kids, and two for me.
Roger, a border collie with three legs, Bucky, a black lab, and Sugar, a senior bulldog with a funny attitude that only disappears around Bucky. We make our way down to the park, and the second we’re inside the dog run, the kids have the dogs running in circles.
I find a bench to sit on, and the second I do, the phone vibrates.Mom. For a split second, I think about answering it, letting her rant, getting it over with for the next few days, but I don’t. I listen to Cosy,don’t overextend yourself,and I click ignore to enjoy the afternoon air with the kids and the dogs.
“Hey, Rhea?” Daisy’s voice comes out of the blue, and I set my phone down to see her wandering toward me.
“What’s up, D?” I ask her as she sits on the bench.
“Do you think Auggie likes me?” she asks, and I tense at the question.This is a little outside of my pay grade. As a teacheranda roommate.
“Uh,” I clear my throat and follow her nervous gaze to Auggie chasing Sugar in a circle as Sugar chases Lori. “I think he’s a good kid… and he gets really good grades.”
“If I wanted my mom’s answer, I would’ve just asked her again,” Daisy sighs. I look back at her and find her staring aimlessly; she’s clearly pretty frustrated.
“It’s hard to tell with boys,” I start, “you have to be careful. With all of them—even the nice ones,” I explain. “But I can tell you what I do know about having a crush, and if he does any of these things, then maybe it’s worth talking to him about it.” I lift my leg and tuck it under myself as I turn on the bench toward her. “When a boy pays attention, he knows your favorite songs, your favorite foods, and yourleastfavorites. They open doors for you and always make sure that you get home safely. When they make jokes because they know you’ll laugh at them, or they can be silly around you.”
“Like, they act differently around you in private?” she asks, and I narrow my eyes at her.
“Not like that!” she groans. “Like… texting. And in the band room. Auggie… talks a lot but only to me. He’s quiet around everyone else.”
“Exactly like that,” I say, deadpan. Daisy smiles at me, and her body relaxes a bit.
“And if he has a silly nickname for you that only he uses…”
“Oh… he calls me Leda,” she says and looks over at him. “He said it’s one of Jupiter's moons.”
“Can’t be sure, but I’ve never had a boy call me anything like that, so it’s safe to say the boy has a crush. But you didn’t hear any of this from me.” I point between the two of us and eye her until she pretends to zip her mouth closed.
“Thanks, Rhea.” She stands up from the bench and goes back to playing, but not before stopping to say to me. “Not to make things weird…” She lowers her voice. “But Dad calls you Hellcat.”
He does.
“Just a stupid nickname, Daisy. It’s not the same. Now, go play before Sugar starts a revolt against Auggie and Lori.” I shoo her off and shake my head as the sound of him saying it tickles the back of my thoughts. Roger takes her spot on the bench and puts his head in my lap. “It’s justa stupid nickname,” I murmur, scratching between his eyes. “Right?” Roger whines, which is wildly unhelpful.
“It’s next week, right?” Sunday asks as Rhea types on her phone. She’s been like this since the date, quiet, sullen, and uninterested in almost everything, putting on a show when people are looking too closely and forcing a smile to her face for her friends. It’s starting to drive me insane. She’s been pretending like all the crap Miles said to her didn’t bother her, but a week later, she’s still chewing on the insults like they’re leather stuck between her teeth.
“Yeah. Museum downtown. Starts at seven,” Cosy says, picking at her lunch.
