Pausing, I tilt my head over my shoulder, glancing at him. “Yeah?”
“Remember when you ate that entire carton of Amaretto cherry ice cream because you didn’t want the night to end? You figured if you just kept eating it, we’d have no choice but to stay up, fighting sleep, talking about pointlessbullshit, laughing until we couldn’t breathe.” The corner of his mouth ticks up, and a tired laugh slips free. “I miss that.”
I spin all the way around, gripping the handle of my purse, staring at him like I haven’t seen his face in years. “I puked in your lap,” I choke out, nostalgia glittering in my eyes.
He inhales deeply and lifts his chin, drinking in the muddy sky. “Worth it.”
My heart squeezes. A thorny fist around the tattered valves.
“Thailand, huh?” he says.
Warmth slithers through my chest, knowing he remembers my ridiculous text-a-thon that night. “Oh…yeah. Sorry, I was a little drunk. But it would be fun, right?”
“Yeah. It would be.” He tosses the half-smoked cigarette to the concrete and kicks at a loose rock. “We’ll talk. I gotta get back to work. I love you.”
“Love you too.” Our eyes meet for a fleeting moment before I turn away, stride to Alex’s car to fetch the bird, and wait for the Uber to pull up.
It’s a quick drive to Silverleaf.
As the sedan winds through the neighborhood, I glance at the tiny creature nestled in my coffee-stained apron. The heater is on full blast, blowing warm air against her frame.
“What should I name you?” My hands hold her steady on my lap, my attention panning from the bird to the blue house approaching on the right.
Names and titles are the hardest for me. I could probably write a dissertation on everything under the sun, but force me to give it a name, and I’ll freeze up.
They are permanent. Forever.
But one name coasts across my mind like it’s meant to be. “Haiku,” I murmur.
The driver puts the car in Park. “This the place?”
Haiku lets out a sharp chirp, pulling a twitch from my lips. I don’t know how long I’ll get to keep her.
But first there’s another living being who needs me.
“Yep. Thanks so much for making a pit stop. I’ll only be a few minutes.” I take a calming breath, setting the little bundle on the floor. “Can you, um…keep an eye on my bird?”
“Yeah, sure.” The twenty-something guy shrugs and starts playing on his phone.
After hopping out of the car, I wander up the now-familiar driveway, pluck the house key from the stoop, and step inside. The lingering scent of coffee wafts around me, wrinkling my nose. Someone must have been by recently.
A neighbor?
“Hello?” I call out, just in case. The lights are off, the house in similar condition to how it was forty-eight hours ago. I wasn’t sure if I could make it over here yesterday, so I left out a giant pot of water, extra food, and pee pads strewn across the kitchen floor.
No one answers me, but a sable-and-white ball of fur on four legs races out from the primary bedroom, tail wagging, ears jutted toward the ceiling.
A giant smile spreads across my face as I bend down, allowing the dog to crash into me and topple me backward. I laugh, my hands roaming over Toaster’s body, my fingers scratching, massaging. “You look like you’re plumping up already. Must be all those Frosty Paws.”
His wet tongue bathes my hands and arms in kisses.
Rising to my feet, I march into the kitchen, my heels clicking against the tile. I survey the small space for the plastic container of kibble, but someone must have moved it.
Hmm.
I think about Chase. Where he is, how he’s doing, and if he had friends and family after all. Surely there’s someone.
Maybe he’s self-isolated to the point of thinking he’s alone in the world, when in reality, somebody is out there, just waiting for him to let them in again.
