She wrapped her arms around me and clasped her hands together behind my back.“You did?”
“Yeah.The first dog I worked with was a Dalmatian, and he reminded me of your old dog, Miggie.Remember her?”
AJ laughed against my chest.“Oh God, I miss that dog.Remember she used to dig up the wild thyme Gran planted, and she’d eat it with a side of cat poop from the neighbor’s yard, and then she’d come home smellin’ like an overripe garbage disposal?Her breath!”
Chuckling, I said, “I remember, and then your mama used to make us try to brush her teeth, but we thought your toothpaste would make her breath smell better than the beef-flavored dog toothpaste.She ate the whole tube of Aim and barfed all over your bedroom floor.”
Laughing softly, AJ pulled back and looked up at me, so I released my hold around her, but she took my hand and dragged me inside and to her couch.A mug with a snapshot of AVery Pretty Petal’s storefront printed on it sat on her coffee table, the peppermint tea bag dunked into the steaming water and the tag hanging from its string over the edge.
“You’re too good to me,” I said as I sat, then lifted the mug for a sip.
Fancy Kitty jumped onto the back of the couch to sniff and check me out, and then she perched behind my head and began to lick her ginger paws and start her nightly cleaning ritual.
“No I’m not,” AJ replied.“I’m perfect for you.”
We both paused.I knew what she meant, but to hear her say it like that…
“So,” she went on like she hadn’t said anything, “what kind of animals did you get to play with today?”
I pretended she hadn’t said anything either and counted off the different species of animals on my fingers.“Dogs, cats, two ferrets, a horse, and a llama.”
“Really?They threw you right in there, didn’t they?A llama on your first day?I’ve heard they can be pretty temperamental.”
I laughed.“You ain’t kiddin’.That thing hated me.It was kind of a ding to my ego.I pride myself on bein’ able to relate to animals.”
To prove my point, Fancy stood and stretched, digging her sharp claws into the back of AJ’s couch, and then her paws began to knead my shoulder.She climbed over me and laid on my chest, looking up and right into my eyes.
Scratching behind her ear, I said, “It’s always come so easy to me, but this llama today?No go.I think he knew we were there to rid him of his most prized jewels.He spat at me the minute he saw me, and things only got worse from there.And that green stuff they spit smells like death.Miraculously, he missed me.Even the vet was surprised.He said llamas usually have pretty good aim.”
AJ made an “ew” face, but then laughed.“You were lucky.”
“I dunno about luck,” I said, “but I’ve still got good reflexes.”
I pushed my hair behind my ear, and AJ’s eyes followed my hand.“What are the tattoos on your fingers?”
Splaying my fingers, I looked at the markings.They weren’t the most sophisticated tattoos, but they meant a lot.I lifted my hand and held up four fingers.
“A number for every time I quit drugs.”Tucking those fingers to my hand, I held up my thumb with the X.“And the X is for this time.The last time.”I put it on my thumb because that was what I used to push the plunger down on the needle every time I shot up.If there was ever a time I thought about doing it again, I’d see the X.It stood for Stu.It stood for the end of a really shitty time in my life.It stood for me because I’d made the decision to stop and to place value on myself again.
AJ smiled softly and swiped her own mug off the coffee table and sipped it, bunching her knees up in front of her, but then she extended her legs, and her slipper rubbed against my thigh.
Fancy jumped down and ran off when I set my tea on the table and lifted AJ’s legs.When I set them in my lap, she tried to pull her feet away, but I held her ankles and wouldn’t let her.
“How was your day?”I asked, sliding her slippers off her feet and letting them thunk on the floor in front of the couch.
She set down her mug and wiggled her toes, which not surprisingly had been painted a bubblegum pink color.Quietly, she sighed and tucked a throw pillow behind her neck, then reclined against the arm of the couch.
When I began to rub and dig my thumbs into the high arch of her foot, she moaned softly.“Long, which is kind of unusual for a Saturday in late summer or early fall.Usually, people are too busy with the new school year or with the harvest to remember to order flowers for their loved ones, but I got slammed.I made seven arrangements, took almost twice that number of orders for next week, and at one point the shop had so many customers waiting, they had to line up out the door.Poor Gran’s tuckered out.She was my helper.
“I’ve got an online ordering portal, but most local folks just stop in when they’re out runnin’ errands.”
Working a stubborn knot of muscle on the rise of her arch, I rubbed it out over and again until it released.
“That feels amazing,” she said, and she closed her eyes.
“Sounds like a successful day though.”
“Oh yeah.I’m not complainin’.Today’s sales will pad my bottom line and allow me to run more ads.Soon, I’ll have to hire help.I always thought the shop would stay local and small, but with online orders and the ease of makin’ websites nowadays, we’re growin’ without me even really havin’ to try.
