“Tell me about Beau’s routine,” I said, needing to fill the silence with something safe.
“He wakes me up at five thirty every morning. No exceptions, not even on days I’d rather sleep until six.”
“That’s early.”
“He has no concept of weekends.” Tolrek pulled wide bowls from the cabinet. “We walk around the block. He investigates every smell like it’s new, even though we take the same route every time. Then he has breakfast. After that, he naps until I leave for practice.”
“You said you take him to doggie daycare?”
“Every day. When I’m away, someone comes in to take care of him, while he guards the apartment from threats that don’t exist.”
I smiled. “He takes his job seriously.”
“Very much so. You should see him when the mail carrier comes. He’s convinced she’s an invader who must be warned away with barking.”
“Four pounds of ferocity.”
“Exactly.” Tolrek ladled food onto the plates, the portions generous. “Daycare sends me photos of him playing with the other dogs. He’s always trying to wrestle with animals ten times his size.”
“Where does he get that from?”
Tolrek’s mouth twitched. “Renkar used to do the same thing. Challenge people bigger than him to prove he could.”
“Did he win?”
“Sometimes. Usually he just made them laugh hard enough that they forgot why they were fighting.”
The grief in his voice was still there, but softer now.
He set the plates on the table and pulled out the single chair. “Sit.”
“Where will you sit?”
“I’ll stand.”
“That’s ridiculous. We can share the counter.”
We ended up side by side on the counter, plates balanced on our laps, close enough that our shoulders touched. Beau sat at our feet, staring up with hope in his eyes.
I’d never eaten food as amazing as this before. The meat fell apart at the touch of a fork, and the vegetables had soaked up the broth until they melted on my tongue.
“This is incredible,” I said around a mouthful.
“You’re being kind.”
“I’m being honest. This is the best thing I’ve eaten in weeks.”
He looked pleased.
Beau eventually gave up hoping for tributes and trotted off to his bed in the corner of the living room. The sounds of the building filtered in, footsteps above us and a door closing down the hall.
“I take my coffee black.” The words burst out of Tolrek.
I blinked. “What?”
“I take it black, no sugar.”
“That’s very orc of you.”
