Mr.Powell treated the group by covering the bill and Lenni went up to thank him.He tugged on her fishtail and smiled down at her.She smiled back at him.
She’ll be okay.We’ll all make sure of it.
A few hours later, Archer parked the truck in front of Grampy’s rental house.Painted a light blue, it had an A-line roof, designed for those long, snowy North Idaho winters.It was an inviting little thing with a front porch—perfect to sit out on and watch the comings and goings of the neighborhood.
And I suddenly aged thirty years.
Mildred was in the back seat with Lenni, but she placed her paws on the door and peered out, her tail wagging.
“She’s excited,” Lenni said with a laugh.
We climbed out of the truck and I carried Mildred.Archer was just about to put the key into the front door lock when Hadley’s SUV pulled up.And then Muddy’s truck arrived behind her.
“What are they doing here?”Archer asked in confusion.
“Helping,” I said with a smile.
“The house comes furnished,” Archer said.“What could they be helping with?”
“Shhh,” I said.“You’ll understand in a bit.”
Hadley and Salem waddled up the sidewalk with Muddy bringing up the rear.Muddy carried a stack of glass containers.Salem and Hadley had grocery bags from Dusty’s.
“Staples,” Hadley explained to Lenni with a wink.“To get you through the next few days while you settle in.”
Archer opened the door, letting us inside.
“Is this normal?”he whispered to me.
“Is what normal?”I whispered back.
“Them just showing up whenever.”
I smiled.“Yep.Might as well get used to it.”
“Huh,” he said, pushing the brim of his cowboy hat off his head and closing the door behind us.
It was a narrow foyer with the staircase to the second floor right before the space opened up into the kitchen and living room.Muddy, Salem and Hadley bee-lined for the kitchen.
The wooden floors had recently been refinished, and they gleamed under the ambient light.The walls were painted a blue-ish gray.It was bright enough that it wouldn’t be a complete cave in the dead of winter with minimal sunlight.
“You need anything, you call,” Muddy said as she closed the fridge.
“Thanks,” I said as I hugged my friends.
“We’ll see ourselves out,” Salem said.
The front door shut, and it was just the three of us.The three of us and a measure of silence, which Archer was clearly desperate to fill because he said, “There’s a bedroom and bathroom on this floor.”He pointed to the hallway tucked behind the kitchen.“I’ll sleep down here.I get up so early, I don’t want to disturb you guys.”
I set Mildred down and she raced around the room and then sat patiently by the back door.
Lenni peered out the sliver of a window in the door.“There’s a backyard!”She tried to pull the door open.Once she realized it was locked, she unlocked it and then a gust of cold November air swirled in the room.
Mildred rushed out first and bounded down the few cement stairs that led out into the backyard.The flower beds were full of dead plants, but there was a small, circular white table covered in dirt with four chairs.Perfect for summertime hangouts and watching the sun set.
“This is so cute,” Lenni said as she went to examine the table.“I’ve never had a backyard.”
“No?”Archer asked.
