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“Hey—”

“Chris…”

I froze. She was crying.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I just lost my job.”

I blinked into the kitchen. “At Donna’s? For what?”

“She added a bunch of nuts to the menu,” she cried. “She forced me to quit.”

My jaw flexed as she told me everything Donna said.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“I’m just sitting in my car. I have to go do deliveries—”

“No. Come home.”

“I can’t, Chris. I have to work.”

“Not today. Come home.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I need money. I have nowhere to live,” she said. “I can’t stay with you for—”

“You can stay here as long as you want. You can stay here forever. You don’t have to pay rent, don’t have to pay for anything.”

“I can’t do that—”

“You’re going to.”

“Why?”

“Because I want the convenient dog-sitting?”

I managed to get a laugh out of her.

I put the phone to my other ear. “Look, I know it’s hard for you to accept help—”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know you,” I said.

She went quiet on the other end.

“I want to help you,” I said. “I want you here. This is your home as long as you need one. And I don’t think you should work right now. Just come back and get into something comfortable, read a book, hug your dog. You don’t have to figure it all out today.”

“My bills. I’ll drown, Chris—”

“No, you won’t. I will not let you.”

And I meant it.

With her the answer was yes, even when I didn’t know the question. I would do anything, sacrifice anything to keep my promises to her.