Page 6 of Must Love Dogs… and Hockey

He shakes his head. “I mean, I could take him, but look. He’s not leaving you.”

The dog is attached to my ankles. When I sit on my couch, he jumps onto my lap before my ass even hits the cushion. “Fine. I’ll keep him. Tomorrow I’ll…I don’t know what. How am I supposed to find his owner?”

Cookie rubs his mouth. “Shit. I have no idea. Let’s sleep on it.”

“Yeah.”

Cookie leaves to go to his own place.

Dog and I look at each other. “Well,” I say. “That was an exciting evening.”

He tilts his head, regarding me with dark eyes.

One corner of my mouth lifts. “Look at you. All jowly and sad.”

His head tips the other way.

“Okay. I’ll get you some water.” He follows me into my kitchen, while I fill a bowl and set it on the floor. He slurps some water, then sits on my feet.

“Well. It’s bedtime.” I’m at a loss here. “Let’s go.”

He stays close as I walk down the hall to my bedroom. The bed is high and he’s not that big, but somehow he manages to leap up onto it.

“Make yourself at home.”

I wash up and strip out of my suit. I hang it in the closet and toss my shirt into the laundry bag for the cleaners.

Dog presses himself against my legs when I’m settled under the covers. This is weird.

I have a hard time falling asleep. Must be the adrenaline rush from the rescue. Doesn’t seem to affect Dog, though. Eventually I too fall asleep.

Chapter 2

Lilly

“His wife thinks he’s having an affair with me.”

My best friend Carlin stares at me. “What the fuck?”

“I know.” I cut off another piece of pancake. “He’s actually having an affair with Parvati.”

“Oh my God! Butyougot fired.”

“Yep.” I swallow. “Again.”

It took me months to finally find a job, after the clusterfuck at my last place of employment. Working the front desk at the No Tell Motel was a far cry from the career in hospitality management I imagined when working my ass off for my degree in Hospitality Industry Studies at NYU, but at least it was a job.

I shove more pancake liberally drenched with butter and syrup into my mouth.

Carlin sits at the small table in the apartment we share. “Oh, Lilly. I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” I attempt a smile. “At least I paid my share of this month’s rent.”

Things got pretty tight over my months of unemployment. I racked up an impressive credit card debt. I ended up taking out a loan at the bank to pay it off, and I still owe money on that. Carlin was generous enough to pay my half of the rent many months so I didn’t go homeless.

“Don’t worry about the rent,” she says. “We’ll find something else for you. Fuck ’em.”

I nod, trying to appear optimistic. “Of course I’ll find something else.”

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