Page 58 of You and Me, For Real
“Judith. How’s Judith? Is she okay?”
“Her son called me. Told me about the suspected mold. Said she’d be fine, but she’ll have to be hospitalized for a while. I feel terrible. She’d told me about a slow leak in her bathroom a few weeks ago. I’ve been backed up with work orders. Couldn’t get to hers. How was I supposed to know it was leaking into the wall?” He rubs his brow with his thumb and forefinger. “Such a mess.”
I inhale a shaky breath, relieved she’ll be okay but worried for my dogs, who’ve been home all this time with the racket next door. They must be terrified. “Excuse me, I need to go check on my dogs.” I walk underneath the caution tape.
“You have twelve hours to evacuate,” Miguel hollers over the noise as I retreat. “The sooner the better.”
“What about my stuff?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know yet. Probably best to leave most things or pack them in storage.” He lifts his hands into theair. “At this point, we don’t know what’s salvageable due to the mold.”
My hands shake as I attempt to unlock my door. I half-heartedly greet the puppies and Teddy before circling the living room, unsure of where to begin. What can I take? More importantly, where can I go?
I have a small amount of money saved for emergencies, but it’d get me less than a week’s stay at a hotel. And that’s assuming I can find one that accepts dogs, much less three of them. I could call Lynn. She’d let me sleep on her pullout couch, but she’s still in that newlywed phase. I couldn’t put her in that position; she has three fosters of her own, so that would put us over the city limit. While I’ve started a tentative friendship with my sister again, I’m not sure I’m ready to be confined in a physical space with her quite yet.
That leaves me with one more option.
Griffin.
He has the space to take the dogs, at least for one night—until I can figure out a better long-term solution. My gut tells me he would agree to it, but I hate asking for help from anyone—even one so generous. I pace my living room, trying to talk myself out of it.
Before I chicken out, I text him.
Ashton
Can I come over?
Griffin
Now?
Griffin
Yes.
Griffin
Is everything okay?
Ashton
Yes. No. I don’t know. Can I bring my foster dogs and Teddy with me?
Griffin
Sure.
Ashton
Great. I’ll be there in an hour.
Griffin
Drive safe.
I arriveat the guard’s station, the sun low in the sky, with a car full of dogs—the siblings barking from their crate. Just call me the crazy dog lady, I guess.
Jimmy peers into my car and gives a slight eyebrow raise but makes no mention of the dogs.
