Page 27 of September
Gwen sat, too, leaving enough space between them to be appropriate, and she thought Carly would jump up and lie down between them, but the dog jumped up and sat on her side instead.
“Traitor,” Juliet joked.
Gwen gave Carly some attention and encouraged her to settle down next to her.
“Let the grown-ups talk a little, okay?” she cooed to her as Carly huffed a bit and gave up. “So, you took her out already? Does she not need a walk?”
“I wanted to walk her one more time before I left, but she would love to go again with you, I’m sure. She went to the bathroom, though, so don’t be surprised if she doesn’t go again. She usually poops in the mornings and rarely at our last walk of the night. I feed her in the evenings, so that’s probably why. She gets a small scoop of dry food in the morning because she acts like she’s starving if there’s nothing in her bowl, even if she just ate it all.” Juliet shook her head and laughed. “And at night, I usually give her the wet food I buy from this subscription service. It’s in the freezer. You just have to take it out and put it in the microwave for thirty seconds. Then, put it in her bowl, and she’s good. I usually try to feed her by six, but sometimes, I’m late from work, and it’s seven. She’ll pretend like she hasn’t eaten in a year, but she’s fine.” She chuckled. “I think she got used to kind of saving up her food. I’m not sure what happened to her before we rescued her, but they said in the shelter that once she was in her own pen, she had a way of eating a little at a time to make her food last throughout the day, like she didn’t expect to get any more later. I think she still does that, even though it’s been months.”
“We?” Gwen asked.
“Huh?”
“You saidwe, as in you and someone else.”
“Oh, my ex and me. We adopted her together.”
“Should I expect her to stop by to take care of Carly or visit her at all?”
“No, she left her with me.” Juliet looked past Gwen to Carly and smiled. “Makes things easier. We don’t have to share custody.”
“Okay. Well, yeah, that does make things easier,” Gwen replied. “Can I ask you what happened? From what you told me, you just got Carly this year, and I’d imagine you don’t adopt a rescue with someone you just started dating. Wait. Don’t answer that. Way too personal.”
“You told me you liked Backstreet Boys at the bar. I think I can share that story,” Juliet teased. “We were together for a couple of years and lived here together, but not for all that long, before we got Carly. I thought we were planning a future together, but she told me she wasn’t in love with me anymore, and that was it. She moved out, leaving me with this placeandCarly. I’m glad for it now, honestly. The more space I get from our relationship, the more I can see that she was right. I don’t think we were in love near the end, and moving in together was just something we thought weshoulddo. Some couples have kids to try to rekindle their love. Not so easy and very expensive for two women, so we went with a dog, which was a mistake for our relationship, but I don’t regret it at all.”
“Is there anything else I should know?” Gwen asked to change the subject, sensing that Juliet might need it.
“Just that she loves fresh water. The fresher, the better. She’ll watch you put it in her bowl, and if it’s not new at least twice a day, she’ll glare at you until you refill it. I’m also a little worried about her. I’ve never been gone through the night before, so I don’t know how she’ll handle that.”
“Do you want me to take her with me?”
“To your place?”
“Yeah. I can let her stay here during the day so that she’s comfortable at home and then take her with me for the night so that she’s got someone there.”
“No, I can’t ask that. And right now, I can’t really afford it. My new raise won’t kick in until my paycheck in a couple of weeks.”
“I don’t mind. It’s actually easier for me since I can just wake up and walk her and then walk her before I go to bed, too.”
“I think she might want to be here. It’s more comfortable for her, right?”
“Yeah, sure. It was just an idea,” Gwen replied.
“Maybe next time. Can we see how she does first?”
“Of course.”
“Well, I need to get going,” Juliet said. “I have a drive and a few stops to make, but I’ll remember to bring you that coffee.”
“I really don’t need–”
“Just let me do this, please. I’m so grateful that I managed to find you so last-minute and that Carly seems to love you. It helps with the stress of all of this. The least I can do is get you free coffee because it’s already free to me.”
“Okay. If you really want to.”
Juliet stood then and said, “I have to grab my bags. Any chance you could walk me outwithher so I can say goodbye at my car?”
“Yeah, no problem,” she replied and stood, too.
