Page 36 of September
“I’m sure she misses you,” Gwen said. “But I’m on my way now to pick her up and take her for a walk. Is it okay if I just take her home after so that I don’t have to come back in a few hours? I will, though, obviously.”
“Oh, sure,” she replied. “If it’s easier. You’re doing me a big favor here.”
“Nah. She really is a great dog. She’ll keep me company tonight.”
“Did she take up more than half of your bed last night?” Juliet asked.
Then, she realized that she’d just assumed Gwen had slept alone the previous night and that Carly had been the only other occupant in that apartment besides Larry, who had a tank or an aquarium of some kind. She internally crossed her fingers for luck that she hadn’t made a fool out of herself with that assumption and that Gwen wasn’t about to tell her about a hot date from last night.
Gwen laughed and said, “No, she kept to her side until I woke up to a cold, wet nose on my cheek.”
“Oh, yeah, she does that,” Juliet replied, relieved. “Was it a big inconvenience to have her there?”
“What? Not at all. I told you, it’s fine. I don’t do this often, but I’ve had a few animals just stay at my apartment with me because they needed it or their humans did.”
“Which is it this time? Doessheneed it, too, or is it just me?”
“I think a little of both. Want to talk to her?”
“Can I?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Give me a second, and I’ll FaceTime you.”
Juliet looked down at the bed, where she had a messy double cheeseburger and chili cheese fries in front of her. The milkshake and bottle of water she’d also gotten were on the table by the bed, but she’d changed into a T-shirt and sweats when she had gotten back and had only a moment ago, very inconveniently, dropped a glop of cheese from those fries on that shirt. She hadn’t been worried about it when she’dcalledGwen, but now, Gwen would be able to see the drying orange spot of congealed cheese mixed with a little brown from the chili.
“Carly, hi,” Gwen said to the dog.
Juliet heard the key in the front door of her apartment as Gwen arrived there and quickly jumped up to find a new shirt. She was so excited to see her little girl after a very long day that she just reached for a tank top and threw it on after tossing her other shirt to the floor to deal with later.
“Ready?” Gwen asked.
“Yes,” she said, making her way back to the bed.
The FaceTime call came in moments later, and Juliet accepted it immediately. She was met with Carly’s face very close up; so close to the camera that Juliet could only see a tiny nose that looked much bigger that close.
“Hi, baby,” she said through her laughter because her dog didnotknow how to use a phone.
Carly stiffened and pulled back a bit from the camera, trying to figure out where Juliet’s voice was coming from, and it was adorable. Juliet put her hand over her mouth because she wanted to cackle at how on alert her tiny dog had just gotten.
“That’s mommy,” Gwen said. “Where is she?”
Carly got excited and started her little huffs that she did when they were about to go outside or she was about to get her favorite treat. Juliet dropped her hand and laughed as she watched her dog try to figure out where she was.
“Carly!”
Carly tilted her head and looked toward the phone again, and not just to sniff it this time. She had her inquisitive face on, which made Juliet shake her head and smile.
“She’s doing that tail wag thing you warned me about. I should probably take her out,” Gwen said before she angled the camera toward her face. “Also, hi. This is me. I’m a person. I’m the one holding the phone. She didn’t figure out how phones work while you were gone.”
“Hi,” Juliet replied with a little laugh.
Gwen’s eyes focused on something then, and it couldn’t have been the glop of cheese and chili because that was on the floor, along with the shirt, so Juliet looked down in confusion and couldn’t believe she’d done it again.
“Um… No reason, but is it cold there?” Gwen asked.
“Yes,” she said, laughing. “I just threw this on. Sorry; I keep making you look at my nipples. I really don’t plan these things. Is this considered sexual harassment? I’m not sure what the rules are for people in your profession. Am I about to get sued?”
Gwen laughed and replied, “I don’t think you’remakingme look at your nipples. My eyes just go there naturally. It’s the gay thing, I think.”
