Page 48 of All I Want Is Love
His question has successfully broken the slightly gloomy atmosphere, and I can’t help but laugh. “Yes. Aspen and I got so used to it that we forgot to tell you about it.”
“It’s his pet?”
“Yeah, it imprinted on him,” I chuckle. “He saved an egg a while ago. The whole nest was destroyed, no adult animals were around, so after a while, he called me and took it home. He did everything to make it possible for the egg to grow and hatch. Obviously, the ostrich now thinks Robin is his mom.”
Leo laughs. “That sounds like Robin.” When Barkley barks, Leo turns to cuddle him. “You agree, don’t you? You do.”
I have noticed he does it a lot, talking to Barkley. It’s the cutest.
“How come you don’t have a pet?” Leo asks me while shopping for our upcoming hike. We just wrapped things up in the doctor’s office, and now are ready to prepare for our hike. Leo looks flustered immediately after he asks his question. “I didn’t mean to imply… you know…”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t take it in a bad way,” I reassure him. “I foster a lot instead of having my own pet. I usually keep them until they can find their forever home.”
“Doesn’t it break your heart to get attached to a pet and then have to let it go?”
“Sometimes it does,” I admit. “Fostering isn’t for everyone. It all began when I had a cat being dropped at my entrance door. I checked her, nursed her back to health, but as expected, no one was looking for her or wanted her. They just tossed her aside. So, I took her home, until a young couple was asking around to adopt a cat. I knew them from before, and I knew it was a perfect fit.”
“I think you are doing something really noble,” he says. “You also fostered Barkley, didn’t you?”
“I did, but only for a couple of days. Obviously, he found his forever human now.”
“He did,” Leo exclaims, immediately bending down to tousle Barkley’s fur. Barkley drops to his back and rolls through the snow. Leo just laughs instead of getting upset. “Now I have to clean you up again once we are at home.” He gets up, brushing the snow off his pants. “I guess eventually I should look for a place with a little garden. Barkley would like that.”
As always, when Leo hints at staying here for longer, my heart takes a tentative leap of joy. I know he has other options, since he was a city boy not so long ago, and I don’t know if life in this small town is truly for him, but I can’t help it. I am hoping we will be enough.
Leo takes my hand while we walk down the small street. It’s decorated everywhere. “Did the mayor reach out to you?” I ask him.
“He did,” Leo says. “But I told him it’s too much on short notice to decorate the whole town. I will help some smaller shops, though, decorate the town’s center, and obviously, the weird snowball tournament and the fair that comes with it. Robin and I will go on a shopping spree soon.”
“Hopefully with the town’s budget?”
“Obviously!” Leo looks happy. “Planning something like this with all these funds is pretty amazing. Endless opportunities.”
“When will you start?”
“Right next week. First, I want to focus on our hike.”
I swing our hands playfully. “Then let’s go shopping. I have organized most of the things already.”
“I am not sure what I need,” he admits.
“I have it covered for this weekend,” I inform him. “I have some clothes you can wear that will keep you warm, and some other helpful gear. For today, we just need to buy some snacks, sun lotion and smaller things. We are not doing a dangerous hike; we can always turn around and go back.”
“But the plan is to stay the night in that hut?” he asks curiously.
“Yes, it’s a lovely place. You will be surprised.”
“I can’t wait to see it!” he beams. “I had fun the last time, so I fully trust you that this will be amazing.”
I chuckle. “No pressure, huh?”
Leo smiles impishly. “Just a little.”
eighteen
*LEO*
We have done everything on our to-do list, did some shopping and visited some of Soren’s patients. The latter was the highlight of the day for me. Soren introduced me everywhere as his boyfriend and was not embarrassed to show me off.
