Page 20 of The One You Chose

Cooper nodded and motioned for us to follow him. We walked down the hallway filled with various noises and smelled slightly of wetness, cleaning products, and dry kibble.

Cooper pointed at a kennel where a small white and brown dog with his back leg missing cowering in the corner. “This little guy would probably be a good fit for an apartment. His previous owners brought him in when they had to move. I know you gals, so I can vouch for you. He’s shy but once he warms up, he’s a good little shit.”

Zoya narrowed her eyes at Cooper. “You shouldn’t call that darling a little shit.” Stepping forward, she placed her hands on the gate. “I want to meet him.”

“Zoya.” I lowered my voice to a hiss. “You’re allergic.”

By this time, the door had been opened and Zoya was crouched down to accept the three-legged dog who toddled over to sniff her hand. Zoya swept the dog up in her arms and the dog rested his head on her collarbone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Scratching the little dog’s head, she cooed. “We’re going to change your name to Pi.”

Once Zoya set her mind to something, she was determined. I knew better than to argue with her.

Back at the front of the shelter, Cooper stepped behind the counter to pull out a clipboard. “You’ll have to do the paperwork with me. Our adoption director, Mr. Deir, has the rest of the day off.”

Beside her, Zoya sniffed, whether it was an animal allergy sniff or something else I couldn’t tell.

“Deir.” I tried my best at nonchalance. “I don’t recognize that name. Is he new around here?”

Copper nodded. “Yeah, he got recruited from somewhere on the Eastside a month ago. He’s a cool dude. I brought him to Thanksgiving dinner with me. Nova was all over his dick the whole night. But that’s just Nova. Ya know?”

“That’s very interesting,” Zoya said with a raised brow. I did. Cooper’s cousin Nova went to school with us as well. She was petite, always immaculately dressed, and had a series of incredibly attractive boyfriends that she dumped after a few months. If Nova was attracted to this Jeremiah guy, he must be good-looking and younger.

I needed to meet this guy.

fourteen

The One You Chose

Fitz

Theworldfellinon me at nine thirty-seven in the morning as I pulled up my emails.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Jeremiah

Okay, Mr. Deir, should I call you Mr. Deir or would Jeremiah work? I think at this stage of our conversations we should be on a first name basis. If I’m telling you about my dating history, you can call me by my actual name, Lina. I like getting to know you, Jeremiah. I hope I’m not overstepping, but it’s surprisingly hard to connect with people these days. Maybe it’s just me. I spend a lot of my days in the company of four-year-olds, who, while cute, aren’t exactly challenging my conversation skills. (Though one just asked me how cows have babies. Not people, but cows.)

I hope you’re not going to be alone on Christmas. Do you celebrate Christmas? I shouldn’t presume. There are other holidays. Hanukkah? Kwanzaa? Rohatsi? Solstice? Whatever you celebrate, I hope you’re not alone.

Some-what-embarrassedly,

Lina

I stared at the signature on the email. Lina. Could it be my Lina? Could I even call her my Lina?

And what could I say here? She only knew me as Jeremiah through the emails. I couldn’t tell her now I went by Fitz, could I? What was I thinking using my first name in my work signature? It seemed like such a grown-up and professional thing to do at the time instead of my nickname and now it was biting me in the ass.

She was asking me to tell her more. How do you phrase the conversation that the person you’ve been talking to over email might be the same one you slept with weeks prior?

I went to Facebook and typed in McConnell. Now I could see why I couldn’t find her before. Her profile picture was a group picture where she was crammed together with a bunch of people wearing hats that looked like turkeys. Her name on the profile was Evangelina McConnell. If I hadn’t known what to look for, I never would have found her.

I debated on how to broach the subject. Surely this was an in-person conversation, not over email.

To: [email protected]

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