Penny lifted her head when she heard the door. The tail started when she heard my voice.
"Hi, lovely girl."
I set my bag on the counter and went down onto the rug with her, sat cross-legged, and let her get her face into my neck before I started anything practical.
I got up after a few minutes and did what I'd come to do. Refilled her water, topped off her bowl with the wet food from the cabinet. Penny ate three bites without me having to coax her, then walked over and leaned against my leg.
"Good girl."
She huffed.
I knelt for a picture of her by the bowl and sent it to Easton.
The reply came within a minute.
Easton
Thanks for taking care of her.
Astrid
How's your shift?
Easton
Quiet. If only Duke would shut up.
I laughed out loud at his kitchen sink, alone with his dog, and slid the phone into my back pocket. I gave Penny one last rub on the side of the head before I let myself out.
Audrey stabbed a piece of grilled chicken off her Cobb and pointed the fork at me before she ate it.
"So how's the firefighter?"
"Easton?"
"Yeah. You're seeing him, right?"
"We're just friends. I'm not seeing him."
I pulled a fry off my plate, ate it, and didn't look at her.
"You're together whenever he's not on shift. You're at his house when he is. That's dating."
"I'm helping him look after his dog. He's helping me with my clinic. Besides, dating implies we're sleeping together—which we aren't."
Audrey looked at me over her coffee. Took her time setting it down.
"Just you wait."
I reached across the table, lifted a small chunk of her cheesecake with my fork, and put it in my mouth before she'd finished setting the cup.
"Oh, shut up."
"Hey!"
"That's what you get."
She picked up the rest of the cheesecake protectively, then waved her fork in surrender.
