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Lilly stood in the front of the room and called everyone to attention.
“Okay, the first winner is . . . Gail!” That was one of the great aunts. She cheered and dashed up to the front to grab the gift basket from Lilly. One of Lara’s work friends got second. And third . . . “Callyn!”
I beamed at Emma and accepted my gift basket that was full of natural bath products. Oh, I was going to take over the tub with these bath bombs. Maybe I’d let Emma have a few as a consolation prize.
A few people decided to head out, and I wanted to get Emma home, and I also wanted to make sure that Vegas was okay. Reece had been sending us pictures of Vegas sleeping and even a video of him chasing a toy, but I still wanted to make sure that he hadn’t missed us too much.
“Let’s go home, Em,” I said. She’d perked up a little bit when I got her a soda and a glass of water, but she was still a little sleepy.
We hugged Lara and said that we’d see her next weekend for brunch. She demanded more puppy pictures in the group chat, and I agreed that I would share more.
I got Emma and the gift basket into a car since I didn’t want to haul the thing on a crowded train and get a bunch of looks.
“Hey, how was it?” Reece said when we walked in the door. Vegas had been asleep on the floor, but he woke right up and started barking and running in circles around us.
“Someone had a few too many drinks, I think,” I said, pointing to Emma. She yawned.
“Naptime for you, young lady,” I said, pushing her toward her bedroom. She shuffled off, giving Reece a wave.
“Thanks so much. I hope he wasn’t any trouble,” I said, picking Vegas up where he proceeded to bathe my entire face with his stinky puppy tongue. Cute and gross.
“No, he was great. He’s still really young, but he’s got a great personality. Really eager to please. I think you’re going to have good luck training him.” I counted how long Reece had been here and then sent her the amount we’d agreed upon.
“Thanks so much.” I put Vegas down and he ran to get one of his toys.
“Sure, let me know if you need me to watch him again. I’d love to.” I walked Reece out and then closed the door. Vegas followed me as I walked into Emma’s room to find her flopped on the bed with her eyes open.
“Hey, you’re supposed to be sleeping,” I said, pushing her over so I could lie next to her.
“I’m not tired. Too much thinking.” I turned onto my side to watch her. The late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the big window to our left and lit her up like an angel.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
She sighed.
“A lot of things, Callyn. A lot of things.”
“Do you want to tell me some of the things so that maybe we can both think about them and then you won’t have to be the only one?” She did so much for me, I wanted to try and help carry some of the weight I knew was so heavy for her. It couldn’t have been easy to take me in like this and have to worry about all the bills and going to school and pleasing her parents.
“No, it’s okay,” she said, looking at me. “I’ve got this.”
“You don’t always have to got this. Have this. Whatever. You don’t have to carry it all, Em. I can carry shit, too. I know I'm not great at it, but I want to make your life easier, not harder.” I had so much guilt for being a mess most of the time. I couldn’t count the times I’d gotten all tied up in knots and Emma had come and picked everything apart and fixed it for me. I didn’t have to ask; she just did it. Sometimes I wish she wouldn’t because then I carried the weight of having her solve my problems for me instead of me bumbling through and maybe figuring it out. I knew I needed to set some better boundaries, but we’d just been working this way our whole lives and I wasn’t sure what to say to her so that we could change it and not upset her.
“I know, I know. But this is something I can carry on my own. Promise.” I wanted to make her swear, but that seemed childish, so I didn’t. Emma closed her eyes and rested her head back on her pillow.
“I think I will take a nap.”
Vegas dashed into the room and started barking at both of us and putting his paws up on the bed. He couldn’t jump up yet, so we had to pick him up if we wanted him on the bed with us. Emma was still trying to say that we shouldn't let him sleep on our beds, but then she would let him up every single time.
“Come here, baby. It’s not fair that we’re up here.” I picked him up and put him between us. He licked Emma’s face all over and she laughed. Vegas gave me the same treatment and then sighed the cutest little puppy sigh, put his head on his paws and closed his eyes.
“I wish I could go to sleep that easily,” I said. “Look at me, I’m jealous of a puppy.”
“Me too,” Emma said, yawning.
“Do you need anything? I’ll bring you some water. You should start hydrating.” I was going to take care of her today. She was always taking care of me. Time to do start making things even. I left her with Vegas and went to grab water with the good ice and some ibuprofen and a little plate of snacks in case she got hungry when she woke up.
“You didn’t need to do that,” she said, when I came back and set everything on her nightstand.
