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“Hey, doll?” he called as he reached to turn me.
“Yeah?”
“We’ve left Barry alone with a living thing for well over an hour now,” he said, looking concerned.
“Yeah, that might not be the best idea,” I said, wincing.
“I’ll meet you out there,” he said, pulling open the door.
I walked out, hoping I wasn’t flushed, that the cool in the walk-in kept me from getting too pink, as I walked out to find all four men now huddled over a table as both Jackson and Paine sketched what had to be ideas for my new and improved Deja Brew.
“I don’t think I want to know what you guys are scheming up,” I said, walking behind the counter to put a pot of coffee on. “The window looks amazing, though,” I said, marveling at it.
I wasn’t jealous of much in life, but people who seemed to be born with innate artistic talents was definitely one of those things. I once thought I should take up watercolor painting for a hobby. And had been quite humbled very quickly.
“I’m working on a menu design,” Jackson told me, coming up to the counter with his sketchpad, and turning it to show me what he’d come up with.
“I should be paying you for this kind of work,” I said, shaking my head.
“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t get a lot of time to work on my own art these days,” he told me. “I enjoy this. You have a great logo. And everyone likes the blackboard menu thing,” he said, gesturing toward the wall behind me. “But it’s always a good idea to have actual menus. For businesses to take. Or I have a cousin who gets anxious as fuck at new food places because she feels like she’s being pressured to make a decision too quickly. So she would be the type to grab a menu while she waited on the line, so she can make a decision.”
“I really like that idea, actually,” I told him, nodding. “Got any skills with websites?” I asked, joking.
“I built the one for the gallery,” he said.
“I was kidding!”
“I’ll take a look at it. Come up with some suggestions. If you like ‘em, I’ll do it for you. Maybe we can get together next weekend to talk about it.”
“You can meet Lucy!” I said, already so excited to get home to her as I started pouring coffees for everyone in the cafe, so I could turn off the burner and not worry about it.
“Who is Lucy?” Jackson asked.
“Our dog,” Junior supplied as he walked out from the back. “Andrés dropped her off this morning. But we left her with Barry, so we need to bounce,” he said.
“Please,” Jackson said, taking the coffees for himself, his father, and uncles. “You’ll go home to find that dog has a whole fucking wardrobe and backstory,” he said as he walked away.
“He’s not wrong,” Junior agreed before we said our thank-yous and goodbyes before heading back home.
To find that not only had Barry bought Lucy a bright pink collar and matching leash, but got her a sweater, bowls, toys, treats, and the plushest dog bed I’d ever seen.
“Look, Lucy-Goosey,” he said as we walked in. “Mom and Dad are home!”
And, it seemed, we were.
Home.
A strange, but unique little family unit.
That maybe, eventually, we would grow to something even more amazing.
But for the time being, I was blissfully happy just as we were.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Junior - 4 weeks
She never did go home.
