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“With all of my injuries, the prolonged infections, as well as the overall hit my body as a whole
took, there was just no combatting it. I found out while I was in Germany that I was most likely
sterile. I had it confirmed a couple of months ago. There are definitely no little soldiers swimming in my batter.” He tried to make light of it, but I could see how it hurt him to say it. “So yeah, can’t have any kids.” He paused. “Not that any kids need to grow up with this face as their parent. Can you
imagine them seeing me? They’d probably scream.”
Those words felt like taking a punch straight to the soul.
“Riel, I’m sorry,” I said softly.
He shrugged, as if he wasn’t affected by the words that’d just left his lips.
I didn’t know what to say to him, so I chose to change the subject instead.
That was me. Handler of all things heavy.
“Hey,” I said. “Janie, a friend of Luca’s, got back to me on Maxie.”
Riel pulled on the beard that he started growing a few months ago, looking torn between wanting
to know about him, and wanting to stay blissfully ignorant.
“The dog was never taken to Florida in the first place,” I explained, not waiting for him to get the courage to ask. “He was surrendered right here in Kilgore.”
Riel stiffened.
“They told me that they took him home,” he said evenly. “Had him for six months before they
realized I wasn’t coming back and gave him up.”
I shrugged, unsure what to tell him.
His parents were pieces of work, what could I say?
It was almost as if they weren’t his parents at all.
“Did she find the dog?” he asked almost reluctantly. “Did the dog get adopted?”
I now understood.
He was afraid that the dog was euthanized.
That was awful.
“A volunteer took Maxie home,” I said finally. “I think she’s still fostering him, to be honest. They haven’t officially adopted him.”
“They?” he asked curiously.
“Well, the woman, Sierra, lives with her brother. The dog’s been staying with the both of them
since she brought him home,” I explained.
He was nodding his head in understanding.
“Do you… do you think we should go see him?” Riel asked curiously.
I could tell that Riel didn’t really want to go, and I didn’t know why.
