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“I trust you… Adriana.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“One hundred percent,” I answer confidently. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“One hundred and one percent.” She smiles back.
Amy walks over and hands us paperwork which we both sign. I bend down to pet Blaze. She has a flicker of excitement in her eyes. Adriana holds onto Ash.
“Are you sure it won’t traumatize them to be separated?” Adriana asks again.
“As long as they get enough attention and love, no,” Amy reassures us.
It’s exactly what we both need, and Hazel is beyond happy to have Blaze come live with us. I reassure her I’m looking for a place, but like always, she’ll tell me to hush.
The ride back home is quiet as Blaze and Ash both rest their heads on Adriana’s lap. It’s not only the dogs who have a glimmer of hope in their eyes but Adriana as well. She’s grinning from ear to ear, and undeniably, she is beautiful, scars and all.
“Andy is going to fall in love with Ash. I doubt very much I’ll get him to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.”
“He sounds like a typical kid.”
“Yeah, he’s a good kid. Just hyper, exactly the opposite of his dad.” She sighs, glancing out the window.
We drive straight to the meeting, and as predicted, the group spends the hour playing with the dogs. Toward the end, Hazel politely asks us for our attention.
“Your weekly task,” she announces as Jerry lets out a huge groan. “I want you to visit your happy place.”
Penny is first to open her mouth. “Does Betty’s Back Door Brothel count?”
“God, Penny, you’re such a—” Jerry starts.
“Yada, yada, yada… talk to the hand ‘cause the face ain’t listening,” Penny bites back.
Fred shakes his head, refusing to acknowledge a place of happiness, but as Hazel works her magic ways with him, he slowly comes around and mentions a hobby store with a motorized train in the front window he enjoys watching.
I, on the other hand, have nothing.
Every place I once enjoyed is tarnished with an unpleasant memory, all of which involve being high.
“You’re struggling, I can see it,” Adriana mentions, keeping her voice low from the others. “I feel the same.”
“But you have Andy,” I tell her, glancing sideways to catch a glimpse of her troubled face. “There must be some place which makes him happy and, in turn, makes you happy.”
She remains quiet, lost in thought. Unusual from her normally vocal thought process. I place my hand on hers to reassure her.
“It’ll come to us, somehow. In the meantime, do you really think there’s a place called Betty’s Back Door Brothel?”
Adriana’s shoulders begin to move up and down, her lips curving upward as laughter escapes her lips. With her mood lightening, she begins to bloom like a wilted rose basking in the sunshine.
She places her hand on my arm as I join in the private joke, laughing along with her, trying to control herself while the others turn to see us.
Penny, not knowing what’s happening, joins in until the corner of Adriana’s eye tears up, and she begs us to stop, or she’ll pee her pants.
Hazel sits back, smiling proudly, “What do I always say?”
“Penny is always the best medicine,” Adriana and I say in unison before falling into a fit of hysterics again.
***
