“What did he want?”
“I forgot the book we’re assigned to read in his class.”
“How’s school going?”
She shrugs. “It’s okay.”
I pull to a stop at a red light and look over at her. “Just okay?”
“Yeah.”
Concerned by her vague answer, I ask, “Are you sure?”
Her gaze slides to me before darting back to the windshield. I narrow my eyes when her cheeks begin to pinken.
“What’s going on, Luna? You can talk to me. Is there something happening at school?”
“No!” Her answer comes way too fast, which concerns me even further.
A blaring horn comes from behind me, and I press down on the pedal to move us forward.
Her voice is calmer when she continues. “I promise there’s nothing going on. Or rather, nothing I want to talk about, and nothing bad.”
I’m not really sure if I believe her, but there’s nothing I can do to make her talk to me. Luna has always been quiet and reserved. Good in everything she does and never causes problems.
I hate knowing there may be something bothering her. I make a mental note to call my sister this evening.
We pull up to my sister's modest-sized house a few minutes later. Before Luna can get out of the car, I stop her with a hand on her arm.
“If you ever need to talk, you know I’m always here. Even if it’s something you don’t feel comfortable talking to your parents about.”
She nods. “Thank you, Aunt Charlotte. And thanks for the ride. Dad said he’s picking my car up from the tire shop tomorrow.”
“It was no problem.”
She gets out of my car, and I watch as she walks to the front door. I wait until she closes it behind her before pulling away from the curb. On my way home, I stop by a Chinese restaurant down the road from my house and grab some take out. I hear the clack of nails on the wood floor as I slip my key in the lock of my front door. Holding my bag of food above my head, I prepare myself for being lovingly assaulted the minute I step over the threshold.
Not one to disappoint, Maxie pounces the moment she sees me. It wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t over half my size when she’s standing on all four legs. When she jumps on me, her head actually towers over mine. She’s a bullmastiff, so she’s huge!
“Hey, girl.” I rub the top of her head. “I missed you too.”
I found Maxie as a pup behind a dumpster a couple of years ago. She couldn’t have been more than four weeks old, and she was dangerously malnourished. I scooped her up and took her to the vet. I was in no position to have a pet during that time in my life, but there was no way I was leaving her behind. She looked too darn cute and way too sad with her droopy eyes. She’s been with me ever since.
“Come on. Let’s go get you some food.”
She drops her front paws from my shoulders to the floor and trots to the kitchen, knowing exactly what the word food means.
After setting my purse and bag of takeout down on the counter, I grab a can of wet dog food from the pantry and scoop some into her bowl, mixing in some dry food with it. She immediately begins devouring it. I wash my hands, pour myself some wine, then grab my own food and take it to the other side of the bar. As I shovel food into my mouth, I pull up my email on my phone. I always leave work early on Thursdays to go to my appointment with Dr. Erikson, so I check to see if I missed anything. Seems like all is currently right at work at the moment, which is a huge relief. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job at Thatcher, Beacon, and Associates, but I swear it seems like Brady Thatcher can’t do anything if I’m not around. Being an assistant to a lawyer is exhausting, especially one as busy as Thatcher.
Once I’m done with my food, I put away the leftovers in the fridge and take Maxie for a walk to do her business. Coming back inside a few minutes later, she heads straight for the big comfy dog bed in the corner of the living room and plops down with a sigh. I go to my bedroom and close myself in the bathroom. Plugging the tub, I start running warm water for a bath, throwing in a couple of bath bombs. A nice soak sounds heavenly right now.
I put on some soft music and light a few scented candles before I strip down and climb in the tub. With the overhead light off, the soft ambience of the candles, and the gentle melody coming from my phone, it doesn’t take long for me to relax. The warm water immediately soothes me, and I lean my head against the rim of the tub and close my eyes.
I’m half asleep and wrinkled like a prune by the time I get out and get dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. I go out to the living room and sit on the couch, deciding to catch up on some Eureka on Netflix for a few hours. My typical work day is me getting up at four-thirty in the morning, going for a run, with Maxie, then eating breakfast before getting ready for work. I like to be there before anyone else in case there are things that need to be done before the work day begins. That puts me getting into the office at six-thirty. Most nights, I’m in bed by nine, and tonight is no different.
I take Maxie for another walk before I lock down the house.
“Good night, Maxie.”