Page 180 of Someone Like Me
“She just ran to Twin’s to get us some lunch,” Dr. Delacroix says, bending down and scooping up a pup under each arm. She tilts her head toward our dogs. “Are these are our boarders?”
“Yep, they’ll be here until the twenty-ninth,” Evie says.
Dr. Delacroix glances at Quincy, and then at me. “The little one’s kinda shy, isn’t she?”
I nod. “She is. We’ve had her about a year, but she was a stray before that.”
Her chin bobs in understanding. “She’ll warm up. You can tell she wants to play, but she just isn’t sure it’s safe yet. In a day or two, she’ll be ready.”
Dr. Delacroix has sized up Quincy right off the bat. I like that. And I like that she has gone out of her way to reassure us. I don’t think anything could keep me from enjoying Evie in her bikini on a Grecian beach, but I’m glad worrying about Quincy won’t be a factor.
The vet takes her squirming cargo through a side door and then reappears with them in the reception office. She sets down the pups before moving to the computer. As Evie and I approach the window, Gemini springs up on hind legs and puts his front paws on the counter so he can keep an eye on what’s happening. Quincy trots up behind him, sniffing the air, trying to figure out what’s going on.
While the vet taps away on the computer, Evie drops into a squat between our dogs. She tugs at my hand. “Come down here.”
“What for?”
She tugs again. “Family hug.”
I squat down, already grinning. I’ve never heard her sayfamily hugbefore, but Evie and these two dogs are without a doubt my immediate family, and I won’t miss an opportunity to pull them all into a hug.
She puts an arm over each dog, so I do the same, and our hands clasp over canine backs.
“Okay, dogs, Dad and I are going on a trip, and you need to wait for us here until we get back,” she looks between the dogs as she speaks. They don’t really listen. Gem is nosing her face, and Quincy starts sniffing my right shoe. “Since we’re going to Greece, we’re gonna call on the Greek goddess Hestia, protector of home, hearth, and four-legged animals, to watch over you while we are gone.”
“Oh, Guppy,” I mutter and tamp down my smile.
“Shh!” She shoots me a playful glare. “You know better than to naysay a goddess, Drew.”
I lift the hand off Quincy’s back to signal my apologies. “No offense, Hestia.”
Evie nods, appeased. “Hestia, keep Quincy and Gemini safe while we travel, and protect our home in our absence. Amen.” She tilts to the side and kisses Gem. “I love you… I love you…” She leans the other way and kisses Quincy on the back of the head. “And I love you.”
It’s a good thing we’re lower than the counter because when she presses in to kiss me, I hook an arm behind her neck and make it a real one. Laughter. Magic. Love. Evie has given me all of this. And now I get a family hug.
I let her go and find her blushing, but her eyes meet mine with a secret joy. Like we’ve just gotten away with something.
But I have my own secret.
Evie being Evie, I’ve let her plan most of our trip to Zakynthos. Beaches, boat tours, scuba diving with sea turtles. We’re going to do whatever she wants, but on our last full day, I’m taking her up to the Cliffs of Keri. If the view is even half as good as it looks online — and the water below even half as blue — it’ll still make a great spot for me to drop to one knee and ask if she’ll have me.
And the fact that someone like me has the chance to propose to someone like Evie on a fucking Grecian isle just blows my mind.
She’ll say yes. I’m sure because she’s made me sure. And that blows my mind, too. Every damn day.
From the moment we got back together, the day she moved in, Evie has let everyone in our lives know — in no uncertain terms — that we’re a package deal. The day after Grandma Q’s funeral, Evie Skyped her parents to tell them as much and to fill them in on all the shit that went down with Tori.
I expected them to be shocked and sad, and they were. What I didn’t expect was for them to apologize to me. And not just for Tori’s actions, but for how they had seen me. For their judgment.
These were apologies I accepted. For Evie’s sake as well as my own. Her dad’s planning to retire in a couple of years, and that means my future in-laws will also be my backdoor neighbors. When they came home for Christmas last year and again in June, both Sondra and Elliot made it plain that they were looking forward to this future. They didn’t go so far as to list the eventual arrival of grandchildren, but I didn’t miss the hopeful glint in Sondra’s eyes that could only have meant that.
So I’m thinking they see me as more than a grease monkey ex-con. Four-bedroom houses in the Saint Streets aren’t exactly a dime a dozen. And watching your grandchildren grow up right in your back yard isn’t something most folks get to enjoy. That’s something I can give them. It’s something I can give Evie. And it’s something I can give to the kids I hope we have.
And I have Grandma Q to thank for that. Every damn day.
And maybe I should give Sondra and Elliot Lalonde a little more credit. When they’re in the states, they always spend a little time in Austin, where Tori is now. Evie and I don’t ask about her, but the Lalondes have hinted that she hasn’t changed much. She’s unhappy, and she blames other people for her unhappiness. So maybe Evie’s parents like me for more than just the house. Maybe they see that Evieishappy, and that’s the most important thing.
I sure as hell think it is.
