Page 18 of Save the Date
He fetched a wet rag from the kitchen and mopped up the mess. He’d sanded and stained the heart-pine floors back in the fall, but he’d never actually gotten around to sealing them. Which was a shame, because now he’d have to sand them down all over again.
“Shaz!” He glanced around the room. Kind of a depressing sight, reflected in the flickering blue light of the big screen. He’d turned on the television before leaving, something to give the dog company. He was pretty sure she liked ESPN and Animal Planet.
No sign of the dog. His stomach clenched. Had she somehow managed to get out? He’d locked all the doors earlier. He was really not in the mood tonight to go hunting for a runaway dog.
“Shaz?” He walked through the combination living-dining room, through the short hallway. He turned on the light in the bedroom. She was stretched out across the bed, with her head nesting on his pillow.
The dog lifted her muzzle and gave him a long, disdainful stare.
“Shaz!” His voice was sharp. “Come!”
Her tail thumped on the bedding, but she didn’t budge.
He walked over to the bed and grabbed her by her collar. “Come on girl. Off the bed. You know the rules. No dogs in my bed.”
It was a new rule, one he’d instituted as soon as Zoey walked out. Shaz had a big, oversized beanbag bed in the corner of the bedroom, and most nights, she was content to sleep there.
“Shaz?” His voice was stern. “Off!”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
“Did you pee on the floor, Shaz?”
Thump. Thump. Thump. She seemed downright proud of it.
He sighed, changed into a clean T-shirt and shorts, and laced up his running shoes. “C’mon, girl. Let’s go work the kinks out.”
Shaz blinked. She yawned. But she didn’t budge.
***
Bert glanced over at Cara, who leaned against the window on the passenger side of the van.
“I’d say the wedding was an unqualified success, wouldn’t you?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Cara said, her eyes half closed. “Thanks for being my designated driver. I’ll take you back out to the Fannings’ in the morning for your car.”
“Lillian actually hugged me tonight. So did Torie.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“I gave out a bunch of our business cards at the wedding. Three of Torie’s bridesmaids are engaged.”
Thatgot her attention. She sat up straight for a moment. “Really? Which ones?”
“Alison? The little blonde. And the taller blonde? The one they call Chatty? Oh, and Brenna, the supertanned brunette. She actually got engaged tonight, to one of Ryan’s fraternity brothers.”
“That’s great,” Cara said. “Anybody mention actual wedding dates?”
“Not to me,” Bert said. “But all three of them swore they want you to do their flowers.”
“I just hope they call,” Cara said. “We don’t have a lot lined up for the fall.”
“We will,” Bert said, ever loyal. “You always get panicky this time of year, and we always have more work than we can handle, come fall.”
“You never can tell, though,” Cara cautioned him. “Remember how dead it was last October?”
“And then we had weddings booked every weekend in November, through May,” Bert said. “Can’t you just relax a little? Everything is going to work out.”
