Page 21 of Security and Submission
“Oh, that’s great to hear.” Yasmine leaned her hip against the counter as relief rushed through her. She certainly didn’t mind Hope’s presence, but she wanted Sarah to be better and to get well. “Does she know I have Hope?”
“She does, and she’s completely fine with it… grateful actually,” Grace said. “If you run into any trouble or you can’t keep Hope the whole time, there’s also a neighbor you can contact.”
“Is his name Zeus?” Yasmine laughed when Grace said yes, then gave her the rundown of everything that had happened earlier, which had Grace in stitches by the end of it.
“Oh my God, so he had the dog, then you had the dog…” Grace cackled. “You couldn’t make this shit up!”
“Tell me about it.” Moving over to the couch, Yasmine smiled when Hope immediately abandoned her bed to jump up beside her, resting her head on Yasmine’s thigh and looking up at her with soulful brown eyes. Who could resist those eyes? Yasmine ran her fingers through the soft fur on the top of Hope’s head, and the sweet doggy closed her eyes as Yasmine rubbed her ears. She really was adorable.
“Anyway, I have his number already, but we figured it was best to keep Hope with me since she seems able to settle down at my house.”
“That makes sense, and Sarah appreciates it so much.”
“Did you ask her about me paying for Hope’s surgery?”
“I did… she was kind of torn between metaphorically jumping for joy and feeling like she should say no because you’re already doing too much.”
“Well, Zeus offered to pay for half, so maybe that will help her feel better,” Yasmine said. “I’ll call the vet tomorrow.” Because that wasn’t a no, and she didn’t want to give it the time to turn into one. Hope didn’t have much time left to have it, according to the vet.
“Thank you so much. I’ll chip in for the surgery, too. I’m going to try to come out to visit Sarah as soon as I can, but the earliest I’ll be able to make it is in about a week and a half.” Grace sighed. “I’m sending you the nicest gift basket as soon as I can.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Yasmine protested, even though she was touched Grace would even think of it.
“And you didn’t have to do any of this, but you are, and you’ve eased Sarah’s mind, and you’ve eased my mind,” Grace said firmly. “If it’s okay, I’m going to start a group chat with the three of us. She’s probably sleeping now, but I was thinking you could send pictures of Hope so she can see her while she’s in the hospital.”
“I can absolutely do that.”
True to Grace’s word, she started the chat the second they got off the phone, and Yasmine sent the picture of Hope she’d taken for Zeus. Even if Sarah was sleeping now, hopefully, that would be nice to wake up to.
Zeus
He was sitting on the couch, doing the endless scroll of trying to figure out what to watch, when his phone buzzed again. Looking down and seeing that it was a text from Yas sent a little jolt through his chest.
Probably because he was worried about Sarah and Hope.
Okay, maybe just a little because he was excited to hear from Yas, specifically.
Dropping the remote at his side, he picked up his phone to see why she was texting him again.
Yas
I just got a call from Grace. Sarah made it through surgery well, and she should be back home on Monday, barring any complications.
Relief suffused him, easing the tightness that had been living in his muscles all day without him even realizing it. He felt almost boneless as his concern for Sarah lifted, leaving him unburdened. Tiger whined and pawed at Zeus’ leg as the pressure of the pets he was receiving had lightened.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, needy dog,” Zeus muttered, going back to giving Tiger a belly rub at the pressure he preferred while he ran his thumb over his screen to text Yas back.
Zeus
Thanks for letting me know. I’m really glad to hear that.
Yas
Have a good rest of the night!
Zeus
I definitely will.
