12. White Roses #3
“Thank you, hun, that means a lot. Being a single mom is tough, but I like to think we made it all work out the best we could.” She smiled at her girls, tears lining her eyes filled with love and adoration for them.
She had so much warmth and love for her children, and failed to come up with a single time I ever experienced this with my parents or brothers.
Something I never would experience with them, which hurt.
Clearing my throat, I stepped over to the cabinet I remembered Allie kept her dishes in and grabbed enough for everyone.
We all piled pizza on our plates and headed into the living room to eat.
I sat back and mainly listened to them crack jokes with one another and catch up on anything the other may have missed.
When I did talk, they made sure to include me, and it felt like I’d known them for a long time and not just met them tonight.
After we finished eating, Allie told her mom and sister goodbye, and they both hugged me and told me how happy they were to meet me, Olivia thanking me for the flowers again.
“I’m exhausted now, man,” Allie said as she flopped onto her couch, and Dolly jumped up into her lap. I sat next to her, pulled her feet into my lap, and began rubbing them. “Oh, that’s nice, real nice. I could get used to this.” She let out a low moan and sank into the cushions.
“Anything I can do for you, baby girl?”
“Nah, I need to take a shower, but I work from home tomorrow, so I don’t have to worry about being up super early or anything, thankfully. I think things are going to be calming down soon, and I can go back to having to go into the office a couple of times a month.”
“Boo, that sucks, means less chances of seeing you when I’m there. I know it’ll be a lot easier on you, though.”
“It will, I always feel so guilty leaving Dolly home alone.” As if Dolly knew what she was saying, she threw her head back against her chest, demanding to be pet like she’s been neglected. “Oh my goodness, you’re dramatic.”
“She’s a funny dog. She has so much personality.”
“Doesn’t she? I love her so much.” Allie twisted the fur on the tips of Dolly’s ear, and she leaned into it, her tail whacking against the couch.
“Okay, so next week is the beginning of September, which means fall time. What all fall activities do you wanna do?” I asked, moving my way up to her calves and rubbing out the stiff muscles.
“Actually, the start of fall is August first in my heart, but I’ll let it slide since we met after that.
Well, let’s see, pumpkin patches and apple orchards are a must, carving a pumpkin, I usually like to do some baking, and then I like watching all the fall and Halloween movies.
” She ticked each item off on her fingers as she moved through her list. "It's also the perfect time for me to stock up on fresh apple butter, too. It’s my absolute favorite biscuit topping.”
“That sounds like a plan, hopefully between the weekends and some evenings we can fit it all in.”
“Yes, I’d love that! I need to look up the pet-friendly markets they’re doing this year too. I like to take my girl to do stuff so she’s included. I usually have to go earlier, so there aren’t as many people, and she’s not stressed out.”
“Well, obviously, we can even see if we can find some pet-friendly orchards and pumpkin patches too. Isn’t that right, girl?
You wanna go pick apples and a pumpkin, don’t you?
” I reached up and scratched her stomach, and her tail started thumping against the couch again.
Allie laughed at us before yawning and rubbing her eyes.
“Alright, sweetheart. I think I’d better head home so you can take your shower and get some rest. I’ll text you when I’m home, okay?”
“I wish you could stay the night. I miss you a lot.” She got up, crawled over to me, and sat in my lap. Her body molded perfectly against mine, and that friends-only line blurred even more.
“If I had stuff with me, I would because I’ve been missing you too.”
“Well, what if we maybe took Dolly for a R-I-D-E and went and got it?”
“Did you just spell out rid—”
She slapped her hands over my mouth. “No! She knows what it means, and she’ll get worked up! Look at her, her ears are already perked up like she knows what you almost said.”
I raised my brow while her hands were still over my mouth, waiting for her to realize she still had them covered.
“Shit, sorry.” She yanked her hands back and clasped them together in her lap, her face the shade of a tomato.
“It’s okay, you’re cute, ya know that? Yes, I think that sounds like a good idea, as long as you’re sure you want me to stay the night. I’m supposed to work from home tomorrow too, but I have a laptop, so it’s easy to move around. I can stay out of your way.”
“It sounds great to me! Here we can take my car so you don’t get dog hair in yours because it can be a bitch to get out. Plus her buckle and hammock are in my car.”
“Whatever you wanna do, sweetheart. Want me to still drive?”
“Oh, yes, I wanna be a passenger princess for now.”