Chapter 12 Josie
JOSIE
“Josie!”
I heard his voice on the wind, but was too distracted by the dog in front of me to turn around and search for him. I was so close to catching Milo. Just another foot and I would have him.
I inched forward, holding out my hand with the treats, begging him to just give in and come inside with me. He’d freeze to death out here.
“Come on, Milo. You know you want your nummy nums.”
He panted as his eyes drifted to my hand, then back to my face.
“I’m gonna eat them if you don’t,” I teased.
He cocked his head at me in challenge.
I brought the first piece of food to my mouth, hoping he would take the hint and not make me eat this horrible, dried-out food. But he just yipped, as if to urge me on.
“Alright, if you don’t want it, I’ll eat it all for myself. It’ll be so yummy, and you’re going to miss out on all the treats.”
The food came closer and closer to my mouth until finally, I had no choice but to take a bite. “Mmm!” I hummed, but the disgusting flavor only took seconds to hit me, making me gag.
Spitting out the food, Milo rushed over and ate the tiny piece I spit out.
“Milo, come on! You’re going to freeze out here!”
“Josie, what the hell are you doing?” JR called.
“I’m trying to get Milo to come inside!”
“Leave him alone! He’ll be fine!”
Spinning around, I glared at my neighbor. “How can you be so callous?” I called out as he stomped toward me through the drifts. “The storm is only going to get worse, and he’s going to freeze!”
“He’s got a coat of fur!”
“And he’ll still freeze!” I reiterated. “Either help me or go back inside!”
I turned back to Milo, giving him another pleading look.
“Please, Milo. I don’t want you to die. It would break my heart if I came outside tomorrow and found you frozen like an ice sculpture.
And although you might be beautiful made of ice, once you thawed, you would most definitely not be beautiful anymore. ”
Milo rushed past me, and for just a second, I hoped I got through to him. But when I spun around, that hope was dashed when I saw him jumping at my grumpy neighbor, who didn’t even care whether or not Milo lived or died.
“I’ll help you get him in the house, but that’s it,” JR called out.
“Fine.”
I stomped across the snow, angry that I was doing everything possible to take care of Milo, but he only wanted JR. It wasn’t right. I would be a good pet owner, even if I couldn’t take him into my home permanently.
But on the upside, at least Milo would be safe and warm tonight.
“Come on, dog,” JR muttered, following me to the house.
“He’s got a name. It’s Milo.”
“No wonder he’s not following you around.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I spun around, thrusting my hands on my hips.
“It means you gave him a name that makes him feel small. You should have given him a tough name.”
“But he’s a small dog. Should I have named him Butch?”
“God, no. But something a bit more masculine.”
Rolling my eyes, I shoved the door open and beamed when Milo followed me inside. Shaking off the snow, he circled around the blankets I laid out on the ground for him before he finally plopped down with a yawn.
“There, I did my part.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
But as soon as he turned to leave, Milo’s ears perked up and he raced over to the door, ready to leave with JR.
“No, I’m not taking you home.”
“Maybe just for tonight—”
“No,” JR snapped. “No dogs in my house.”
“But he’ll freeze out there.”
Milo yipped, spinning in a circle before looking up at JR expectantly.
“He’s not coming home with me.”
“Then stay for a few minutes until he gets more comfortable. I’ll even make you lunch.”
JR scowled, but didn’t object. “It won’t have sprouts, will it?”
“Sprouts?”
“Or grass?”
“Why would I put grass on a sandwich?”
“Because you’re some hippie chick.”
Cocking my head at him, I tried to see myself through his eyes. Why would he assume I ate grass? That was just insane. “Well, I don’t usually eat grass on snow days. I save those for when the weather is just right and you can derive the most nutritional value out of the plant.”
“And when’s that?”
“Why? You want to try some?” I asked, kicking off my boots as I headed into the kitchen.
“No. Just wondering when I should steer clear of you.”
“Not until August, so you’re safe for today. But the sprouts, on the other hand, make a delicious sandwich. Sit. I’ll make something to eat.”
It was just a normal living room like anyone else’s, but he inspected the furniture like it was going to suddenly spring to life and trap him in a spell. Very carefully, he sat on the couch, adjusting back and forth before finally settling in.
Chuckling to myself, I dug through my fridge until I found the leftover roast beef. I always felt it was better on the first day, but it made excellent sandwiches. I warmed up the beef in the sauce on the stove while I grabbed the hoagies and laid out the plates with chips.
JR was busy fighting off Milo as he tried to sit on his lap. The whole thing was hilarious, and just to prove a point, I grabbed my camera and snapped a picture of him playing with Milo, trying to get him to chase toys instead of sitting anywhere near him.
“Lunch is ready!”
The wary expression on JR’s face as he strode into the kitchen was hilarious. “I made liver sandwiches with a lovely kidney sauce.”
“A what?”
“Liver. It’s very nutritious. It’s high in protein, improves immunity, it’s good for your brain, reduces the risk of cancer, and most importantly, it boosts your energy levels,” I grinned.
“My energy levels are just fine,” he muttered.
“Right, but did I also tell you that the kidney sauce is full of Omega-3 fatty acids?”
He stared at me, not at all impressed.
“That means it’s good for your heart!”
“I think I’ll go home now.”
“Wait!” I said, rushing around him before he could leave. “Don’t you even want to try it?”
“Not even a little.”
“But…you didn’t even get to try the sweetbreads.”
“Please tell me that’s actual bread.”
I smiled sweetly at him. “It’s the pancreas.”
“I’m out of here,” he said, pushing past me.
Laughing, I grabbed his hand and tugged him back. “I’m just kidding. I made roast beef sandwiches.”
But he didn’t look at all convinced. In fact, as I dragged him back to the table, he actually looked like he was going to his death. “How do I know you’re not lying to me now, trying to trick me into eating like… sheep anus?”
“Uh, because I’ve never, nor will I ever, eat sheep anus. Besides, you seem to have it in your head that I’m a witch or something. You can’t blame me for wanting to screw with you a little.”
“You do run an apothecary shop.”
“And?” I asked, tugging him over to the table.
“And most people just go to the pharmacy and grab medicine.”
“Sure,” I nodded, digging into my sandwich. “And there are natural remedies that are just as effective for a lot of things.”
“Whatever,” he muttered, hesitantly taking his first bite.
“So? Is it as bad as you expected?”
Instead of answering, he shoved another bite in his mouth. Chuckling, I ignored him and went back to my own sandwich. I wasn’t even halfway done when he finished, then slowly munched on his chips, watching me strangely.
“What? Do I have food on my face?”
“You’re not what I expected,” he said slowly.
“And what was that?”
He shrugged. “Not sure. But when I saw you talking to your car, you scared me a little.”
“Well, I always talk to my cars. I find it soothing.”
“Soothing,” he repeated, dumbfounded by my words.
“Yes, like we have some sort of symbiotic relationship or something. I don’t know, I just feel that if I talk to her, I’m soothing her.”
“But…she can’t talk back. She—the car—” he corrected, huffing in annoyance, “is just a vehicle.”
“I’m well aware.”
“So, you know you’re talking to an inanimate object.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t expect her to talk back,” I grinned.
“And you’ve always been like this. You didn’t hit your head one day and start talking to cars?”
“Nope. I’ve been like this my whole life. You should have seen me with my dolls.”
“Not sure I want to know about that,” he muttered, shoving to his feet to take his plate to the sink.
“It was actually really bad when I was little. See, I had all my dolls on my bed, but throughout the night, some of them would fall to the ground. And when I woke up in the morning, I felt just awful that they were on the floor. Like, somehow, their feelings were hurt that they’d been kicked off the bed. ”
“So, you think your dolls come alive just like in Toy Story.”
“Well, no. I don’t think they come to life, but I always worried that somehow, they would have their feelings hurt.”
He sat there staring, judging me. Not that I was surprised. Most men didn’t get it. Yes, I talked to inanimate objects, but was I hurting anyone? Not at all. As far as I was concerned, I was bonding with whatever I was talking to. Sort of like for good karma or something.
“You know, I think I should go.”
I shifted in my seat, grinning up at him. “Because I’m weird and you can’t handle it?”
“I can handle it. I just don’t want to.”
“Ha! You think I’m going to host a tea party for my dolls and make you drink imaginary tea with them!”
He rolled his eyes and headed for the door. “I’m going.”
“Ooh! Wait!” I jumped to my feet and rushed after him. “Don’t you want to stay and watch movies? I was planning this whole movie marathon.”
“I think I’d rather go home.”
“But I have dinner all planned and there’s so much food.”
His eyebrow quirked up at that. “Food?”
“I take it you weren’t prepared for this storm.”
“Not even a little.”
“So…” I smiled at him. “You could hang out here with me. I mean, I won’t expect you to be nice or anything.
You don’t have to smile or pretend to like me.
You can just watch movies and scowl at me the whole time.
You can even tell me how much you hate the movies. I promise not to expect anything more.”
His eyes drifted outside to the storm. The way it was blowing, it was bound to be crazy for at least the rest of the day and well into the night. At least, that’s the way they were predicting it.
“I have lots of cozy blankets,” I teased.
“Yeah, because I’m a man who likes cozy blankets,” he muttered.
“You could be.”
Sighing, he crossed his arms over his chest. “What movies were you going to watch?”
“Well, I thought I’d watch Legally Blonde one and two—”
“I’m out.”
I grabbed his arm as he headed for the door. “I’m kidding. I was going to have a Lord Of The Rings marathon. The movies are long enough to last for hours, and they’re also perfect for napping under a big, cozy blanket in my pajamas. It’s really a win-win.”
Maybe it was the huge grin on my face, or the roast beef sandwich I had made earlier, but I could feel him slowly giving in every second he stood there. It would only take my final admission to pull him over to my side.
“I have beer.”
“I’m in.”