Chapter 13 Milton
Milton, present day
“You’re where?” Danny exclaimed, surprised laughter spilling through the other end of the phone.
“Come on, man. You heard me.” I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “I’m at the animal shelter. The one over off Sunset. Or is it Melrose? Shit, I’m still trying to work out the mappings of this place.”
“Uh-huh,” he said slowly and then paused. “Are you going to tell me why you’re at the animal shelter?”
I ran my hand over my face, wiping the sweat from my brow. “Well, the gym was too crowded, so I decided to go for a run instead. So, I was going to go down the street to our studio and then circle back.”
“That’s, like, six miles round trip, dude,” he said, as if that were far.
Danny wasn’t much of a runner though. For me, it was a light day.
“Anyway, some paparazzi saw me, started snapping some pictures, getting all up in my face. I didn’t mind at first when they were keeping their distance, but this dude started getting way too close and spouting all this false bullshit, trying to get under my skin.
So, I made a game of evading them.” I laughed, remembering the short asshole wheezing at the crosswalk after two blocks as I ran on.
“After that, I got a little lost and saw this shelter on the corner. Seemed like a good place to hide out for a while. Pet some animals … maybe meet a friend? I don’t know. ” I shrugged.
“So, you’re just hiding out?” he asked, sarcasm laced in his tone.
“Well, I, uh …”
“I can have my sister send someone to pick you up,” he offered.
“No, don’t,” I replied quickly.
There was silence for a moment, and I had to check the screen to make sure the call hadn’t ended.
“Danny?”
“You’re not getting a dog, Tic.”
“Wha—why?”
“Because you live alone,” he stated, and I hated how pathetic it sounded.
“And? What a perfect solution.”
He sighed. “We’re busy, man. And you’re gone all the time.”
“Am not,” I replied, realizing I probably sounded childish.
Sure, I was at the studio often or traveling occasionally for band promos and stuff, but I also left my house a lot of the time just to look for ways to keep myself busy.
Working out at the gym, taking my bike out for long rides, finding new bars or restaurants to try, and shooting pool.
If I had this little guy at home, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
I looked through the wire cage, down at the chunky gray pit bull with sad eyes, white paws, and floppy ears. “Ahhh, Danny boy, he’s begging me to take him home. Here, look at him. I’ll send you a picture!”
“No, I don’t need to see a—” He stopped. “Never mind. Send it. Violet heard and wants to see.”
Giddily, I pulled my phone away from my ear and clicked a quick photo, immediately hearing awes from both of them.
“You see? Isn’t he the cutest? His name is Sweets!”
“Yeah, yeah. He’s a cute pup, Tic. But what are you going to do when we’re on tour next month?”
I sighed at the thought of that, knowing it would be difficult, but not impossible.
“Me and Mommy and Bowie can watch him!” Violet suggested loudly in the background.
“No, you, your mom, and your brother will be coming along with us, remember?” Danny told her, his voice gentle. “And we can’t take a dog with us on tour, sweetheart.”
“Take him home, Uncle Tic! Take him home!” Violet screamed out in protest.
“Your daughter sides with me,” I taunted, grinning to myself.
I didn’t actually need permission from Danny, but I’d gotten so used to making decisions with the band, regardless of whether it involved them or not.
A little support, especially with something as impulsive as this, couldn’t hurt.
The three of them were my family—Lexie, Liam, and Danny.
But over the years, I’d realized I’d call Danny first if I was about to do something reckless.
Not because he would talk me out of it, but because he would be the one to rationalize it before the others.
He’d always been that way. Kind of an act now, find out later kind of guy.
That was, until he had become a dad. Maybe that was why I’d called him too.
He was the first of us to become a parent, and if I adopted a dog today, it wouldn’t be just me I’d be responsible for anymore.
“It says he’s been here for eight months. Eight! That’s so fucking sad, man. I can’t just leave him here!”
Sweets let out the most heart-wrenching whimper and looked down at the ground, as if he was sure I was just another passerby. And that was what sealed the deal.
“Screw this,” I muttered.
“Huh?” Danny questioned, his voice higher with concern. “What’s happening?”
“Excuse me, ma’am?” I called down the cold brick hallway leading to the front.
The short-haired lady looked up after stacking a bag of dog food on top of another.
“Can I take him, please?” I asked, pointing in front of me.
Danny groaned from the other end, “Tic. Dude.”
“Gotta go, Danny boy. I’ll catch up with you later.” I hung up and shoved my phone into my pocket just as the lady stepped up next to me with a quizzical brow.
“Sweets?” she asked.
I nodded with enthusiasm. “Yes, please.”
“Okay, umm, leashes are over on the wall to your left if you want to take him around the block. You’ll have to check him out for a walk at the desk and be back before we close. I’ll warn you though: Sweets pulls really hard.”
“Oh, uh, that’s okay. I’m sure we can work that out together, he and I.” I gazed down at Sweets, seeing his tail begin to wag again. “But I’m actually not looking to volunteer today. I’m looking to adopt, if he’s still available.”
She blinked up at me, eyes on the verge of tears, with a look of disbelief. “You-you want … to take Sweets home?”
I nodded, not a single coherent doubt formulating in my mind. “Could I take him today, or do I have to fill out the paperwork and come back?”
A sob broke loose from her throat as she smiled, looking into his big blue eyes behind the cage.
“Oh no! I didn’t mean to make you cry, ma’am!”
“No, no.” She shook her head, lip quivering. “He’s just been here for so long, and he’s the sweetest boy. He just gets overlooked day after day. It breaks my heart every morning that I come in and there are still no applicants for him.”
I held out my arm, offering her a hug, and then squeezed her when she took it. “Well, he’s the first one I went up to when I got here,” I told her, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’ve got a good place, lots of room for him to explore and run. Hell, he can even have his own room if he wants.”
She chuckled at that. “Fat chance there. He’s a big ole cuddle bug and isn’t going to want to leave your side.”
“Perfect.” My smile grew at the thought of having someone to sleep beside. “Maybe I can have him run with me outside, get him to shed a few pounds.”
She giggled. “Oh, I’m afraid I haven’t been helping with his weight. I sneak him extra treats on the side sometimes,” she confessed, whispering. “He’s just so dang cute.”
I gave her a warm smile, knowing I’d be doing the same thing if I worked here. “So, what do you say? How do you feel about coming into work tomorrow and seeing his cage empty?”
She popped up on her heels with excitement, wiping her tears. “Yes, yes, of course! Oh my gosh, I have to go tell the girls. Everyone will be so thrilled! Here, let me get him out of there so you can meet him.”
Sweets’s whole body wiggled as she unlatched his cage and let him free. I crouched down to his level with arms open, and he greeted me with slobbery kisses and endless tail wags.
“Hey, buddy.” My voice kicked up an octave when I spoke to him, giving him ear scratches and head rubs. “What do ya say we blow this joint, you and me? Maybe hit the pet store on the way home?”
Sweets danced in place and let out an excited whimper, as if he understood me perfectly.
“I told you he’s the sweetest.” The woman giggled, handing me his leash.
He saw me reach for his collar and sat patiently while I hooked him up, and then he very enthusiastically led me to the front desk.
A younger girl with curly black hair and a full tattooed sleeve was behind the desk, waiting with a prepared clipboard. Her eyes lit up when I stopped in front of her with Sweets and then narrowed slowly as she looked my face over.
“Hey … do I know you?” she asked, cocking her head.
“I’m not sure. Do you?” I smirked.
I never knew whether it was better to lead with a name, what I did for a living, or to remain mysterious for the sake of my privacy whenever people stared at me.
The city was full of A-listers, has-beens, and up-and-coming celebrities; it was hard to know where I fell in the eyes of a stranger here.
Part of me enjoyed the torture, watching their head spiral, searching for an answer like it was on the tip of their tongue but just out of reach.
Younger me would have been dying to tell them my name and what band I played for.
Hell, it would have blown my goddamn mind then to find out someone even recognized me.
After another long moment of staring at me, the girl handed me the clipboard and lifted the side of her mouth with a smug grin. “Fill this out for me?”
My smile grew as I jotted down my first and last name on the first line.
She watched, reading my name aloud, “Milton Tickett?”
“That’s me.” I filled in the next two lines before meeting her pained expression. “I play music,” I told her, deciding to end her agony before she combusted.
“Huh,” she said, racking her brain for an answer with the new clue.
I pointed the back of the pen at the clear adhesive film on her arm, covering a fresh tattoo. “That’s some crazy color on that. Great lines too.”
She gazed down at her arm and then shot it forward so I could see it better.
“Isn’t it? Thanks. I just got it done yesterday!
” I could practically see the hearts forming in her eyes as she studied the large orange and pink flowers surrounding a dove.
“My guy does the best neo-traditional work in LA, I swear!”