Dalton
~
Though I’d already seen the place, that didn’t make me any less excited for Rya. She was having her very first housewarming party, and even though it was an intimate affair, she was sharing her next big step in life with us, and I found that to be rather special.
As for their gift, instead of getting them something that they didn’t need, I had opted for a pet starter kit, getting Rya everything that she was going to need when she finally got herself a pet, and I also knew her well enough to double the order because Rya was a big believer that dogs should have other dogs to play with.
Nevertheless, because all of it would have been a bitch to wrap, I’d had delivered it yesterday while Rya had been at work, and Koen had been willing enough to hide it for me. Luckily, he liked animals, or else Rya never would have given him a chance.
Anyway, the only thing missing from my gift was the animal itself, but after having worked at Precious Pets for so long, I knew enough to know that it’s best not to force a connection.
The best thing that Rya could do was go to the shelter, browse the animals, then choose the one that called to her.
Honestly, if Koen’s not careful, I could see Rya bringing home two dogs, a cat, and possibly a turtle if one’s available.
Now, because it was family only, I didn’t have a problem finding a close parking spot, but what I had noticed was that Leandra’s car wasn’t here yet, and that was a good thing.
Her lateness would give me time to pick Rya’s brain before she got here.
Surprisingly, it’s been a few weeks since I’d last seen Leandra, and while our schedules at Precious Pets changed randomly, I usually worked a shift or two with her a week, but there’d been nothing for the past three weeks or so.
Ringing the doorbell, I waited for someone to answer the door, and if nothing else, it was going to be good to see Rya’s dad and his new girlfriend, Cynthia Murray.
Now, while I’d already met the woman, I wasn’t around her as much as Rya was, but according to Rya, Cynthia was solid, and I couldn’t be happier for Mr. Harlow.
He was the father that every child should have, and he was definitely in my top five of favorite people in the world.
When the front door finally swung open, Koen was standing on the other side, a huge grin on his face. “Dalton.”
“Don’t blindside me,” I told him as he stepped aside to let me in. “Were you able to keep everything hidden?”
He scoffed. “Dude, what do I look like? A chump?”
“No,” I answered, grinning back at the guy. “But you do look like a man in love, and that you’d confess every secret that you’ve ever held if Rya asked you to.”
His grin widened. “You’re not wrong. However, luckily for you, she’s been too busy making sure that we had everything ready that she wasn’t looking for hidden gifts in the attic.”
“Where is she?” I asked as he led me through the house towards the kitchen’s sliding glass door.
“She’s chatting with Cynthia,” he replied. “I think she’s trying to make sure that she doesn’t feel left out or uncomfortable.”
“Sounds like her,” I muttered, even though Cynthia and Norman were going on a few months now, Rya was very sensitive to those types of possible situations.
When we finally walked out into the backyard, I wasn’t surprised to see only Norman, Cynthia, Rya, Ashford and Patricia Wilder, Ivan and Netti Kepler, my grandparents, and our supervisor at Precious Pets, Lindy Oliver. Honestly, the only person missing was Leandra.
At any rate, as soon as Norman saw me, he immediately made his way over, then wrapped me up in one of those manly bear hugs, but I didn’t mind. Like I’d said, this was one of my most favorite people on the planet.
“Dalton, son,” he said as he stepped back to give me some space. “It’s good to see you.”
“I miss you, too,” I grinned.
“Well, you definitely need to come over for dinner soon,” he remarked, though I recognized a command when I heard one.
“And what will you be feeding me?” I joked.
“Cynthia makes some chicken tacos to die for,” he said, grinning. “You’ll never want to leave after a plate.”
“In that case, I demand Rya’s old room,” I told him. “Me and her can arm wrestle for it.”
He laughed like I’d wanted. “I’ll leave that to the two of you.”
“Speaking of...”
“Yeah, I’ll leave you to it,” he said good-naturedly.
As I made my way over towards where Rya was sitting, I watched Cynthia get up to go join Norman, and I was glad that everyone here knew enough to know that I wasn’t being rude so much as Rya was my priority and always would be.
Besides, I had plenty of time to make the rounds after saying hi to my best friend.
“Hey, babes,” I greeted before sitting down next to her. “When do the strippers get here?”
Rya grinned at that. “We don’t need the parentals partying it up all night. I’m trying to make a good impression on my neighbors.”
“So, are we waiting for Leandra to get here before we cut the cake and do presents?”
“You know damn well that there’s no cake,” she drawled out, though she was still smiling.
“It’s not a successful party without sweets, my sweet,” I told her, only half-joking.
“Luckily for you, Cynthia has a sweet tooth, and so Dad brought some cupcakes,” she replied, saving the day. “He even had them frosted to match the color of the house.”
“Your dad definitely understands the importance in the details,” I remarked before repeating my earlier question. “So, are we just waiting on Leandra?”
“She’s not coming,” she finally answered, grimacing a bit. “I mean...well, she already stopped by earlier to drop off her gift.”
I shot her a quick look. “What? Are you serious?”
Rya let out a very familiar heavy sigh. “She didn’t want to make things uncomfortable by staying.”
“So, she is avoiding me,” I surmised.
“No,” Rya lied. “She’s just trying to make things easier on everyone.”
“Sounds more like she’s avoiding me because she’s tired of me being a dick to her,” I countered, which we both knew was the truth.
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” she replied. “Whatever is going on between you two, it’s now officially a problem.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I promised.
“I think you’re overestimating your charm,” she snorted.
Despite the seriousness of our conversation, I grinned at the woman. “On the contrary, I’m quite charming.”
After a few seconds, she said, “You owe her an apology, Dalton.”
I wasn’t quite ready to concede to that just yet, so I said, “I owe her a conversation.”
“Dalton-”
“Nonetheless, I’ll make it right,” I repeated. “I promise.”
Even if I’d felt as if I’d done nothing wrong, it was still time to make things right for Rya’s sake if nothing else.
I knew that Rya loved us both, and the constant bickering couldn’t be fun for her.
Plus, I’d never want to put her in a position where she’d really have to choose between the two of us.
“Quit judging her would be my first suggestion,” she retorted.
“I already said that I’ll make it right,” I told her. “Now, instead of busting my balls, let’s get this party going and open your gifts.”
Rya chuckled. “Okay, you’re off the hook for today.”
With that addressed, I finally made my rounds, greeting everyone else and trying to forget that Leandra was not going to show up.
I felt bad, and I could admit it. I hadn’t ever wanted it to come to this, but four weeks without seeing her was proof enough that it’d had.
If Leandra was rearranging her life just to avoid me, then that was a problem, and maybe I did owe her an apology.
At any rate, there wasn’t anything that I could do about it right now, so I was going to enjoy Rya’s party, watch her open her gifts, then sit with her as she pulled up the shelter websites to start searching for her dream pets.
I was also going to make serious plans for dinner with Norman and Cynthia. In fact, we were long-overdue for a family get-together, and I found that I was eagerly looking forward to something with just us, though I had nothing against the Wilders.
Four hours later, all the gifts had been opened, the cupcakes had been a success, and Rya was chomping at the bit to finally adopt some pets to make her perfect life finally complete, and I’d never been happier for her.