“Dude, that dog has been following us for blocks,” Jay said, looking back again.
Gabriel glanced back and saw the tiny pitbull puppy stop, sitting back on her haunches. She wagged a tiny tail and looked expectantly at the two boys. Her tongue lolled out to one side of her mouth, and she panted. Gabriel thought she looked kind of skinny, and he knew the dog couldn’t be very old. “Yeah, man, I’ve noticed.”
Gabriel looked at the dog over his shoulder another second and finally turned around. He knelt and called to the small pitbull puppy. As if that were what she was waiting for, she came bounding towards Gabriel with enthusiasm. She licked his face and leaped into his arms.
“Come on, then. Mama’s gonna kill me, but she’ll love you, anyway.” Gabriel spoke to the dog. Jay looked over at him and then down at the dog. The puppy followed along at Gabriel’s heel as though it were exactly where she was supposed to be. Jay said nothing as he shook his head and laughed.
“Gabe…” Savannah started, pulling Gabriel from his reverie. “You know, it’s okay to cry.” Savannah’s voice was sad, marked by the tears she’d shed on the way home and at the vet’s office. “Nanny’s death is sad, and people cry when they’re sad. It’s normal.”
Gabriel knew crying was normal, but it wasn’t something he did. He’d been taught his whole life that men didn’t cry, and Gabriel didn’t even know if he could cry anymore. He stayed silent, staring straight ahead. Savannah, forever persistent, decided to take a more drastic route.
Savannah grabbed Gabriel’s arms and turned him towards her. “Gabriel, this isn’t healthy.” Her face was set, determined. “Nanny is dead, Gabriel. After more than fifteen long years, she’s dead. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is… and you sitting here, locked up inside yourself isn’t going to change that.”
Gabriel’s resolve broke at Savannah’s bluntness and he quietly sobbed. Tears ran down his face for the first time in decades. Savannah grabbed him and pulled him in tight against her small frame. Once he’d begun, Gabriel couldn’t stop crying. Nanny had been a mainstay in his life for almost as long as he could remember, and now she was gone. He’d known it was coming, that his old girl’s time was reaching its end. But Gabriel felt like Nanny had taken a piece of his heart with her to what came next.
Gabriel cried into Savannah’s shoulder for what seemed an eternity. There was nobody else on earth he would have felt comfortable enough with to cry. Savannah was right, though. After a long, hard cry, Gabriel felt a little better. At least, he didn’t feel the heaviness of loss pressing down on him so powerfully.
Chapter 22
Two long months had passed since Gabriel and Savannah looked at the home they so wanted, and there was less than a month on Savannah’s lease. Today, Gabriel finally received word it was theirs and was eager to tell his kitten the good news. His joy was only slightly dampened at the passing thought of this being the first home he’d live in without Nanny.
“Kitten?” Gabriel called from the doorway to her little home office.
Savannah looked up from her desk. Gabriel had taken one of his days off today, and he was glad he had. They could start right away if they wanted to. “What is it, Gabe?”
Gabriel took a few steps into the room. “I just got off the phone with the realtor.”
Savannah looked at him expectantly. Gabriel said nothing. He was being terrible and knew it, but his good mood called for a little harmless teasing. “Well?” Savannah prompted. Getting a response had taken a lot longer than they’d expected. Gabriel’s face fell into a solemn expression, and Savannah’s beautiful face fell. “Oh no, we didn’t get it.”
“Or we did… and we can pick up the keys from the realtor today.” Gabriel said, his face still solemn.
The contrast in his words and facial expression confused Savannah for but a moment. Gabriel watched as excitement sprang to life in her eyes. She leaped out of her chair, almost falling in her haste. Squealing in delight, she threw her arms around Gabriel’s neck. He gave her a quick spin around the room before setting her down. “Oh, Gabe! I’m so happy!” Savannah gushed.
“Me, too, kitten.” Gabriel smiled. “What do you say you take a break for the rest of the day and we go ahead and get started on what needs to be done to move in? We have less than a month to get it ready, you know.”
Savannah smiled and bit her lip, trying to contain her excitement but failing miserably. “Yes! Let’s do it!”
* * * * *
That first day, Savannah and Gabriel worked until sundown. They stopped only because the electric couldn’t be switched on until the following afternoon and there was no more natural light to work by. The following day was Saturday and became a testament to how much could be accomplished when people gathered together.
While Gabriel’s mother watched Rio, his father, five brothers, an uncle, and two cousins had shown up to help. Jay and Paula came, too, and the house was bustling with noise. Laughter and the sounds of conversation in both Spanish and English echoed through the house. It intermingled with the sounds of carpeting being pulled and tools being used.
In that single Saturday, all the flooring was torn up from around the house. The bottom level had all the flooring replaced, too. Gabriel and Savannah had chosen to do the bottom level in all hardwood, except for tile in the kitchen and bathroom. There would only be carpeting in the bedrooms. The walls downstairs had been painted before they laid the new flooring. It was something Gabriel’s father wisely suggested as the better option. The walls upstairs had been painted, too, and the staircase was fixed but not painted.
By Sunday evening, the flooring was done in the upstairs, the stairs were painted, and the yard tackled. It had been a mess before, but it looked beautiful once well-trimmed.
Savannah stood in the yard, smiling at the house. It was theirs – her and Gabriel’s home. It was where they’d start their life together, where they’d build on everything they already had. Savannah looked around at all the people, too. Gabriel’s mother had stopped by with Rio and enough food to feed an army. Gabriel’s oldest sisters were there, with their husbands and children, and people Savannah didn’t know.
Savannah had wondered why there were so many people here but found she didn’t care. She loved the warm feeling of love that Gabriel’s family gave off. Savannah loved being part of it.
Gabriel came up behind Savannah in their new yard, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Savannah giggled at his public display of affection – something she no longer felt awkward about – and turned around in his arms. Gabriel’s eyes held excitement and mischief both. “So, kitten, what do you think? Is our house perfect?”
Savannah nodded. “Yes, Gabe. It is.”
Gabriel pulled back from the embrace a little, holding Savannah by her shoulders and looking at her. “Do you love me, Savannah?”
She nodded, confusion skittering across the joy she felt. “Yes, Gabriel. You know I do.”
He nodded, grinning. “Good.” He pulled back a little more and suddenly all movement, all noise around the large yard stopped. Everyone was looking in their direction.