“I don’t like leaving him unattended.”
“He’s dead. It’s not like he’s going to walk away, Nick.”
“I can take care of it myself, you know. I’ll take pictures and send them—”
“No! Now, do the world a favor, take a break from being a complete control freak, and have a beer. We will fillet him together once I get back to campus.”
A black and white Boston terrier darts into the street, running like a thoroughbred across the pavement. Blonde pigtails pop out from behind a parked car, the owner, I would guess, in hot pursuit of the dog. I let out a yelp, slamming my foot on the brake in the middle of the tree-lined street.
The birthday cake for my sister Sofia’s party flies into the back of my seat. I cringe when I hear it collapse onto the floor behind me.
“Sweet Jesus!” I scream, pounding my fists on the steering wheel.
The little girl’s cheeks are bright red, tears streaming from her eyes as she calls the dog’s name, begging it to stop.
I swing the steering wheel to the right, finding a spot to park my car. I throw it in park and get out, running after them. The girl screams at the top of her lungs but the terrier keeps going without a look back. I lace my fingers with hers and get her safely across the street.
“Darcy!” she cries out, waving her hands over her head. “Come back, girl!”
“Stay here, okay?” I say. “I’m going to get your dog back.” I slip off my shoes and drop them next to the girl, my feet sinking into the thick green grass. It’s cool and dewy on my skin and there are a couple of times I have to stop myself from skidding to a stop in the lush foliage lining the perimeter of the property where I’m trespassing.
“Darcy!” I yell. “Sit! Stay! Heel!”
As someone who never grew up with a dog, I have no clue what to say to get her to stop or even slow down a bit. My chest tightens as I pick up the pace. Off in the distance, I spot a brook.
Shiiit.
Darcy stops at the edge and looks back at me, her big brown eyes sad.
No, Darcy. Please don’t do it! I’m wearing white!
She takes a few steps, dipping her front paw into the water, then jumping backward like she’d been stung. With a high-pitched bark, she creeps away from it, turning suddenly.
“Darcy,” I say in a sweet voice. “Stay. Stay…” I edge closer to her, holding out my hands and she does a play bow, another shrill bark piercing the air. She dances around, hopping back and forth, and I thank God we’ve moved away from the water.
“Come on, girl,” I murmur, closing the space between us, reaching my arms out. I’m so close, a few more inches and I can just scoop her up and hand her back to her owner.
Suddenly, she leaps toward me, her paws pointed right at my dress. I scream, startled by my canine assailant’s stealth move, but I catch her before she can escape.
Or destroy my dress.
I hug her tight against me, making a face as she licks my face like it’s a meat-flavored lollipop. The little blonde girl runs up to us, her pigtails bouncing as she reaches for Darcy, hugging her tight. “Oh thank goodness you’re safe!” She looks up at me, her big blue eyes pooling with tears. “She slipped out of her harness when I was trying to attach her leash. If you hadn’t stopped, I would have lost her for good. Thank you so much,” she says, her quivering voice making my heart swell.
I rub her back, sinking to my knees so that we’re eye to eye. “Hey, we girls have to stick together, right? That’s what we do. We watch out for each other.”
The girl nods, sniffling. “Yes. We do.”
“Okay.” I stand up and smile as Darcy slumps over in her arms, obviously exhausted by her neighborhood jaunt. We walk back across the street together and she flashes tiny white teeth at me. “You saved my best friend’s life.”
Her words make the long scar hidden on the underside of my right arm tingle, a harsh reminder that I couldn’t save my own best friend, Lila.
“What’s your name?”
I force a smile, ushering those feelings of guilt to the deep, dark corners of my heart where they’ve rested fitfully since the day of Lila’s accident. “It’s Kristina. What’s yours?”
“Penny,” she says. “Thank you, Kristina.” She spins around on her sneaker and runs to a large, pale yellow house set back from the road.
“Bye, Penny.” I let out a deep sigh, leaning against the car before daring to look down at my dress.
There’s a dark brown paw print right on my gut.
I stifle a groan, frowning at the fabric. I may need to throw it in for a quick wash before the guests start to arrive for the party.
I smile at Penny’s retreating back as she skips across her lawn.
Totally worth it, though.
I pull open the back door. My gaze falls to the cake on the floor and I bite down on my lower lip as I tentatively lift the lid.
The side of the large sheet cake is a little mashed but by the grace of God, the rest of it is still intact.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“Oh, I forgot you were still on the phone,” I say to Nick with a roll of my eyes. I get back into the front seat, letting out a deep breath. “I just saved a dog.”
“Great. Make sure you’re at the lab no later than seven o’clock,” he barks at me.
“Nick, take a Valium, will ya? I’ll see you on Monday.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
“Later.” I roll my eyes and click to end the call, pulling into my parents’ circular driveway, and then continuing up to the four-car garage landing, away from the white delivery vans cluttering the space where people rush in and out of the house carrying bunches of flowers and balloons, trays of food, and brightly wrapped boxes.
Argh, he makes me want to scream, and not in the good way.
I slam the door shut and open the back door, bending slightly to grab the cake. I hold out my arms, nestling the box against my chest with a silent prayer that there are no streaks of frosting on the outside of it that will stain my white dress any more than it already has been.
I love white.
It gives the impression of being prim, proper, and tidy.
Some might say uptight.
A lot like me.
Or so I’ve heard.
But it’s also crisp, fresh, and bright.
And I like the way it pops against my olive-toned skin, which is probably my best feature.
My younger sisters only have best features.
I wonder what that’s like…
I take a few cautious steps toward the front door, avoiding the frenzied workers scuttling up and down the cobblestone walkway. Someone whizzes past me with glass trays of pastries, and I swivel around with a gasp to avoid the mini chocolate lava cakes.
The heel of my sandal catches in the groove between two stones and I stumble forward, my foot still rooted to the ground, held captive by my shoe.
“Ahh!” I yell, the large rectangular box now airborne. The lid flies off the box before it crash lands on the pavers in front of me and I’m about a second away from face planting into the swirls of black and pink fondant.
Just before I get a taste of the top tier, a strong arm snakes around my waist, jerking me back into a standing position. A sharp breath expels from my lips as I’m spun around to face my savior.