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“Uh…”

“Yorkies are hypoallergenic.”

I burst out laughing.“How did I not know that?”

“Well, I should’ve been more worried when you came here last night, but I had Darren take an allergy pill.He was fine this morning before he went to work.I’d assumed that was because of the pill.”She laughed.“What if he was okay because the dog isn’t going to trigger his allergies as much?”

I eyed her.“You can’t have my dog.”

She petted my shoulder.“No, of course not.We might borrow him, though.”

“Well, that would be okay.”

“Great.Pancakes.Do you want to help, or do you want to supervise chaos?”

I gazed out over the backyard.“They seem okay.”

“Yeah, they do.So, I cheat and use pancake mix…”

Whether Jeremy had mentioned my lack of culinary skills, or whether Marcie was just a mother hen, I spent the next half hour learning the intricacies of making perfect pancakes along with sausages.

Marcie said she hated the damn sausages, but Darren was addicted, and both children had taken up the mantle for the next generation and were carrying ontheir father’s legacy.

That made me laugh.

Then maybe a little sad as I acknowledged I didn’t have a legacy like that.Nothing special my mother had ever shared with me.Nothing I could cling to that we’d done together.Just a legacy of neglect by a woman who’d been ill most of my life.I was truly sorry for the life she’d lived…but then I watched Marcie and Jeremy with the nibblets, and I could see how much I’d really missed out on.

After a delicious breakfast, we walked to Raphael’s kindergarten class.

Marcie introduced me to the teacher, who took great interest in Wally and suggested, quite boldly, that the dog would make a great therapy dog.She’d observed his calm nature when a pile of children descended.

On the way home, Marcie reiterated what the teacher said.

I pointed out I’d have to be Wally’s handler.And deal with, you know, people.

She said I could look at one-on-one settings like the program in the library where young kids practiced their reading skills by reading to dogs.

As I helped her clean the kitchen, that idea circled in my mind.Wally’s temperament would be perfect for sitting still and listening to a kid speak.Or just comforting a child.And he was small enough not to be intimidating.All the kids loved him.

And he lapped up the attention.

Which made me think keeping him to myself was selfish.

So I texted Jordan.

The trainer responded immediately that he’d add Wally to the therapy-dog training class starting in two weeks.That meant, though, that we needed at least two personal sessions to ensure Wally was completely prepared for the tougher class.

I readily agreed.

To my dismay, Marcie insisted on driving me to the appointment with Dr.Martin.She said she’d take Thaddeus to the library.I could text her when I was finished, and she’d run back to pick me up.

As I sat in Dr.Martin’s waiting room, the past few days caught up with me.

When I dropped into the chair in his office, everything sort of burst out.“I had to go to LA to get my stuff, and Colin took me.Great guy.Then I came back and found James’s house had burned down with my new stuff inside.That was sad.Then I moved in with Jeremy, and he’s been so nice.But I don’t see how that can last.Everyone gets tired of me eventually.Now I’m at his sister’s—Jeremy’s—and she’s so nice to me.And her kids love Wally, and I’m thinking Wally should train to be a therapy dog, but that means I have to be there with him and, you know, people.

“You know about my suicide attempt.We haven’t talked about that specifically, although you asked me how I was feeling.And right now, I’m an eight or nine.Great.But I know that can’t last because shit happens.Shit always happens.I need to prepare myself so that when things go badly, I don’t fall apart again.You know?Handle it more like when my mom died than when Hank left.Which are really the tent posts in my life.I’d like another one.Like, today.Today could be a tent post.A moment that I’m marking.”I took in a deep breath.“Sorry.”

“I’m not.”Dr.Martin offered a wide smile.“Your story gives me plenty to work with.Of everything, though, what would you say is bothering you the most?”