Page 43 of Alexander: Alexander's Story

“It’s alright,” I coax him. One of the volunteers at the shelter comes to stand beside me.

“Oh yeah, the little guy just came in two days ago. Maybe 14 weeks old.”

“He’s perfect,” I say.

“What’re you going to name him?” Constantine asks.

Well, since we were already a walking cliché, “Delta.” I smile when he finally makes it to me, his wet nose pushing against my hand. “You wanna go home, bud?”

Connie asks the volunteer to get the paperwork going, and I open the crate to let Delta roam. He sniffs and explores, his wet nose running up my arms and over my pants and shoes, making me smile.

“She’s gonna love you.”

Calling feels like the right move. So I tap her name and wait.

It’s been almost a month, and I haven’t called or texted outside of making sure she settled into her new place without issues. After that, I left her alone, hoping we could meet on the other end of things to start over. As friends.

Maybe I still want more than friendship…but I would take what I could get.

On the second ring, she picks up. Whispering, she asks, “Is everything okay?” She sounds worried.

“Yeah, everything’s fine, just-why are you whispering?”

“Because I’m at work.”

“Why are you working?”

“If this isn’t an emergency, can we talk later, please?”

“Yeah, call me or text if you want, you know. Whenever.”Fuck.Didn’t come out sounding as cool or as calm as I had hoped.

“Okay, bye, Alex.” She hangs up. The sting over her hanging up burns. Maybe it’s still too soon.

Em

Sorry, I’ve been meaning to call back. Just busy.

A

It’s too soon, I get it.

Yeah… Sorry.

august

A

Semester starts next week, right?

Em

I actually transferred to State, so I have an extra week.

That’s awesome.

Any chance you want to grab a coffee or something?

Ask me next month.